Santa Florés inspires us to remember that from seed to blossom there are many stages before the brillance of full flower. Be patient, as we are always where we need to be.
All flowers originate from tiny beginnings. The journey from seed to blossom follows a natural and necessary order. The unformed flower begins life inside its protective shell, roots creeping into the ground to seek sustenance, quietly garnering energy before burgeoning forth into the light of day. Only after a patient season of germination does the triumphant bud bloom, trumpeting its arrival.
There are many species of flowers, and all require different care to coax their unique brilliance into being. A blooming desert cactus and the daffodil may not flourish in the same conditions or place, but reach full flower when and where their majesty is richest.
Artist’s Note: The natural flow in my Feminist practice and Spiritual belief was to become an ardent and dedicated spokeswoman for animals and the environment. I am a vegan. My decision to stop eating meat was always an ethical and spiritual one. I cannot take another life for my subsistence. I believe animals have their own reason for being and they have the right to live out their purpose, not one we impose upon them. My art reflects my passion and love for animals as well as my respect and appreciation for the Earth. I paint, draw, and sculpt the world I dream of inhabiting. A place where the natural world is treated with deference and there is no hierarchy among humans and animals. In my world, we all walk the Earth in harmony. My art is the best way I know to express these feelings. www.sudierakusin.com
(Meet Mago Contributor) Sudie Rakusin.
Like you my practice evolved out of my love for Nature and all her animals and flowers. I have spent my entire life as a plant woman and know with some intimacy how wondrous the journey from seed to plant to flower is. Every spring I can’t wait to plant my first seedlings… this year I even have a scarlet runner bean blooming on a vine in the house! My free flowing house dove snacks on her leaves, not doubt to the plant’s dismay.
One comment, though. I appreciate your sentiment about not taking animal lives to live but unfortunately even if we choose not to eat meat ( I rarely do) we do consume plant matter and plants have feelings just like we do. Grass screams when it is cut. lettuce wilts. All plants go into shock when harvested. The new sciences are educating westerners into the realities of plant sentience, something I have felt in my bones since flowers came to me as a child and began to speak. Too much agricultural land is being used to raise beans and vegetables… we are in the same mess with grazing cows and sheep.