Patrick Willett (b. 1956)

Burchfield Scholar Nancy Weekly searched Patrick Willett's website and found Colin Dabkowski's article which notes  that the word "Urnes" refers to a Scandinavian/Norse style, similar to the interwoven, curvilinear style we also associate with Celtic, so she asked the artist, "Were you seeing these kinds of lines in the cicada's wings?" He answered: 
     "As Colin's article mentions, the cicada has so much meaning for me. I always listen for its song in late summer and have always been comforted by the repeating cycle of not only the song but the lifespan of these creatures. I often find the remains of these beautiful insects and decided to look closely. What I saw was ancient markings in the body and wings, like a message from the beginning of everything. 
     I did a series of cicadas and each one has a reference to ancient human carvings, the latest completed this year has the swirls from Newgrange in Ireland. The Urnes cicada references the carvings of the Urnes Stave Church in Norway, which struck me as very similar to this particular cicada's markings....Patrick Willett"