Phase: How My Granddaughter’s Love for the Moon Shaped My Sculpture Series

Claire’s Fascination with the Moon

Our granddaughter, Claire, became fascinated with seeing the moon before she was a year old.

A Special Christmas in Central New York

She came to visit us in Central New York for her first Christmas. One night, Sarah brought her to my wood studio to see what I was creating. As they headed back to the house, Claire pointed to the moon. That is when our daughter Amanda told us, “Claire loves the moon. She points at it whenever she sees it.”

Spotting the Moon in the Daytime Sky

At that time, she lived in Phoenix, where the desert skies are mostly cloudless and clear. On her daily walks, she had the keen ability to spot the moon in the daytime sky. When she found it, she would say, in a drawn-out way, “mooon” which was one of her first words. On her second Christmas, she was in our kitchen mid-afternoon when Sarah heard Claire exclaim, “Mooon.” Sarah wondered what Claire was talking about. Sarah finally got down on Claire’s level and looked up. There, through the window, she could see the moon!

Seeing Life Through a Grandparent Perspective

I’m amazed by watching my two granddaughters from my grandparent perspective.  It’s so different from what I remember as a parent.  Although I’ve loved every day of my two kids' lives, time once seemed different, and I didn’t see how quickly they changed.  

Now, I am at a stage in life vastly different from a parent of a young child. From this vantage, I see the constant, profound changes these little ones make almost overnight.

The Inspiration Behind the Phases Sculpture Series

I created my ‘Phase’ sculpture based on Claire’s passion for the moon. There are so many phases we watch unfold unconsciously every day. Claire called that to my attention.  The thing all phases have in common is the passing of time. Our strolls with Claire when she took such joy in the desert sights, smells, and sounds were a phase.

Change is unending, and we should find it awe-inspiring.  We should pause everything and notice the little wonders, like the “mooon.”

Beautiful art for life well lived,

Moe