Artist and activist based in Oakland CA, coordinator of the Reclaim Our Power: Utility Justice Campaign.
She combines her UC Berkeley degrees in Environmental Science and Art Practice to advance the environmental justice movement in political and personal spaces.
Her current visual work revolves around the zen Buddhist flower practice of kado (way of the flower) to bring the spirit of flowers into the consciousness and hands of friends and community —from giving away arrangements and wearable flowers, organizing flower bandits, teaching ikebana classes, to shining a light for political action.
“I was born in the tropics hearing multiple languages come together like diverse birdsong or flower gardens. Coming to California, I saw that diversity was more expansive but muted by American culture, as I’ve been told to tone it down because I was too loud, too strange, too much. As communities of color rise in majority, we’ll bring our culture and perspective and fun flower combinations into the fore, which will change the American landscape with more colorful blooms.” (source)
- Learn more at her Instagram
- Sample of Mari Rose’s work:
