Maldonia Gardens holds the cultivation of everything that I learned: combining story with functionality. Set in the heart of Pine Mountain, GA's Callaway Gardens botanical park, Maldonia Gardens invites everyone to step into a world of fantasy with Queen Calla and her friends.

Growing up not far from Pine Mountain, my family would go to Callaway Gardens a few times a year to get me and my siblings out into nature and out of her hair for a few hours. During these times, I would pretend that I was in a magical fairy garden, spending my time coming up with complex stories for the fairies that lived in the flowers and how they came to be. 

When it came time to focus on my senior capstone, I knew that I wanted to create something that I am passionate about as well as something that I would want to interact with. I thought back to those imaginative days spent at Callaway Gardens and decided that this was what I wanted to be remembered for; this is what I wanted to focus my talents on.

I combined my love for costume with my expertise of combining entertainment and storytelling to not only focus on creating a unique environment to interact with but also a colorful cast of characters to help tell the story. Each character is designed to blend into the environment that they are from, with each flower they represent carefully chosen to reflect their personality and profession. Just by looking at the character you should be able to tell who they are and what their story is.

Programs used: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Nightcafe, Procreate, Canva.
Materials used: Cellophane, clear HTV, 16gauge wire, faux flowers, decorative floral wire, satin, buckram, chiffon, Koi watercolor, Prismacolor colored pencils.