Smudge Bouquets

Lavender, thyme, and sage wrapped in tissue paper with yarn.

Approx. 4 to 5 inches long x 2 to 3 inches wide

2017

As I was making these bouquets, I would refer to Rebecca Louise Law’s Beauty of Decay series. I was looking at the form and positioning of her work in these pieces. Law arranged and hung a variety of flowers, including peonies, roses, sunflowers, etc., upside down. I related the images of her work to the idea of herbs hanging in bundles to dry out. In an article about her work, Law states that “[her] art is about the human interaction with nature, [she] takes flowers, control their environment, change their properties and allow the viewer to re-evaluate their worth,” (The Beauty of Decay). I started to question the form of these smudge sticks: if their form would change then is their worth any different?

The customization of bouquets has its origin in ancient times. Brides carried aromatic bunches of flowers, garlic, herbs and spices to ward off evil spirits. Now bouquets are attractively arranged so that they can be given as a present or for formal occasions. I began thinking of how smudge sticks are becoming popular in our culture. I have seen smudge sticks being sold in Native American stores and metaphysical stores. Now these herbs are being sold in stores like Walmart and Whole Foods. I began stripping the controversy of the smudge stick and thinking of different ways to present the herbs that allow it to be more “friendly”. I began using the herbs to make mini bouquets, where these herbs would still try true to their context of cleansing but in a different form.