Metamorphosis: Hatching Understanding

The League of NH Craftsmen Meredith Gallery is pleased to announce “Metamorphosis: Hatching Understanding”... a collaboration with Lucy Golden and Mother Nature. Beginning June 1st the League of NH Craftsmen Meredith Gallery will host a collection of native moth cocoons in tandem with Lucy’s jewelry. The four local moth species are within the Saturniidae family: Luna, Polyphemus, Cecropia, and Promethea moths. They are also known as the giant silk worm moths.

The impetus for this exhibition is Lucy Golden’s passion for the preservation and continuation of New England’s native silk moth populations. Most people may not even know that these species are in danger, but their decline stems from the introduction of C. concinnata, a non-native tachinid fly. Introduced in 1906 to combat Gypsy moths (also not native to the area), the deployment of this species was ineffective and destructive. Instead of controlling only the gypsy moth population it began wreaking havoc on more than 200 species of moths and butterflies, including the giant silk moths, native to the northeast.

The exhibit will feature a Lucite housing for cocoons in various stages, along with a body of work that celebrates the metamorphosis from cocoon to moth. Golden has focused on creating awareness of the environmental impact from the plight of these species, among others.

 Golden’s main body of jewelry is handcrafted from sterling, jeweler’s brass, and enamel paint. Her designs include Monarch and Karner blue butterflies, asymmetrical butterfly and cocoon earrings, and a host of other whimsical critters and characters. This exhibit will promote Lucy’s one of a kind pieces – such as incorporating a hatched promethean moth cocoon and the branch it was attached to. These pieces have been electroformed with copper (and are light-weight, due to their hollow nature), treated with a patina, painted, and further embellished with fresh water pearls and glass beads. Each piece is one of a kind, and there will be several variations on this theme.

Customers who purchase a piece from the Moth and Butterfly Collection by Lucy Golden will receive a silk moth cocoon along with care instructions. A portion of the sales from each piece sold from the Moth and Butterfly Collection by Lucy Golden will go to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center to help promote environmental awareness. 

So, what is green, spikey, and looks like a space alien cucumber? Stop in during the month of June and see… The League of NH Craftsmen Gallery is located at 279 DW Hwy. Meredith, next to Church Landing.