FLORIDA’S PENINSULA

Quilted Photographs

Florida’s Peninsula

Study in Humanist Geography

This work focuses on Florida’s ecology—both my reverence for it and my concern for its continuity. My family has been in Florida since 1768 when my Minorcan ancestors arrived in New Smyrna Beach to serve as indentured servants on Dr. Andrew Turnbull’s indigo plantation. The landscape of my home has shaped me in the same way it shapes the shoreline, live oak trees and American alligators. I am viscerally connected to the dynamics of Florida’s peninsular breeze, abundant creatures, dangerous storms and tropical flora. My intimate interactions with the natural world inform my understanding of an eternal source and ecological consciousness. My work is an expression of my love and gratitude for this relationship. I am deeply concerned for the environmental viability of my home.

Photographs taken across the state—from the Dry Tortugas, to St. Marc’s National Wildlife Refuge, to Canaveral National Seashore—are tessellated and printed on fiber to create panels for these quilts. This series explores a range of eco-Florida topics including:

Nature as mentor:
- Mangroves as restorative, protective and nurturing
- Monarch migration from St. Marc’s National Wildlife Refuge
Gratitude:
- Nightly symphony of barred owls, cicadas, tree frogs, thunder and rain
- Celebration of Meade Botanical Garden
Climatology:
- Future & restorative climate solutions, like cloud brightening and afforestation
- Green heron habitat that the National Audubon Society indicates could expand as the planet warms
Evanescence:
- A visual representation of the geological history of the Florida peninsula, from 40 million years ago, to the present and the future
- Endangered species and extinction