Inner Moon
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The swan is found often in fairy tales and folklore, where it usually
signifies beauty and grace. It is one of the oldest animal sym-
bols in the world, and sometimes is thought of as a sign of the
poet, the mystic or the dreamer.
The ballerina in this picture symbolizes not only the beauty and
grace of the swan, but the ability of the human person to live out
the inner and outer aspects of life. The shoeless foot of the dancer,
balances her under the sea and connects her to the invisible, inner
world of her true self, the only part of her body in natural color. The
other foot, covered with the dancing shoe, symbolizes her life in the
active, outer world.
This piece grew out of the sighting of two beautiful swans at the
lakefront one December, on the north side of Chicago. About
the same time, The American Ballet Company was performing
"Swan Lake," in a theater in downtown Chicago. The two images
merged for me. The quote from Octavio Paz completed the piece.
(Watercolor/ Pastel 20" x 24")
