A Bit of Forest Magic

One warm and quiet afternoon, I wandered in the forest, listening to the  

fading cricket chorus, and playing with my camera in hopes of 

finding the magic that is found here. 

Recent rainfall brought the mosses to life, 

and the light revealed the hidden truth: that, truly, I wander

in a cathedral, the windows clearly visible. 

We've been visited by the deer of late,

and the slow transformation of plants is a wonder to behold. 

Speaking of transformation, Rhu has become quite used 

to romping and climbing outside, and has gained a few pounds 

in a month! Still he's mostly supervised while out, but now 

and again he has a wee bit of alone time when I'm inside 

for a bit or am about to follow him out. 

He LOVES climbing trees! This hemlock is his favorite - and was also 

Pasha's - because of the low, sweeping branches that he can follow 

all the way down to the moss. 

He sometimes seems like a very young kitten, 

and sometimes like a wild and powerful adult. 

The maple trees add a bit of color to the patio, a 

last hurrah before the snows come and cover it until spring. 

 Out and about, there are glorious views of autumn's sparkling 

skies and the branching patterns of trees who have let their 

leaves go. 

At school, I've been teaching my students how to eco-dye paper 

with plants. Not that I am an expert, no, I was one step ahead, 

and had some pointers from Velma over at Wake Robin, and, of 

course, plenty of inspiration and ideas from India Flint. 

The results of the first vat:

My sample, it has since faded a bit, but still has some magic. 

The assignment I gave my students was that the eco-dyed paper must 

be used as a raw material/surface for a number of explorations. 

Here is Miranda's drawings and other experiments underway. 

I'm excited to see what they come up with for the 

critique next Wednesday. If you want a more timely 

update of the results, find my studio Facebook page, 

come like me there!

As the light faded last evening, the brilliant leaves were no longer 

visible, but the sky carried on the enchantment until the stars 

began to twinkle.