Pansies in Washington - Inspiration

While gathering pattern inspiration for future concepts, I came across Pansies in Washington by Alma Thomas in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. At first, it was the rhythm of the marks and the concentric structure that caught my eye. But as I read more about Thomas and watched the Gallery’s short video about her life, my interest deepened.

Learning that she was a devoted teacher for decades, encouraging creativity in her students while steadily developing her own voice, shifted something for me. Her discipline, optimism, and commitment to growth felt as vibrant as her paintings.

What began as a search for pattern inspiration became something more personal. The more I understood her story and the intention behind her work, the more compelled I felt to respond, not just by studying it, but by participating. That is ultimately what led me to enter the open call: a desire to honor her vision by imagining how her joyful, rhythmic compositions might continue to live and expand in new ways.

If selected, I will create a short video that reimagines a singular piece of her art, which hangs in the White House, as a room where one can live within her world of pattern and rhythm. 

A moodboard collage of patterns created by Alma Thomas, plus other works representing patterns and motifs of the period.