Do you recall searching for the most vibrant interesting leaves in The Autumn and pressing them between wax paper? Carefully ironing the paper to immortalize and hang on display ? Placing them in a window with the sun shining through had a magical effect with the leaves glowing with a wonderful transparency. As a child this was a huge project involving scavenging and paying attention to the variety of colours and types of leaves found . It also entailed a stroll in the woods! We viewed the trees with an even greater respect-that they could be capable of seasonal changes and such a colourful metamorphosis . If this had been a school project we learned about the science behind the falling leaves..and how to identify trees by their unique foliage.
This morning I selected a few varieties of maple leaves while I walked the dog on our road . Paying attention to the incredible hues..As it had been raining the leaves were looking polished and jaunty despite the dark grey skies above.
Upon return I stuck the leaves in between the pages of a thick book- “The Blind Assassin” by Margaret Atwood ..I will not likely iron them into wax paper..but I gaze at them to savour the memories these precious leaves conjure up .
Thousands and millions of leaves on the ground .. Yet each one that I personally selected seems special. How many times do I walk by and see the colour but not the individual leaves? Often I hear people comment “Aren’t the Autumn colours beautiful this year”. All those millions of colourful leaves create the larger picture.
Last night I sketched a view of my road by laying on a wash of colours for the trees.. almost blurred ..lacking in detail
Here in Ontario Canada the show of leaves is nature’s last hurrah. The last explosion of colour before we enter the greyscale season (..Which lasts until late April/May. ) The days shorten soon..And darkness begins to encroach us.
So I am celebrating this luscious flash in the pan colour show now ..Drinking in every moment of the leaf fashion extravaganza !
A recent view of our road
..and the field behind our home
My husband Stephen’s leaf art….
A sample of the colourful concertina books created by artists in one of my recent classes!
So much to pay attention to . Thank you Mother nature for your daily inspiration .
and ..Thank you to all the beautiful leaves in the world for your gift of colour
Oh and Thanks for stopping by and reading my newsletter
Yours in Art
Heather
I went for a walk today and picked some leaves as well - bronze beech leaves, and the brilliant gold and red maples. A beautiful piece Heather, bringing my head and heart back to my most powerful healer - Nature.
It is lovely, as always, to read your posts and todays post is no different. As a child I often collected bits of nature and even today, my kitchen windowsill is always covered in seed pods, feathers and pebbles collected on walks. As I read your post I came to the photograph of an autumn leaf on a book page. The first line reads ‘The Labour Day weekend…’ It just happens to be Labour Day here in New Zealand today! After a tiny bit of detective work I discovered the book page is from Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. I have just found myself a second hand copy of the book at Hard To Find Books in Dunedin and am looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the lovely serendipitous post!