2020 - present
Plant Myths
These small 5″ × 7″ paper-cut works represent myths and legends about plants from around the world, illustrated by the artist over the course of three years. Each color corresponds to one of nine regions of the globe, although cultural boundaries have never been absolute.
The complete collection comprises nearly three hundred stories and images. This website presents only a sampling of the work. Ultimately, the goal is to publish a series of nine small books, each devoted to myths connected with 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 Field Spirit- Slavic Mythology ( Northen Europe)
The Night Stars are the Tips of the upper World Tree Roots - Selkup Mythology ( Siberia)
Saule Repairs The Tree of Life Sacred Oak ( Austras Koks) - Latvian/Lithuanian Baltic Mythology ( Northern Europe)
Great Wind and the Courage of 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 Woman Who Fell from the Sky (and Created Earth in a Sea of Blackness) – Haudenosaunee Legend (the American Northeast)
Maiden Blood Moon Becomes Pregnant from the Spit in the Calabash Tree - Popol Vuh, Mayan Mythology ( Mesoamerica)
Maiden Blood Moon and the 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)
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
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)
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 Tree Leaves - Igbo Mythology (African Sub-Sahara)
Abuk's Millet - Dinka Nilotic Mythology (Southern Sudan)
Izanagi Angers His Wife and Tosses Her Bamboo Shoots with Grapes - Japanese Shinto Origin Myth (Far East Asia)
The Pine of Akoya - Japanese Folktale (Far East Asia)
Shen Nong and 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)
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)
"Strong chieftains were the blackthorn With his ill fruit, The unbeloved whitethorn (hawthorn) Who wears the same suit." Cad Goddeu - Celtic Mythology (Northern Europe)
The Turmeric Paste Boy Who Became Ganesh - Hindu 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)
The People Born of the Bamboo - Tagalog - Filipino Mythology (Southeast Asia)
