floral crown workshop

tennessee floral workshop by Maggie Pate

"More than anything, I must have flowers always and always" - Claude Monet

Back in 2010, I had to stifle my pride and move back to Tennessee after years in New York and the Northeast. The economy fell apart and I fell sick. My first few months back in the South, I was bitter and eagerly plotted my move back to NYC. It is never easy confronting the past but here I was back in the city that made me few like an insecure child again.

In 2012, it seemed like the sky was getting brighter. With a job, health, and a handful of friends on my side the South wasn't looking as dire as it had the years prior. Making friends as an adult is far more difficult than expected - especially when I tend to have conflicting values than the majority of the population. It is an accomplishment to find those unique individuals that aim to find beauty in togetherness and art in simply being. It is an even bigger accomplishment to get those select ladies to a gathering amidst their conflicting schedules.

“It isn't so much what’s on the table that matters, as what’s on the chairs.” - W.S. Gilbert

This gathering was a celebration of summer. I celebrated new friends and new life. I celebrated letting go and letting live. I celebrated the joy of this season and the haunting ghost of seasons past. I celebrated the talented and effervescent ladies that surrounded me. I celebrated having a home, where I can be everything I was and everything I am all at once, without hiding the undesirables tucked away.