White Lies

I bought a bouquet of tulips the day before Easter. I had gone to Pike Place Market to peruse and buy flowers to bring to my parents for the holiday. It was a usual early spring day in Seattle, balmy and damp but the sun was attempting to fend off the clouds and make itself known. I was ducking and dodging my way through the crowds, trying to stay light on my feet as I glanced over stands of fresh vegetables and handmade crafts, tasting honey straws and infused olive oils, smelling seafood and rain in the air. I love this market. Its crazy and packed with tourists, but its like a concentrated microcosm of Seattle - people, fresh food, art and culture situated on Puget Sound.

I scanned the bins of fresh cut spring flowers, every bouquet being artfully flung together by the H'Mong flower vendors. Daffodils, tulips, cherry tree blossoms, irises. After walking the covered corridors I found a bouquet for my parents and grabbed an assortment of tulips for myself. Every gorgeous color of spring.

But wait...take a closer look

If you couldn't tell at first, you probably can now. These flowers did not start as they are here. After being inspired by an incredible living art installation by Alexa Meade, I borrowed from her concept. Using acrylic paint to replicate a natural look and feel of tulip varieties, I attempted to transform plain white tulips and give the illusion that they are a rainbow of colors.

So that is my little white lie.

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