Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Sixty Years in Sixty Days,
A Whimsical Journey through the Chinese Zodiac


This series of sixty paintings was completed within a two month period using pastels and gouache. I am currently working to translate this work into a series of ceramic ware.


In Chinese astrology the zodiac of twelve animal signs represents twelve different types of personality. The sixty-year cycle consists of two separate cycles interacting with each other.

The first cycle is the Five Elements in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

The second is the cycle of the twelve Zodiac animal signs. They are in order as follows: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep/ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar/pig.

2009
Year of the Earth Ox

The Year of the Rat

Wood Rat
1924 and 1984

Fire Rat
1936 and 1996

Earth Rat
1948 and 2008


Metal Rat
1960 and 2020



Water Rat
1972 and 2032

Year of the Ox

Wood Ox
1925 and 1985

Fire Ox
1937 and 1997

Earth Ox
1949 and 2009


Metal Ox
1961 and 2021



Water Ox
1973 and 2033

Year of the Tiger

Fire Tiger
1926 and 1986

Earth Tiger
1938 and 1998

Metal Tiger
1950 and 2010


Water Tiger
1962 and 2022



Wood Tiger
1974 and 2034

Year of the Rabbit

Fire Rabbit
1927 and 1987

Earth Rabbit
1939 and 1999

Metal Rabbit
1951 and 2011


Water Rabbit
1963 and 2023



Wood Rabbit
1975 and 2035

Year of the Dragon

Earth Dragon
1928 and 1988

Metal Dragon
1940 and 2000

Water Dragon
1952 and 2012


Wood Dragon
1964 and 2024


Fire Dragon
1976 and 2036

Year of the Snake

Earth Snake
1929 and 1989

Metal Snake
1941 and 2001

Water Snake
1953 and 2013


Wood Snake
1965 and 2025



Fire Snake
1977 and 2037

Year of the Horse

Metal Horse
1930 and 1990

Water Horse
1942 and 2002


Wood Horse
1954 and 2014


Fire Horse
1966 and 2026


Earth Horse
1978 and 2038

Year of the Ram

Metal Ram
1931 and 1991

Water Ram
1943 and 2003

Wood Ram
1955 and 2015


Fire Ram
1967 and 2027



Earth Ram/Ewe
1979 and 2039

Year of the Monkey

Water Monkey
1932 and 1992

Wood Monkey
1944 and 2004

Fire Monkey
1956 and 2016


Earth Monkey
1968 and 2028


Metal Monkey
1980 and 1940

Year of the Rooster

Water Rooster
1933 and 1993

Wood Rooster
1945 and 2005

Fire Rooster
1957 and 2017


Earth Rooster
1969 and 2029


Metal Rooster
1981 and 2041