Patches of Leaf Glow

I’ve always been drawn to leaves ever since I can remember.

As a young child, I relished exploring the fields, wetlands, ponds, and farms around our home looking for bits and pieces from nature: mostly colorful, beautifully shaped leaves to press into books, but also seeds, pods, little pebbles and stones, petals, pieces of bark, moss, nests, egg shells, feathers, etc. This was a favorite pastime of mine. I loved the thrill of the hunt just as much as that feeling of a calm and centered aloneness that the quiet and vast open spaces of my youth provided.

My “Leaf Glow” series attempts to communicate the beautiful aura of the leaf architecture I remember from childhood. The pieces also attempt to offer a subtle nod to the idea of “patches” and how patches are medicinal and healing. A patch is something we use to stitch something up, to cover up a hole, or some sort of a wound. To mend something that has been torn or ripped. To fix a gap. Sometimes I think my whole life is a bunch of patches patched together which, in and of itself, can be a very beautiful thing. Maybe we become a patchwork.

I am reminded of modern day patches, like a nicotine patch, or some other type of pharmaceutical patch, that people now wear on their bodies to assist them with their health management.

So I added patches to this “Leaf Glow” art. Leaves have always been a “patch” for me. Something medicinal, something healing. Something comforting, always steadfast, and totally pure in a noisy chaotic world. I hope these leaves and patches are healing for you, too.