The Moon as Muse

arttextstyle — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:01:45 +0000

The Guardian said it well: “If you’ve been looking up at the moon with childlike wonder these past few days, you aren’t alone. NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission has captured imaginations at a time when wonder and optimism are in short supply.” The photographs of the moon in IRL that resulted from the mission are breathtaking.

^{Shadows at the Edge of Lunar Day: The edge of the Moon’s night and day creates shadows across the surface (Image credit: NASA)}
Man has also looked to the moon for artistic inspiration through millennia. Artists who work with browngrotta arts not immune to celestial charm; we’ve gathered some examples here.

The travel website Fly Me to the Moon, lists possible reasons for the moon’s appeal. It could be the subconscious connection with the amorous ancient Greek goddess of the moon, Selene, or the moon’s association with fertility.

^{19lf Dark Moon, Laura Foster Nicholson, wool with cotton, metallic, angelina fiber, ink, 34.5″ x 16″, 2017. photo by Tom Grotta}

It could also be her ever changing nature that captures our attention. Her light illuminates our quietest and most contemplative hours. “In a dark sea of instability, the full moon in a richly deep blue sky is both reassuring and evocative,” says Laura Foster Nicholson. “Hints of reflective threads in Dark Moon aim to bring split seconds of insight and imagination, as do the stars.”

Or perhaps it’s simply the spectacle of moonlight. Paul Furneaux’s visit to the Norwegian fjords led to Fractured Moon, Fractured Mountain. He was particularly taken by the drama played on the fjords by the change of light, one half often shadowing the other — when translated to Fractured Moon, Fractured Mountain, it’s reminiscent of the drama of the familiar light and enigmatic sides of the moon.

^{5pf Fractured Moon-Fractured Mountain, Paul Furneaux, Wood, gesso, Mokuhanga, graphite,card ,rice paste and acrylic, 15.75″ x 13.75″. photo courtesy Paul Furneaux}

It’s also magical, and mystical. Golden Moon, by Norma Minkowitz, has a large, intricate orb rising up. It is a symbol of illumination, insight and mystery. “The moon is a metaphor for beauty in this world,” she says, “as well as acting as a source of light in the darkness”. Golden Moon is one of a series of vessel forms that Norma Minkowitz been creating since the 1990’s. The vessels represent containers of different thoughts: some dark, some optimistic and some, like Golden Moon, ethereal.

^{115nm Golden Moon, Norma Minkowitz, fiber, mixed media, 7.5” x 12” x 12”, 2024. photo by Tom Grotta}

The moon has been used by artists to express “longing, change, the spiritual, the mysterious, and the sorrowful, according to WikiArt, the Visual Art Encyclopedia. In When Darkness Comes Calling, John
McQueen wanted to capture that magical moment when a full moon comes out in a dark sky. The light and dark contrast is achieved by surrounding the white birch bark of the moon with the darker back sides of the pine and birch barks. The title of the piece comes from the lyrics of a song by Lily Kershaw, As It Seems. In The Other Side of the Moon, McQueen makes a tongue-in-cheek observation about our obsession with the moon. One side of the vessel reads: Man made up the man in the moon. The second side says: The first self-serve in no man’s land.

^{34jm After Dark Comes Calling, John McQueen, white pine and birch bark, 42’ x 36 x3″, 2017 and 62jm The Other Side of the Moon, Jon McQueen, bark and vine, 32″ x 18″ x 14″, 1993. photo by Tom Grotta}

Works inspired by the moon that reflects a visual language that crosses geography and history. Here are moon-inspired works from artists in Venezuela and the UK. Eduardo Portillo and María Davila use indigo to illustrate the night, the moon, the sky, the clouds, the dawn; moments of every day; moments filled with blue.

^{8pd Codigo Lunar (Moon Code), Eduardo Portillo & Maria Davila, silk, moriche palm fiber, alpca, silver leaf triple weave, 55.5″ x 12″, 2018 23lf Mignight Moon, Lizzie Farey, willow, wire, 33″ x 33″, 2024, photos by Tom Grotta}

Wishing you many lunar interludes and the mystical magic that accompany them.

arttextstyle

NASA Archives - arttextstyle

The Moon as Muse