Saturday, November 29, 2014

Andromeda Star Being, a Contemporary Folk Spirit Doll from the We All See the Same Moon painting

Recently I created a new canvas painting titled "We All See the Same Moon". This painting was symbolically important to me, speaking of seeing past our differences and the things that divide us,
in order to bond as compassionate humans in peace and love. At this point in the evolution of our human spirits you would think that we would have come much further in our connectedness, but unfortunately we seem to be even more so divided by race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age, and disabilities. Hate crimes and intolerance seem to be running rampant in our world, and I wanted to call attention to this in my painting. The symbolism and message within the painting was portrayed profoundly by reminding one through the imagery that "We All See the Same Moon". At our cores we are all the same fragile spirits living an earthly human experience, with the same vulnerabilities and fears, joys and dreams.
The original painting was sold, but the message remained important to me. I then offered it as an Art Print in my Fine Art America studio, but still I wanted its focus to live on. I decided to create, in 3D form, the four star beings in the painting who stand looking up a the Moon.


The first of this series is Andromeda as a Star Being. I suppose I chose this Star Being to be Andromeda because of the historical mythology of Princess Andromeda and how I interpreted it. 
Andromeda's mother, Cassiopeia, boasted often of her daughter's beauty, so much so that she began telling others that her daughter was more beautiful than their own children. Her mother had fostered a jealousy among many that soon became a hatred.  Poseidon, the God of the Sea, was angered by this boastful rivalry and decided to send a sea monster to destroy Andromeda's home lands, and soon Andromeda was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to appease the sea monster. Andromeda's life, an innocent victim of this spiraled hate, was saved by Perseus. 
Andromeda later married Perseus and the two proceeded to have 9 children together. 
At the end of her life, a goddess placed her among the constellations in the sky near Perseus and her mother Cassiopeia. 

The story causes one to look at Ego and Modesty, Boastfulness and Jealousy, Hatred and Indifference. In ancient origin, mother Cassiopeia's boastful  attitude was called hubris, an extreme arrogance by a person in power in order to belittle or shame those they felt were less than.  

Andromeda was a beautiful spirit,  both loved and hated by many because of this beauty. 


The Andromeda Spirit Doll is available in my Etsy shop here

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