I am so excited that my design was chosen for Maine College of Art’s Holiday Sale Window Display this year! I thought I’d share the finished display along with some process photos of the project below:
While brainstorming different ways to fill the window with illustrations in a holiday theme, I decided to design a series of moths in shades of blue - accompanied by a few lanterns to warm up the space. After sketching the full layout of the window to-scale, I made templates of each moth shape/size and used them to make wooden cut outs (thanks to help from my dad):
After priming all 32 moths, I was ready to start painting them based on my sketch. Luckily I had plenty of room to work on both sides of these in a spacious spray booth at my dad’s paint shop:
And after many hours/days spent building up coats and details, I was ready to install them at MECA, along with six kerosene lanterns (shout-out to my mom for her idea for/help filling them with string lights!)
I think my favorite view is at night, when the warmth from the lanterns and icicle string lights really shows:
Below is the artist statement I wrote to accompany the installation:
Through researching pollinators as a frequent theme in my work, I’ve recently become interested in moths and their unique markings. Having been introduced to the philosophy of Cosmic Education this fall, I’m also interested in exploring a theme of universal interconnection through pattern.
I found many visual connections in nature while designing these moths; between wing patterns and leaf veins, stars and snowfall, snowflakes and flowers. Drawing inspiration from Scandinavian folk art, I illustrated these connections throughout this series of thirty-two hand-painted wooden moths.
If you’re local, be sure to check out the Holiday Sale on December 6 + 7th! (more info here).
Many thanks to my parents and husband Kyle for all of their help while I worked on this project - and to MECA for this opportunity and their support! What a way to kick off this holiday season.
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12/14/19 Update: Maine College of Art and Portland Stage won Best Spots for a Photo-Op in Portland Downtown’s annual Holiday Window Display Contest! Check out all of this year’s winners here.