Grandmother Toad

Medium: Giclée Print
Image Size: 6" x 91/4"
Edition Size:  45 S/N

One day in May, I was out picking fiddleheads, and scuffing through the dead leaves left over from the previous autumn.  It had been a cold spring, and it was one of the first warm days of the season.  As I stepped forward, I noticed at the last second, this enormous toad just where I was about to put my foot.  She was very sluggish with the cold, and wasn't moving too fast.  I managed to avoid her, but it was a close call.  Fortunately, I had my camera with me, so I was able to get several photos of her for reference for the watercolour painting which was the original of these giclée prints.

The title comes from an interesting synchronicity.  Toads and frogs are "indicator" species, the first to show distress when an environment begins to become toxic.  In the lore of many Native tribes, Grandmother Toad is the totems' totem - the one to whom other totems look for wisdom and guidance.