Luna Moon

The newest resident in the boarding house is Luna Moon.  She is so thrilled because she was able to rent the attic room - which has a lovely window, high enough that she can see the moon in all its phases.

As a child Luna would look out her bedroom window, which was right beside her bed, and gaze at the silvery orb of the moon.  Many wishes and dreams were carried out before her eyes grew heavy and she went to sleep.

These day she absolutely refuses to believe the stories of men on the moon and that its surface is barren rock.  Luna is caught up in moonlight and no amount of science will dissuade her. I think I might even see a few moonbeams in her hair.  Shhh, please don't take her dreams away. 

"Aim for the moon.  If you miss, you may hit a star." - W. Clement Stone

"Earthshine"

earthshine n. the light of the sun reflected

by the earth into space, faintly

illuminating the darker portion

of the moon at about the

time of a new moon.

 

 

Don't you love that definition?  In this series of 'earth' works I just had to dedicate this piece to 'earthshine'.

 

 

What subtle colors would capture the earth, moon and space? 

 

 

What 'shiny' tidbits did I have on hand to add to the ambience?

 

Piece by piece she came to life - silently sitting there on the shelf - witnessing the wonders of the universe.

"If you could see the earth illuminated when you were in a place as dark as night, it would look to you more splendid than the moon." - Galileo Galilei, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems - 1632

 

 

 



Gathering Moonbeams

Continuing my long love affair with the moon!

For ever so long none of us had actually been to the moon and so it remained a bit of a mystery sending light down upon the earth in the middle of the night.  Has seeing pictures of the first person to set foot on earth taken away its magic?  Not for me -- I still look up at a full moon feeling that it is shining just for me (but I gladly share it with everyone else).  While science and discovery can tell me all the nitty-gritty about the moon I'll continue to gather moonbeams on a full moon night.

"Moonlight is sculpture." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Man in the Moon

Hanging high in the night sky is our moon -- sending light into the darkness -- thrilling us with its mystery -- moving tides against our shores.  Sometimes it is a big orb above us and other times it is but a sliver in the sky.  I often open the blinds on full moon nights --hoping that the light will awaken me so that I can enjoy it.  

I'd like to share with you my version of 'The Man in the Moon'.  His face came to me quite by accident on a jacket that I found at a thrift store. He is beaded in shades of white and grey.  I very much enjoyed using beads to apply moon features to him -- signs of the water that has been recently found upon the moon, moon rocks, glittery beads that represent moonlight and crowning his head are moonstone beads.  This was my very own lunar exploration and I invite you to join me as I 'dance by the light of the moon'.

"Tis the witching hour of night,

Oer bed is the moon and bright,

And the stars they glisten, glisten,

Seeming with bright eyes to listen.

For what listen they"?

- John Keats   

Moon Dust

The moon has long been my talisman. As a child I had to begin wearing glasses and the first thing I noticed upon donning them was the 'man in the moon'. I had heard that phrase but never knew what people were talking about because to my eyes the moon was a flat disk up in the dark sky. Now I could see the 'man in the moon'. My bedroom window, which was right beside my bed often showed me the full moon and its light. It was often bright enough to wake me out of a sound sleep. I would lie there and make wishes and know that 'Mr. Moon' was watching over me. It was easy to fall back to sleep knowing that I was so gifted by this big, bright orb.

Today, when the trees are not in full bloom, the full moon shines into my studio. Still watching out for me I guess. When I choose bead colors I often think of the moon -- I call many of my choices 'moon colors' because to me they seem soft and muted as if a cloud has passed over the moon. I love the feeling that soft colors give to me. I honestly admire those who can bead with bright, colorful beads -- I love to see them -- but for my hands it is the muted, misty colors that seem to represent most clearly what I'm trying to portray in my work. Hmm, sort of a mix-up there that the muted colors would portray me more clearly!

I'm drawn to soft greys and lavenders, robin's egg blue and aquamarine. Do you think I'm still whispering in the dark to my friend the moon by using these oh so quiet colors?

"Follow your inner moonlight, don't hide the madness". - Allen Ginsburg