Mixed Media Assemblage | 18 x 22 x 4 inches | Custom Framed
 
Ivy & Orchids is a contemporary assemblage that uses a floral metaphor to reflect how perceptions of women’s strength and intellect shifted from the wartime 1940s to the postwar 1950s.
 
Part of From War to Peace — a series contrasting wartime opportunity with postwar constraint — this work sets robust ivy against delicate orchids. Ivy signals the resilience and capability recognized during World War II, while orchids evoke the fragile ideal promoted in the early 1950s. A WWII recruiting poster anchors the composition, tying the symbolism to the home-front narrative.
 
Ivy & Orchids weaves together women-in-WWII history and botanical symbolism in a compact narrative scene.
 
Materials: Dollhouse miniatures, Murano glass, freshwater pearls, garnet, shell, art board, paper, public-domain World War II poster, artificial flowers, and paper orchids
 
Framing: Archival museum glass in a deep black custom frame by Chevy Chase Art Gallery, Washington, DC.