Word of the Week Foliage (foh-lee-ij): A general term for plant leaves. It comes from the Old French word feuille meaning "leaf."
Bonjour!
Now that it is officially fall, I think it's time we discuss one of my favorite things about the season. Colorful foliage. I love watching the leaves change from green to bright oranges, yellows, and reds. Some of the lucky leaves even have pink hues to them.
National Fall Foliage Week always begins the last Sunday in September and runs for the week. It was created by Jim Bailey in 2014. Why? Why, not? His hope was to bring families together to celebrate nature taking its course and changing its outfit for the season. With cooler weather, but still plenty of sunshine, this holiday seems like a great idea to me! There are so many ways to celebrate. . .
Go on a nature walk
Explore a local park (or National Park!)
Go apple picking
Enjoy a drive through a wooded area
Take pictures of the beautiful foliage around you
Make art using things found in nature
While the list could go on and on, I've selected a very fun and simple activity for you this week. Take a nature walk and (with permission) collect some of the different foliage around you. Leaves, petals, flowers, grass, twigs. . .any of these resources will work great. You are going to create a portrait using the items you've collected, a piece of paper, some glue, and maybe a marker/crayon/pen. Feeling ambitious? Try creating a self-portrait!
Portraits are incredible images that people create to look like people or animals. Typically, we think of artists painting beautiful portraits of others, but as you will soon find out there are SO many other ways to create these masterpieces. Buckle up. . .this may surprise you!
While using foliage is very unique, isn't it incredible what these artists have come up with? Bubble wrap, lipstick kisses, colored pencils, hammered glass, string, Rubik's cubes, toothpaste, and name tag stickers! WOW!
I hope you are inspired, and I can't wait to see your finished product. Feel free to share it by e-mailing LJMadwish@gmail.com.
Until next time. . .
Gram