Drawing Down the Moon

Drawing Down the Moon

I finished my piece for L'innamorato at the PottersWife Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana later this year (Sept)
The exhibition is curated by Dan Hudson and Aunia Kahn and I'm very happy to be invited to take part.
The theme loosely translates as The Enamoured and we were asked to explore an interpretation of moments, feelings, experiences which have left a sense of awe.

The particular feeling I chose to explore was a slight "out of body" sensation at times when you are reduced to feeling very insignificant in the scheme of things, and not in a bad way, just in a very humbling way.

I once had this sensation whilst looking at our moon, thinking of the hold it has on our planet. The realisation of the vastness of the universe and how we are such a tiny speck in comparison, for a moment those thoughts became a blank, an timeless lapse of not "being". I am still enamoured by the moon and it features very often in my work as a constant that has a hold on us and inspires awe and wonder. "Drawing Down the Moon" is a wiccan expression of drawing power from the moon and I think it fitted well with the piece.

The other time I experienced a similar feeling was coming face to face with a fully grown tiger. I guess being seen as a bit of meat will remind you of your own insignificance pretty well.
Years ago I was lucky enough to have a behind the scenes tour at London Zoo where a friend of mine works. The moment the tiger came in to be fed just feet away from us and fixed you in his gaze I had that feeling, the hairs stood up on my neck and I just felt that "reduction to nothing" in the face of such beauty. There were some lovely experiences with the big cats that day, we got to scritch the old lion through the bars, he seemed to love the attention, stretching full height so we could stroke at his tummy and measure our hands against his paws. What will always stay with me most of all is the Tigers direct gaze.
So I chose to put a cat in my piece, the kitty is based on some sketches of my cat "Coco" although the markings are different. Coco is no tiger, but sometimes I think she thinks she is, like most cats probably.
 I also have an little nod to Ancient Egypt with the Ankh and the "worship of cats". It is safe to say I have been "enamoured" by cats for a long time.

We chose a really ornate frame for this piece, something different for me and I'll try to share some pics before she heads off overseas.

               
Drawing Down the Moon- Ink & Gold Leaf on Illustration Board