An Allegory of Nature's Mystic Charm/Saving Our Butterflies

The work below demonstrates the Muse's care for the precious butterfly, an expression of concern for
saving our pollinators.

Reclining in the Ferns
2009
by Eric Whollem
mixed media digital art
Copyright by the artist.

The Naiads, Undines of the Springs, Lakes, and Rivers/ MERMAID MYTHOLOGY/ Sirens; Celtic Mermaids;the Maidu Indian Merman; the Dakinis of the Lakes of Tibet and other lore of the Naiad

The Naiads' Domain

2009

mixed media digital art

by Eric Whollem

Copyright by the artist.

Mermaids of Inland Waters

The Naiad is a "freshwater" mermaid. Springs, lakes, rivers, and
wells are traditionally ascribed to the Naiads. However these waters
are not always free of salt; for many a hot spring has mineral salts and
sulphur.

It is at a hot spring that the subterranean waters rush forth into our

domain. Thus "freshwater" may be a misleading designation of the

Naiad.

The Naiads' cousin is the Nereid, the mermaid of the salt sea.

This video presents lore about the Naiads.

                                               

PROTECTORS OF THE HOT SPRINGS AND WELLS

The famous hot springs on the Salisbury Plain in England are named

for the Goddess Sulis. She is related to the Roman Salacia, the wife

of Neptune. On many Roman fountains images of Neptune abound.

Common words like saline and salt are hidden in Salacia's name.

Our European ancestors attributed healing and prophetic abilities to

the Naiad. The healing spirits, Hygeia and Aesculapius of Greece

are examples.

In France the Fays were the Naiads of the wells who blessed the

crops of grain. Melusine was one of the most famous Fays of

France.

The Dracs were French river Naiads, who are said to

travel on the waters in golden cups. These cups may be a folklore

rendition of the ancient lore of the cauldron, or Goddess Womb.

                                                *

The well known product, Bromo Seltzer, is named after a Naiad,

named variously Borvo, Borvoni, Bormo, Borvoni and Bormanus.

Other Naiads of the hot spring include Mephistus and Cloacina.

From this latter Naiad we get the modern soap product, Clorox.

Was Tide, a famous soap brand, named subconsciously for the
hidden correlations of the salt sea and the cleansing waters of the
hot spring? Humanity has a deep link to the mermaid and merman.
(What the world needs is a deeply esoteric study of the laundromat.)

Boraxo, famous from the TV series, "Death Valley Days," is based
on borax, a mineral deposited on the ancient sea floors of the
Great Basin of western America. (No offense is made to the manu-
facturers of these products, and in no way is the author connected
to them.)



ODYSSEUS AND THE SIRENS                                         

In Homer's famous story of Odysseus, it is related that when

Odysseus returned to Ithaca, after being imperilled by the Sirens

at sea, he made offerings to the Naiads in a grotto. This demonstrates

that the Sirens were a different order of mermaid to the mind of our

sailor. Indeed, the Sirens are the scourges of the Gods, the law

servers of the world of the Gods, the "police" of the Gods, while

the nymphs of the grotto were tame by comparison, and amenable

to entreaties from mortals. Odysseus was a blasphemer of the

gods, an anti-hero.

Mermaid and merman art by Eric Whollem.



CELTIC MERMAID LORE

Sacred wells were very common in Celtic lands.  The Well of

Segais is one of the best known, being the headwaters of the

River Boyne. This well was circled by hazel trees with crimson

nuts. The salmons who ate these nuts were called "The Salmons

of Knowledge."

Liban was a Celtic fairy queen, a guardian of the wells, who could

take the form of a salmon.



MAIDU INDIAN MERMAN                                               

The Maidu Indians in California have a salmon merman, or male

Naiad, named Woctolly (Waktali).

This video shows some of my Woctolly art.

DAKINIS OF THE LAKES

In Tibet lakes are the haunt of Dakinis, who essentially are the

Naiads of the Himalayas.

This video presents images of the Dakinis.

See more posts of MERMAID ART on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/mermaids

My posts on the NAIADS may be accessed here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/naiads

*

Allegory of the Sierra Nevada Mountains

The fairy of the granite highlands sends her healing blessing through the scented air.

Her wish is saving the butterflies whose home is the quiet land of waterfalls.

The purple sky of the golden sun radiates nature's remedy.

Sybil of the High Country

2009

by Eric Whollem

mixed media digital art

Copyright by the artist.

