Songs of the Celestial Navigators

I began this book during a period when I felt very anxious about world events. At the time, I happened to be researching several ancient cosmologies for a different project. I’ve always been fascinated by how the image of the world tree repeats in so many cultures. But my absolute favorite is the Hindu concept of the world elephants that support the earth as they ride through the universe on the back of a giant turtle.

I put aside my original project to paint elephants positioned around the trunk of the world tree...

As I continued working on this book, I realized that it had become something like a little altarpiece to the Hindu deity Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. I included two Sanskrit invocations in the artwork. On the left side is the Vakratunda Ganesha mantra for the removal of all obstacles. To the right is a prayer for prosperity.