C&T Publications 50 States of Art - 2015 | Page 12

Rick Mosher - Massachusetts

Art is the purest form of meditation for me, when working on a
piece all time and distractions are suspended. I work in several
different mediums but find them all related. My personal favorites
are watercolor, oil painting, digital composites, digital painting,
woodworking and photography.
I have been an artist all my life and was an art major in college in
Ohio and Southern California. I enjoy many different styles but
seem to be drawn to surrealism and impressionism more than
anything else and enjoy making people think with my artwork.
I do commissions and special projects, if you have any questions about my artwork or the creation of something special just for you,
please feel free to contact me using the link on this page. If you visit my site feel free to join my email list by clicking on the link
provided.
I currently live in Salisbury Beach, MA and love creating images of the surrounding area and people.

Web Site:
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/rick-mosher.html

Here is my piece. It is called Iroquois Creation Story.
Long before the world was created there was an island, floating in the sky, upon which the Sky People lived. They lived quietly and
happily. No one ever died or was born or experienced sadness. However one day one of the Sky Women realized she was going to
give birth to twins. She told her husband, who flew into a rage.
In the center of the island there was a tree which gave light to the entire island since the sun hadn't been created yet. He tore up
this tree, creating a huge hole in the middle of the island. Curiously, the woman peered into the hole. Far below she could see the
waters that covered the earth. At that moment her husband pushed her. She fell through the hole, tumbling towards the waters
below. Water animals already existed on the earth, so far below the floating island two birds saw th e Sky Woman fall. Just before
she reached the waters they caught her on their backs and brought her to the other animals. Determined to help the woman they
dove into the water to get mud from the bottom of the seas. One after another the animals tried and failed. Finally, Little Toad tried
and when he reappeared his mouth was full of mud. The animals took it and spread it on the back of Big Turtle. The mud began to
grow and grow and grow until it became the size of North America.
Then the woman stepped onto the land. She sprinkled dust into the air and created stars. Then she created the moon and sun. The
Sky Woman gave birth to twin sons. She named one Sapling. He grew to be kind and gentle. She named the other Flint and his heart
was as cold as his name. They grew quickly and began filling the earth with their creations. Sapling created what is good. He made
animals that are useful to humans. He made rivers that went two ways and into these he put fish without bones. He made plants
that people could eat easily. If he was able to do all the work himself there would be no suffering. Flint destroyed much of Sapling's
work and created all that is bad. He made the rivers flow only in one direction. He put bones in fish and thorns on berry bushes. He
created winter, but Sapling gave it life so that it could move to give way to Spring. He created monsters which his brother drove
beneath the Earth. Eventually Sapling and Flint decided to fight till one conquered the other. Neither was able to win at first, but
finally Flint was beaten. Because he was a god Flint could not die, so he was forced to live on Big Turtle's back. Occasionally his
anger is felt in the form of a volcano. The Iroquois people hold a great respect for all animals. This is mirrored in their creation myth
by the role the animals play. Without the animals' help the Sky Woman may have sunk to the bottom of the sea and earth may not
have been created.
7