John Caleb Pendleton

In our society, there is no shortage of negativity, which offers an opportunity to work and develop the skill to see the beauty, with an even deeper responsibility to create the beauty. Wilderness is desolation, inhospitality, uninhabitable, drab, or dire—life struggles in the wilderness. We struggle in the wilderness. We all go through wilderness moments. Sometimes we go through them alone, and sometimes we go through them with others. “I see my work as a black man in flowers as disruptive” People are used to seeing black men create a particular type of art. Think deeply that a decent of Africans is creating beauty for beauty’s sake in Chicago, Illinois. Think beyond the beautiful Instagram posts of John Caleb’s arrangements. My priority is creating beauty that highlights blackness. No matter what is in front of you or behind you, you have the choice to be stronger from it in your wilderness moment. Don’t let that strength make you a cactus that pricks everybody but choose to bloom. Choose to take that strength and hone a skill to create more beauty in the world.