This piece is based on the Large Flowered Phacelia, a vibrant purple-blue flower with deep purple veins that blooms only after a fire. These rare flowers respond to heat and smoke, emerging in the aftermath of wildfires to cover scorched mountains with their beauty. The seeds lie dormant until the right conditions—fire and smoke—trigger their growth, symbolizing the resilience of life even in the face of destruction.

The title Smudged Seedling is inspired by the need for smoke to germinate the seeds, drawing a parallel to the Indigenous practice of smudging—burning sacred herbs like sage to purify and cleanse. Fevered Fledging evokes the phoenix, a symbol of rebirth from the ashes, reflecting the flower’s vigorous emergence after the fire.

Maddy Inez is a Los Angeles-based artist working in ceramics, printmaking, and installation. Her practice engages the spiritual and medicinal lives of plants, weaving together themes of healing, myth, and the body. Drawing from alchemy, science fiction, and herbal traditions, she creates vessels that reflect the traumas of land and body, challenging colonial narratives and embodying ancestral memory.