St. Joseph artist Ila Dell Youngblood used to express her creativity with a pen rather than a brush. She wrote and published short stories and later focused on non-fiction writing before picking up painting at the young age of 69. But Youngblood, now 83, can't help but notice the parallels in her former and current creative endeavors. "I think they are very closely akin in that you explore new worlds," Youngblood says. "You get visions in your mind, and you try to make them manifest either on the printed page or with paint on canvas." For the last 14 years, Youngblood has painted flowers - numerous flowers. She basically speaks their language. She'll see one as praying, while another might frolic. But she believes any species of flora can tell us something if we look close enough. "We get so hung up on big things that we fail to see the little dandelion down in the grass and we think of it as a weed, but it's really a beautiful and complex thing," Youngblood says. "There's something hopeful, there's something poignant because their life is short but they bring so much beauty to the world." Ila Dell Youngblood work is featured at Gallery 7, 118 N. Seventh St.