Justina Freel Portrait in the Garden. Photo by Amy Dickerson

Justina Freel (American, b. 1975) reveals our growing longing for intimacy with nature through luminous, contemplative floral tableaux that revive connection to the living world. Ephemeral botanicals emerge as vessels of memory, interweaving silhouettes, printmaking, and watercolor into a tactile, dimensional language shaped by place through heirloom textiles, sculpted paper, and earth-mineral pigments. A reverent sensibility unfolds through an intentional communion with the environment, guided by seasonal soft rituals that shape serene compositions inviting grounding and inward presence. Ecological consciousness, matrilineal textile traditions, distilled minimalism, and a material-centered philosophy anchor a vision that deepens attunement to nature while restoring a sense of belonging within its continual cycles.

Academic foundations include a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnobotanical Studies from The Evergreen State College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from ArtCenter College of Design, with pieces presented at the Pritzlaff Conservation Center Gallery at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso Gardens.

Current devotion centers on Sacred + Union, an offering of bespoke hand-cut paper silhouette florals—bouquets, boutonnières, crescent moons, and wreaths—conceived as heirloom commissions for weddings, celebrations, and first anniversaries where paper carries its traditional significance.