The Meaning of Death

I have decided to discuss the idea of death in this post is because it is one of many reoccurring themes that pops up within the realm of my art. When one thinks of death it is almost always associated with negative connotations. Death is dark, death is cold, death is painful. Death is the end of the story, death is closing the book and putting it away. Death is, in a word, final.
(Recalling Innocence)


So what does death really mean when looking at it from an artistic point of view? For me, the symbol of death is not necessarily a negative outcome. Death is not always the end, but sometimes just another path we must take in life, after all just when the caterpillar thought her life was over, she became a butterfly.

I often times use the symbol of death as the closing of one door and the opening of another... a representation of a new beginning (i.e. Grave in a Bed of Leaves) It is often used to reflect a change in the life of a character I've created or a symbol of some change within my own life. Very rarely within my work does death truly represent something as dark as the end...
(Grave in a Bed of Leaves)


Sometimes the theme of death is necessary within my art, after all, it being primarily rooted in emotion, I find it only natural to use a theme as dramatic as death to express certain moods and feelings of the work. Sometimes a character must die to usher in their new beginning, while other times a character must die to make others value life more.
(At the Edge of Life and Death)


So in the end, the theme of death within my artistic world is not always dark, cold or the end of the story. Death is not always the grand finale, and is often times warmly welcomed by characters ready to transform into their proverbial butterfly.
(Welcoming)