The Universe is a Leaf
Article by Mabel Franco Ortega for Rascacielos
Have you ever stopped to look at a leaf? Ramiro F. Prudencio has and says that, with his surgeon's eye, he has discovered true revelations.
Fifty portraits painted with colored pencils are part of the book One Leaf One Life that will be published in Bolivia by Plural Editores.
Cosmologists say that when it comes to imagining the shape of the universe, there are three possibilities, and one of them is a sheet of paper. Ramiro F. Prudencio goes further: “The universe is a leaf,” he says, but it is a leaf of a plant.
I choose not to doubt the words of a surgeon who has dedicated himself to seeing the details of the anatomy and physiology of the human body, and who, once retired, when he was looking for an activity that would give him purpose back to his days, held up a garden leaf to the light and discovered a rainbow or, better yet, something that he wanted to capture so that others could see it too. Because those others, many of us, do not see, we barely look, says the doctor-artist.
Perhaps the ability to observe is born from the only eye that an accident left him at the age of five. Something that could have been a limitation, motivated an attitude towards life that Ramiro F. Prudencio calls a guiding metaphor: “What I was deprived of from looking outside serves me to look inside.” In other words, those of the Persian poet Rumi, he quotes: “The wound is where the light enters you.”
That must be the case, judging by the determination with which he advanced in the field of medicine and in a specialty that demands fine coordination between eye and hand. Prudencio was a urological surgeon in the United States, where he migrated to specialize ,and where he stayed practicing his profession.
At 60 years of age, more than 30 years ago, “my life as a surgeon ended.” With a lot of free time, he traveled, played tennis, but these were not enough hobbies for him, “I needed a purpose.” In such circumstances, he took some colored pencils and painted as he did as a child. He decided to take painting classes that were held near his home in Chicago, in the botanical garden, and soon he found himself with a dilemma: dedicate himself to art or study nature.
A leaf is a living tissue. The closer you get to the detail, the deeper you reach to understand that life.
Why not both? Ikebana helped him choose the path thanks to what the master Seiko Nakashima had taught him about the mysteries of this ancient Japanese art that pays tribute to nature. She herself, the woman whose name means “precision,” made a revelation to him: that “rigor in construction is what will give you freedom in form.”
Portraits and more revelations
A portrait is the subjective reading of a subject that the portraitist must know beyond appearance. Just what Prudencio seeks with his colored pencils, except that we would call his subject an object, superficial and blind as we sometimes are.
The artist's pencils effectively trace portraits of leaves, 50 of which are collected in a book that he has titled Una hoja, una vida, a work that will be presented publicly with the Bolivian seal of Plural Editores at the end of this month.
From an artichoke to a oxycanthus, the portrayed reveal "a state of mind more than just an image," says the artist who in the process of painting has received revelations that he wishes to share.”
Revelation 1
“A leaf is a living tissue. The closer one looks at the details, the deeper one can understand that life. Just like the dialogue I had with my patients: the more I looked into the human being, the more I gave myself, the more I received.”
Revelation 2
A leaf has a temporary life, certainly, but it allows it to continue to breathe through the tree of which it is a part. The leaf whispered to me in botanical language the mystery of evolution. It said to me: you and I are in similar stages, on the way to sunset.
As part of the leaf's metabolism, it returns to the soil and improves it. Leaves are born cultivators. Coming out of the operating room was difficult for me. In addition, retirement is associated with withdrawal, with ceasing to create, with resting. Why not learn from the leaf and take retirement in its true sense of celebration? That life does not end, it is recreated.
I say that I am a young man of 85 years old. I work from 4:00 to 17:00. We often tell ourselves that it is hard to do and we receive negative messages about it. I think that if there is something that should be banished from life it is the word BUT. “I want to paint, but…”. It must be banished.
Revelation 3
“The plant produces its own food through photosynthesis, a process that more than two million years ago allowed life to begin. And photosynthesis is an ordinary process. I can explain my life with this: the extraordinary can be achieved by ordinary means. I was chosen in the United States despite the fact that I came from a university that, admittedly, is not one of the best. I did not have credentials like those from Harvard, for example. So, it is not important where you come from, but what you can contribute with creativity; it is not where you are born but what you do.
The leaf is a formidable laboratory. The most efficient, cheapest and humble panel. It converts toxic gas into healthy oxygen, heat into humidity. Without the leaf we do not breathe. The last thing we are going to do is stop breathing. Next to the leaf, life is protected.”
Mabel Franco Ortega is acultural journalist. A lover of dolls, she plays with them in her free time, because you may retire, but you can no longer stop being a journalist.
Rascacielos is a narrative journalism magazine produced by Contramano, creator of the National Chronicle Award. La Paz - Bolivia. Original Article in Spanish
Final Note from Ramiro Prudence Facebook page December 18, 2024
My book, One Leaf, One Life, is here.
This is more than a book-it is a transformation journey told through fifty exquisite colored pencil illustration paired with reflections on life’s meaning. It is a story of resilience and imagination inviting us to look inward, untangle the threads of our limitations, embrace transition, and transform our lives into living works of art.
Together, let’s rediscover the art of turning life’s challenges into a masterpiece of growth and resilience.
Whether you read in English “ONE LEAF, ONE LIFE”, or in Spanish “UNA HOJA, UNA VIDA”, the heart of the book remains the same: a call to see life through the lens of art, transformation and endless possibility.
Join me in celebrating this new chapter and discover the beauty that lies within each of us.
Ramiro F Prudencio
The book is available in English and Spanish in the USA. You can order it at: rfprudenciomd@gmail.com
In Bolivia “Los Amigos del Libro” o en el numero: 77970099.