LUNA: the season of big moths

last summer 
i taught a class in eco or contact printing on special papers
at the morgan conservatory.
something really neat happened;
two sisters traveled 
all the way to cleveland
from maine
to take my class.
they were lovely,
really focused, 
though if i remember correctly one 
was pretty under the weather with a sinus infection.
these two returned to maine
where penny got to work printing.
this is the result:
Luna Moon by Penelope Hall 
exquisite details 
 ~a carousel book~
deep woods 
penny says: 
"the book, including text is copyrighted 2013.  The paper was dyed here at home. I started as soon as I got home from Cleveland. Interesting, since I think you told us about the different palettes of color you get in different geographic locations. This was late summer for a lot of it and I used leaves that I think had a lot of tannins in them."
 ~~~
i saw penny in portland in april:
she brought LUNA MOON for me to see and hold
and it's even finer than the photos say.
it's really perfect.
the moth figures 
are floating through the great northern forest:
maine.
~~~
my book, actias luna,
made several years ago, 
holds a conversation with penny's book.
it's a poem 
about a moment
when i found two dying lunas
spent after mating
one june morning, in the weedy border next to my house.
i added a beaded luna 
purchased from a penobscot woman
in bar harbor, maine
which really works with my daylily paper 
and the poem.
sometimes books, like people,
have conversations over wondrous things,
like, perhaps,
a full moon-lit night 
in june
and the drive to live, LIVE!
beautiful
 for what reason?
circling,
like the moon.
thank you penny, for permission
to share this.
and thank you for letting me hold,
and enjoy
 it.