Proving that art is everywhere: With nothing more than a scanner and a handful of fallen leaves, participants at The Arts Incubator are discovering the accessible, high-impact possibilities of digital collage. Image: Jamie Bell
How Autumn Leaves Can Inspire High-Resolution Digital Art and Hands-On Editing Skills
This week at The Arts Incubator, we’re connecting with the Art Borups Corners collective and their interdisciplinary arts and digital skills program for a seasonal turn: drawing inspiration straight from nature.
After waiting all summer, the two groups finally got the chance to gather colourful autumn leaves and bring them into the digital space through the use of flatbed scanners. Instead of relying solely on cameras, the scanner offers a unique way of capturing fine details—textures, veins, edges, and even the subtle shifts of colour—that often get lost in photographs. The result is a crisp, high-resolution image that feels more like a pressed leaf than a snapshot.
Once scanned, the real experimentation begins. Using open-source tools like GIMP, participants are learning how to layer, edit, and manipulate these natural images to create digital collages and effects. The process introduces them to a range of artistic techniques: adjusting saturation to enhance fiery reds and yellows, combining leaves in unexpected arrangements, or blending them with other textures for abstract compositions. These exercises are not only creative but also practical, offering hands-on experience with digital editing software widely used in art, design, and publishing.
What makes this activity so engaging is its simplicity. With nothing more than a scanner, a computer, and a handful of fallen leaves, artists are able to create striking digital artworks. It demonstrates how accessible digital tools can be, lowering barriers for new artists and sparking creative possibilities with everyday materials. By grounding digital skills training in something tactile and familiar—like autumn leaves—the workshop bridges traditional and contemporary art-making, allowing participants to see how the two worlds connect.
As the leaves continue to fall, this project captures the fleeting beauty of the season while offering lasting skills. These scanned images and digital collages may end up as stand-alone artworks, elements of larger projects, or even inspiration for future exhibitions. For now, though, the focus remains on exploration and play—transforming simple autumn leaves into digital canvases full of possibility.
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