Hamsa bird

...a mute swan, which, in Indian folklore, symbolizes purity, detachment, divine knowledge, cosmic breath (prana) and spiritual accomplishment.

jackalope

...otherwise known as the antelabbit.

Ahuizotl

...an otter/monkey/dog type creature of Aztec legend, with a hand on the end of its tail. The story goes that the ahuizotl cries like a baby to lure humans to the water. It snatches its victims with its tail-hand, drowns them, eats their eyes, teeth and fingernails and leaves the rest of their bodies untouched. Wicked.

Cipactli

...a vicious and voracious crocodilian sea monster of Aztec mythology.

tripedal bird

click me

devourer of the dead

Ammit. Egyptian personification of divine retribution.

tail-devourer

Ouroboros.

pistol packin' mama

Echidna, the mother of all monsters.

the strangler

[from Encyclopedia Mythica]
The Greek Sphinx was a demon of death and destruction and bad luck. She was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. It was a female creature, sometimes depicted as a winged lion with a feminine head, and sometimes as a female with the breast, paws and claws of a lion, a snake tail and bird wings. She sat on a high rock near Thebes and posed a riddle to all who passed. The riddle was: "What animal is that which in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" Those who could not solve the riddle were strangled by her. Finally Oedipus came along and he was the only who could answer that it was "Man, who in childhood creeps on hands and knees, in manhood walks erect, and in old age with the aid of a staff." The Sphinx was so mortified at the solving of her riddle that she cast herself down from the rock and perished.

The name 'sphinx' is derived from the Greek sphingo, which means "to strangle".

bad dog 2

Another spawn of Typhon and Echidna - Orthrus, the two headed, annoying little brother of Cerberus.

chimera

Like Cerberus and the hydra, the chimera is a child of Typhon and Echidna.

bad dog

Cerberus, the three headed watchdog of Hades. grrrrrrrr.

you got the teeth of the hydra upon you

I meant to give my hydra 10 heads, but I seem to have lost one somewhere along the way.

centaur

Did anyone notice that I started in the water, moved onto the land and then into the air? I skipped a couple myths that I still wanted to do, so now I'm back on solid ground with a centaur.

firebird

[from Wikipedia]
A phoenix is a mythical bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The new phoenix is destined to live, usually, as long as the old one. The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible — a symbol of fire and divinity.

griffin

A symbol of divine power, the griffin, is a creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

man-eater

This is one of the Stymphalian birds, vicious man-eating birds who play a part in the sixth labour of Hercules, in Greek Mythology. They had metal feathers, brass claws and poisonous poop. That's awesome.

skunk ape

Thanks Noah, for suggesting the lovely skunk ape.

grhawaarh

A Yeti to follow the cryptozoological theme from yesterday. My Yeti looks a little like me, what with the unruly hair and the ridiculously long arms.

I'm goin' on down the mountain
on my two feet
and I'm goin' slow

Nessie

click me!

hippocampus

Part horse, part sea creature, the hippocamp draws Poseidon's chariot.

Tizheruk

Tizheruk, (also known as Pal-Rai-Yûk), is an Inuit sea monster with a alligator-like head, a snaky body and six legs, who snatches people from their boats or from the shore. Yikes.

Sedna

...the Inuit goddess of the sea. Not a mermaid, just part sea creature. Read her gruesome tale here. And see my fiber art version of her here.

sirena muerta

Yeah, y'all knew I was gonna go to the dia de los muertos siren, even though it doesn't really fit into the mythology category. I couldn't help myself.

And speaking of skeletons - my friend, muse and one half of the inspiration for my block-a-day project, Noah, just won the Webby People's Voice Award (in the Best Personal Website category) for his Skull-a-Day project. His year of skulls is almost over, but he's launching the reader driven Skull-a-Day 2.0. Read all about how you can participate here.

rave on cats.

la sirena

This is the Mexican version of a siren. Even though, mythologically speaking, sirens are bird women, they're more often depicted as mermaids. It's the whole sailor connection. Hey, sailor.

siren eimi

So. I'm moving on from entomology to mythology and starting off with a siren.


A figure in Greek mythology, a Siren is a creature with the head of a female and the body of a bird. The Sirens lure mariners to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their island, with the irresistible charm of their song.

Jason and the Argonauts escaped the Sirens with the help of Orpheus, who played his lyre and sang a song to drown out the sound of the Sirens' fatal voices.

Odysseus wished to hear the Sirens, so as his ship passed them, he had his sailors stuff their ears with wax, and had himself tied to the mast. The Sirens sang when they approached, their words even more enticing than the melody. They would give knowledge to every man who came to them - ripe wisdom and a quickening of the spirit. Odysseys' heart ran with longing but the ropes held him and the ship quickly sailed to safer waters.

That's hot.


In my mythology research, I came across one of those internet, time waster, survey things. I wasted time - here are my results.

What Mythical Creature are you? Your Result: Nymph   Nymphs are known for being extraordinarily beautiful. Unlike other mythical creatures, Nymphs are completely unselfish and do not always realize their beauty. Because of this naiveté, they are easily taken advantage of. Nymphs are quite innocent and devoted. They have one main passion in life, and devote themselves to it. As a Nymph, you are pure of heart, playful, and very free spirited.
Siren
Elf
Vampire
Werewolf
What Mythical Creature are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Aside from my nymphness, I also scored in the siren category. Doesn't really sound much like me (particularly the unselfish, innocent bits). But...I'm too tall to be an elf. I'm a vegetarian, and therefore don't feed on the blood of the living (or the dead), so vampire is out. And while I have been known to howl on occasion, I don't have enough hair to be a werewolf. I guess, by default, I'm a nymph (with siren tendencies). Watch out all you mariners.

dance with me
into the ocean
roll with me
into the sea

anti-boredom

Alright, alright. The new issue of Cloth Paper Scissors is out. Among other things, it contains an article I wrote with 3 (count 'em 3) art projects to do with kids.

spidey

I spent yesterday driving to and from Providence, RI. On the way back, my only traveling companion (aside from the boys on my ipod) was a little spider that kept walking back and forth across my windshield.

still a firefly

never say
you'll never leave
'cause you never know 'til you try
in a jar
fireflies
only last for one night

cicada

isabella tiger moth

colorado beetle

Today is the 122nd day of of the year which means I'm officially one-third of the way through my block print a day project. Here are the first 121 blocks....