Ferrebeekeeper Image

Don’t change that channel! Long-time readers who glance at the top of the page may erroneously think they have stumbled into a different blog, but nothing could be further from the truth. After many years of happily blogging with our old banner (the inimitable moralizing masterpiece “Beer Street and Gin Lane” by William Hogarth) Ferrebeekeeper is moving to a painting specially made for this blog.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the presence of mind to actually paint the image to fit the strange squashed aspect ratio of WordPress blog banners, so most days you will have to content yourself with looking at a central slice of the full image (click here for larger resolution).

For today though, here is the entire work.  You can see some of the various themes of Ferrebeekeeper represented in this strange floating flatfish.  A hive of industrious bees works away collecting the pollen from a colorful garden as a gothic angel wielding a farm implement watches from the sky.  A  stern bee-like woman with a Canadian waterfowl and a garden snail watches the bees work beneath a jeweled crown of gold and a celestial star (which represents astronomy).  In the right side of the sky, a pigeon flies up into the clouds (perhaps startled by the green serpent).  The central fish hovers above a sunset sea where a Chinese junk sails on to a historical Gothic city (near-future blogging plans include a great deal more writing about metropolises of the past, present, and future).

I omitted my favorite theme “Deities of the Underworld” in favor of the large central flounder itself.  As you may have gathered, the flatfish is currently of paramount symbolic import in my work and represents topology, ecology, history, and the ever-changing life cycle.  At the more outre range of these meanings, however, the benthic fish is a sort of emissary between the world of life and the dark gods beneath (an interpretation sharpened by humankind’s merciless depredations of the bottom-dwelling fish).  The new banner is also an attempt to bring my various pursuits more closely together: a sort of “branding” exercise if you will (I also hope you will kindly forgive this vulgar language borrowed MBA programs–I usually try to speak more coherently and elegantly, but lately I have been feeling somewhat at-sea and I am willing to borrow some terminology and concepts from these execrable rogues).  Speaking of cross-branding, you may want to check out the great flounder oracle!  Ask it questions, and the sagacious fish answers with the truth of the deep!

I hope you like my new banner.  Like most artwork not made on a computer it looks better in the real world, but at least it suits the theme of the blog.  As always, let me know what you think and get ready to read more about cities (and maybe see some more enigmatic fish-themed art).  Thanks again for reading and I will see you here tomorrow!

 

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