Selkies, Metempsychosis, and Enlightenment

Two Selkies
2009
mixed media digital art
by Eric Whollem
Copyright by the artist.

SELKIES AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

Among the Celtic peoples of Britain and Ireland, the legends of the Selkies abound.
The Selkie is a common designation of the mermaid or merman. The term properly
is translated as "Shifter" or "Shape Shifter."

Perhaps the fish tail of the mermaid represents on a symbolic level the Selkie's
penetration into the dimensions beyond.

King and Queen of the Nereids/Greek Lore of the Mermaids/ With a link to Eric Whollem's DIGITAL MERMAID ART Gallery on Picasa Web Albums

                                             

    The Sea Royalty

    2009

    mixed media digital art

    by Eric Whollem

    Copyright by the artist

Nereus and Doris and the Sea Maids of the Salty Deep

Oceanos and Tethys were the primordial parents of the Oceanids, a broad
category that included most of divinities of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks
conceived the celestial dimension to be aquatic. And the Mysteries of Delphi
were indeed aquatic in symbolism, involving Apollo, the Sun Fish; Eros, the
rider of the Dolphin; Demeter, the Dolphin Mother; and Persephone the
mermaid initiate. (This latter point on Persephone is one that I developed at
length in my book, The Mysteries of the Mermaids; but this view is not
one commonly held.)

The Nereids are the offspring of the sea king Nereus and Doris, his queen.
The Nereids are the ancient salt water mermaids of the Greeks. The Naiads
are the freshwater mermaids. Nereus was the son of Gaia and the sea god
Pontus. The Nereids are thus a subcategory of Oceanid.

THE VIDEO BELOW
TOUCHES ON THE SUBJECT OF
NEREUS AND DORIS


ATLANTEAN FAUX POSTAGE STAMPS


                             ERIC WHOLLEM

The sea had many divinities to the mind of the Greek. Oceanos, Uranos,
Poseidon and others vie for prominence as chief god of the sea, in many
old cosmologies, each at variance one from the other. Major goddesses
of the sea in Greek lore include Tethys, Ceto, and Thalassa. Triton is the
definitive fish-tailed merman.  The Greeks in their idealization of the
human form usually depicted their oceanic divinities without fish tails. But
the Greek colonists of Southern Italy left statuary of Persephone depicted
with a fish tail, (according to Barbara Vivino).

The Nereids, as the salt water mermaids of old, were honored by sailors
as their protectors. There is absolutely no lore to the effect that they
would seduce or harm sailors in any way.

Seals are said to be the offspring of the Nereids, and as such harken to
the stories of the Selkies from Celtic lore.


THE SIRENS

The Odysseus legend, a literary product of one famous poet, Homer,
has clouded the minds of many in their view of the mermaid. The story
goes that Odysseus was tormented by the song of the Sirens on the s
hore, luring him to his doom. What is often missed in interpreting this
account is the fact that Odysseus was a pirate and blasphemer and
denier of the gods. The false concept of the Sirens as seducers arose
from Homer misinterpreted.

THE POOL OF THE NAIADS

by Eric Whollem

digital art

COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST

The Sirens feature in Greek mystery religion as dwelling on the
subterranean River Styx. They were the Chorus of the Naiads overseen
by the dolphin goddess Demeter. River dolphins were especially holy in
the mysteries. The river dolphins are said to swim up the river to the
proximity of the oracular center of Delphi.

The Sirens were originally river spirits, the daughters of the River God

Achelous. So the Sirens, commonly conceived as oceanic mermaids,

were in fact Naiads, freshwater spirits.

THE DOLPHIN PEOPLE

The Greeks called themselves the Pelopidae, or people of the porpoise.

King Pelops was a famous king. As such the Greeks are kin of the

Dolphin People, who appear in California as the Chumash Indians.

                                                                                  *

Please post a comment if you have any questions on the subject of mermaids.

____________

See my posts on MERMAIDS on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/mermaids

View my complete GALLERY of DIGITAL MERMAID ART:
https://picasaweb.google.com/earthpaint/DigitalMermaidArt#

                         

AMONG THE STARFISH

by Eric Whollem

copyright by the artist

MYTHOLOGY

MYTHOGRAPHIC ART

*

Maidu Indian Lore in the Work of Whollem

Concow Maidu Cultural Elements in

the Earth Paintings of Eric Whollem

The earth painting entitled "Anima and Animals" shows the

personification of Imagination, my muse, holding a lizard and

a coyote in her hands. The face of Imagination is black, having

been painted with the soil of Black Earth Village, or Chi Chi Te,

the traditional name of the old Mooretown Rancheria, where I
lived.

