Autumn Leaf projects

Here are a couple of autumn leaf projects. They could tie in with a story, but since they are the literal background of life itself in areas with four seasons, they don't really need an introduction or occasion.

Still, these would be lovely art choices for a story on the turning of the Wheel of the Year. The Neo Pagan Holidays and Holy Days CD (available on Spiritplay.net) has a lovely Wheel of the Year story, and in a year-long study of the Pagan Sabbats, author Jessica Zebrine Gray recommends beginning on Samhaim.

Leaf rubbings, a fall classroom favorite. We used soy rock crayons, which have a great texture and shape for doing rubbings. They're pricey, but last a long time since they don't break or wear down flat like typical crayons.

And this one was new to me: making overlapping cray pas leaf silhouettes. This is done by holding the leaf flat against the paper whilst making little "ticks" of oil pastel color all around the edge. You then blend the oil pastel outward, still holding the leaf firm against the page, and when you lift it, get this nice crisp-edged negative space. Have you ever seen these, occurring naturally on the pavement beneath deciduous trees? It's a little ghostly, the twin remains of fallen leaves and rain.

This project was how we introduced the oil pastels as a new art material. This particular brand of cray pas had its own tray, which was nice; Crayolas don't, and they immediately get jumbled up and mark on each other.