The Rooted Flesh
This painting came into form in the late 90s around this time of year, when, as always in April, my hands were in the earth. As I worked in and around my vegetable garden – digging furrows, planting seeds, snipping young leaves of wild plants – the image came up out of the earth, through my body, and crystalized in my mind as this fluid figure made of coarse and earthy textures. A creature of the soil, her flesh woven with roots and leaves, rose up, then bent back over to reach toward the earth, like a wave that rises from the ocean but is still part of it.
I had a precious sheet of salmon-pink rice paper, strong as fabric, embedded with a fine mesh of fiber. Rice paper is designed for woodblock or linoleum block printing, not painting, and tends to soak up paint like a blotter – but not if you mix it with just the right amount of water. I used acrylic for the first layer - thick and permanent, then worked on top of that in gouache to create small-scale textures, working slowly to keep the paint from bleeding.
How prescient that the root-like projections I painted around the figure resemble mycelium, which I had never heard of back then, but makes perfect sense as that which connects this woman to the earth. Mycelium is the living underground network of fungi that connects all plants, as well as bacteria and other living things. It’s part of the earth’s microbiome. So it also made perfect sense to use this painting as an illustration for my most recent article for The Art of Health (my other Substack), The Wonders of Wild Foods. Wild foods, whether fungus, plant, or animal, connect us to the ecosystem that sustains them.
A painting is a snapshot in time and a mirror of our evolving beliefs and predilections. I love that this one continues to resonate. Like mycelium growing into new substrate, my connection to the earth has grown and changed since I first painted The Rooted Flesh. But I still relate to the image the same way, and remember the feeling that gave rise to it. Even amidst change, there’s a constant thread. Art anchors a moment, a perspective, an experience – and then shows us later how it gave rise to all that followed.
I hope this painting inspires you to get outside and connect to the earth, in whatever way you choose.
A good week to all!
D. Yael Bernhard
https://dyaelbernhard.com
Have you seen my other Substack, The Art of Health? In addition to being a visual artist, I’m also a certified integrative health & nutrition coach with a lifelong passion for natural food cooking and herbal medicine. Now in its second year, this illustrated newsletter explores cutting-edge concepts of nutrition. I strive to make relevant information clear and accessible, and to anchor essential health concepts in unique images. Check it out, and if you like it, please subscribe and help spread the word. Your support keeps my work going!