Sunday, November 05, 2006

Lunar Moth


digital image

I am continuing to use linked circles. "Grab the golden ring" refers to the brass rings on the first carousels. Children tried to grab them while riding in order to win an extra time around. For me, they are about claiming one's life in an affirmative way, making the decision to live rather than exist, even if it means struggle. I will go further and say that reaching for the ring is an act of striving. The striving is not about productivity or the accumulation of wealth, but rather an openness to change and the pursuit of self-development. The rings are not here to symbolize an attempt to lengthen one's life, as if one could buy more time or cheat death, getting an extra turn on the carousel of life.
Lunar moths live about a week. The moths transform themselves in their short lifespans and become beautiful. Some people may say they are beautiful in every stage. "I am attracted to positive people like a moth is to light," is self-explantory. I love being around people who are not burned out, who have contagious enthusiasm; the kind of people that "light up a room." As we experience the darkness in the world, it is important that we don't allow it to hinder us in our paths into becoming our best selves. That is why twelve-step programs advocate removing oneself from the people, places, and things that encourage negative behavior.
Obviously there is a play on the word "lunar" here between the moth and the moon. The large circle, emanating light as well as gold rings, is the moon, but is also symbolic of the divine.

2 comments:

Andrew said...

I like this spin on the rings (no pun intended). Using the lunar moth to reach for the gold ring is really clever.

Digital image, eh? Guess you got the tablet? What drawing tool are you using?

Nicole Maynard said...

I do have the table and it is quite amazing. It is such a flexible medium for working out ideas. I still have to decide how I like it for finished artwork. Nothing can totally replace oil paint for me, but I think it has its place as its own medium like printmaking does. I think the quality of the software and printer/inks/paper all make a huge difference for the "art object". I do think that the blog, at its best, can be an artform. I'm using Ink Art 1.3 right now because it came with the computer, but I have a free trial for the sketchbook program. At some point I would like to get Painter ix.5, which is supposed to be very good.