“Mythology and folklore surrounding moths and butterflies carries complex and sometimes contradictory symbolism,” artist Larysa Bernhardt says. “I was always attracted to their paradoxical nature.” Whereas on one hand, she dreads sure varieties of the winged creatures turning up in her home due to the chance they pose to textiles, she is fascinated by their variations and likes to see them thrive.
Dualities abound in Bernhardt’s sculptural, embroidered textile moths. Her inventive course of begins open air in a seemingly unrelated facet of the studio—her backyard. The artist tends to a “moon garden” each summer time, comprising aromatic botanicals like tobacco, moonflower, datura, and jasmine that fragrance the air and blossom with small white flowers that “glow in the dark like stars,” the artist says. Sphinx and luna moths typically go to, accompanied by 1000’s of fireflies.
When the solar comes up, the backyard transforms right into a riot of shade, with zinnias, poppies, and roses attracting daytime pollinators like butterflies and bees. “It’s the duality of it—night and day, sun and moon, moths and butterflies” that fascinates Bernhardt. She provides, “It’s an incredibly complex balancing act I am forever mesmerized by.”
Mirroring the supple fuzziness of the bugs’ wings, the artist enjoys working with velvet to attain the moths’ class and whimsy. It’s a difficult materials as a result of the pile could be unforgiving; make a mistake and the ghost of the sew will stay as a mark on the material. Bernhardt stitches freehand when making use of motifs to the wings, beginning with a free sketch however permitting instinct to information her in creating star-like patterns and symbolic objects like vases or eyes.
Bernhardt additionally loves working with classic needlepoints and previous tapestries. “I find textile pieces in dusty corners of antique stores; I love these discoveries,” she says. “And I love giving them another chance to go back up on a wall and be admired again, cherished.”
The artist’s work is at present included in Daughters of Eve at Quirky Fox in Taranaki, New Zealand, and Past the Sea at Nanny Goat Gallery in Petaluma, California. In August, Bernhardt shall be a part of a present with Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, and she or he’s at present working towards a solo exhibition at Haven Gallery in Lengthy Island, New York. Discover extra on her web site and Instagram.
