Wooden Moth - 32

An ECLIPSE of MOTHS | Paula Coulthard
 

One of the most magical nature moments of Paula's life occurred at a party one winter in Raetihi in the central North Island. There was a bright spotlight shining to light up the lawn, which was bordered by native bush.

That bright light drew Puriri Moths in their hundreds. They were massing in the light, huge and green. Paula was awestruck. The collective noun for a group of moths is an eclipse. She loved the imagery of that - so many that they eclipse the light.

Paula's moths are symbolic of the variety and volume of the approx. 1600 moths and butterflies endemic to Aotearoa. She was inspired to create a simple moth form where the texture and colour of the material is as important as wing shape.

To realise the moths she joined the Wairarapa Woodworkers Guild where she used wood from a fallen Japanese Cedar and reclaimed timber, turned it on a lathe, and into the bodies of the moths. The wings are made from Cedar shingles.

The shingles have a beautiful texture and are tapered to a delicate wing tip. The texture of the shingle wings is left pure and rough, keeping the machine marks from milling, embracing the variations in the natural grain of the wood and highlighting the grain with dye, fire, oxidation and wire brush.

These wooden moths are designed to sit peacefully on an interior wall.

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Dimensions:

Width - 665mm x Height - 325mm 

Construction:

Japanese Cedar, Cedar Shingles, Reclaimed Timber