Walking through the forest on the weekend, I stooped to gather maroon gum leaves admiring their colour variation. Yesterday I waxed the leaves as an experiment to see if that would preserve the colour. They feel smooth and have a slight sheen, but I'll have to wait to see if the colour remains. So now I'm thinking about what to do with the leaves, maybe something sculptural with wire - it will be fun to play around with.

Also gathered on my ramble were hardened blobs of exuded gum which has gorgeous amber hues of red or gold depending on the tree. I was hoping the process to melt down the blobs would be as simple as applying heat, but that was not the case. The gum is water soluble so I need to work out a hardener I can add, then I'll be able to make objects from the blobs.

It occurred to me that both Mindsettle and Nature Art Connect come from my love of nature. Should have been obvious I know!

I remember this snippet of a poem from school that expresses some of the reverence I have for trees:

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree

These are the first two lines of the short poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer published in 1914. I also think trees are lovely. I am reassured by the stillness of trees. When I stop to lay my hands on a tree trunk I can feel that stillness transfer to me. I love watching the trunks change with the seasons, the riotous shedding of bark followed by the reveal of smooth pale colours after the bark is shed. I relish the heady smell of trees in blossom or the more subtle earthy smell after rain. I love when trees meet overhead and create sheltering tunnels.

I am grateful for the solace of trees.