When Leaves Aren't Just Leaves Anymore September 17, 2015 14:40

As you may have seen on my website here, earlier this year I created a large shadowbox called "Winds of Change".  Apart from the rustic bowl, I created some leaves that appear to float down toward the bowl and become more decayed as they fall to the ground.  This is one of my favorite pieces.  I also really loved creating the leaves.  So, this past July I started thinking that it might be a cool idea to create a bunch of leaves for the Fall shows and allow customers to "Bag Your Own Leaves".  I was ALL over this concept and became a bit obsessed. 

After making about 100 leaves, I started to worry about whether I might get bored with this project.  In my mind, this was a 'Go Big or Go Home' type of installation concept for my Fall Shows.  So, instead of just making leaves in the traditional Fall colors - which are lovely - I decided to use the leaves as a reason to experiment with all types of special effects that I was interested in trying out.  That's when it started to get really interesting!  With the exception of the basic shape, I decided to throw out all of the traditional appearances that leaves might have and go crazy with it.  So much fun, and the leaves took on new and really creative qualities.  Why not include blue?  Let's put in some metallics! How about some unique designs?  What if I tried this..... and that....?  I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and try something new.

So, my leaf pile grew to hundreds of leaves, and NO two are alike.  Each one is different and each one is like discovering a unique treasure. 

They breathe new life into a traditional dining table centerpiece;  they look great scattered around a foyer table or sofa table, or by tossing a few on a cocktail table, or putting some in a bowl or basket.  I also designed some to be used as Gift or Wine bottle Danglers to add a creative touch to the season's hostess gifts. 

I hope you have as much fun thinking about where to display your leaves as I did making each and every one. 

If you're near Leesburg, VA the weekend of September 26/27, please stop by my booth and pick through the pile of leaves and see which ones you'll want to bag.  Or, I'll be at the By Hand Fine Art & Craft Fair at the Cleveland I-X Center on November 13-15. 

If you can't get to a show to pick your own leaves, please let me select a beautiful bag of leaves for you from the wide variety that I've created - you won't be disappointed!  And order some Wine Bottle/Gift Bag/box Danglers while you're at it and give your gifts a little extra special-something.