Cynthia Mulcahy was on her way to Talley Dunn Gallery when she heard the news that Roe v. Wade had been overturned by the Supreme Court. The multi-hyphenate artist, urban farmer and activist was dropping off her latest project: a beautiful pink clamshell that reads in gold cailigraphy, "Abortion Seed Library." Inside, Mulcahy had placed 48 vials filled with seeds and preserved plants that have been known to induce abortion.

"Given the surrealist time were in, I wanted to make a surrealist object," Mulcahy says.

Mulcahy has used seeds in a variety of projects before. There was her 1,700-seed project that turned a vacant city block in Oak Cliff into a patch of sunflowers over the course of several months. Then in 2013, after the Supreme Court struck down the crux of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, she traced the historic voting rights march backwards, driving from Montgomery to Selma, tossing wildflower seeds into the grass along the way.

Last fall, when Texas banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, Mulcahy started the project of collecting the seeds and growing the plants, which include garden staples like fennel, dill and lavender. She also did copious amounts of research both into the history of activism in Dallas, particularly tied to women's rights, and the medicinal use of plants over time to regulate fertility and, in some cases, terminate pregnancies.

"Obviously I am not recommending people use these plants for these purposes," she says. "It's the idea that women have always controlled their fertility, back to ancient times.

As part of the process, she planted the seeds in her garden and gave away what she calls "abortion bouquets" to her friends, neighbors and even strangers.

"I see these bouquets as an action. They have lead to some really meaningful conversations," Mulcahy says. "Some people see this as 'issue art,' but as an artist my work has always crossed over into activism."

- Lauren Smart