My local public radio station asked me for cover art for the Fall issue of their Airtimes magazine. I was happy to do it. The problem was how to create an image to satisfy their Fall theme and my own whimsical-fantasy side.

Leaves are very Fall, and elves are certainly whimsical-fantasy, and the idea of exploring the world of the forest floor appealed to me. I remembered the display of the animals and plants of the soil I had seen many times at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. In it ants were at least a foot long and worms were gigantic. The display was exciting and a little scary. I loved it. If it pleased me, I reasoned, the radio station would like it too. They did like it and that is the “how and why” of Fifteen Forest Elves’ creation.

I would like to add that I enjoy the visual game of finding hidden images in a drawing or painting. We all, as children, played that game in our coloring books or kid’s magazine. So, why not play as adults, too?  (No reason not to, that I could think of.)