Big Mama
She’s my favorite creation! Big Mama came to life in 2020 when my friend removed a huge rosemary bush from her yard. This sculpture has been evolving ever since.
Big Mama has evolved over the years and has been hosted by lots of cool places around Newberg! She currently resides at Social Goods and will live there for the year of 2024.
Where else has Big Mama Been?
Social Goods, Chehalem Cultural Center, Newberg Public Library, and the Providence Newberg Public Schools Health Center.
How Big Mama Began
This picture cracks me up - I brought baskets to fill… I had no idea just how much rosemary Jen had waiting for me!
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!
I added what was left of my 2019 dried flower collection on one half. Time and sunlight had taken most of their color, but these stems still had lots of life left in them.
Each of these blooms had come to my workshop from someone in my community. I did buy some roses from the discount rack at Freddy’s over the winter, but I love that most of this bounty had shown up at my doorstep. Iris from Maryfrances. Bee Balm from Myj. Hydrangea from Elizabeth. Buddleia from Lance. Rose from Melissa. Lilac from Kristina.
My 2020 collection was much more vibrant, since I’d moved my work space into the garage and out of the sunlight on our back patio.
She was accompanied by her “Drying Branch,” where visitors could contribute fresh stems in exchange for her dried flowers. People got to choose their three favorites and we tied them to a fresh rosemary bundle for them to take home. She began to give and receive.
I imagined her expanding and shrinking like a beating heart throughout time and that’s exactly what she’s done!
