Inside Art : September 2025

by Louise Seirmarco-Yale, Reston Artist

Teachers and September seem to go together, right? And if you are lucky, you have known one of those imaginative teachers who just know how to make art an everyday occurrence. We already know that art exists everywhere and in everything. Be sure to thank any teacher who helps you keep that awareness.

Discovering art along the way is one of life’s great joys. I am a fan of finding a surprise mushroom on a walk in the woods. Looking at a leaf and thinking, “This looks just like a pretty dress!” Most people can see a lady’s head in an acorn. Finding twigs and berries on the ground makes it easy to pick them up and string them together, just for the fun of it. Fall is like that.

Children bring home their colorful leaf treasures to an adult who can iron them between sheets of waxed paper, or dip them in paraffin for posterity. We want to preserve their beauty. Freshly dropped leaves feel as good as they look, and we are mesmerized. Soon their beauty becomes crispy, dry, and dull. Their glory withers away. Naturally, we want to preserve the magic we feel when we discover “the best one.” We want to keep it—and that feeling—forever.

It might be the biggest leaf, or the brightest leaf, that amazes us. Maybe it is the intricate lacy pattern the veins and stems make that fascinates us. What engineering! Suddenly, taking notice of the ordinary, up close, intrigues us and delights us. Fall makes us do that.

Georgia O’Keeffe was masterful at making us look at something up close. She is credited with saying that “artists make the unknown known.” It sounds hard, but we do it quite naturally, although we do not always call it art. Her huge, bold paintings of flowers force us to look up close. We must see the delicate design of blossoms and love them as she did. She made them known to us.

Take in the breathtaking detail of leaves as they transform our environment from one marvelous leaf to the magnificent vista. Notice the unknown, and make it known, at least to yourself, for a moment.

Really see, and not just look. Return to the child within you, who can still simply enjoy the colors, shapes, and lines of the perfect leaf. Take it home. Preserve it . Feel the delight and surprise again, of finding such joyful art, on the ground.

There is something wonderfully satisfying about discovery. The very element of surprise is part of the joy. We do not expect to find this treasure today. Our endorphins rush, and feelings of satisfaction—of being part of nature ourselves—enhance the experience. Ahhh.

That is what art does. Anywhere you find it.

Louise Seirmarco-Yale is a Reston artist, speaker, teacher and author of “Art. You Be The Judge. Reawaken your Instincts and Enjoy Art On Your Own Terms” is available on Amazon. www.peopleneedart.com/, email: hello@peopleneedart.com FB and Instagram: @louise_seirmarco_art