The Butterfly Effect

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The Butterfly Effect

Acrylic, Gold Leaf and Oil on Reclaimed Substrate, 2024 (38x32)

The Butterfly Effect is an abstract portrayal of the delicate and vibrant butterflies that have become a personal symbol of my father’s spirit. These overlapping, almost undetectable butterflies represent the sacred connection I shared with him during the last days of his life.

Hours before his passing a few butterflies greeted me in the garden and in that moment I knew that my Dad, caught between this world and the next, recognized the sacred space I intentionally held for him in this most difficult transition.

The concept of the butterfly effect, where even the smallest, seemingly insignificant actions can ripple out and create profound change, resonates deeply within the story.  This painting honors that truth, where the vibrancy of life, the fragility and wonder of the human experience, and the presence of those we’ve said goodbye to converged in a garden of memories.

These butterflies also mirror the generational migration of the Monarchs, one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena in the animal kingdom. 

Each year an estimated one billion Monarch butterflies make the journey from North America to their overwintering sites in central Mexico. This incredible migration spans thousands of miles, with individual butterflies traveling distances of up to 2,500 miles. The journey is especially remarkable because the butterflies that arrive in Mexico are often several generations removed from the ones that left the previous year. While the original Monarchs do not survive the journey their descendants pick up the gauntlet and carry on with the mission.

Just as the Monarchs' descendants complete the cycle, so too does the presence of our loved ones persist, even after they are gone, and so we continue the journey our ancestors began.

In many Latin American cultures, including Mexican tradition, the arrival of these butterflies during the Día de los Muertos festivals marks the spirits of the departed returning to visit their families.

Every butterfly I encounter is a living whisper of nature’s profound wonder—a testament to the unseen rhythms of life, where love transcends time and the great turning of the world carries on, unbroken, through the changing seasons.