Dog Walking and Leaves

I get lots of ideas walking the dogs. Lola and Zuma, our rat terriers, get us out in the 'hood, for all kinds of visual stimulation. Theirs is more the olfactory kind. I've heard that when the dogs go out sniffing everything, it is like they are reading the news, Maureen Dowd, Doonesbury, Boondocks and Zits. Maybe they are also doing Sudoko and the Crossword.

So too with us, noticing the beautiful leaves, the cigarette packages , seed pods, the crazy new "pufferfish" tree the guy on Peyton Street planted, and all kinds of other stuff. I pick up leaves all the time. I have a particular love for the eucalyptus brand. There are so many varieties, sizes and shapes.

I've started doing something pretty crazy with them. I've been sewing them on the machine, then dipping them in wax. When the sewing maching needle pierces the leaf, that particularly wonderful eucalyptus essence is released. I love the variety in color. Nature has it all. I am merely plagerizing...so why not just stick with the source, and not try to imitate her, but work with her. A sort of Aikido of Art.
Shown below is a portion of a piece for the upcoming show, The Fine Art of Textiles, Thread, Fibers and Constructions, at the Pajaro Valley Arts Council and Gallery for next Spring.

I am taking bags of eucalyptus leaves to my Whidbey Studio this week, for a sewing fest. I'm pretty sure there are no Eucalyptus leaves up there, so I need to import them for my very own personal sewing bee.