About
Jeanne, artist and flower curator
Jeanne was introduced to art early in life. Her Pa, Paul Peabody, was a renown marionette maker in the Hudson Valley of New York. She was exposed to folk art in many forms and was especially influenced by his good friend, artist and author Tasha Tudor. It was their fanciful images that inspired much of her early pressed flower work. Meanwhile she also pressed on to a professional career as a registered nurse, caring for AIDS patients in the earliest days of the crisis and then to childbirth nursing, assisting midwives in the delivery of hundreds of babies, and finally as a school nurse caring for pre-school and early elementary school students, assessing the health of over 80,000 little visitors over more than 15 years. She remains committed to nursing today, working as a non-profit grief counselor, helping people cope with the devastating loss of loved ones. Through all of this, she has remained passionate and committed to her artistry. However, it is these ‘real life’ experiences that have enriched her life, deepened her perspective and encouraged her to conceive of the Mindful Rose, artistry dedicated to promoting the wonder and healing powers of the natural world and encouragement to take a mindful approach to each day.
What is the Mindful Rose?
Every pressed flower print you will find on these pages has a rose, the Mindful Rose, that is meant to symbolize and encourage a mindful and intentional approach to life. It is the awesome beauty of the natural world that can sometimes help us break through the walls that form in our hectic lives and encourage us to seek moments of quiet contemplation, to assess the meaning of our lives and the importance of loved ones, our family and friends. The Mindful Rose is an allegory in each print that seeks to provide a portal from the natural world into our lives, to encourage patience, intention and the addition of simple mantras into our thoughts to promote meaningful changes in the way we live. Among Jeanne’s favorite mantras are the questions, repeated often: is the message of love coming through in my relationships with family and friends?; and, am I treating everyone I meet with kindness as though their heart might be breaking? Mindfulness can deepen relationships and enrich our lives and the artistry of the Mindful Rose is dedicated to that hopeful mission. We hope that when you look at these prints and find the Mindful Rose it will inspire you too. If you have a mantra that you use to enrich your life, we’d love to hear from you.
Mindful Rose Flower Farm
The Mindful Rose Flower Farm is a small service farm and indoor nursery in New York’s Hudson Valley that is operated by Jeanne for about 11 months of each year. Flowers are dedicated solely to the creation of pressed flower art and fulfilling the mission of the Mindful Rose. Most of the flowers are annuals and seed planting begins indoors in early February, mostly by the soil blocking method. Tending seedlings is a full-time job until the last of them are finally planted in mid-May. Farm soil is enriched with locally-sourced, food-based compost, irrigated only when needed and the flowers are cultivated continuously throughout the growing season. From June through the end of November flowers are harvested and pressed in simple, hand-made masonite presses. The pressed flowers are curated and the artwork takes place from mid-July until the last of the years harvest are utilized the following spring. It is a magical time of year! It really does take a year to produce a piece of pressed flower art. If you want to learn more, look at some of the photos in the gallery and watch this video. [It Takes a Year].