Crocuses Beacon Hill Park
Victoria is now experiencing “bud burst. ” you can feel the excitement as the earth is warms and snow drops, crocuses, and daffodils push upwards Tulips are not far behind. The nearby downtown cherry trees show delicate pink and despite the winds and scattering of snow yesterday we are moving into that amazing spring season that makes this southern part of Vancouver Island such a tourist destination.
In nature “bud burst” is real, not just metaphoric or aesthetic. According to biologists there is a measurable surge of biochemical energy that propels the casing of the blossom to split and spill the lovely folded contents into the air. Long before this surge the plant awakens at the bottom under the soil as fine roots develop winding their way downwards in the search for nutrients to convert to energy for this upward burst of bud into the light. It happens so suddenly. The covering which encases the blossom breaks open allowing the floral tissues to unfold yielding their colourful splendour.
Perhaps there is an analogue. I experience paintings with a certain bud burst energy that builds and then explodes in me as the first strokes of colour are laid down. Inside there is usually a strong resistance before the experience of breaking open with those first marks or gestures, those initial tracings which then “invite the future”. So much content can be encapsulated in that first struggled movement. Do others experience creativity in this way? I would love to hear …
