12.05.2011

"I have loved the stars too fondly..."

Wanna see what became of the wee wooden man of a few posts back?In the last few months constellations have been showing up in my work. When it came time to paint my nutcracker, it seemed only right to give a nod to the "father of astronomy", Galielo Galilei (1564-1642).
Meet Galileo Nutcracker. He has a telescope made of part pencil, part lollipop stick and part toothpick so he can see the stars. I imagine that the real Galileo lived and breathed the night sky so I put a constellation near my wooden man's heart. It's Orion, the Hunter. Stars on his shoes and on his hat; Galileo thinks of the heavens as he walks. He discovered four of the largest moons of Jupiter, you know. The hares are there to ground him to the earth. Thinking of the heavens as much as he did, it's a wonder he didn't just rise on up in the night. And I read once how in numerous ancient cultures the hare and rabbit were associated with the moon. We see a man in the moon; they saw a hare. In Egyptian myth the rabbit is closely linked to the cycles of the moon. I've named one Virgina and the other Livia, after his two daughters. Galileo has vintage lace at his wrists; being a guest at the Nutcracker Ball meant I would have to make sure he looked his finest.


Favorite Galileo quote:


“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."


This is on the back of the nutcracker base. I like the think the winner of the silent auction (who happens to be a mom friend at dance---yay, K.H!) will see these words and smile as I did, for it is yet another one of those beloved quotes that lights a fire in my soul.


Here are some of the nutcrackers at a gallery downtown. There were others that didn't appear until the ball but I get sick with a yucky cold and didn't get to go. I tried so hard to get a photograph without glare but alas, it was not to be. I really love them all, how unique they are, how we were all given the same pieces of wood and came up with such different visions. Go art!

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