Guava and Guayaba
The phrase "you can't go home again," meaning that if you try to return to a place from your past it won't be the same as it was, has much truth. However, the tale of Florida’s pink guava trees suggests that there are exceptions to the rule. The pink guava tree was once a familiar sight in Florida and its fruit was a staple of regional cooking. Pink guava’s sweet taste flavored marinades, jellies and preserves as well as ice cream and pastries. Sadly, an onslaught of challenges in recent years, from hurricanes to habitat loss, largely erased pink guava trees from the landscape.
Guava wallpaper, color Pink. Photo by Alexandra Rowley.
Now a small group of Florida farmers, chefs, and locavores are cultivating pink guava trees once again and returning their delectable fruit to local cuisine. The restoration of pink guava trees in Florida suggests that where there is hard work, community and hope, rescuing a beloved plant, and all its cultural meaning, is possible. Our Guava wallpaper and our newest block print, Guayaba, celebrate the possibility that you can go home again.
Dromedary woodcut by Raoul Dufy for The Bestiary or Procession of Orpheus by Guillaume Apollinaire.
Guava and Guayaba’s bold, graphic style was inspired by Raoul Dufy’s woodcuts for Apollinaire’s collection of poems, The Bestiary or Procession of Orpheus. Both Dufy's Dromedary print (shown above) and Apollinaire's Dromedary poem have special charm:
With his dromedaries four
Don Pedro of Alfarubera
Wandered the world and savored it.
He did just what I'd like to do
Had I four dromedaries too.
Using expressive lines and negative space, Dufy conjured lively images of animals framed by plants. Thanks to the influence of Dufy’s work, the guava-loving, yellow-chevroned parakeet occupies the center of Guava and Guayaba.
Guayaba requires two blocks to achieve the appearance of three colors.
Whereas the print and the wallpaper share inspiration and motifs, they have different relationships with color. Guava requires one block to achieve a single color. Guayaba, on the other hand, requires two blocks to achieve three colors: violet, light blue and dark blue. The violet and light blue inks are mixed with ink extender, making them semi-transparent. This means that when the two inks overlap one another, they look dark blue.
Guava wallpaper is offered in colors Lake, Pink and Leaf Green.