“See the TURTLE of enormous girth,
On his shell he holds the earth.
If you want to run and play,
Come along the BEAM today.”
-Stephen King
Turtles are a cultural symbol used throughout time as a sign of longevity, stability, and occasionally, kick-ass sewer mutants.
The turtle has been used as a subject by countless poets and artists (including myself). They appears in an astonishing amount of myths throughout societies all over the world, which makes sense because there is hardly anywhere in the world that some species of turtle does not inhabit.
Turtles have also been used in multiple creations myths. In the Hindu creation myth, the World was held up my elephants upon the turtle’s back.
The turtle has been used as a subject by countless poets and artists (including myself). They appears in an astonishing amount of myths throughout societies all over the world, which makes sense because there is hardly anywhere in the world that some species of turtle does not inhabit.
Turtles have also been used in multiple creations myths. In the Hindu creation myth, the World was held up my elephants upon the turtle’s back.
My favourite Turtle creation myth is that of the Iriquois.
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“that in the beginning before the formation of the earth; the country above the sky was inhabited by Superior Beings, over whom the Great Spirit presided. His daughter having become pregnant by an illicit connection, he pulled up a great tree by the roots, and threw her through the Cavity thereby formed; but, to prevent her utter destruction, he previously ordered the Great Turtle, to get from the bottom of the waters, some slime on its back, and to wait on the surface of the water to receive her on it. When she had fallen on the back of the Turtle, with the mud she found there, she began to form the earth, and by the time of her delivery had increased it to the extent of a little island.” |
This is the creation myth that inspired my painting (top). I try to make the world on the turtle’s shell look like the algae that normally grows on turtles’ backs. It is my favourite painting of mine so far, and though much of my art draws from nature, this one is special – it is the symbol of creation created by me in paint, and many before me through the art of story-telling.