From Bookmark to Legacy: The Story Behind the Peacock Panel Triptych
Vanta didn’t begin with grand commissions or a polished business plan. It began in a much quieter, more personal way.
It started with a sketch. A gift. An idea that refused to stay small.
During lockdown, I poured nine months into creating my second self-published sketchbook, Renascence. It was my way of staying grounded while the world felt uncertain; something to anchor myself with. As a thank you to the people who supported me through that time, I designed a delicate laser-cut bookmark. It was a linework piece of a woman dancing with flowers.
The moment I held it in my hands, I felt something shift. I knew this wasn’t just a bookmark. It could be more.
That small gesture became the seed for something far bigger. I expanded the concept into a triptych—three connected steel artworks that would become the first Vanta panels. That was the beginning.
The Deeper Meaning: Peacocks, Legacy, and Art Nouveau
Peacocks have followed me for as long as I can remember.
When I was a child, my grandmother had peacocks on her farm. They were wild, beautiful, unbothered. They left a lasting impression. Over the years, their shapes and symbolism kept reappearing in my work, first by accident, and then with intention. I wrote about this in my first sketchbook, Isolation, during the 2020 lockdowns.
To me, peacocks represent presence. They carry pride, transformation, and unapologetic beauty. That energy mirrored what I needed to start building Vanta from the ground up.
This first triptych was also where my love for Art Nouveau and Fibonacci-inspired linework began to take real shape. The curves, the feathered forms, the way everything flowed in balance—it wasn’t just decorative. It was structure. It was flow and mathematics, but also intuition. All of those things came together in steel.
The Execution: The First Vanta Panels
These were my first real tests. Could my linework survive being translated into metal?
Every feather, every area of negative space, every taper had to be engineered carefully. If a line wasn’t connected, it would break. If a curve wasn’t balanced, it would distort. This was the moment I had to move beyond drawing and start thinking structurally—for the first time, my art needed to hold its own in steel.
And when the first panels were finally cut, I was stunned. My drawings didn’t just survive in steel; they thrived.
The decision to create a triptych wasn’t just aesthetic. I wanted flexibility. A modular design that could be installed together or separately, but would always feel cohesive. That idea of modularity has stayed with me, and it’s now a core part of how I design every Vanta piece.
The Reveal: The Moment I Knew
I’ll never forget the moment I saw the triptych installed. The light hit it perfectly, casting sharp, moving shadows across the wall. It came alive.
That’s when I knew.
This wasn’t just an artwork. It was a legacy. It was the point where tattooing, fine art, and architectural design all met in one piece.
It was the moment I realised that Vanta wasn’t just an idea anymore. It had become real. It had presence, weight, and permanence.
A Signature Range. A Symbol of Beginnings.
The Peacock Triptych became more than just my first panel, it became a signature. A permanent part of the Vanta collection.
Every piece I’ve created since, every gate, every artwork, every commission; can be traced back to this one design. It all began here, from a single moment of instinct that refused to be small.
Ready to Make a Statement in Steel?
Vanta panels are more than just art. They’re stories etched into metal. They’re personal. They’re built to last.
If you’re ready to bring a one-of-a-kind statement into your space, something meaningful and made with intention, I’d love to create it with you.
Reach out to begin your custom project today.
