Going around the artwork starting at the top left there is an opossum, which represents resilience, humility and adaptability.
The tree of life reminds us of the miracle of life.
The depressed Frog King is a warning that all levels of accomplishment have their stresses.
The Sun-Moon is the gigantic, cosmic, or infinite.
The raven is a harbinger.
The turtle playing cello is a memento vitae.
The wolf is our constant stress and striving.
The blackberries are pleasure and warmth.
The fish is whimsy.
The gears are our machinations.
The thistles are entropy.
The Jester clutching a crown is our heroic self-image.
The mice are humble artists trying to understand it all.
The sacred geometry is the micro, the tiny, the building blocks.
The Satyr is youthful indulgence and the Nymph is young love. Together they are the happiness that we calibrate ourselves on and spend the rest of our lives trying to re-achieve.
The Spider playing guitar is mostly whimsy, but has been featured in each of Ty’s big doodle drawings and now is a necessary legacy.
Bees are always a symbol of revitalization, or re-creation, think pollinating flowers after the winter.
The Owl-mask is Ty’s self-awareness that wisdom is a story we tell ourselves.
The rabbit is trying to navigate this maze of concepts at great speed, as we do.
The title of the artwork comes from the line of Ty Meier’s artist statement that resonates best with people. Here is Ty’s artist statement:
"Refocus on the much larger themes of life:
The improbable phenomenon of our existence and
the epiphanies of experience. We are beautiful
creatures surrounded by darkness.
Practice awe. Never stagnate.
Peace ∙ prosperity ∙ happiness."
The original artwork is pen and ink with watercolor and heavy body acrylic paint.
