The last “super moon” of the year was tonight. There are reports that we won’t be able to see another this close to the earth until 2024. As I look out my kitchen window to catch a glimpse I wonder who else can see this bright beautiful sight.
Could it be my realitives in New York, Florida, Tennessee or all my good friends in Kansas City and other places? If so can they see this also? Makes me think of the saying “love you to the moon and back”. Yet what one actually sees depends on your personal perception, location and circumstances at the time you view it.
Artists face these circumstances with every work they create. Art is a form of communication, sometimes very obvious other times hard to perceive. I have always thought of doing a dark night sky, stars blazing, moon bright and big with the shadow of moonlight showing a deep, dark forest. Another idea that I need to work out. It makes me wonder if I could show or communicate that beauty of moonlight across the forest.
So I decided to step out in the cold dark night to take a picture of this wonderous moon. I usually get good pictures from my phone but this isn’t so good. The distance from my back porch and the brightness of the moon didn’t translate well. But here is the picture.
Seeing what I can see from this picture I am seeing something totally different on my own. It deepens my understanding of the difference from what I perceive and what is actually there. As an artist this is a constant, something that can get in the way of trying to communicate a feeling or vision. Everything is affected by how you are feeling at the moment, your own memory of that moment and what you can see. I strive to communicate that with each new art work. I only wish that those that view my work can see what I see at that moment.
jackie keirnan hale 