35mm phots of an anemone drying in my studio. She's very retro with her ruffles and wavy pattern 〰️. I wish I had an outfit that looked like this. Often people throw out flowers when they feel they aren't "fresh" or are "dead" I trained under several florists who would ask that I cut out any blemished or undesirable plant material and I have asked the same of my crew from time to time. I've had clients over the years mistake beauty mark for blemishes, remarking that I should be ashamed for including them in arrangements or bouquets. A lot of people hold very warped ideas about what flowers should and should not look like. A lot of people hold very warped ideas around what a woman should and should not look like or what a man should and should not look like or what an american should and should not look like or what a felon should and should not look like. You see where I'm going with this? As I celebrate the beauty of nature with all its complexities, it's wildness, it's aspects I don't quite grasp - I am reminded, we are nature too. Perfectionism is a farce. It is another form of supremacy that paints one way as the ideal and everything else as other or incorrect. The rose is to be perfect, without blemish, without thorns. Gross. No thank you. I am imagining and committed to a future where all people, all genders are not only free but are sacred. It's much more beautiful there. I am not free while any other [person] is unfree. -Audre Lorde