I’m fascinated by the four seasons and had the idea to create a series where every season brings a new chapter. Each illustration features a turtle with an unexpected shell. I began with winter where an igloo shaped shell is set on the snowy polar tundra of the Arctic. A penguin fishes for the North Star in the night sky above. 

This latest illustration called Spirit Harvest, shows an Autumn sunlit forest at twilight. The turtle shell is a Jack-o-lantern while a crow wears a festive mask for Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos. This new piece celebrates the bridge between worlds where the spirit of memory blooms and light never really fades. Did you know the cempasúchil (marigold) flower’s glowing hue represents the sun lighting a path to guide the spirits back to us? Indigenous people have used this flower for generations to honor souls returning for Día de Muertos. I live part time in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and this week, the streets bloom with light, color, and remembrance. Is there a memory of a loved one that still lights your path? Here in Central Mexico, I am surrounded by streets and altars overflowing with these bright orange blossoms. Everywhere you look, the town is alive with families gathered to honor their loved ones. Paper marigolds strung across balconies, candlelight flickering in doorways, and the hum of preparations for Día de los Muertos begins this weekend.