Tales from the Great Lakes is a series of oil paintings based on the folklore that surrounds the Great Lakes. There are five paintings, with each one depicting a scene from a story or myth from its respective lake. The edges of the paintings are adorned with the flora and fauna that are native to their lake’s region, inspired by illustrated poems from the 1800s. As someone who was born and raised in Michigan, the Great Lakes were a big part of my summers growing up. Yet I had never heard of the folktales I read while researching this project. I wanted this project to be an ode to the Great Lakes, and my hope is that others will be inspired to look further into the mythos of the Great Lakes and read their fascinating stories for themselves.
