These artworks are part of the Sustain series. To connect the themes in my project to the history of American vegetable gardening, especially the WWII era victory gardens, where Americans grew 60% of their produce during the war, Ivana creates artworks with a vintage aesthetic. She wants to evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time when more people grew food in the backyard and community gardens. Ivana innovated a technique using mixed media and digital photography image transfer on aluminum to create these unique artworks in warm tones that recall the historic tintype process. Subtle inclusions of the contemporary urban environment connect us from our past to our present and the artworks highlight a means to a more sustainable future. To learn more click here to read the full artist statement
Night Planting the Nightshades
Night Planting the Nightshades
Have you worked in your garden as the light fades and felt transported to another time? This artwork expresses that quiet nostalgia and gentle serenity, showing the peaceful ritual of evening planting captured in timeless harmonious sepia tones. In this artwork a gardener kneels inside raised beds in a wide-brimmed sun hat and a dress printed with bold sunflowers, gently preparing a young tomato plant to plant into the soil. The vintage tintype aesthetic softens every detail, creating a dreamlike quality that evokes old family photographs and simpler times. Can you imagine the feeling of the cool evening air on your skin and smell the damp earth as twilight settles over the garden? The rough wooden edges of the raised bed contrast with the delicate young plants and the soft fabric of the gardener's dress. The soft focused vines in the foreground focus your attention on the scene within their embrace. This is the peaceful contentment that comes from continuing traditions that connect us to generations of gardeners before us.
Envision this serene artwork in your bedroom or living room, where it brings a sense of timeless calm and connection to tradition. When your guests see it, they'll pause and reflect on their own memories of gardening with parents or grandparents or the meditative quality of working with plants. It sparks conversations about heirloom varieties and how the essential work of growing food remains unchanged across generations. This artwork celebrates the gentle serenity you experience when gardening connects you to something larger than yourself and to the timeless rhythms of planting and growth.
“The nightshade family of vegetables have a very long growing cycle. I start mine from seed indoors three months before I plant them in the ground. So, there’s a lot of love that has gone into this moment when I gently hold them and carefully plant them so they can thrive. Seedlings that have been grown indoors are not used to very intense sunlight, and can get stunted from transplant shock. So I prefer to plant them on a cloudy day at dusk, so they have a gentle introduction to being outside in the sun and wind. I composed this photograph though a vining plant that grows on a trellis arch over my garden entrance to create a frame within the image to highlight the moment of planting with tender care.”
This signed and numbered limited edition mixed media 8" x10" artwork is part of the Sustain series, created with archival materials for lasting beauty. It is coated in an UV light protection spray. Only 20 will ever be handmade by Ivana. Due to the handmade process, expect the edges of the image to vary slightly. The watermark is only for internet display and will not be on your art. There is a slight surface texture which results in small highlights when photographed. If you need help to envison how it will look a free digital mockup is available so you can see exactly how it will look in your space before adding it to your collection. Contact Ivana for this service.
Currently no. 1/20 is available for you to enjoy.
