10,000 Butterflies – 24″ x 36″ – silk, paper – Easter, 2008.
Ready or not, today is the Octave (eighth day) of Easter, which came early this year. But no matter when the feast falls on the calendar, no matter whether it is sunny or snowing, in fact no matter if you live in the southern hemisphere where it isn’t even Spring, the meaning of Easter is the same. Among other things, it is a celebration of transformation. For me, that means not just an observance of an event long ago, no matter how miraculous, but a reminder of the transformation that is for us, as well. Most of us have experienced the phenomenon that times of joy and peace often come after times of difficulty, darkness or struggle. (Childbirth would be an example of this in some people’s experience.) Easter is a reminder that this is true on a large scale as well as an everyday one.
So this is why I chose butterflies for my Easter piece of art. Every caterpillar is destined to be a butterfly or moth, but caterpillars are pretty limited creatures, and I doubt that they realize or understand what they are destined to be. They just live their life, do what needs to be done, and when the time comes, become a pupa, and emerge at the other end completely transformed into what they were meant to be.
Each of us has a perfect self; who God created us to be. We are not able to experience that fully in this lifetime; we must undergo a much greater transformation to be perfected. But we have the advantage over butterflies of our consciousness, which allows us to start realizing and developing that metamorphosis now. This might mean giving up or letting go of things, (being a caterpillar is easy and comfortable!) or living through difficult times, but Easter reminds us that it will be worthwhile.
The title of this piece was inspired by a guitar solo by Ottmar Liebert that I heard on the radio one day. If you’d like to hear it, follow the link below, and click on the green “Preview” arrow next to the song. It’s even more beautiful than the art!