S
OME OF THE GREATEST
ARTISTS stumbled into
their niche by chance.
While Reina has always been
in the ar s c realm in one way
or another, she discovered her
passion for crea ng botanical
mixed media art a couple of
years ago. “I forage almost all
of my materials directly from
nature—wildfl owers, leaves,
even insects! I hand-pick, press,
arrange, and glue all of the
elements onto fabric or wood;
I also u lize my graphic design
and photography background to
turn my designs into art prints
and apparel. It brings me true
Not only did the DIY Hero
Compe on bring together
thousands of designers,
makers, and cra ers to form
a community of like-minded
ar sts, but it set out to raise
awareness for the American
Lung Associa on. The ALA
saves lives by improving lung
health and preven ng lung
disease. Founded over 115
years ago, the organiza on
con nues to pursue its
mission to help the world
breathe be er through
educa on, advocacy, and
research. DIY Hero, LLC is
proud to support this cause
by dona ng a por on of
the net proceeds from the
compe on to American
Lung Associa on.
By ANNE-MARIE PRITCHETT
ADVERTORIAL
joy to connect with and honor
the Earth in this way, giving it
new life through my art,” said
Reina.
During the 2020 pandemic, she
turned to nature to fi nd joy and
peace during uncertain mes. “I
started picking fl owers because
it made me happy. I was bringing
home fi s uls of wildfl owers, and
I ins nctually started tucking
them away in books, which my
mom and I used to do. She’s
an avid gardener, and we were
always outside growing up,
so the act of pressing fl owers
reconnected me to simpler
THE FLOWER QUEEN
REINA WALLER
joys in life,” she said. “A few
weeks later, I had this enormous
collec on of fl owers, and on
a whim, I thought to myself, ‘I
really should create something
with all of this!’”
Seeing natural elements
intertwined with Reina’s love
of art sparked something in her
soul. “The root of my inspira on
is my upbringing and lifelong
connec on with nature. I was
always ge ng lost in the garden
as a kid, studying the fl ora
and fauna that surrounded
me. But I never married my
love for nature and my ar s c
background un l 2020. It was
just a literal epiphany. It saved
me in some ways because I
truly found myself through that
process.”
Reina’s favorite work is her
fl ower uterus piece that she
made in March during Women’s
History Month. “I had this idea
to do the female reproduc ve
system in pressed fl owers for a
while. It makes me feel deeply
connected not only to myself
but to women as a whole. It’s
my way of crea ng a pla orm
for women to speak about
their personal experiences as a
woman. Female empowerment
and women’s rights are
important to me, and that
piece is, by far, my most
powerful crea on.”
Her ul mate life goal is
to be a full- me ar st,
crea ng on a larger scale,
hos ng workshops and
markets, and, one day,
forming an art collec ve
within her community.
“Art is a gi everyone should
have the opportunity to connect
with. If I could help others to do
so along the way, that would be
the ul mate prize.”
Reina would like to thank her
suppor ve family, friends, and
partner, who always li her up
and remind her of the magic she
has within.
Although Reina took the crown,
there were three other fi nalists
who deserve some recogni on,
as well. See their works on the
coordina ng DIY Hero page.
Find Reina’s work at Rise and
Earthshine on Etsy, in small
businesses in the DFW area such
as Bewitched Denton, The Dime
Store, and Salted Sanctuary,
and at the community market in
Denton, TX. @riseandearthshine
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