The Naked Lady

The Naked Lady, originally uploaded by flogently.

This is a Texas Madrone tree. It's often called The Naked Lady because as its black bark peels away, it reveals first a thin red bark and then as that peels away in turn, you find a smooth pale skin-like bark.

Besides the texture of the bark, my mother and I have often encountered the naked lady revealing herself in surprisingly bold ways.

What looks bruised and beaten here is actually just a part of the tree's life cycle.

I've been showing this photo as a part of my work for years. While I've always loved the curves and solid femininity of this tree, this particular image has also always left me feeling conflicted about loving its beauty but recoiling at what appear to be raw bruises.

Finally, I've found a way to channel and resolve my feelings by including it in the V-Day Hiroshima pool on flickr.

www.flickr.com/groups/vdayhiroshima/

If you're not familiar with V-Day, please read more about it on the group page.

Let's use our creativity together to bring about positive social change.

Imagine Peace,
Florence Nobuko Smith