Sunday, May 6, 2012

Moonstruck Goddesses


Did you see the supermoon last night? It was pretty spectacular, although during the time it was supposed to "peak" (just after 11:30 here) we had too much cloud cover here to see anything but a vague glow in the sky. Disappointing, but still energizing just to step outside and bathe in the brightness.

There's something so magical and otherworldly about the full moon, something directing our thoughts to the mystical. You can feel it's energy. With this in mind, I began painting a series of Full Moon Goddesses in January. The idea was to choose a Goddess appropriate to the symbolism of each full moon. Some are Greek, some Celtic, and some may be Roman or Norse.

The first in the series was Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the hunt, for January's full wolf moon...


Next was Chione, also Greek, for February's full snow moon...


March's Goddess was The Morrigan, Celtic goddess of battle and strife, who shapeshifts into a crow - perfect for the full crow moon...


April's full pink moon was Eostre, the Goddess of rebirth and fertility, and namesake of the Christian Easter celebration...


And the most recent, actually painted as the full flower supermoon rose in the sky, the Welsh Goddess Blodeuwedd (pronounced bluh-die-weth), magically made from flowers, whose totem is an owl...


It's been quite the journey painting these women, and quite the education. I'm reading as much as I can, but also realizing I've only scratched the surface. My friend Lunaea very kindly recommended some books on Goddesses, and they're next on the Barnes and Noble list. ;)

The originals in the series - 13 in all, counting the blue moon - are already spoken for, but there's been so much interest on facebook, I'm offering prints. The first four in the series (Artemis through Eostre) will be available in my Etsy shop within a few days. At this point, I've only ordered half a dozen of each, as I wanted something easily manageable before I leave for an extended road trip on the 13th. Those of you following my art page on facebook (link on the right hand sidebar) will see a heads-up posted there as soon as they're listed.

Next up is a a piece for this month's PFATT Marketplace, honoring St Francis of Assisi, and all our animal friends.

In the meantime, things are a bit crazy here as I prepare for the trip to Key West (details here)...I'll be doing a bit of art as we travel, but in watercolor and colored pencil, which will be a fun change...

Thanks as always for your interest in my work, and for your kind comments. :)

Back soon!
♥ Carolee

2 comments:

Ms. said...

I love the latest one...and may I recommend "When God Was A Woman" by Merlin Stone if you can find it.

Nellie said...

These are lovely, Carolee! You do very nice work!