In Remembrance of Many Things, Many People.

ABOUT six (I can't believe that's right!) years ago I began making "Living Leaves" at Valley Art, the nonprofit, volunteer-run art gallery where I give my time. The paper leaves, with pictures, sayings and thoughts, were hung on trees down Forest Grove's Main Street in memory of two local men who died on Mt. Hood in a tragic climbing accident.
One of the men, Rick Read, was the driving force behind the annual Chalk Art Festival, and was responsible for getting markers put into the sidewalks to number the squares.
The leaves were also in memory of 9/11, then - the next year - the London bombings and Katrina. They have served many purposes, but are mainly put on the trees to honor the memory of others.

This year I guess mine will also honor the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
I construct the leaves from brown Kraft paper - trace around actual leaves, as you can see - and then start adding all sorts of things with wax, magazine clippings and Xeroxed images. I put some leaves on the hot plate and then add color with wax crayons that melt, adhere and give the leaves substance and waterproof them, so some extent. I also have beeswax melting on the hot plate and brush that on.
Some of these leaves fall into being without any conscious effort and some are planned out. Here are a few I made this year.
The latest headlines in the newspaper - which everyone should read; don't just depend on talking heads on television - were what I have been noticing, and even though I wasn't trying to "say" any exact, certain thing, there were some interesting thoughts that popped up or came together just by leafing through newspapers and magazines for words, letters and images.
We are all the tribe of man but we let our differences keep us apart - femminismo