Artist Statement:
Phoebe Watson mentions her roses in her diaries and letters, such as this one in 1942: “…my crimson ramblers climbing over the arbor over the outside pump together with morning glories, wild grapevines, the pink rambler roses against a grey stone wall with blue anchusa veiling parts…”
The deep colour of this bowl and the criss-crossing bramble remind me of red osier dogwood stems. Extrapolating from the 3-petal shape of the bowl, I wove 3 pointy, rose sepal shapes with dogwood and daylily. Within it, I have set a small sculpture of a bumblebee in a rugosa rose. Bumblebees are active in my rugosa roses from Spring through late Fall. I love watching them move busily from one flower to the next collecting pollen and their buzzing reminds me of how important they are to a healthy environment. For my roses, it means there will be a large crop of luscious red rosehips that will be food for chipmunks, squirrels and wild turkeys.