Turtle Pinata is a mixed media artwork made primarily out of paper mâché. Pinatas are often used at parties and are filled with treasures, toys or candies. These pinatas are then hung up, and children are blindfolded then, they either pull the ribbons from the bottom or use a stick to beat the piñata until it breaks. Once broken, the treasure pours out.

As part of an awareness campaign, I have made a piñata of the Ploughshare Tortoise (aka the Angonoka Tortoise). Within the pinata, there are facts about what makes this tortoise a treasure. Hanging from the belly is information about the threats to this creature. This artwork and the metaphor of it being a piñata show how this animal is slowly becoming extinct (breaking) due to the damage being done to their habitats (strings being pulled).

There are as few as 200 mature Ploughshare Tortoise in the wild due to them being hunted for illegal collection for the pet trade. They are also facing extinction due to habitat burning. You can help the Ploughshare Tortoise by donating to breeding facilities and by contacting organizations like Turtle Conservancy at info@turtleconservancy.org if you see any Ploughshare Tortoises being traded or sold.

Anger Self Portrait is a bust made of clay and coloured with acrylic. The portrait is based on me and has the emotion of anger. The bust has tiger stripes across its face to symbolize anger, courage and personal strength. The bust has petunias around its head, flowers that often represent anger and resentment. Fire runs around the bust to highlight the anger. Throughout the piece, there is a lot of red which really helps highlight the emotion of anger.

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