Fiddlehead

    I have always been partial to ferns because they seem so primordial.  They’ve been growing on Earth for 250 million years or so.  As a child I was very interested in fossils, and once was taken to a strip mine in Indiana where rocks were found that could be struck on the edge with a hammer and they would split open revealing a fern leaf inside.  It was magical.

    Now living in the Interior of BC, I have access to lots of areas where ferns grow.  I love these darkish lush patches of ferns.  In the spring I am always fascinated by the way fern leaves develop.  The stems emerge all curled up in a ball and slowly unwind to become the familiar frond we all recognize as a fern leaf.

    I spotted this “fiddlehead” yesterday.

You can view my paintings:  davidmarchant.ca