Winter Full Moon Halo

2024
12″ x 12″ (felt)
16” x 16” x 0.75” (felt on canvas)
Status: Preparing for exhibit

Wool needle felting measuring 12″ x 12″ felted onto a 16” x 16” x 0.75” painted cotton canvas frame for a clean, seamless look. Many fine blended fiber layers and varying shades of blue, teal, black, white, pink, purple, and yellow went into creating the sky and clouds and their reflection on the water.

This piece was inspired by a photo I took of a full moon on March 7, 2023. The moon was shrouded in a gorgeous halo and light clouds. There’s something about the night sky in winter – so much more ethereal and soothing to the spirit.

Moon or lunar halos, also known as “moon dogs”, are optical illusions created when light from the moon is refracted, reflected, and dispersed through ice crystals within thin veils of cirrus or cirrostratus clouds at altitudes of 20,000 to 40,000 feet (6,000 to 12,000 meters). The refraction creates a circular effect. The ice crystals also create a prism effect, separating the white light from the sun reflected by the moon into various colors at different wavelengths, similar to the atmospheric effect that creates a rainbow. Lunar halos can therefore appear slightly tinted with longer wavelengths of red on the inside and shorter wavelengths of blue on the outside.

(Fun fact: Did you know the full moon in March is called The Worm Moon? Something about how earthworms typically begin to appear in March as the soil warms up, which is usually not the case at that time of the year in Northern MN!).

The backside of the piece offers an interesting view of the colored fibers as they were pushed through the canvas and I like to leave the canvas back exposed for this reason. It also allows the wool fibers to breathe and minimizes any moisture buildup.

Wire hanging hardware is attached. An informational card and a copy of the original reference photo will be tucked into the back of the piece in a cellophane sleeve.