Holding the Moon Mo 19
vintage electric blue leather over acid free bookbinders board, egg shell mosaic & black papier maché moons, antique parchment (circa 1812) scalpel cut stars stitched with white linen thread, vintage blue silk lining, egg shell mosaic covering a macadamia nut moon seed, moon ladder made with grape vine tendrils, white paint & linen thread
H 6cm x W 6cm x D 6cm
last night my wonderful sculptor friend Bronwyn Berman saved the day when she questioned why I would show this work without letting the viewer see inside the box. I had tried putting the tiny moon ladder inside the box earlier in the day but it just cluttered the space, shifting my focus to outside the box did the trick. This week Jude Hill had discussed how framing and context can change as the work progresses, ain’t that the truth, I was so intent on thinking inside the square I couldn’t see the way out, it’s so good to have artist friends!
the ladder at rest on the lid
the view from above with the ladder holding the lid open
outside on a sunny day to give a sense of scale
a safe place for the moon to incubate dreams
PS a few days later Liz suggested letting the moon out to enjoy the view
that was fun but feels better nestled safely in its box
Holding the Moon (thinking outside the square) Mo 19
Posted: June 15, 2019 by Mo Crow in It's Crow TimeTags: moon ladder, Once in a Blue Moon, reaching for the stars, talismans
Comments
It's Crow Time 
Oh brilliant! I love the ladder – the detailing – and it works so well as part of the whole, as well as being functional/purposeful. I admire (to the nth degree) the subtly of it’s slight twist – and the twining of the vines just add the right amount of whimsy — honestly Mo, this piece just blows my mind – I’m going to swoon with the images for awhile (great way to end my evening I think)
(((Wild Child))) ’tis done, just need to work on the artist statement, Bronwyn helped with that too by asking what was the maximum number of words on the entry form for the Woolahra Small Sculpture Prize, I didn’t know as I always just look at the minimum number when wrangling words. It would be magic to get selected but the competition is fierce, over 500 entries from Australian and international artists are received each year with approximately 45 finalists’ works exhibited.
it’s just so —— intriguing – I’m over the moon 😉
Perfect……
(((Eliene))) it was such a huge leap to get outside the box!
I enjoyed this beautiful creation from the first time I saw it, Even more now with the explanation. It must have been a joy to create!
(((Laurie))) thanks for visiting, just read your blog, you are so brave, my mentor in glass engraving Anne Dybka lost her vision, working by touch in the last ten years of her life. One of her most beautiful pieces ‘The Shoal’ was carved when she was 80 and could barely see!
Mo~ Like Wildchild said, that subtle twist of the ladder is just sublime! Your moons have been sure growing ladders lately 🙂 I love the photos outside too…the bright light gives such a different sense of the piece and to see you holding it…sigh.
(((Nancy)) Old Man Crow took the outside photos with his iPhone, the sharp focus and clarity of colour is brilliant!
So much of our work is problem solving and letting ideas develop, don’t you think? The ladder is perfect to complete the whole concept, and builds on your earlier work. I love it.
(((Louise))) so true, here’s Brett Whiteley’s (an Australian artist who died in 1992) advice to the aspiring artist –
”aim at virtually whatever is in front of you… and then one day you’ll see something that you have truly never seen before and that is the beginning of yourself & that heralds the beginning of difficult pleasure.”
http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/difficult-pleasure/clip3/
(NB Difficult pleasure is how Brett described painting, or creating art: Art is an argument between what a thing looks like and what it means.)
These words have helped me find my way through the long dark nights many many times in the past 30 years!
a true treasure box Mo !!!!!
Keeping the moon safe 😉
(((Els))) just trying to get some thoughts into words here –
for the love of the moon
that cool high perspective
does the moon care about all the dreams and longing we send up to her mysterious eyes?
she is a mysterious dark mirror of our collective dreaming
her constantly changing face a measure in time with the many moons that make a year, a lifetime, her cool gaze reassuring
all those long train journeys up and down the coast with the moon out the window gliding alongside, guiding the rails
dancing in the moonlight light, singing with the stars
50 years since a man first walked so awkwardly on the moon
and that beautiful photo of earth rise seen from the moon… that beautiful vision a green and blue paradise when our beautiful broken world is crying out for us to mend our ways, to look after her with kindness, love and respect for all life… the paradigm shift, I have to believe we can change our ways, we used to think the world was flat… the alternative is too cruel
an exploration of thinking inside the box by making the most beautiful box I could muster only to find that for it to work I needed to make that leap outside the box. There was a few days in the process when it was very close to becoming high Kitsch which can be amusing but doesn’t transport the soul, the heart of the matter, that ineffable moment when the dreamed of thing becomes a work of Art.
I work with deep intent from dream to reality with care and attention to detail, to make a thing well that will last for generations.
a talisman to hold in these strange days with this city getting more harsh, and hard-hearted by the day, considering The Moon reassures my soul & makes peace with my heart
Ahhhh ((Mo)) you not just captured the moon inside that box … you captured just right here a whole LOT more !!!
(not only your hands … you also make beautiful words)
(((Els))) have to write more about the magic and mystery of the moon, the ritual offerings for the Full Moon tonight & the Solstice on Friday night are potent times so I am just working on a drawing whilst watching out for the magic from the corner of the eye
Mo, I have no words, just a wish that I could hold it all and gaze deeply into your box.
(((Hazel))) we need a matter transfer unit!
I’m aboard!
BEAUTIFUL Mo..ox
(((Margaret))) it really is!
this brings me back to art school, i made a lot of boxes, just boxes, i think i still have them.
(((Jude))) would love to see your boxes from back then!
Every locked situation could use a step outside the box. This is such a life lesson. Each time, I repeat it and repeat it to myself till the locked part dissolves. What a perfectly beautiful creation.
(((Michelle))) so true, I was so adamant about the context being an exploration inside the box, gotta laugh!
the ladder looks to be a living thing …
(((Liz))) love how grape vine tendrils are so springy & lively! The little ladder was too big on the inside but fits so perfectly on the outside, the lid has turned into a little verandah like an awning on a caravan (aka trailer in the USA)
Hmmm … a veranda … or a horizon?? Is the ladder strong enough and/or the moon light enough for it to perch on the laddered lid? Or is there too much risk of the moon falling off a la Humpty Dumpty?
(((Liz))) that’s really thinking outside the box, will give it a try and take a photo when the sun comes up, those tendrils are surprisingly sturdy and the moon seed is not very heavy!
just took the photo and it was fun but feels safer nestled in its box
oh, so glad you did … but yes, it did feel precarious!
dive into the moon, immerse. (I see a diving board, a spring loaded catapult to moonlight.)
(((Arlee))) love it!
I cannot express all my thoughts and feelings. I´m speechless. Wonderful Mo!
(((Doris))) thanks for having a look, it is a beautiful thing!
the ladder does the job perfectly
(((Saskia))) it does!