Comes framed!

Medium: Verre Eglomisé (gilded glass)– 13.25 karat white gold leaf, 22 karat yellow gold leaf, and hand-tarnished silver leaf on glass with mica powder and enamel reverse painting. Unframed dimensions: 10" x 10" x 1/4"

Artist statement:

Animals are often pushed to the sidelines in art. When present, the focus of most pieces is the human and it is into them that we project ourselves. The animal is often used as a symbol, representing a human idea rather than an individual. Only when a human is not present is the animal allowed focus, but even then his or her body is often objectified as merely a beautiful form.

Inspiration for “Firefly Perspective” was drawn from the artwork below. I reframed the piece to be from one of the firefly's point of view in order to reflect upon the individuality of fireflies. It can be hard to remember that fireflies are not merely decorative, but each one is a being whose life is as important to themselves as ours is to us.

The hexagon pattern over this piece represents the individual ommatidia (facets) of this firefly's compound eye. While she would not actually see these hexagons, I included them to remind the viewers of the very different way in which she experiences the world. She has a short range of focus and lacks the eye cone that is red-sensitive, while in it's place is a near-UV receptor. The many facets of her eyes allows her a broader field of vision and the ability to detect motion far swifter than a human eye. Her optical superposition eyes work like two-lens telescopes and are 100 times more sensitive to light than our appositional eyes.

She approaches the iris to feast on it's pollen and nectar.