In Flourish, artist Kayla Powers explores the themes of biodiversity, interconnectedness, and the cyclical nature of life. Through oversized fiber works and a collaborative, community-driven installation, Powers shows us that flourishing is mutual.

Her large scale, immersive, layered installations made from plant-based fabrics, natural dyes, and repurposed materials, highlight essential symbiotic relationships — demonstrating how plants, organisms, and humans thrive together through mutual support and adaptation. By blending art and ecology, Flourishing invites audiences of all ages, from lifelong nature lovers to those newly curious, to reflect on their role within the ecosystem and understand that we are not separate from nature, but interconnected, thriving together.

Kayla Powers is passionate about place-based making: her work is deeply connected to the land and ecosystems around her. She uses natural dyes that she often forages herself — from local plants, roots, flowers, and sometimes even food waste — to create colors. For Flourishing, Kayla is working with high school students at the Careerline Tech Center in Holland, local horticulturists, and wildflower enthusiasts (Michigan Wildflower Association and the American Flower Growers Association) to gather native Michigan plants she’ll use to create dyes. In fact, the SCA has specially planted flowers in our garden that Kayla will harvest for the exhibition! These natural dyes will be used to color the yarn and fabric Kayla uses to create works for Flourishing.

The collaborative community-driven installations:

Community members working with Kayla in workshops will make their own paint from native plants, then create diptych or triptych paintings expressing a pattern found in nature called voronoi (ex. crown shyness, dry riverbeds, and leaves). The unique paint colors created from plants serve as a representation of biodiversity and local ecology. These separate (but connected!) pieces dig deeper into different natural occurrences like masting, symbiosis, mutualism, and allelopathy (the chemical methods one plant uses to benefit or harm other plants growing in the area).

Call for participation:

Additionally, Kayla is inviting people from across the globe to contribute handmade fabric “seeds”. These “seeds” – about the size of a hand, and stuffed like little pillows – will be displayed in the exhibition, forming a collective expression of growth, reciprocity, and a gentle resistance against extractive systems. Exhibition visitors will be invited to take a seed home, symbolizing the gift economy, generosity, and the abundance found in nature.

Please join us in playing a valued role in the exhibit and sharing your creation! Click here for further instructions and patterns.