Inspiration: Fall Wreath

The ice storm of last week is gone and we are back in Fall, my favorite season. I love the changes in plants. Aging stems giving over to the moisture and wind. Colors changing. Textures becoming crisper. Rustling seed heads. Withered fruits.

So I got my joy on and gathered up some of this bounty from my garden to make a wreath that captures the feeling of the dry gardens of the southwest.

Starting with a giant tangle of morning glory vines cut down off the porch - I manhandled in into a roundish clump and pawed a hole in the center. Then wrapped some cord around it to hold it in a loose wreath shape and inserted dry flower stems from my garden, windfall from trees, grass heads, even some desiccated tomatoes still on the vine. I cut and added some herbs - wormwood and sage for more color. 

Can't wait to see some frost on this.  I will add more stems and berries as the wind provides them into winter.

These forms, lines, textures, and colors will appear in my art. I will see them in patterns forming in oil and cold wax paint, in textured boards and in underpaintings, and remember where I first saw them.