Compelled to Create

He that sincerely loves nature, finds pleasure everywhere.

Vincent Van Gogh

It is beginning to feel like fall is coming to a close here in Colorado. It’s been violently windy the last couple of days and most of the leaves have blown off the trees. 

Fall is my favorite season. If I had to live with one season all the time, I would choose fall. This year has been especially beautiful. 

One of my favorite things is shuffling through leaves. If there is a big pile of leaves in the gutter I have to go shuffle in them—it doesn’t matter where I am or even what I am wearing. I love the sound and the feel of it. Last week there were these incredible piles of huge cottonwood leaves a few miles away.  Jim even stopped the car and let me shuffle in them, it was great! I picked up several of the leaves to use in my artwork; they are larger than my outstretched hand. 

Nature is one of the things I find most inspiring for my creativity. I love to use natural materials in my art. The mixed-media piece at the top includes two of the maple seeds that are all over. I have a couple of box-fulls of sticks and rocks and leaves and seed pods and bones (yes…bones) and feathers and… One of the greatest gifts others give me is there natural “finds” (an entire catfish skeleton, wasp nest and birch bark curls). And, nothing puts me in a creative mood more than taking a walk.

Have you ever realized; nature is different every day. The aspen tree in the front will never be exactly like it is today. Most of the time we are too busy to notice it, much less appreciate how beautiful and amazing it is. 

Today, stop…and look…shuffle in the leaves if you get a chance! Then go and create something beautiful.