February: Snakes and Lovers

The Lunar New Year begins on January 29, marking the start of the Year of the Wood Snake according to Chinese tradition. The Snake symbolizes wisdom, transformation, and personal growth, while the Wood element brings flexibility and renewal. This is a perfect time to shed the past and embrace new beginnings. Meanwhile, February in the Western tradition is best known for Valentine’s Day, a Christian feast honoring St. Valentine, which replaced an ancient pagan fertility festival. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer is believed to have first connected St. Valentine with romantic love in his 699-line poem Parliament of Fowls, depicting birds choosing their mates.

Lunar Year of the Snake

Celebrate the Lunar Year of the Snake at The Next Best Thing to Being There during the First Friday opening on February 7, from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. Below are my two contributions to the show.

Uktena is the Cherokee name for the great horned snake that appears in many native amercian legends. This image is based on a story told where the people were burning up from the sun. They sent Uktena to eat the sun. But when it did not, the rattlers did the job. Listening to the thunderstorm at the end of a scorching day in Albuquerque and it all suddenly made sense.

Uktena
mixed media on panel, 18×18 inches

This artwork draws inspiration from the Cherokee legend of Uktena, a formidable horned serpent prominent in Native American mythology. In the tale, as the sun’s intense heat tormented the people, Uktena was tasked with devouring it to bring relief. However, Uktena failed in this mission, and the rattlesnakes ultimately succeeded1. The Uktena is described as a massive snake, as thick as a tree trunk, adorned with horns and a brilliant, diamond-like crest on its forehead. Its scales glitter like sparks of fire, and it possesses a deadly gaze that can mesmerize its victims. The creature is often associated with water, storms, thunder, and lightning. As a thunderstorm approached after a scorching day in Albuquerque, the ancient story of Uktena came to life, vividly associating the rattles of the rattlesnakes to the thunder. The artwork captures the essence of this powerful myth, blending the intense heat of the sun with the dramatic arrival of the storm, much like the cosmic battle described in the Cherokee legend.

First Friday<br />
February 7, 2025<br />
4:30–7:30 </p>
<p> Lunar Year<br />
of the Snake<br />
Art Opening </p>
<p>According to Chinese tradition 2025 is the<br />
Year of the Wood Snake. The snake represents wisdom, transformation and personal growth. The wood element adds flexibility and renewal.

Two Trees and Fig Leaves
in the Garden of Desire
archival quality print on metal, 12 x 18 inches

The Two of Trees from the House of Cards series, described in the poem below:

The Garden of Desire

There are snakes

in the greenest garden,

trees bursting with fruit,

orange and yellow,

while exotic birds

with startling plumage

sing of love and loss,

and the descending

night shifts the light,

blue to indigo to violet,

the sun sinking blood red

below the azure horizon.

Lovers

Celebrate Lovers at Old Walls Gallery during their First Friday opening, also on February 7, from 5 to 8 PM.

My contribution is the “King of Hearts” from the House of Cards series

Lovers Art Show at Old Walls Gallery, Friday, February 7, 2025

"Lovers" at Old Walls Gallery, Albuquerque

King of Hearts, mixed media on paper, 46 x 32 inches (framed).

With Love, Denise

linktr.ee/deniseweaverross