Tsukiyomi's Lullaby

My first surrealist painting.... It's a dream come true....

This is my second entry for =6elfwitch9's In-the-Box contest. My first entry can be found here: [link]

For this half of the concept, I had to think originally and create unique, but not pointless, painting.

Last March, I had the privilege of dissecting earthworms in my Biology class. Once my lab partner and I had cut our worm open, we carried it over to look at the organs under a dissection microscope. Much to my surprise, I discovered that the inside of a worm is gorgeous. The skin is metallic, and is colored in shades of pink, blue, and silver. It amazed me that something so beautiful could be found inside something so ugly. However, I filed the incident away in my mind and soon forgot about it.

Then in June, I went to North Carolina for camp. While I was there, I discovered that if you walked up the trail at the right time of day, you could see whole flocks of beautiful blue butterflies, sitting on what looked like rocks. But once they flew away, I discovered that they had actually been perched on horse manure, which they had been eating. The irony of the situation really tickled my twisted sense of humor, and I began to try to combine the butterfly concept with that of the worm skin.

Seven months later, I arrived at this picture. I painted an earthworm, sliced open so that you could see his entrails. Flying out of his insides is a small swarm of butterflies. The scene is set against the backdrop of the full moon, which represents Tsukiyomi, the Japanese god of the moon, as well as the symbol of insanity.

I hope you enjoyed this allegorical little bit of surrealism. Thanks to Faith, for photographing it; and to Mrs. Murphy for providing me with reference pictures.

Full view, please!

I do not own any of the objects in this painting.

First entry: [link]

Kudos to who ever can figure out what the red strings mean....