Dandelions.
This little “weed” made my week. I decided to do a quick line drawing one afternoon of a bright, golden, fully in bloom dandelion. I felt like I entered the cosmos. Starting in the center and moving outwards, my pen traced the extraordinary unfolding of each petal. The next day I took that drawing and put it in a small 3x3 inch frame and hung it up. Every day I look at this little drawing and feel just so damn happy. This little exercise illuminated to me why I love art.
Drawing focuses my attention, and in that, my ability to see expands. When the stars align, something beautiful is created and suddenly a physical object becomes a spark for both memory as well as joy. Putting a frame around this drawing gave it context and gave it a home. It was a full cycle experience as I was the creator, curator and collector. Ideally, art leaves my home and I am only the first participant in this cycle, which continues to expand and include more people. Regardless of how big or how small, the circle itself is remains the same. Create. Curate. Collect. A beautiful cycle.
The other thing that struck me about this dandelion was its current classification as a weed. How did this extraordinary pollinator become America’s most despised weed?
Historically, the dandelion was valued for both medicinal and nutritional properties. Dandelions were actually brought from Europe on the Mayflower specifically prized for their healing properties. Dandelions have been used by many cultures to treat liver disease and digestive problems. I even found a recipe for using the leaves as a more antioxidant rich substitute for coffee! (similar to chicory) Young leaves can also be cooked as greens or put into smoothies, providing a hefty dose of potassium, iron and calcium. Dandelions also are an incredible food source for bees and other pollinators, providing often the first access to nectar for bees. The dandelion doesn’t even qualify as an invasive species as it does not displace native plants. Their demotion in status happened with the rise in desire for a perfectly uninterrupted patch of green lawn. There certainly are cultural shifts, embracing the dandelion as a pollinator and reducing lawn size to incorporate native plants or gardens, but look around any neighborhood and you will see that the ideal of the perfect green square still looms large in the American psyche. It is surprising that those same lovers of a simple green square are also not often lovers of minimalist art ;)
Sometimes I am amazed at the power of simple things, more closely observed.
Until next Friday!
Be well, breathe, read, and make some art!
Jen