Se Souvenir
PROJECT TYPE: MULTI-MEDIA NARRATIVEA collection of words, drawings, and photographs formulated through deep and thoughtful inspection of a natural artifact.
Swirling from a mystical, sappy core are vicious, claw-like talons with spikes that extend to protect life inside. A colossal Pinecone - mine greater in size than my outstretched hand -- came from a rocky mountainside in California. I’m conducting research through drawing. I hold, feel, observe, and translate with my pencil. The sap becomes an adhesive at the fierce points that pierce my palm. I become included in it.
When drawing this sacred Pinecone, I spent my attention noticing its tectonics. It feels prehistoric to me, like the segmented armor of a dinosaur. I see the spiral, like a conch, an ode to the movement of the ocean and the Milky-way.
When drawing this sacred Pinecone, I spent my attention noticing its tectonics. It feels prehistoric to me, like the segmented armor of a dinosaur. I see the spiral, like a conch, an ode to the movement of the ocean and the Milky-way.
I see the now static remnants of
expansion, surely designed by water. Its staggered staircase swirls to its core, where ruffles that resemble pencil shavings trim a conical stem.
Its form makes sense. It reminds me of a bees’ hive: with geometric repetition, and pure potential energy. The pinecone has two to three adjacent Fibonacci spirals. Like the center of a sunflower or the curl of a fern, there is a direct mathematical relationship to its form.
Its form makes sense. It reminds me of a bees’ hive: with geometric repetition, and pure potential energy. The pinecone has two to three adjacent Fibonacci spirals. Like the center of a sunflower or the curl of a fern, there is a direct mathematical relationship to its form.
Pinecones are like shells: they shelter. They are female. Each possesses the potential for around 150 new trees. When they are spent and seeds dispersed, they fall to the ground. Here, I believe they encounter a new potential. One, for starry-eyed seed-pod lovers like myself, to selfishly possess. Secondly - but in reverse order, for a vibrant community to inhabit. When observing this product, I interpreted its structure and its organized in-between spaces as a perfect home for a new ecosystem to reside in. Imagine the joy small critters and bugs must experience when finding this shelter. It was designed well to repel threats. No predator wants to spend their energy wrestling its ruthless spikes.
This means that, even when its primary use for the tree has been fulfilled, it takes on new life. It develops new meaning. It is wasteless. It is a refined artifact of nature. It is in my hands now, and I project admiration toward it. It is vintage, worn in many environments and by many patrons. It is a fossil, a fingerprint. It is a memory capsule on display.
This means that, even when its primary use for the tree has been fulfilled, it takes on new life. It develops new meaning. It is wasteless. It is a refined artifact of nature. It is in my hands now, and I project admiration toward it. It is vintage, worn in many environments and by many patrons. It is a fossil, a fingerprint. It is a memory capsule on display.
We found a reprieve in the elusive shade atop Grass mountain. I had chosen this trek for the prospect of an otherworldly orange hillside: a California-poppy super bloom. Settling with the fact we had missed the event, my sister and I found solace in the view of the Santa Ynez range, and the fact that we were on our own together.
It was mid-April when she came to visit. Together we connected like the ocean and the shore, a meaningful point of our maturing sisterhood. In our spotty shade patch on top of at the height of the ridge, we found the pinecone.
For me, this pinecone holds the spirit of a day with my sister. I remember the valleys we walked through, an arid day, with a brightness that brought a slight discomfort. I remember feeling proud of who she is to me now. I remember the food and fruits we
cherished in the shade. We sat in the quiet pine needles and marveled.
