These bouquets were made in response to the florists who, out of religious convictions, refuse to create and provide floral arrangements for same sex marriages. These are permanent bouquets that will never fade but capture the ephemeral qualities of cut flowers. They are in honor of marriage equality and dedicated to any queer couple that has been discriminated against by a florist because of so called religious convictions.

What is a ghost print? After inking the plate with a single color, the first paper passed through the press lifts up about 95-98% of the ink. The ink left on the plate after the initial pass is called a “ghost”. The ghost is a soft faded image or trace of the original, and they are often quite beautiful–sometimes more so than the fully inked plate. I always try to use them. In these pairs of bouquets, the first print is created from a fully inked plate, and the second from the ghost images left on the plate after each first pass. I love how starkly different they look. The first is vibrant & glowing with saturated color, and the second is a delicate line drawing with soft plate tones. The lines in the ghost images are left behind from the edge of the stencil which is slightly raised up off of the plate. The thickness of the 80lb. cardstock prevents the paper from picking up the ink right next to the stencil’s edge.

All prints: 28″h x 20″w, monoprint w/ pochoir on Arches88, 2022

Available for purchase here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VisuallyHungry