Through her art and design studio, BLKCORAL (blkcoralbotanicals.com), Volcano, Hawai‘i-based artist Nikole Nelson has won the hearts of clients including Coach, Kate Spade, Tory Burch and New Balance. Today, her newest project, Emergence, brings together her experience as an Alumni Atelier ambassador at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) campus in Lacoste, France, with her natural influences of Hawai‘i. This unique collection of giclee prints, home goods and decor, including throw pillows and custom matches, pushes the boundaries in her artistic journey.
“Provence,” 18 inches by 24 inches. PHOTO COURTESY OF SCAD
Tell us about the creation of the Emergence collection.
I had found my peace in nature, connecting to the plants, and spent a full year mastering botanical preservation methods—pressing, drying. I had created a small collection of work with pressed botanicals and knew it was just the beginning. I was craving more 3D and a return to a more sculptural process. I chose the title of Emergence for my collection to directly reflect where I was in my life and art at that moment. The timing of SCAD’s Alumni Atelier was perfect—you could even say divine. I went to Lacoste, France, to take this new direction to higher levels, to let the pieces in my head emerge into the world and bring a sense of calm to those who view it, and to let myself emerge on a global platform. When I created the ‘Emergence’ piece from lavender and the 10-inch round peony I found in our garden at SCAD Lacoste’s Acorn Cottage, it all came together, merging my sculptor mind with the power of the blooms I had harvested along the way.
“Emergence,” 25 inches by 30 inches. PHOTO COURTESY OF SCAD
How has your sculpture work transferred to home decor?
As part of SCAD’s Alumni Atelier, I was given a lot of freedom to explore new avenues and test out products and methods. Coming from an interiors background, I had a lot of curiosity around home goods and how my art might translate to fabrics. It was exciting to create the custom pillows and watch people respond to them. It was so valuable to be able to solely focus on this artistic journey, push the boundaries, but also understand logistics such as production methods, various stitches and fabric weights, lead times, shipping—it was all part of a puzzle that I now more thoroughly grasp through this journey, and will make me a better artist and creator.
How has Hawai‘i influenced the design in this collection?
I was practically a million miles away from Hawai‘i, but the aloha is always with me. Visitors to my atelier in Lacoste regularly commented on how fluid my work looked—how it moved like a wave or the ocean. They recognized the elements without me having to spell it out. The ocean in Hawai‘i has always held me close, healed me, calmed me, blessed me and nurtured me. For the ‘Emergence’ piece specifically, the wave of emotion I experienced achieving a life dream of being in residence as an alumni atelier in Lacoste is directly reflected in the work. The wave was all consuming, taking me on a journey. It moved quickly with a force all its own; it was overwhelming at times, and I had to remember to breathe—it was really happening. Those emotions were intense and needed to move me to the next level of my evolution.
SCAD Alumni Atelier ambassador Nikole Nelson at SCAD Lacoste. PHOTO COURTESY OF SCAD
What’s next for you?
Aft er moving through the power of the blooms, I began communicating with the roots, and that is the next layer of experimentation—going deeper into both myself and the earth. I’m very excited to continue a more sculptural approach and see where the French botanicals take me. Additionally, I’m visualizing commissions connecting to different land energy and places. In Hawai‘i we believe that the land has energy—the mana of the aina (the magic of the land). I felt magic in Provence as I foraged across the countryside and absorbed the ancient rhythms and history of the earth. I’d love to translate the energy of specific places across the world into art.
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