Anima and Animals
1976
earth, clay, ash & charcoal in casein on panel
3'x4'
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist
Copyright by the artist.


USBUKI THE GREAT WHITE LIZARD

The lizard is Usbuki, the Great White Lizard. Adrian Smith,
former head of the Butte County Tribal Council, told me that
Usbuki is the warrior power. Each warrior at his initiation takes
on his own Usbuki. Legendarily Usbuki combats Henokano,
the trickster, otherwise known as Coyote.

The Great White Lizard is said to dwell in the Middlefork

Canyon of the Feather River behind the cascading waters of
Feather Falls. These falls are second only to Yosemite Falls
in height.

In many Native American traditions, the Great White Lizard
is Dream Maker. Anything you dream  (or daydream)  about
will come to you with the help of the Great White Lizard.
The Lizard will also help you with troubles in your dreams.

Man and Bird

1981

earth paints in casein on panel

4"x6"

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist.

Copyright by the artist.

LIVING IN CHI CHI TE, BLACK EARTH VILLAGE

Bob Jack, the Maidu grandfather, was born in the old village
site near the falls. I was caretaker of the house he built on

the rancheria after his passing.

I also lived in the small house of Herb Young, a traditional
singer and "doctor" (or shaman). The foundation stones of
this structure were old Indian acorn mortar stones protectively
shoved in place under the house, which was built in the style
of the logger families' shacks from Mooretown,  the local
company logging town.

Herb was directly related to Lily Baker, the master basket-
maker of Taylorsville.

Herb's dog, Fido, outlived him and. although blind, continued
to walk the road in Feather Falls, visiting people up and
down the ridge. I painted numerous images of Fido. Fido
came to socialize when Lily visited Chi Chi Te one day.

The Old One

earth and charcoal in polymer emulsion on plywood

10"x12'

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist

Copyright by the artist.

In the old houses on the rancheria there used to be large
collections of swing and classic jazz on 78's--plus old
handcranked victrolas. Bruce Lee's collection of old Model
T's down in the buckeye patch added a unique ambience
to Black Earth Village. Often in the evenings you could
hear hillbilly singing coming up from Frank Jones' place.

I often painted outside under the old walnut tree. Once when
I was rather young and foolish I was working on a wooden
sculpture, so I took up a saw and cut what I thought was a
scrap. Bob Jack, holding up his damaged tool for me to see,
came out and laughed at me. I had cut his T-brace, for
cutting firewood.

I used to drive up to Camp Eighteen to gather soapstone
for carvings. Soapstone was used for medicine bowls by the
Maidu.

It was my highschool friend, Robert Steidl, grandson of Bob
Jack, first invited me up to Feather Falls. He is an excellent
bead craftsman with a talent for soapstone carving and painting.
His mother, a storyteller, was the one who asked me to help
caretake the old homestead. I used to go mushroom hunting
with her and her sister.

At family dinners we all sat at an antique table in the Big House.
Later I painted an earth painting of The Last Supper, which hung
near the old table. Musicians, basketmakers, painters, and some
very good cooks were among common visitors to Chi Chi Te.

MAIDU FOLKLORE FIGURES

I  have painted Kuksu and Morningstar, the Adam   
and Eve of the Maidu. I painted legendary Maidu
characters like Oankoitupeh and Piuchinnuh. I
drew and painted Pano, the Bear. I painted Sumi,
the Deer. Sumi is the friend. The Turtle is Ultrama.
Koi is the sacred goose, whose magical song is the
wuh-wuh song.

I painted also Wonomi, the Earth Initiate, or World
Maker, as well as the realm in which he lived, called
Histayami. I painted the flowerlands of the Maidu
heavenworlds: Yongkodom, Hipiningkodom, and
Kakinimkodom. A herd of white deer are said to
dwell in the valleys of Histayami.

The Kakinim are the spirits. This word relates to the
better known Hopi word, Kachina.

I frequently have depicted insect Kakinim as insects
are very special spirit messengers, not just to the
Maidu, but many California Native Americans.

Song of the Turtle

earth pigments, iron pyrites, and charcoal in polymer emulsion on panel

4'x3'

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist

Copyright by the artist.

I painted a number of long poles at Chi Chi Te. I used
my earth colors. Painted sticks are an old tradition, now
lost.

