Mike Kraus: Wandering Wednesday: Did You Notice The Fallen Leaf?

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Wandering Wednesday: Did You Notice The Fallen Leaf?

Wandering Wednesday

When Andrew Glaser and Ben Saunders described the artwork they imagined for "Fallen", they gave me a surprisingly simple instruction: “A single leaf off to the side of the pile.” They also told me what the song meant to them. Fallen is written from the "perspective of a decaying leaf, reflecting on the fact that things eventually die, but with a positive outlook on it." That idea became one of the smallest details in the Wooden Shield painting. Look closely at the forest floor and you will find a mass of fallen leaves. But one leaf is highlighted and larger than the others.

It has fallen. Its colors are fading. It is being pulled toward the earth. The trees around it continue to grow, while the leaf becomes part of something larger than itself. The lyrics make that transformation feel personal:

“Seasons have slipped by

Since our glorious fall

Now one with the ground

We answer a new call”

There is sadness in the song, but there is also acceptance. The leaf is not simply disappearing. It is becoming part of the next stage of the forest.

That idea influenced the way I approached the artwork. The forest in Wooden Shield is constantly changing. Spring becomes Summer. Summer becomes Autumn. Leaves grow, change color, fall, and eventually return to the earth.

The single leaf is easy to overlook. But once you know its story, it becomes difficult to see the painting the same way. That is one of the things I love about creating artwork from music. Sometimes the most meaningful part of a painting is not the largest or most obvious element. Sometimes it is the small detail that gives you another way into the song.