Creative Invitations For Autumn

Why I Love Autumn

For some of us, autumn is the time of year when we feel most creative. Although having just written that, I could say it about any time of year!

Autumn is the year’s crowning glory. The growing season is pretty much over. Flowers have blossomed, fruit has taken its place and has been picked or eaten by wildlife, or has been left to last a bit longer to see the little creatures through the worst of the winter.

Mornings are crisper. Some days feel colder, and we reach for our coats. But when the sun is out, the afternoon feels warm.

All around, the leaves are changing colour. The horse chestnuts started to a while ago, and now the others are starting to turn, their leaves no longer a hemogenous green but all the colours of flame and fire.

For people who don’t like winter, it might feel quite different, but as a lover of autumn, it’s arrival feels like welcoming home an old friend. Snuggly jumpers are working their way out of the places where they have spent the summer, blankets are reappearing, my home ed boy and I have had hot chocolate a couple of times after a chilly morning walk, and I’ve been looking longingly at my fireplace, waiting for the day when it is cold enough to light it again.

At this time of year I always think of the little poem by Emily Bronte, “Every leaf speaks bliss to me, falling from the autumn tree”. One might search for meaning in those words, but I think she just liked autumn and winter best. I like to think I would have been friends with the Bronte sisters if I could have met them!

Wild Blossom Life exists to help us honour the seasons and the turning of the year in a way that feels meaningful, and to offer gentle ideas and hold space for our creativity. It’s here as an alternative to the current shopping holiday consumerist cycle that we can so easily find ourselves caught up in, an alternative that encourages slowing down and spending time with what is going on right now.

Sometimes Starting Feels Hard

When I spend time in nature, I so often feel inspired, but it’s not always easy to find something that I want to do or make. There are all kinds of reasons why, and you might identify with some of them.

• I can’t think what to do
• I have too many ideas and I can’t pick just one
• I’m worried about messing it up
• I don’t want to waste materials, especially if it is something I’ve been saving, even if I don’t know what I am saving it for!
• I don’t know where to start
• It might turn out to be a bad idea
• It might turn out to be a good idea, but one I execute badly

With all of that, sometimes it is easier to not start at all!

This is where creative invitations come in.

What Are Creative Invitations?

If you have never heard of creative invitations and have no idea at all what they are, don’t worry! They are a thing I have invented.

Creative invitations are open ended creative prompts designed to encourage joyful exploration. There is no pressure or expectation to do things in a particular way, or to produce something perfect, polished, or even finished. They are about trying things out, seeing what you like, gathering information, and experimenting. They might feed into a bigger project at some point, or they might not. They are perfect for people who overthink, procrastinate or worry about messing things up. You can’t do them wrong because there is no right or wrong way.

It’s a good idea to precede trying a creative invitation with a walk. Exactly where doesn’t matter. Around your neighbourhood is perfect. Where I live is quite rural, but if you live in a town or a city, it’s fine. Just get outside for a bit, walk about, and see what you can see. You might like to take some photos (or you might prefer to leave your phone at home), you could collect things if you want to, or you could just walk. I Take a moment every so often to stop and really look at what is there around you.

Then when you get home, or later when you have a minute, you might like to try a creative invitation.

Creative Invitations for Autumn

Make leaf rubbings. Thin paper is best but printer paper will do if that’s what you have. Chalk, crayons and pastels all work well but differently. There’s a post about making leaf rubbings here.

Try printing with leaves. Again, thin paper is good for this, or a bit of cotton fabric from an old sheet. Ether quickly brush some paint over a leaf, or cover a baking sheet or a piece of perspex in a thin layer of paint, then press the leaf into it, then print. You could also take a print from the paint that is left. If you have a gelli plate you could try that too. I’m tempted by the gelli plates but probably the last thing I need is another new obsession!

Make imprints of leaves in clay. This is something you can do at any time of year (as long as there are leaves!). There’s a post about it here when I did the same thing in the spring last year.

Collect autumn colours. This might be enough in itself, but if you wanted to take things further, you could match with paint, pencil, fabric or thread.

Collect autumn textures. Autumn is the season for textures!

Experiment with making dyes from berries. The easiest thing to do is to squish them onto a saucer, add a bit of water if necessary, then paint with them. Try to avoid using anything you might use for eating though, unless you are sure the berries are not toxic.

Make a little abstract stitched picture in autumn colours. Don’t spend too much time planning. Use your favourite embroidery stitches and let your hands do the thinking.

Make a little autumn pocket for collecting conkers, acorns and other treasures.

Collect some seasonal bits and pieces and arrange them in a bowl or on a tray. You might like to photograph or draw them, or you could just admire and enjoy.

Collect fallen leaves and arrange according to size, shape and colour.

With sunset occurring earlier, you could capture the colours through photographs, paint, pencil, fabric or stitch.

While outside, take a moment to really notice what you can hear, see and smell.

Continue Your Seasonal Exploration

If you like the idea of creative invitations, you might like The Wild Blossom Companion. It’s a gentle, seasonal guide, with a new edition each month, full of ideas and prompts to help you notice and celebrate the changing year. You can dip into individual months whenever it feels right, or follow along as the seasons unfold. October and November editions are already available if you’d like to begin your autumn journey today.