Paper Bouquet

Published in Tahoma West 2008

"Paper Bouquet", 2007
Sculpture
Paper, wire, ribbon
2'x1'x6"

Created in the 2007 Reconstructing Self class. A pivotal moment in my life was when my husband and I signed the paperwork for our first house. We weren’t married at the time, though we had been living together for four years. With the way divorce was treated by society and the people around us, buying a house together seemed to be more of a commitment than marriage. The fine print of the financial documents was a greater bond than any vows we could have taken and the passing of the pen was essentially our exchange of rings.

Using copies of the paperwork for that house, I constructed a bridal bouquet. Each of the roses, bell flowers, and leaves were cut and folded from the same financial documents that bound my husband and I together. To ensure the wedding context of the flowers was clearly communicated the bouquet was displayed on a pedestal draped with a wedding dress.