layers

Mother Nature by Lisa Goesling

Top: Art of a Catkin from a Pussy Willow and a Fingerprint. Bottom: Lacy Leaf and Dragonfly by Lisa Goesling

Top: Art of a Catkin from a Pussy Willow and a Fingerprint. Bottom: Lacy Leaf and Dragonfly by Lisa Goesling

Have you ever noticed how much nature's patterns repeat themselves? I first became truly aware when I was drawing a dragonfly. Not long before, I had completed a black and white scratchboard of a leaf eaten away by bugs. I named it Lacy Leaf because the patterns were so delicate and intricate, just like a fine piece of lace. 

When I began to study the dragonfly, it too had a detailed pattern, much like the leaf. I was stunned by how the same seemingly random shapes fit together to form a majestic dragonfly. 

Just the other day a friend came across one of my scratchboards of Pussy Willows. Her immediate response was, "they look like fingerprints!"

By this point, I was well aware of designs repeating themselves in birds, insects, plants and flowers. What I hadn't considered was that we share similar patterns with the rest of nature. All I had to do was to take a closer look. 

Small Wonder by Lisa Goesling

Copyright:  Small Dahlia by Lisa Goesling                                                                               

I look at this flower and marvel at how the pink outlined petals create a constant movement of shapes, sizes and patterns. I continue to be surprised by the interplay that occurs within a single element in nature.