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Dissecting the Reverie Still Life - PART I

Dissecting the Reverie Still Life - PART I

 

I.

Reverie is daydreaming: floating between reality, fantasy, and memory, to connect our conscious and unconscious, so we can seek out what lights us up.  (Cause it’s a choice) What gives you energy? What feeds your soul? That is Joy. 

IV.

I highlighted the definition of “energy” in this antique dictionary intentionally. 

Energy=

1. the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.
2. power derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources, especially to provide light and heat or to work machines.

Energy feeds our bodies, our minds, our lives…it is so important to seek out what lights us up, what gives us energy….what ADDS to the battery instead of draining it.  That choice is actively seeking & creating joy.   It’s hard sometimes to identify what or who is an energy drainer in your life instead of an energy giver.  All good things take work, and our lives are complicated and often difficult..but take the gestalt of moments, add them up, do they make your flame burn in a beautiful way?

The spade is a beautiful symbol for this moment of Reverie.  There is so much symbolism in a spade.  It has many relevant, significant, meanings..the idiom “in spades” speaks of abundancy, plenty-the largesse of the energy in the room that feeds us..that brings Joy.   And it also represents the element Air as one of the four suits in playing cards.  Air is associated with intellect and action, air brings the winds of change, air feeds fire.    Many people also see the spade as representing a single leaf of the “cosmic” tree, and thus life.  And even if you think of a spade as the tool that you use for your Spring gardening..what does it do? It breaks ground so you can plant seeds..and those seeds grow to create life.  The spade is the initiator, it’s the catalyst.

 V.

Reverie is composed of four symbols that are intended to EVOKE joy rather than just describe it:

The butterfly: which is a symbol of an inextinguishable soul; is always drawn to light.
The three butterflies together represent three winged souls of inspiration: Mneme (memory), Aiode (Music) and Melete (practice/occasion/dance-that “thing” particular to you that gets you into the flow where time has no end and anything is possible) Together they incite us to daydream, to create, to celebrate.
Tucked between the wings of each butterfly is the roman numeral 10, which represents manifestation and completion.  Each soul actualized.
The Spade represents the idiom “in spades”, abundance, it’s the energy catalyst, the initiator.
And all of that leads to Omne Bonum: All Good things, the path to joy. 

 

VIII.

LOVE.  A trip to the Carl Aubock Wekstatte in Vienna was a dream.  I went with one of my very best friends, Natasha Stanglmayr.  I’ve collected Carl Aubock brass pieces for years. It’s a fifth generation family-owned metal craft shop that has earned cult status among collectors.  (this E keychain is from them)