THE STORY OF THE LIGHT AND THE YELLOW BUTTERFLY
I’ve been asked to share the story of this work so many times over the years that it seems its time is due...
The Light and the Yellow Butterfly :: :: :: If you look closely at the grey area in the upper right, you can make out the slight form of an old-fashioned gaslight bulb. This signifies the ways in which the previous election and president dealt with America. The line between the gaslight bulb and the yellow area signifies the hypnotic effect of psychological gaslighting on a population.
The yellow area is the butterfly, which comes from an amazing and beautiful interaction I had with a little yellow butterfly at the base of Baboquivari, a mountain I love dearly here in southern Arizona. I had broken my ankle a few weeks before this interaction, and was becoming restless, so I decided a long scenic drive, and a short hike to stretch my muscles was needed.
I hiked up to the base of Baboquivari, and as I sat there taking in the healing beauty that surrounded me, a little yellow butterfly flew up to my ankle. It fluttered over my ankle for a moment, then flew up to my face. I swear we locked eyes. Then it fluttered back to my ankle before flying off. I had this overwhelming sensation that I had just been blessed by this butterfly. I wondered, did I’itoi (the mountain god) just cast a healing spell on me?
So the symbol of the butterfly and yellow are very powerful to me. They represent beauty & love, healing, and resistance—and the power to bring about change. They are very positive symbols for me. The shape of the yellow is that of a flower pot; a place to grow beauty and love to facilitate change. As even when one flower passes—it leaves a seed for the growth of a new one, and perhaps even a whole garden. Vase shapes are reoccurring elements in my work for this very reason; they are places for growth (of beauty and love) and places of holding to keep things safe.
As things escalate in this country, “The Light & the Yellow Butterfly” seems just as relevant to me today as it did four years ago.
THE LIGHT AND THE YELLOW BUTTERFLY, mixed media on canvas, 48 inches x 48 inches.
