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I have a 16 year old at home just turned 17: it sometimes feels we turn a leaf in the book of her childhood each day, which made me think of pages, then leaves, art books, etc.

I decided, to work to the theme, I would try to print 16 leaves of interest from my neighbourhood. Here at home, I am developing a productive garden focusing on fruit trees, new Zealand natives, and raised beds: there are many trees and other productive leaves to choose from. I took some samples into the studio, thinking I would improvise a variety of techniques to generate 16 images of leaves at all four seasons. Perhaps arranged four x four or in a 16 spoked wheel by season.

It was a bit ambitious for the time: in three hours, I only used about half of the leaves I had brought or listed. If I had been more focused and prepared, perhaps I would have got more done, but I get so much joy out of ‘seeing what turns out’ that I prefer to improvise. But I did get 17+ prints from sycamore, maple/liquid amber? (from walks in public garden across the road and collecting leaves for composting),  nasturtium, loquat (that the cat brings home from two doors down – she thinks we need feeding?), cabbage tree leaves (which we bundle up for excellent firelighters this time of year), and flax. I would still like to print the kumara (sweet potato) leaves that have monstered our raised bed this growing season, and the apple leaves remaining after harvesting and bottling 4 buckets of the best cooking apples in the world (I think. Ballarat, if anyone’s asking). Then there’s options of pear, peach, ornamental cherry, butternut squash, feijoa, rhubarb, sage, thyme, basil, tangelo, ash (for beauty rather than food production of course, but still useful), without even getting down to the radishes, beetroot and smaller vege starting out in the winter beds.

Perhaps that can be my term project for class: capturing the range of leaves all around me everyday. 16 is only the start.

Thank you for setting up the stage for all of us to dedicate a bit of time to think about what we want to do, where we want to go next.