d’Arte Board

moth, encaustic, eggshells on cradled panel
6 x 6 inches

Another in the encaustic icon series, this one will probably require more work. There are times when I seem to find dead moths everywhere. Unfortunately, I’ve lost some of my best finds–I’ve somehow misplaced all of my big pale green luna moths and the perfectly preserved face complete with spiral tongue of the Sphinx Moth I found was eaten off by hungry ants. Damn ants always ruining the picnic.

detail photo and thoughtflow after the jump!

Moths always make me think of quiet and stillness and fragments of time as opposed to time as it moves forward. I guess that last one could be explained as memories although the first explanation feels more specific and therefore accurate to what I’m trying to describe. I also associate moths with melancholy and sadness. That might be in part because the way they flutter incessantly and aimlessly around lights can seem so hopeless and misguided. Maybe it’s also because compared to butterflies (also of the order Lepidoptera) moths I see are frequently less colorful. In my mind, butterflies = major scale while moths = minor scale. Plus, it’s often hard to tell if a moth is dead or alive. I’ve been fooled more than once by a moth that sits in the same spot for hours on end. Now I usually blow lightly on them to determine their status–past or present. And in conclusion, I have nothing else to say.