The earth of Chi Chi Te is quite dark, it being an ancient
Indian midden, as the village had  been  occupied for 3000
years. The pigment near the old sweat lodge site is as
black as coal, it being darkened by centuries of campfires.

The insides of people's homes, or kum, used to be painted
with designs drawn in acorn meal paint.

                   

The Roundhouse

1981

earth paints in acrylic emulsion on paper

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist

Copyright by the artist.

THE ROUNDHOUSE

Ralph Martin, who I met originally at a grass game in Bald

Rock, built a roundhouse in the Feather Falls area. This

roundhouse is called a a Hemeni.

Ralph's Hemeni was built using hand hewn cedar beams and

cedar bark shakes, all natural materials. A large smokehole

is in the center of the roof. Cousin Lorraine told me that when

one enters the Hemeni one must first honor the center post,

then walk in a circle around the inner perimeter, in respect

for those who might be present.

The Hemeni is used for sacred dances, song, and sacred

ceremonies.

In the old days people used to paint their bodies with

earth  paints for the sacred dances.

Ralph Martin lived for a time just down the road from me

at Frank Jones's place. He and Vergil were the last two

native speakers on the ridge.

THE DREAM LODGE

I have included the Roundhouse as an important theme of

my art, especially as it relates to the Dream Lodge of

the Kuksu. The Maidu religion is based on the Dream

Society. Dreams are a source of wisdom and knowledge.

Oroville, California, is the place where a the Dream Society

first began for California Indians. Siltamona is name of the

Maidu village that was the Oroville of Indian times.

The Kuksu Dream religion travelled from the Maidu of Butte

County to the Pomo, Cato, Miwok and Wintun Indians,

native groups spread as far apart as Yosemite Valley and Mt.

Shasta.

Shamanic Figure

earth paints  in casein on panel

10"x15"

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist.

Copyright by the artist.

Adrian Smith told me that Mt. Shasta is called Kom, or Snow.

The mountain figures in important traditional legends concern-

ing how the people were brought back from captivity, and of

Abstract Rock Art Styles: Petroglyphs and Pictographs/ Maidu and Other California Indian Influences/ Earth Paintings Made From Natural Pigments

The painting below utilizes net or basket-like shapes common

in the rock art of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

     Tableau of the Basket Weavers

     1998

     by Eric Whollem

     India ink and casein on paper

     Collection of the artist.

           Copyright by the artist.

INSPIRATION FROM INDIGENOUS SOURCES

Modern European artists like Paul Klee and Joan Miro

are famous for translating the preshistoric cave arts of the

continent into modern terms.

Not all such cave painting is representational of animal

life; some art was symbolic and geometric much like the

Native American rock art found in North America, for

example. In California almost all rock art was abstract.

Only in isolated instances are animals or humans

depicted.

Some of my works may include more representational

elements than a typical pictographic work by a California

Native American.

But I have taken it upon myself to do for California rock

art what the above artists did for European prehistory.

                                            *   

The painting below is loosely based on the rock art of the

Chumash of the Santa Barbara area:

The Sunboat

1981

by Eric Whollem

earth paints on panel

4'x3'

Collection of the artist

Copyright by the artist.

EARTH PAINTING WITH REAL EARTH

Some may be familiar with the work of Heizer, an archaeologist

who attempted to catalogue California's rock art tradition, which is

much less well-known than that of Utah and the Southwest.

The Chumash Indians of the Santa Barbara area left a legacy of earth

paintings in various caves, now under protective care.

The work of the Chumash stands out in California's art history as a major

accomplishment in the field of painting.

In my work, entitled, The Sunboat, I have incorporated an image of

a ribbed boat with a large circular cross in the center. Images nearly

identical to this have been found in areas as far apart as Italy and

Siberia. Jungians would say that this image is from the mental storehouse

of the collective unconscious, while diffusionists would say that the image

spread through human migration.

The roundish, ovoid forms in The Sunboat are very Chumash. The paints

utlized to create this work are natural earth pigments that I gathered and

made into artist's materials.

                                       *

The work below takes a visionary approach to pictographic abstraction:

Birds at the Crux of Night

1986

by Eric Whollem

gouache, oil stick, & wax medium on paper

9"x6"

Collection of the artist

Copyright by the artist.

RESPECT FOR TRADITIONS

Some writers interpret rock art symbolism as a sort of

sign language, that may have been intertribal.

Others see maps or other mnemomic patterns.

