The Paper Sun Calendar
The Paper Sun Calendar is a licensing project based in Solar mythology and folklore from around the world. All of the textures were scanned in from various bits of scrapbook paper, then converted to a bitmap in Photoshop. From there they were placed into Illustrator, where all of the designs were built. Each design can be used in other formats, such as cards, tote bags, posters, and sketchbooks.
The first illustration, used for the month of May, features the Cherokee tale of Grandmother Spider Steals the Sun. In this fable, only half of the world has sunlight. Wanting to make things fair, both the possum and the buzzard make attempts to bring the sun to their side. In doing so, they get burned and gain their bald tail and head that both animals are known for today.
Grandmother Spider sees this, and decides to try her hand at stealing the sun. She manages to put the sun in a clay pot, and carry it away from the tree it is held in. As she makes her way with her treasure, Grandmother Spider throws the sun into the skies. Her webs create the Milky Way, and the Sun now shines on the Earth forever.
June features Áine, a Celtic Fairy Queen and goddess of love, often associated with summertime and sovereignty. One story tells of her taking the soverignty of a king who wronged her. The king noticed a problem, as many kings do. Deciding to find help, he went out and sought the restoratative properties of a place called KnockÁiney. In doing so, he ended up sleepwalking to the goddess herself, Áine. His desire overwhelmed him and the king forced himself upon her. Angered by these actions, Áine bit off a chunk of his ear, blemishing him and marking him as a man unfit to rule.
There is a legend in Chinese culture about how there were originally Ten Suns. These suns took the form of three-legged ravens who lived in a mulberry tree. One by one, each day a sun would take its turn and travel across the sky. Unfortunately, during one day, all ten suns went out at once and, in doing so, accidentally scorched the Earth. The king tasked a mythical archer, Hou Yi to deal with the suns. After refusing to heed his warnings, the suns were shot down until only one remained.
Stories tell of a land to the North of Greece, where Apollo would escape to during the winter. A world of eternal spring and constant sunshine, unreachable by even the oracle: Hyperborea. Some legends say that these mythical Hyperboreans are giants that live to be thousands of years old. They are believed to have been the founders of shrines to Apollo in Delphi and Delos.
