Leaf art
I then began to realise that the flames in a fire are multi-coloured & so I needed to actively look for different colours in my leaves. I couldn't create what I wanted unless I had difference. The overall picture needed difference to be effective. A metaphor for life perhaps?
It all started with a photo shared on Twitter. A photo of some Autumn leaves. A reply from @opera_of_play prompted me to look at Andy Goldsworthy art, which I instantly loved! Forward to a virtual art & chat session with @LawnsB where we decided to experiment with leaves (she is a proper artist)!
So off I went to collect some leaves.
Perhaps unconsciously...or maybe consciously...I collected a whole bunch of red leaves from the liquid amber tree in my garden.
Then we started to create. At first I began sorting my leaves & discarded any that weren't the lovely, deep red colour that had appealed to me.
@LawnsB gently prompted me not to throw them away, rather to put them on one side...just in case. She also asked me why I didn't want to keep the odd sticks or random coloured leaves. This question just sat with me for a while until I figured out what I was making.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the significance of campfire conversations in recent months, I began to create a fire. The brown sticks & leaves then became important as they formed the fuel of my fire...thankfully not thrown away!
Then the challenge became about when to stop. When was enough, enough?
That, I believe is always the big question!
So I finished.
Our conversation ended and our fun hour & a half concluded.
Yet the art didn't finish there! I let my fire sit a while. I left it in my kitchen to smoulder and burn...or rather to dry out.
As I left it & watched, the leaves began to curl up. The twigs dried out & my 'fire' began to shrivel a little. It took on a different kind of beauty.
After 24 hours (when I needed the kitchen table back) I took my 'art' outside. Gave it a new life in a new form on a rock.
...and there it has stayed ever since; and still remains. Sitting, blowing in the breeze (well, gales); getting wetter & wetter in the rain.
Who knows when it will end?
What I do know, is that I have enjoyed the process; learned from the process...and had fun with a new friend in the process.
Thanks @Lawns_B