Leaf play
And then there were more leaves, especially from the river birch tree, as if to say that it was their turn to play.
Stacking
And then there were more leaves, especially from the river birch tree, as if to say that it was their turn to play. Because the week prior, with the equally abundant kwanzan cherry leaves and I, we had made leaf art together.
Crouching down to pick them up one by one, I just stacked them together; it seemed the most efficient way to gather many without having anything to put them in. With it raining almost daily after that, I took them indoors to my studio.
Always up for a creative adventure, I was curious to see what the river birch leaves and I would do. After all, they are outside my studio window looking in as I look out.
The stack stayed, as if quite content in its own bundle. And it was curious seeing the leaves on their sides, with soft wavy edges curling in, and how they all leaned into each other, and leaned on each other easily.
Their stems however, were all going this way and that, reaching out as if they needed to be on their own.
Stringing
It seemed all I had to do was string them together. No experimentation, just taking Lao silk thread and needling it through the stack.
Though in doing so, the stack came alive, a bit like a caterpillar. And then I couldn’t see anything but a caterpillar!
Until I brought the ends of the string together, making it into a round shape, a bit like a pill bug. And then I couldn’t see anything but that!
Or, um… Pac-Man? Like the original one I remember as a kid growing up in the 80s.
Playing
And this is where we played. It was a kind of puppetry, pulling the strings to animate the leaf creature of its own making. It was silly and surprising. Please watch the one minute video above or click here to see what I mean!
After a while it began to slow down, aware that the animated energy of this leaf creature was waning and would be put aside, like a puppet on its last glorious performance.
Resting
It curled up to cling onto a soft twig and rested, as I watched it still transforming in the days that passed.
I saw the vitality of the leaves leaving, the edges getting edgier, and curls and waves turning crinkly. Instead of sunshine yellow leaves brushed with amber tints, the leaves were now ochre-imbued with weathered looks.
But there was something more to this resting. Something transitioning. Maybe cocooning. Maybe signaling that it wasn’t finished yet.
I suppose we’re like that too sometimes, at certain times in our lives. Our glorious performance of life, regardless of how it looks on the outside, is wildly alive within.
May we lean in, lean on, and reach up to play.
*
Playing...
LouLou
“Leaf play” was originally published as an exclusive post to my Ko-fi supporters in June 2023. Now it is public to you, too!
Ko-fi is also an online creator platform and makes it easy for fans to financially support creatives with either a one-time donation or signing up for a monthly subscription. It is where I share early access and exclusive content of my creative process, original stories, and inspiration. My work explores fiber arts, nature gathering, mark making, photography, and writing.
Want to join me and other supporters on a journey? By joining one of my monthly membership tiers, I get to show my appreciation to you by offering benefits! Depending on the tier, the benefits I offer are behind the scenes, works in progress, personal stories, early access, exclusive content, and mailed packages of my art, experiments, and/or Lao materials.
Want to offer a little support because you like what you see or read? I’m humbly grateful for your one-time donation!
A big shout out to my wonderful Ko‑fi supporters! Kara B, Kori J, Marga F, Sharmila K, Skip M, Beck C, Richie M, and Sush M! Thank you so much for supporting my creative endeavors. It means so much and I am grateful. Much of the art and writing on this website is because of you! I think of you often in the work that I’m doing — what I’m exploring and experimenting with, and what I write and share. It enables and encourages me to continue onward and I hope that it offers you insight and inspiration along the way.