TORTOISES

 Tortoises are the longest-living land animals in the world, originating with the dinosaurs and surviving through many ages, disasters and world changes… they are incredibly tough and resilient… yet also so endearing and gentle. A real inspiration.

I make an ongoing series of tortoise mosaics, using fused glass to create the shell in 3D.

Title: “Desert in the Summer Time”
Size: 35 x 45 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: The highly endangered Geometric tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) in the desert. Created from handmade glass. The tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Desert After the Rains”
Size: 35 x 45 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: Tent tortoise (Psammobates tentorius) among the early flowering daisies. Created from handmade glass. The flowers are made from fused glass, and the tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Desert in the Spring Time”
Size: 35 x 45 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: Serrated tortoise (Psammobates oculifer) among Namaqualand daisies. Created from handmade glass. The flowers are made from fused glass, and the tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Long Walk to Water”
Size: 40 x 50 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: Leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) walking through the Karoo. Created from handmade glass. The tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Resting in the Dust”
Size: 40 x 50 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: The highly endangered Geometric tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) in the desert. Created from handmade glass. The tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Long Walk Through the Desert”
Size: 40 x 60 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: Leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) walking through the Karoo, flowering succulents in the background. Created from handmade glass. The tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Long Walk Home”
Size: 40 x 60 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: Leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) walking through the Karoo. Created from handmade glass. The tortoise is built up in relief and 3D in profile.
Title: “Karoo Tent Tortoise”
Size: 45 x 35 cm
Price: COMMISSION (South Africa)
Inspiration: Psammobates tentorius tentorius or the Southern tent tortoise, which is mainly found in the Karoo (desert) area of South Africa. I included two different succulents, Lapidarea margaretae (yellow Karoo rose in the foreground) and Monilaria scutata (white daisy-like flowers in background), both of which are commonly fed on by little tortoises.
Title: “Western Tent Tortoise”
Size: 45 x 35 cm
Price: COMMISSION (Australia)
Inspiration: This subspecies tortoise has a distinctive 'tent' structure to the shell (especially at the top) and a little bit of pink colouration on both the body and shell. Each spring, the desert in the Namqualand bursts into life and is literally covered in dense carpets of stunningly coloured daisies and flowers. It is the most beautiful botanical spectacle!
Title: “Tortoise in the Thistles”
Size: 50 x 50 cm
Price: COMMISSION (Kansas, USA)
Inspiration: This artwork is for a bathroom, and the client wanted a leopard tortoise with navy flowers and a butterfly.
Title: “Tent Tortoise”
Size: 40 x 30 cm
Price: SOLD (California, USA)
Inspiration: Little tent tortoise among Namaqualand daisies in the desert. Everything is made from hand made glass.... shell, body, background and flowers!.
Title: “Leopard Tortoise”
Size: 35 x 45 cm
Price: SOLD (South Africa)
Inspiration: Leopard tortoise walking in the Karoo (desert). This artwork was purchased as a special present for a 91st birthday!