Big Mama

This sculpture first took shape in 2020 and began with a single heart-shaped branch of rosemary. She expands with layers of dried botanicals gathered from our community, and then sheds when used as a flower dispenser for events and classes. 

The Original sculpture still lives on and travels to different events. A fleet of additional Big Mamas, Little Mamas, Dragonflies, Snails and Swirls continue to sprout up in different spots around Oregon… BEAUTIFUL places like Newberg, McMinnville, Carlton, Sherwood and now Portland, all with great communities who add to the abundance she grows with!

The process of pulling out the old and replacing it with what’s new creates an ever-evolving art piece that demonstrates the phases and changes we all go through! We’re all just Earthlings, after all. We grow, we shed, we grow, we shed.

If you would like to invite Big Mama to your special event, we’d love to attend! I’ve got a variety of sculpture options for photo booths, event stages and community building activities.

Submit a Big Mama Inquiry and we’ll talk!

Big Mama at the joinery for bloom tour PDX 2025

I was SO EXCITED to hear the location I had been paired with for the Portland Bloom Tour! The Joinery is an amazing furniture company that makes handcrafted pieces from a wide variety of natural woods. The finish on these pieces is like butter!

The process of installing Big Mama and then also building a brand new heart in the other window has been so cool. I recently acquired a gorgeous Manzanita branch and now it’s got a scattering of blues, yellows and reds.

As for OG Big Mama, she’s got an amazing view of such a kick ass spot in Portland! She’s shooting her vibes out the windows of this historic building in the heart of the Pearl District.

While the new heart has fresh flowers, Big Mama represents the wisdom, abundance and variety that comes with age and experience. She has been filled over and over again with flowers from very special events, and this latest layer is no exception. There are so many beautiful roses, amaranth, straw flowers, hydrangea, peony, delphinium, teasel, nandina, mushrooms and more. Come see! And smell, of course. Take it alllll in.

This installation has a very special guest, it’s Davey the Dragonfly! He was first created for a community grief sculpture in Newberg in 2022. He got a fresh swirl of color for the Botanical Couture Fashion Show!

Big Mama at the portland spring home and garden show

The Original Big Mama was recently shining in all her glory at the Spring Home & Garden Show in Portland, Oregon! She was covered with an amazing of dried collection of goodies from my flower friends, along with some shiny new camellia leaves and nandina on her back. She had a big week and now she’s tucked back in at Chehalem Valley Dance Academy in McMinnville.

The Big Mama Love is growing and the fleet has increased to many giant flower hearts living among us! These sculptures are all made from recycled botanicals and facilitate community crafts and gatherings. Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to hang out with Big Mama! I wonder where this adventure will take her next.

How Big Mama Began

When my friend Jen said she had some rosemary for me, I threw my baskets in the van and headed over for some trimmings. I couldn’t believe how big these branches were! I thought about cutting them down to get them home, but decided they needed to stay big. Thank goodness for my trusty minivan.

I saw a heart in one of the biggest branches and started to let the inspiration swirl about how I could use the whole thing as one big piece.

Rosemary is one of my absolute favorites. Since Big Mama was going to be displayed for a month at Coffee Cottage, I harvested a bunch from the gigantic bushes around the building. I used twine to add a solid layer of rosemary to the heart for flowers to slide into. I find that their dried stems stay put easily among the needles, and the smell is AMAZING any time I work with this piece!

Each of these blooms had come to my workshop from someone in my community. Iris from Maryfrances. Bee Balm from Myj. Hydrangea from Elizabeth. Buddleia from Lance. Rose from Melissa. Lilac from Kristina.

This heart was the beginning of many amazing connections with people I would have never otherwise met. I have walked around so many beautiful yards and spaces and gotten to hear about what flowers are personal favorites and why. We share stories and fresh air. I receive gorgeous piles of yard debris and get to process it all with my friends and scatter it back out into the world with the art we create.