Autumn’s Memories

Artist Statement: Leaves falling in autumn can be a symbol of many things. For me, falling leaves in autumn is something beautiful. The colors swirling in the wind or drifting slowly to the ground—they are the memories that build up every year, every autumn. As a kid, my friends and I would flail our arms around trying to catch a leaf for good luck. We would laugh, run in the leaves, and attempt to jump in leaf piles. Now, the leaves that fall remind me of all those memories and more. One leaf is for the happy memories of my childhood. One leaf is for the memories of my friends. One leaf is for the memories of my family. One leaf is for the memories made with them. One leaf is for the joys of great things that happened: an award received, a match won. Another is for the sad times: the loss of a loved one, the goodbyes to close friends. And finally, one leaf is for the memory that continues on, the memory of love. So yes, the girl in the piece can be seen as me. And I’m reaching out, trying to catch another leaf and making more memories. My memories make a story. The little pieces of paper glued on are all memories to complete a whole story: the old, the new; the wrinkled, the smooth; the words said and left unsaid. And the story is yet to be finished.