Memento Mori (Day 1, Day 3, Day 14)
2022, Ground flower petals (Roses, Day Lilies, Sword Lilies, Montbretias, Sweet Mock Oranges, Musk Mallows, Farewell to Springs, Marigolds, Rose Campions, Red Valerians, Sunflowers, Cornflowers, Ranunculuses, Hydrangea, Blanketflower, Perez’ Sea Lavender, Clematis, Oxeeye Daisy), Magnolia seeds, Grandmother’s Apricot seed husks, Marigold seeds, soil conditioner, 67 x 26 inches. When I gave birth, I suddenly lost my fear of death. I first wondered if it had to do with ego, that I could see part of my matter prolonged and in motion. As that realization matured, I began to think about the material that had stayed with me postpartum. Outside of the daily faint shedding, this form will eventually lose its edges and become something else. I don’t want it preserved with injected chemicals and sealed in a box or obliterated with heat and released as pollution into the atmosphere. Like the slow fading ache of mourning, these cells should dull and seep into the roots of something else. Memento Mori, Latin for ‘remember that you die’, is composed of soil and flowers in various stages of wholeness. Gathered from my own garden or various life celebrations, they come together to form a self-portrait. A nod to Ana Mendieta’s Siluetas, Memento Mori seeks to return the idea of human body decay to the same plane as the composting flower. As the rain trickles and pushes the decrescendoing matter internally, nutrients will feed Marigold seeds embedded into the soil below. Perhaps they will sprout and form something different for tomorrow.
Installed at Coffin Farm

Ashes to Ashes (Day 1, 23, 149, 233, 258, and 365)
2023 - Ongoing
Bolt Creek burn scar, wood, ash, Fern roots, Calendula, Salmonberry leaves, Rose, Montbretia, Cornflower, Mock Orange, and Oyster Mushroom spores. The Bolt Creek fire of 2022 scorched the earth and forest of Mt. Baker National Park deeply, burning so hot that it caused significant damage to the topsoil. Huge swaths of the forest were reduced to nothing but charred stumps. The air of the surrounding areas was choked with smoke for weeks. Ashes to Ashes utilized remnants of this fire to create a figure whose arms and legs reached out in a fervent pose. The surrounding soil was inoculated with the spores of oyster mushrooms, and medicinal plants used to help treat human burns were carefully laid on top of the figure. Bratton then returned to the site multiple times over the course of a year to document the change, and subsequent regrowth of the scar. Mushrooms fruited, moss took hold, saplings sprouted and found strength and the artist’s found an expanded definition of rebirth. 

Salt Lick
2023
Ground clams (Littleneck, Butter, Varnish, Cockle, Macoma), Dungeness Crab shells, Sanddab, seaweed and kelp (Rainbow Leaf, Turkish Washcloth, Sea Lettuce, Red String, Sugar, Nori), ground flowers (Rose, Calendula, Marigold), Moon Snail shell, and rocks. Approx. 96 x 80 inches. 
Originally created at pka’dzultshu (Discovery Park Beach), Salt Lick was created using responsibly gathered materials from various beaches across the Seattle region. Clams were ground into powder, their strong smell permeating the air. Sheets of sticky seaweed were dried into paper-like sheets. The figure of Salt Lick adapted and merged together with the flora and fauna of the beach, sprouting fins and barbels onto its torso. While creating the work, Bratton found a humble, dead Sanddab that was then incorporated into the drawing. Rose petals, Calendula leaves and Marigolds acted as symbols of mourning and hope. A backdrop of the beach's bluffs shows the powerful force of erosion ocean waves carry. Drawn in the peak heat of summer, the work washed away with the rising tides.
Video shot and edited by Josh Paul True

Snow Angels (Day 1 and 2)
2024
Snow, ground flower petals (Marigolds, Sunflowers, Calendula, Rose, Musk Mallow, Bachelor’s Buttons, Love in a Mist, Wisteria, Mock Orange, Cornflower, Perez’s Sea Lavender, Torch Tithonia, Black Swan Poppy, Ranunculus), Approximately 94 x 75 inches. 
A two-headed snow angel nestled itself amongst the late snow in Snoqualmie Pass. Created with Bratton’s husband and herself, the work was inspired by lovers and kin buried together throughout history. After forming the angels, the pair participated in a body meditation, honing in on the colors they saw during the grounding exercise. These colors were then recorded by Bratton onto the top of the snow using ground flower petals gathered from various sources: the couple’s garden, gifted bouquets, etc. Drawn after the blizzard of January 2024, the angels soon were buried under the snow, their edges and forms dulling into the surrounding snowbank.