Floating Seeds, 2013, is a public art installation commissioned by Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.

The city of Owensboro’s economy is largely tied to agriculture and is situated on a migration flyway for birds. Noting that the hospital was conducting leading plant-based pharmaceutical research, Carothers chose to work with hundreds of community members to collect various seeds along with stories of their personal significance.

Viewers at ground level experience the finished installation as a cloud floating upward, while viewers on the second floor see the seeds following the path of the nearby Ohio River.

The seeds represent hope and renewal on behalf of the Owensboro community.

Floating Seeds received an International Merit Award from CODA (The Commission for Design and Art), which recognized it as one of the top three healthcare commissions created between 2010 and 2013.

This project was supported by Owensboro Health Regional Hospital and the J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville.