2020 - present
Plant Myths
These small 5″ × 7″ paper-cut works represent myths and legends featuring plants from around the world. Each color corresponds to one of nine regions of the globe, although cultural boundaries have never been absolute.
Only a sampling is represented here of the complete collection comprised of nearly three hundred stories and images. The long-term goal is to publish them in a series of nine small books, each devoted to myths from a particular region or culture, including the stories which inspired the images.
Hina in the Moon Under the Banyan Tree - Polynesian and Oceanic Mythology
The Tree to the Leaping Place - Oceanic and Aboriginal Mythology
The Vine of Tagaloa - Polynesian Creation Myth
Nareau and the Ancestral Tree - Samoan Creation Myth - Polynesia
Pele Loses Her Temper with the Hala Tree (Screwpine) - Hawaiian Mythology
The Origin of Kalo (Taro) Man's Twin Brother - Hawaiian Creation Myth
The Forlorn Lovers of the Ohia Lehua Flowering Tree - Hawaiian Mythology
How.Hina-of-the-Moon Lost Her Potato Leg - Hawaiian Mythology
How Russians Came From Reeds - Mongolian Legend
A Man's Butterfly Soul Hid in the Linden Tree - Mari Folklore ( Russian Federation)
Triglav, the Three-Headed God in the Tree of Life - Eastern and Southern Slav Mythology
The Sirtya Girl in the Grass - Nenets Siberian Mythology
The Rusalky Nymphs Making Merry in the Harvest Fields - Slavic Mythology ( Northern Europe)
The Shrinking Polevoy Spirit of the Fields- Slavic Mythology ( Northen Europe)
The Night Stars are the Tips of the Tree Roots From the Upper World - Selkup Mythology (Siberia)
Saule Repairs the Tree of Life (Austras Koks) - Latvian/Lithuanian Baltic Mythology ( Northern Europe)
Great Wind and the Brave Prairie Rose -Lakota Legend (North Americas)
The Origin of Tobacco - Crow Legend (North Americas)
The Body of Corn Mother - Penobscot Legend (North Americas)
Grandmother Bear Creates Nukuwee From Sugar Water, a Fish and a Tule Reed Basket - Pomo Mythology (California/North Americas)
How Trees Came from Coyote's Defeat of Yellokin the Man-Eating Giant – Miwok Legend (California-North Americas)
Nanabozho Helps Porcupine by Adding Hawthorn Tree Thorns to His Coat - Ojibwa Mythology from the Subarctic ( North Americas)
The Bitterroot That Saved the People - Salish Legend of the North American Plateau
How Skywoman Fell From the Heavens with Seeds for the Plants (and Created Earth in a Sea of Blackness) – Haudenosaunee Legend (the American Northeast)
Maiden Blood Moon Becomes Pregnant by the Spit From the Calabash Tree - Popol Vuh, Mayan Mythology ( Mesoamerica)
Maiden Blood Moon and the Impossible Corn Harvest Test - Popol Vuh, Mayan Mythology (Mesoamerica)
The Yucatec Sixth Heaven Above the Ceiba Tree - Mayan Mythology (Mesoamerica)
The Birth of Corn When Chaac Struck the Great Rock - Mayan Creation Myth (Mesoamerica)
How the Coca Bush Helped the People Survive the Great Storm - Altiplano Legend - South American Andes (South America)
Nungui’s Dances at Night for Her Manioc Babies - Jivaro Legend- (South America)
How People Were Made from Cacao Seeds - Boruca Origin Myth (Costa Rica)
How the Star Woman Left Yucca Behind for her Husband - Kayapo’ Legend (highlands of Brazil)
The Hyacinth of Apollo - Greco-Roman Myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Crocus and His Unrequited Love for Similax - Greco-Roman Mythology
The Birth of Bacchus and the Grape Vine - Greco-Roman Mythology
The Protection of the Hyssop Plant - Hebrew Scriptures / Jewish Mythology - The Ancient Near East
Seth Buries Adam and Plants Three Seeds of the Tree of Life in His father's Mouth - Medieval Cursor Mundi/ Christian Mythology (Ancient Near East)
Maryam and the Date Palm - Quranic Scripture / Muslim Mythology - The Ancient Near East
Doubting Jonah and the Castor Bean Gourd - Hebrew Scriptures / Jewish Mythology - The Ancient Near East
The Sacred Sidrat al-Muntaha (the Lote-Tree of Heaven) - Islamic Scriptures/ Muslim Mythology - The Ancient Near East
The Great marriage of Ma with the Tree of Life - Bantu Creation Myth (African Sub-Sahara)
How the Baobab Tree's " Bad Mouth" Angered Mwari and Why it Became the Upside-down Tree - Shona Mythology ( African Sub-Sahara)
The Alusi Create the First People and Protect Them with Umune Leaves - Igbo Mythology (African Sub-Sahara)
Abuk Accidentally Offends the Creator While Planting Her Millet - Dinka Nilotic Mythology (Southern Sudan)
The People of the Hibiscus Seeds - Mandinka Mande' Creation Myth ( Mali/Niger)
How the World Came from the Bursting Somb (Ironwood Tree) - Serer Mythology (Senegal/Gambia and Mauritania)
The People from Kaang's Great Tree - San (Bushmen) Khoisan Creation Myth (Botswana, Namibia and South Africa)
The People Came From the Reeds - Zulu Bantu Mythology ( South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Swaziland)
Izanagi Angers His Wife So He Tosses Her Bamboo Shoots and Grapes - Japanese Shinto Origin Myth (Far East Asia)
The Pine of Akoya - Japanese Folktale (Far East Asia)
Shen Nong Discovers the Tea Leaf - Taoist Chinese Origin Myth (Far East Asia)
The First Trees and Plants Sprouted from the Hairs of Pangu the Giant - Chinese Creation Myth (Far East Asia)
How Suffering Came to Mankind by the Theft of the Chrysanthemum - Korean Origin Myth
The Ten Boy-Suns Over the Mulberry Tree - Chinese Creation Myth
Kintaro, the Golden Boy Uproots the Great Tree - Japanese Legend
Kojin Who Lives in the Enoki Nettle Tree - Japanese Shinto mythology
Taliesen the Son of the Goddess of Grain Transforms Himself - Welsh Celtic Mythology- (Northern Europe)
The Rowan Berries of Immortality- Gaelic/ Celtic Mythology - Pre-Christian Ireland (Northern Europe)
Odin’s Sacrifice at the Tree of Life - Norse Eddic Mythology - Pre-Christian (Northern Europe)
The Three Norns at the Base of Yggdrasil - Norse Eddic Mythology ( Northern Europe)
Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees) : "...Cruel the ash tree –Turns not aside a foot-breadth, Straight at the heart runs he..." Welsh Celtic Mythology (Northern Europe)
Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees) : "...Great was the gorse in battle,...." Welsh Celtic Mythology ( Northern Europe)
Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees) : " And the ivy at his prime;" Welsh Celtic mythology ( Northern Europe)
Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees): "...Strong chieftains were the blackthorn With his ill fruit,.." Welsh Celtic Mythology (Northern Europe)
The Turmeric Paste Boy Who Became Ganesh - Shiva Purana , Indo-Aryan Mythology (Central Asia)
Satyabhama Orders Krishna to Steal the Parijata Tree - Harivansha Purana - Indo-Aryan Mythology (Central Asia)
Brahma is Born From the Lotus of Vishnu's Navel - Vaishnava Puranas - Indo-Aryan Creation (Central Asia)
Pikul Flowers Falling from Her Mouth - Thai Folktale ( Southeast Asia)
The People Born of the Bamboo - Tagalog - Filipino Mythology (Southeast Asia)
The Luring Nang Tani Spirit of the Banana Tree - Thai Legend ( Southeast Asia)
The Pokok Pauh Janggi Tree at the Navel of the Sea - Malay Mythology ( Southeast Asia)
How Rice Became Small - Laotian Mythology (Southeast Asia)