ottersweetsart

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🎶Little Strawberry Rat I love when you sleep all day 🎶

That’s how the song goes, yeah?

[ottersweetsart]

the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars (WIP)

Acrylic painting depicting the Lingít legend of Raven - the trickster and shapeshifter who stole the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

In one of my favorite Lingít legends, the world was once completely dark - the Sun did not rage in the sky, the Stars did not burn, and there was no Moon to light the way in the night. The only light came from the fire of human

Raven, who at this time had brilliant white feathers and a long proud beak, came across an obviously wealthy village with a powerful chief.

As Raven watched, he noticed the Chief kept four precious items near him - three beautifully painted bentwood boxes, each varying in size, and a young woman who seemed to be his daughter. Raven didn’t know what the boxes contained, but the vibrant paint and bold lines is all Raven needed to see to know that he wanted them.

Later that evening, the young woman came out of the large Longhouse to get water and Raven knew this was his opportunity

The Trickster shed his white feathers and turned into a small pine needle, twirling quickly into the young woman’s cup

The young woman drank without notice and once in her belly Raven transformed once more into what would become a baby

Once Raven is born and has grown some, he grows impatient for the rewards of his plan. Now, Beloved by the Chief, he starts to throw more and more tantrums.

The Chief tries everything to get the young boy to stop crying, yet he continues to wail and sob. He is given the most beautifully carved toys and but he tosses them aside, he is given the shiniest of trinkets but does not even glance at their sparkle

Eventually the Chief, out of ideas, hands the smallest Bentwood Box to the boy

Finally - he stops crying. Instead he inspects the box gleefully, running his fingers over the paint he had gazed at from a distance. He had to know what was contained inside

Raven ripped the lid off as the Chief yelled in protest - but it was no use. Millions upon millions of stars shoot out of the box, through the smoke hole in the ceiling and up into the sky. Raven gazes up at them glistening for a moment before he begins to cry again. The Chief, despite being upset, tries to comfort his dear Grandchild once more. The Chief and the boys mother try everything to get him to stop crying. Finally, hesitantly, the Chief gives the boy the medium size Bentwood box with strict instructions to be careful; do not open it

Raven examines the box with a giant grin once again. He plays for a few minutes before he lifts the lid once more - lifting the beautiful sphere from the box and pushing it into the sky. The Chief’s protests are hardly heard as Raven can only see the beautiful light that has been cast across the night sky

Finally, the boy starts crying one last time. The Chief is trying everything, reluctant to listen to his daughter asking he give the final box. He is worried of what will inevitably happen. Raven continues to wail - he reaches for the final box, beautiful yellow paint just out of reach

Finally, the Chief concedes. He gives the boy the final box and the small baby stops crying.

Raven is hardly able to contain his excitement as his hands immediately find the lid, unimaginable heat radiating through it. Raven almost couldn’t feel the burning with the thought of the sky lit up with that beautiful yellow

The Chief lets out one last yell, this time one of confusion as Raven begins to transform back into his original form as he yanks the wooden lid off and takes the impossibly beautiful orb into his beak.

Despite the burning Raven leaps into the air, flying through the open smoke hole in the ceiling and illuminating the outside world as he emerges

Raven’s feathers begin to burn, igniting and changing color. Raven’s beak begins to break shorter, unable to withstand the heat of the Sun on his grasp.

Raven launches the Sun into the Sky

leaving the world and himself forever changed

(This is my own retelling of how I remember this story, being Lingít it always meant a lot to me hearing this story being told growing up.)

[ottersweetsart]

Winter dreary is trying to take me - sculpting cute pokemon is helping me fight back 💪🏽

Creating makes me feel peaceful, creating makes me feel apart of the world, even if it is just creating in order to create

[ottersweetsart]

Sometimes to feel connected to your culture - you just have to create. Sometimes it’s the only way I feel connected to mine

I’ve been struggling with imposter syndrome lately, even though I’ve always been Lingít I’ve never felt Lingít enough. But over the last year as I’ve been learning new skills such as beading, drum making, skin sewing, even making stickers. I never felt quite as connected to my culture or the world even as when I create something new to bring some semblance of joy

The earrings are seed beads, bone beads, leather strips, and metal. They took about 5 hours to make and a lot of frustration that resulted in a lot of pride

Thank you for looking 🫶🏽

Ottersweetsart.com

[ottersweetsart]

Pick on a Colonizer this Indigenous People’s day 🥰

[ottersweetsart]

Moo Deng has my entire soul and she can keep it 😫

[ottersweetsart]

Remember to be proud of yourself today!!

I love learning new skills for moments like this and every moment leading up to it 🥹🥹 I’m so proud of how this painting translated into a sticker and I’m proud of how they turned out!!

I’m an indigenous Alaskan artist and if you’d like to check out my website, I have some things that of course I think are pretty cool 🫶🏽 ottersweetsart.com

[ottersweetsart]

I’m so proud of you 😍

His bite is as bad as it looks but he’s a sweetie 🫶🏽 little demon otter very loosely inspired by my people’s legend of the Kushtaka.

Sticker available in my shop 🦦 ottersweetsart.com

[ottersweetsart]

I’m so happy with how these stickers turned out 🥹💫

“Metal Cutie” available now on my shop ottersweetsart.com

Thanks for looking 🫰🏽

[ottersweetsart]

They’re absolutely beautiful and I’m so proud of how my sticker of this lad turned out 🥹

Pigeons deserve better

They bond for life, they like to be clean and bags frequently, they are remarkable flyers and expert navigators. Their relationship with humans goes back thousands of years

They delivered our letters of love and hope during times of war and are now perpetually greeted with hostile architecture

They deserve better

[ottersweetsart]

💫Dreamy late night paintings💫 give me so much serotonin

[ottersweetsart]

Pigeons deserve better

They bond for life, they like to be clean and bags frequently, they are remarkable flyers and expert navigators. Their relationship with humans goes back thousands of years

They delivered our letters of love and hope during times of war and are now perpetually greeted with hostile architecture

They deserve better

[ottersweetsart]

I love my scary otter boy 🫰🏽

[ottersweetsart]

Karlach, my love 😭🫶🏽