$50.00
These one-of-a-kind tapa turtles come straight from Grandma Sita’s hands and heart. Turtles have always been her favorite thing to draw, ever since she was young. Each one is hand-drawn on a circle of real tapa cloth. No tracing, no copies. Just whatever comes to her in the moment.
One side has an original turtle drawing. The other side is covered in hand-painted tapa patterns, using the old styles she grew up around. Every piece is different. Every one carries its own story. Made with care, made to last, and made to honor where we come from.
These tapa turtles are more than just art. They carry the story of Grandma Sita’s lifelong journey with tapa. Since she was a young girl growing up in Haʻapai, Tonga, she has worked with tapa the traditional way. She learned how to strip and soak the mulberry bark, beat it flat with wooden mallets, dry it in the sun, and paint it by hand using natural pigments. This wasn’t a weekend project. It was daily life. It was something passed from mother to daughter, over and over again.
Turtles have always been close to Sita’s heart. Over the years, they’ve become one of her favorite things to draw. In this set, each piece of tapa is circular and double-sided. One side shows a hand-drawn turtle, each one different from the next. No tracing. No printing. Just whatever came to her spirit in that moment. The other side is filled with strong, traditional tapa patterns that show her heritage and her hands at work.
This is raw tapa. Real ink. No shortcuts. Just decades of skill, patience, and cultural memory in every piece
Copyright © 2025 Grandmasita.
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