Description
This painting depicts Brigid collecting rushes on the eve of her feast day.
Brigid is a figure that, to me, represents the coexistence of Ireland’s pre-Christian and Christian pasts, along with the hope that we bear for the future. Once a pre-Christian land goddess, she was adopted into the church, and both figures now share a feast day known as Imbolg, or St Brigid’s Day, on the first of February.
In this piece, she is blessing the last of the Brat Brídes and gathering up a few rushes as dawn breaks on Imbolg morning.
I wanted this artwork to feel warm and bright and fiery, like Brigid herself. In contrast to the cold, frosty darkness of the Cailleach which you can find here. I can almost feel the gathering warmth of the breeze as it rolls in off the land below.
This is an 10″ × 8″ giclée print, printed on Hahnemühle William Turner paper and signed by Shelly Mooney.