I have done hundreds of drawings in pictographic style,

reminiscent of California rock art. Based on these works

many  paintings have been created.

Birds at the Crux of Night derives it's stylization from a

study of California prehistory.

                                         *

The odd curvilinear lines in the work below are not

totally gratuitous, but based on rock art styles common

in the Sierra Nevada Mountains:

Constellation of the Geranium

1981

by Eric Whollem

watercolor varnished with wax on paper 

Collection of the artist.

8" x 10 1/8"

Copyright by the artist.

MAIDU INDIAN INFLUENCES ON MY ART

In the 1970's I painted many small stones with my earth

paints in pictographic style.

The King of the Wood: Earth Painting/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION by Eric Whollem

The King of the Wood

1974-5

earth pigments and charcoal in casein with gold tempera on panel

3'x4'

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist.

COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST

Earth Paintings With
Cross Cultural Themes

The King of the Wood is a painting that
draws upon folklore from Lake Nemi in
ancient Italy, the lore of the sacred kings
of Europe. They were ritual guardians of the
mistletoe branches that hung from the oaks
in the sacred groves.

Sir Douglas Frasier, the father of modern
anthropology, wrote of these sacred kings
in his famous book, The Golden Bough.

In this painting I have blended African,
Oriental, and Romanesque art into a
creation in my own style.

The background is gold tempera; other-
wise the pigments are ones that I made
myself from scratch.

The soil in the painting's landscape is
from Mt. Shasta, California, lending
a blessing energy to the work. I used
milk glue, or casein, as a binder for the
earth pigments--blending the earth with
milk in a holistic manner.

                               View this video about my earth paints.

Details of 'The King of the Wood' were painted
with a stick brush, much in the manner of
Aboriginal art. Oak leaf spirit guardians
are incorporated in the border design.

______________

Readers interested in my posts on ANTHROPOLOGY might view this link:

http://artblogericwhollem/blogspot.com/search/label/anthropology

A POSTER STAMP FOR ART BLOG/ERIC WHOLLEM

Alaya

1976

by Eric Whollem

COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST

This is a link to my posts on the use of EARTH PAINTSin painting and sculpture:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/earth%20paintings

View my posts of ABSTRACT PAINTINGS here:
http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20paintings

For more information on Douglas Frasier see this WIKIPEDIA link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology

*

Early Works: Skogsra and the Four Elements

                                         Skogsra

                                        1972

                                        acrylic on panel 3'x4'

                                        by Eric Whollem

                                        collection of the artist

                                           Copyright by the artist.

Visions of the Muse

From Skogsra's cosmic vantage the world is a dark
globe that swims in the primeval conflagration.

Water flows from her heart. The earth is at her feet.
She glows as red as fire, set in firey clouds.

Skogsra is depicted with golden seaweed stemming
from her hair. Behind her is the World Egg.

Faux Postage From Amphitritonia

FROM THE ROYAL POST OFFICES OF AMPHITRITONIA

Art Stamps by Eric Whollem

                                                         The Egyptian Mermaid
                                                         2001
                                                         edition of 100
                                                         by Eric Whollem
                                                             Copyright by the artist

  AMPHITRITONIA

                                                           

                                            In the northwest of the continent of Amphora lies
                                            the land of Amphitritonia, bound by Mt. Krater and
                                            the River Naiad. The capital city is Ichthys; and the

                                            monetary unit is the copper Cythera. Aphrodite rules

                                            the realm in her triple function as Dove, Swallow, and

                                            Swan, while Poseidon pontificates over matters

                                            aquatic from his retreat in Ceto, the metropolis of the

                                            dolphins. While Italian artists like Botticelli loved to

                                            portray Aphrodite rising from a huge clam shell and

                                            while the Mesopotamians had her emerging from

                                            dove's eggs, the Amphitritonian traditionalists

                                            maintain that the cowrie is the proper birth shell of

                                            Aphrodite.

                                               

Making Earth Paints/ PAINTS FROM RAW NATURAL MATERIALS: MINERALS, CLAY, ASH, CHARCOAL, ETC./ With notes on the uses of volcanic pumice from Mt. Shasta

     Alaya

     1976

     earth, clay and charcoal in casein on panel

     by Eric Whollem

     Collection of the artist

         Copyright by the artist.

Paint Made From Raw Natural

Materials: Earth, Clay, & Ash

In 1973 I began to make my own paints from scratch, using
earth pigments that I gathered in nature. I was living in the