this past autumn my dog and I took many windy, rainy walks. she patiently waited for me as I searched through piles of leaves, looking for ones which I felt symbolized the magical properties of oak trees. in this daily ritual I came to see how many different shapes, angles and colors oak leaves came in and fully understood how one species came to represent so many properties to different cultures over time.

there were four leaves to this first collection which was shown at The Third Sanctum gallery in Warwick, RI. strength, protection, healing and abundance. my vision for them is to hold space for the properties they represent on one’s altar. reminding us of our potential to heal, find strength, and protection from outside forces and see the abundance of love we have for ourselves and each other.

strength is made of copper. it measures about 5” x 7” and is a replica of a leaf I gathered. it has holes, places of decay, tension between the lobes which curl as the leaf dries, no longer having water drawn to them. despite this, they are still beautiful and show resilience.

this leaf has been hand-cut from a sheet of copper. textured with hand tools and finished as smoothly as a piece of jewelry would be. this process was therapeutic and magical. as doubts entered my mind, I wrote them down and kept them contained until the completion of the series where I burnt them to ash. I hope these bring others peace, as the process of making them brought me. something as seemingly simple as making leaves got me out of my comfort zone of making wearable pieces and back to the sculptural forms I loved making as a student some twenty years ago. it is as if I came back to my original form, as an oak tree grows acorns to start anew.

ps: I am interested in recreating leaves from trees you have relationships with. if you are interested in a leaf portrait, please contact me for details.