We are more and more into technology. Everything is texting, and everything is instant. Flowers are completely impractical as a method of communication when you could just send a text.

I was a screenwriting and studio art major in college, so even though I don't have any training as a floral designer, I have a very particular visual aesthetic.

I don't think there is anything magical about the language of flowers in real life or in my book.

I founded Camellia Network with my dear friend Isis Dallis Keigwin. The mission of our organization is to create a national network that connects every youth aging out of foster care to the critical resources, opportunities, and support they need to thrive in adulthood.

At Camellia Network, we believe if we can create a way of identifying every young person aging out of foster care, defining what they need, and giving a community of supporters a simple and clear way to fulfill those needs, we can produce radically improved outcomes for youth.

My last book, 'The Language of Flowers,' I wrote completely on naptime, when my little kids were asleep.

Every painting is a voyage into a sacred harbour.

Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.

Every artist writes his own autobiography.

Every good painter paints what he is.

The excellency of every art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreeable evaporate.

I realize that every picture isn't a work of art.