Assignment 12: Vibrations

Picturing the Unseen

Prelude:

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the sun has been shining for a few days, preceded by rainfall (the magic formula). Every day, I make the rounds in our yard, almost on hands and knees, observing.

On the scale of a seedling, change happens rapidly and massively: my afternoon survey reveals above-ground growth where in the morning the earth was unbroken.

Here, dramatic upheaval!

In order to survive, a seedling must exert enough force to counteract gravity’s downward pull, and break through the mechanical strength of the soil’s crust at which point it can finally receive light¹. I wonder: What does it sound like? What tiny vibrations does it create? What could this energy look like in a painting?

A Robin hears a worm in the soil.

I can’t hear the worm, but I can hear the Black-capped Chickadee, the Mallard Duck, the Red-Winged Blackbird, the American Robin, and the Blue Jay while walking with my dog at the lake. Here is how those songs and calls are made visible by the app I use for sound ID:

This image immediately reminds me of experimental music notation. Now seeking cellist for interpretation of the above.

What I’m getting at here is this: there’s a distinct energy to the season of spring. It’s felt more easily by humans in the radiance of the sun, warm air returning, the audible calls of birds—AND there are myriad examples of this energy on other scales both small and large—in the movement of worms, the seedling pushing through soil, massive weather systems evolving, the Earth rotating.

And so…

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Dear Friends,

Assignment 12: Vibrations

Draw, paint, animate, compose, play into music, dance your interpretation of an unseen energy of spring.

What I suggest: First, head outside and observe. Consider the ways in which we as humans can and cannot perceive the world around us. Change your point of view. Put yourself into the soil, and into the sky.

Let me know what you discover!

xo,
Sara

1. This is called Turgor Pressure (I think!), and it comes with its own formula. Imagine, a formula to calculate the pressure of a plant growing!!!