Butterfly

I started this blog post to merely share with you my recently acquired artwork by Lucy Peveto. Lucy creates one of a kind mixed media paintings on wood panels. She uses acrylic, gold leaf, actual butterfly wings from the San Antonio Zoo and resin to hold it all in place. Butterflies live a very short life and all wings have been collected post mortem. Lucy says that we can all be born again through grace and natural transformation.  And butterflies live on in her artwork.

Since the 4th Century BC, visual artists have been fascinated by the butterfly and their brief summertime appearance.  A dainty structure that skittishly maneuvers about the flower garden in sporadic flight paths. To metamorphose from caterpillars is an act that has long been seen as a symbol of beauty breaking free from baseness. In the 21st Century, it might just serve as a reminder that we still have the potential to change and survive.

In researching my article, of course it brought me down several other rabbit holes and I will explain further as you read on.

Is a butterfly a pollinator?

I have a small garden on the sunny side of my house where a native ground cover populated the small space quickly in the spring.

Check out all those beautiful butterflies jumping from flower to flower. My first thought was they must be pollinating this little crop. Just as a busy bee buzzing its way through plants and crops, butterflies do their fair share in seed and fruit production.

Easier on the eyes

Not only are butterflies bigger and easier to see than a tiny bee, but the colors of their wings attract us to their flitting ways around the garden. A butterfly is an incredible indicator of an ecosystem’s condition. They are quick to find the perfect stress free and energy producing habitat. They flock to brightly colored sweet-smelling flowers including asters, daisies, butterfly bush, butterfly weed, lantana, marigolds, purple coneflowers and zinnias.

Another reason butterflies have not been taken seriously as pollinators is because they are not considered major players in commercial food crops. Research tends to follow the money, and butterflies have been regarded as second-class to their bee brothers.

The supporting actress

Grapevines are a notable exception to the pollination rule. Since they have both male and female reproductive characteristics, they can self-pollinate, eliminating the essential need for an external pollination force. However, this doesn’t mean that pollination is not vital to vineyard ecosystems.

Notably, grapevines are typically grown as a monoculture, in which a single crop is planted on the same land season after season. Planting cover crops helps replenish soil nutrients to which pollinators are a vital component. Butterflies are attracted to these crops and naturally live on the plants, both as caterpillars and as adult butterflies. Not only does this help rebuild the soil but offers icons of hope and a beautiful aesthetic appeal. It makes for a lovely spring day to sit and sip wine while watching butterflies.

The good news is that grapevines are perennial plants that can live for over 100 years and help sustain an extremely diverse ecosystem by employing a variety of cover crops and nurturing birds and pollinators.

Better Days

The name of this 20 x 20 mixed media work is “Better Days”. These 3 butterflies are all blue. Blue is the rarest occurring color in nature, gossamer wings of blue complete the natural color spectrum.

What a title for the upcoming mental health awareness month. There is no health without mental health.

“Only he who has seen better days and lives to see better days again knows their full value.” ~ Mark Twain

Collected

The name of this 24” x 30” mixed media work by Lucy Peveto is “Collected”. These 3 butterflies are brought together in one artwork; cool, calm and collected. I love it! The texture and layers of acrylic, butterfly wings, gold leaf and resin.

Butterfly

Butterflies are symbols of ourselves: more precisely, our inner, spiritual selves. Consciousness refers to your individual awareness of your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environments. Essentially, your consciousness is your awareness of yourself and the world around you. This awareness is subjective and unique to you and may well serve as a reminder that we still have the potential to change and survive.