Associate Professor Stevie Famulari's Sustainable Designs Are Exhibited in the Smithsonian.

When Urban Horticulture and Design assistant professor Stevie Famulari pitched the Halcyon 2019 Art Festival last year to exhibit her “Green Designs,” she hoped to be invited to showcase her unique interpretations of indoor/outdoor green lifestyles and environments.

Instead, her work was exhibited at the Smithsonian, where she was commissioned to expand her vision, and create more than 2,000 artfully crafted pieces of multi-colored sustainable construction paper, embedded with wildflower seeds. Overnight, Famulari went from landscape designer to artist, joyfully exhibiting her work at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building as part of the “By the People” arts festival.

“It was an awe-inspiring experience,” Famulari says.“To have an installation of my work in the Smithsonian is wonderfully mind-boggling.”

To Famulari’s delight, not only were her creations displayed on a long, winding stairway at the festival, they were also distributed to visitors to the show. Pieces made their way from New York to California, South Korea to India, and Australia to England.

“To have had hundreds of seeded papers go around the world because people wanted to participate in green design. It brings an instant smile just to think about it. People have sent me photos of their plantings of the seeded paper. And I am in awe of the participation. The experience is barely describable.

“I knew I wanted it to be interactive with people. I didn’t want it to be static.” Thanks to the hordes of plant lovers who enjoyed the sight and smell of the wildflowers she distributed, the show helped Famulari’s and FSC’s reputation grow.