Conjuring

"Conjuring"

acrylic on birch panel

16 x 20 inches

2012

I've been ignoring this blog for a while because I've been working my ass off in preparation for my August 11th solo show at Modern Eden Gallery, called "Talisman".

 As the name Talisman implies, this show is about the magical amulets typically worn around the neck which protect and help the wearer. I'm fascinated by these amulets, I have been interested in them since I was a kid.  I wanted to make a series incorporating them into my favorite animals' lives.

Here's a new finished piece called, "Conjuring". This one portrays a male fox who has lost his dear wife and is conjuring her spirit using her skull and the Magic Hexagram amulet.  I found online that "although it is not as famous as the pentagram, the hexagram has been used as a magical symbol for thousands of years.  It is frequently viewed as a form that can act as a portal to the spirit world.  As such, the the Magic Hexagram amulet is a great tool for anyone seeking to invoke or evoke spirits, angels or demons."

The barn owl also is assisting the husband fox with a heart-shaped Ouija planchette which bears the symbol of the pentacle.  Between the wife's ghostly image and the husband's solid one is the flower astilbe, which means "I'll still be waiting" in Floriography, the Victorian language of flower meanings.  Astilbe leaves float down from the sky around them.  Beside the husband fox are white tulips, which mean "lost love".