The Flower Bed

Author/Artist Name

Mara Gagel, Murray State UniversityFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Fall 11-21-2025

Artist Statement

After the initial loss settles, and grief takes root, it transforms into something else: negative space. It becomes the absence of something that was once so constant in your everyday life that, suddenly, something as simple as a vacant desk chair reminds you of what’s missing. In turn, grief can also bloom, and transform into a sense of community that you may not have had when the loss was first planted. The Flower Bed is a branded communal garden space that focuses on suicide awareness and prevention, but also acts as a representation of everything I wish I could have said or done differently.

This body of work is a showcase of my cross-disciplinary practice including design work that is both analog and digitally fabricated. Alongside screen-printed posters, packaging and informational design, the installation of the flower bed acts as the bridge between these components. Flowers are used as symbols for what blossoms from loss. Specific flowers were chosen–ones that rebloom each year and others that don’t—in order to represent grief’s non-linear nature. The flower bed draws inspiration from installation muralist Alice Lee. Specifically how she arranges two-dimensional pieces in an interactive and three dimensional way. Her installations are soft and rounded with a peaceful rhythm. By treating my own installation in the same manner, difficult topics, such as suicide and grief, become more comfortable to digest.

Branding plays a crucial role in awareness. For example, adding the suicide hotline to the bottom of the posters informs the personal imagery and handwritten phrases, subtly communicating a complex and often overlooked conversation about the nuances of loosing someone to suicide. The Flower Bed’s branding focuses on authenticity through the use of soft, monochromatic color palettes, engaging typography, and geometric illustrations that emphasize negative space. I take inspiration from designers such as Wyatt Grant, who focuses on the impact that simple shapes can have on a composition, for my seed packaging designs in particular. Ultimately, The Flower Bed is a space for community to bloom from the reality of grief and to let the viewer know– you are not alone.

Advisor/Mentor

Jim Bryant; Gregory Scott Cook; Lu Colby

Description

The Flower Bed is a branded communal garden space that focuses on suicide awareness and prevention. It acts as a space for reflection, with the main idea to sponsor the planting of a flower in the bed in honor of someone who has committed suicide. The work spans many mediums, including graphic design, motion graphics, screen printed posters, sign painting, and a digitally fabricated installation piece. Ultimately, the goal of The Flower Bed was to create a space for community to bloom from the reality of grief, to make conversations surrounding suicide for comfortable to digest, and to let the viewer know– you are not alone.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit, Kailee Goff, 2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Gagel, Mara, "The Flower Bed" (2025). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 159.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/159