Banana tree mark making
What happens when you share a photo of banana stalks to a friend, and it turns into an afternoon of expressive mark making together.
Me: “Look! We cut down our banana tree today for the winter. So amazing.”
Sush: “Omg, can I come see that?? I can’t believe it!”
And this is how it began with Sush and I – from a text exchange to an afternoon of exploring the inner working of banana stalks and what marks could come from them.
First, about the banana tree
Actually, “[a] banana tree is not a tree at all, but a herbaceous plant with pseudostems wrapped together to form a trunk-like structure.” Source
So our banana ‘tree’ in our backyard garden came with the house. The previous owner planted it and said to cut it down every year at the end of autumn before the first frost. It’s too cold to keep it through the winter.
We’ve been faithfully cutting it down for the past 8 years. This year, after a heavy wind and pelting rain a couple of weeks ago, the banana tree’s big fanning leaves looked so sad, all broken and floppy. It was time.
My husband is the one who does the honors, first lopping off the leaves, then section by section cutting the thick stalk. Afterwards we cover the stump with dried leaves and mulch to protect the huge rhizome underground. He put the stalks in a paper lawn bag and called me over before he put anything more in the bag.
“You’ll want to take a picture of this,” he said. Sure enough, I did! It was crazy amazing to see the cross-section of the banana stalks! Of course I had to share it with Sush.
While I didn’t manage to get a picture of the banana tree before we cut it down, here it is in May, still a baby growing up strong.
An exploration of the inner workings
You must see the video to get the full experience! Below are a few images, however.
We dragged two full lawn bags onto the patio and rummaged through to find the stalks. They were somewhat worn, but still looked so intriguing.
What were we going to find? We sliced and peeled layers, felt the smooth surfaces, squished the pocketed layers, and got to the pith center. Why hadn’t I ever explored this before? Sometimes it takes other people’s curiosity to make things happen!
And expressive mark making
Then we painted black gouache on different pieces and edges and played. We had no preconceived ideas. We didn’t know how the marks would look on paper. We were messy. It didn’t matter.
What mattered was that we played. We tried this and then that, just for the fun and the discovery of it all.
A few days later, it rained hard again. I had kept out the one piece that I had grown fond of. I watched it change again, water sogged and ink stained, and shriveled a little, too.
I felt such respect for it, for all that it gave – nourishment, water, strength, delight, and play.
And thank you, Sush for such a crazy, wonderful time!
Photos and videos by Sushmita Mazumdar and Mary Louise Marino
“Banana tree mark making” was originally published as an exclusive post to my Patreon supporters in December 2020. Now it’s public and available to you, too!
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