The Luna Moth Card and Print

Okay, okay.  I know I said I wasn't going to blog on weekends, but I'm really, really proud of the way this one turned out.

So, I used to see luna moths all the time as a teen, when I was delivering papers with my mom.  In all honesty, they scared the crap out of me.  I mean, you come around the corner on a dark morning when the world is almost too quite, and suddenly you're face to face with this moth the size of your head perched on a wall.  In my little universe, things weren't supposed to be that big.  Being oversized like that was reserved for mutated things in horror movies, like ants and fifty foot women.

Well, I haven't delivered papers in a decade and probably haven't seen a luna moth in as long (probably merely because I'm no longer wandering darkened hallways in the wee hours of the morning).   Then, a few nights ago, I was standing at my back door, having just turned off the porch light when I saw one flutter out of the darkness for just a moment before disappearing into it again. Just for a moment, but long enough for me to realize how pretty they are (at least when they're not perched on walls, scaring young girls) and I knew I had to design a print of one.

So I drew it out and carved it up, and of course, printed it in green and this is how it came out.

Luna Moth Original Linocut

I think it turned out lovely, but being carved into a larger block than I usually work with (5 x 7 inches instead of 4 x 6) I couldn't print it on the front of a card as well....unless I printed it on the back, too.  I took a few tries, but I managed to get it just so the wings wrapped evenly around the front and back of a card.

Luna Moth Wraparound Linocut Card

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, so much so that I am considering carving another version, perhaps of a butterfly this time.

Okay, now I'll go enjoy my weekend.  You do the same.