From time to time, I get a craving to do something healthy for myself and begin taking regular walks around the neighborhood. The last time I started this seasonal habit I noticed a particular neighbor had a spectacular stand of sunflowers right on the edge of his front yard almost on the sidewalk. They were so bright and wonderful that I went straight home, gor my camera, and returned to shoot the beautiful blossoms.

Sunflower I is the original concept for the design and is part of the Sunflower Suite. All of the petals on Sunflower I are contained inside the border of the print. (Many of the petals on Sunflower II are bursting forth from the border of the print.) A beautiful accident occurred after I had cut the films to Sunflower I down so that it would fit inside its border. One side had to be left untrimmed so that I had an area of film to tape to the silkscreen for exposure. When registering the design, I had taped the border to a sheet of paper the same size as the edition and taped one of the films used to create the silkscreen stencil in place over the border. It was then that I noticed some of the petals on the untrimmed side protruding past the border and thought how striking it would look for the sunflower to be bursting out of the frame of the print. It took me a moment or two to decide what to do. It really meant a lot of extra work. I decided to take the plunge. I destroyed the already made screens and films, went back into the darkroom that night, and created a whole new set of films. I also got the screens recoated and ready for exposure the next day. All went well. Both versions were created using the same set of screens and the same inks. Sunflower II was actually printed first. Once each color was on the designated sheets of paper for the edition, the ends of the petals were blocked out to the edge of the border and Sunflower I was printed. The border on Sunflower I was printed first, thus actually completing the original concept print first. Then areas of the border were painted out to accommodate the overlapping petals of Sunflower II and that edition was completed.

Sunflower II is the “beautiful accident” that arose while creating Sunflower I and is part of the Sunflower Suite. Many of the petals on Sunflower II are bursting forth from the border of the print. (All of the petals on Sunflower I are contained inside the border of the print.)

            Sunflower I and Sunflower II are the first in what I believe will be a lifelong series of flower images.