spiral harmonies

"Ammonite" 2011

Herb Spiral Garden at 2 weeks old

Spiral fractals fill my vision, swirling and growing, endlessly self-reciprocating in all planes with calm resonance.

Above are two spiral arrangements I have personally constructed. The first, a print made by combination of two techniques- stone lithography and monotype-depicts an ammonite fossil. Ammonites are extinct today, but their chambered shells are preserved in stone through geological magic.

The second image, a garden constructed in my backyard, is based on a similar spiral as the form. The size of the spiral is about 12-15 feet across, and the soil slopes upward as it spirals inward, forming a mound. At regular intervals are various perennial herb plants, a design feature further mimicking the spaced chambers of the ammonite spiral. The plants are arranged around the mound such that heat-loving herbs inhabit the south-facing slope, while shade-tolerant species occupy the northern side, and the diversity of species together create various microclimates and habitats around the garden.

The spiral garden is part of a larger permaculture project undertaken by some friends and I, and an essential part of permaculture is recognizing the superiority of non-human design principles and motifs, which abound and replicate themselves in nature, and also applying them to human creations. Bio-mimicry, another term for this idea, is a wise philosophy. Part of my exploration with geometric shapes is a study in the sacred patterns of nature, which appears in each living creature, and harmonize diverse and seemingly chaotic trajectories into unity.

There are many ways to manifest sacred geometric practices and ideas into your everyday existence, and your experience will always be the richer for it.