My new print “Love Thys(elf)” is available for preorder here.
Over the years, I’ve been able to reflect on myself, my actions, and my purpose here in the material world. This started with the birth of my son in 2014. There is great potential for growth when you bring life into this plane. And after becoming a father, I had new thoughts about the art I have manifested in the past and that which is yet to come. The biggest reflection of this is the release of my book “Old MacDonald Had A Farm” and the follow up “10 Spooky Pumpkins”.
Then came 2020, when we saw the world turn topsy-turvy and everything that was was no longer or something else all together. I saw the worst sides of people, and yet I also witnessed the gold that came out of it.
Through it all, I have been searching for my purpose, and will seek this path until the end of my days. For starters, I want to create art and stories that uplift people and inspire rather than hold people down in the abyss of dread. My work over twenty-five years has created an expectation for the macabre. It is a typecast I am finding hard to break. While some of this is instilled into my being, I will find ways to portray it with a silver lining and a didactic outcome.
My wife was producing a micro-retreat for woman she titled “Love Thyself”. An image immediately came to me of a feminine entity of elven (Ælfen) kind with her hands placed gently over her heart while levitating in a bath of iridescent light. Within the image are sixteen edelweiss flowers. Sometimes, when I create art, I research the significant meaning behind it’s symbols. Sometimes I just create what comes to me and uncover these secrets after the fact. Usually, it’s a little bit of both. There are a few flowers that are associated with elves, but I gravitated to the rare edelweiss of the alps and painted a number of these mystical buds scattered amongst the page. That was as much forethought I put into it. In hind sight I have discovered many symbols that were unconsciously intended while creating this piece.
First, is in the edelweiss flower itself. I was drawn to the allure that this flower possessed. While edelweiss is not necessarily associated with elves, it’s enigmatic perseverance in the Alpine mountains gave rise to a reputation for resilience and overcoming obstacles. These correspondences will align with what I have to say below regarding numbers. When we look at the german word Edelweiß as a compound of edel “noble” and weiß “white” we can draw similarities to the etymology of Elf. The root for elf comes from the Proto-Indo-European root elbós “white”. According to Jakob Grimm, this “whiteness” was thought to imply positive moral connotations, suggesting elves were divinities of light. Snorri Sturluson divided elf races into contrasting polarities with the dökkálfar “dark elves” and the ljósálfar “light elves” attested in the Prose Edda.
Second, is the significance of numbers. There are sixteen edelweiss flowers. Sixteen is a multifaceted number that spans mathematics, culture, spirituality, and science. Mathematically, sixteen can be represented as 4² and 8+8. Forty-four as it appears numerically (44) is a very personal number for me and is a number I’ve recognized in my life for maybe thirty years now. Spiritually, it represents stability and divine guidance. I perceive it as a message from the guardians; a reminder that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. So 4² is just another reminder of my purpose being fulfilled. In Kabbalah, the eighth sefirah Chet represents strength, renewal, and transcendence. Sixteen, which is 8+8, represents the duality of love, combining both physical actions and inner understanding. Numerologically, sixteen can be looked at as one and six individually. One represents the self while six resonates with love. In it’s essence, sixteen literally means “love thyself”!
Sixteen is a symbol of transformation. It resonates with the theme of our individual transformational journey and encourages us to embrace change and trust the process. It serves as a reminder that, like the edelweiss in the rocky Alpine mountains, growth often emerges from challenges, pushing us towards our true s(elves). Don’t you love it when things line up?
During these times, I feel everyone could benefit from a little warmth; the spark inside (the spark to smile, the spark to laugh, the spark to create). I hope this new piece “Love Thys(elf)” does just that.
