CANDLES AND GHOSTS

It is amazing how, as an artist, when I am working on a piece I come to realize that I am often working on both the conscious level and relative subconscious levels simultaneously.  That can truly be said for this piece, “The Evening Star.”

The evening star as we know it most often refers to the planet Venus, which consequently is named after the roman goddess of love.  Upon closer examination of this piece, I noticed that I was employing references to both without making a deliberate effort to do so.

The repetitive use of both the shape and the actual letter “V” not only helps to move the eye around the piece, but it also reinforces the piece’s name.

I noticed that the calendar piece I collaged into the bottom has the word, “Virgin” typed onto it, but the number “2″ is also clearly visible, and Venus is the 2nd planet from our sun.

If all parts of the piece are opened, the section that contains the words, “The Evening Star” is in the middle position or position 2 which again corresponds with Venus’s location in our solar system.  I think the love references are fairly obvious with use of the photos.

It would be great if I could say that all of these elements were intentional, but they weren’t, and yet if they weren’t there, I don’t think the piece would be nearly as successful.

I did end up choosing to use the antique black glass beads in the chain along with stainless steel, and I think these two add a nice visual balance to the piece.

Oh well, its onto another starting tomorrow.

-M

The beginning of this piece can be found here.