Sacred Elephants

"Beautiful Giants" Oil Paintings by Lena Navarro

I met an artist who has some lovely paintings of elephants and other large animals. Meet Lena Navarro. This painting is called "Majestic."

I asked her, "You have a lot of elephants in your art. How did you get inspired to paint them?"

Lena replied, "I like to paint animals. There is something about painting live objects. Animals and people - are my favorite subjects in my art. So one day I decided to paint an elephant, because of its majestic, beauty and strength . I was very pleased with the result as much as with the process. I really enjoyed painting thousands of those wrinkles. They kept me for hours in my studio even without my favorite tea breaks. I fell in love with these beautiful animals. They are themselves a piece of art. As an artist I am creating my own reality on my canvas. Obviously, I will never posses an elephant, but making art makes me believe that it possible. I have a few of my own elephants, and they are almost real, because they were painted by a loving heart.

Click here to view the other animals in her "Beautiful Giants" series.

Sacred Elephant by Renee Jahnke

When elephant loving photographer Renee Jahnke said she needed subjects for a photo project, I quickly volunteered. Renee has a poetic eye and the assigment she was working on included digital manipulation. She spent a morning at Oakland Zoo photographing the elephants. Then we did a shoot with me in the golden hills of Petaluma, California. Here is the final composite. I absolutely love it.

Please visit Renee Jah Photography & Design to view more of her works.

Favorite Photos: Lalbaug Ka Raja (Ganesh Chaturthi)

Photo copyright Kunal Kamlesh Shah.

Taken during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India (2009.)

Photographer's note, "The idol is of Lord Ganesh who is followed by a lot of Indian Population. During the 10 day festival, the God is offered prayers, donations and prasadam (sacred food.) After the 10th day, the clay idol is immeresed into the sea. The immerssion procession lasts for about 18 hours, where the lord is pulled by a hand wagon and the journey starts from city centre and ends at the sea side where it gets immersed. The procession has huge orchestras (locally known as Nashik and Pune Dhol) and people dance, sing praises of their favourite lord. This festival is celebrated every August-Sept period. GANPATI BAPA MORIYA. Place: Lalbaugh Suburb, Mumbai City."

Protector of the Giants Photo Exhibit in London: September 6-10, 2010

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, one of my favorite elephant rescue organizations in Kenya, will have a free photography exhibit at the Royal Geographical Society in London on September 6-10, 2010. Gorgeous elephants photos taken by photographers Joachim Schmeisser, Michael Nichols and Robert Carr-Hartley will be on display. Click here for an online preview of the elephant photos at the Guardian UK newspaper.

Favorite Photos: Rapsu Raises His Trunk for Milk

Photo ©2005 Jaya Savannah.

This photo I took of Rapsu, one of my foster baby elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, always makes me smile. He obediently raises his trunk straight up in the air so he can get better access to the milk bottle. Aren't his baby tusks cute?

"Anything Goes When It Comes to (S)hoes," Including Elephant Dung

Even if you're not careful, rest assured that everyone else will be watching your step if you made an entrance wearing these platform shoes made from elephant dung. 

United Kingdom artist Insa, a fine artist with a graffiti background who also designs shoes at Insa Heels was invited to create a tribute work for the Chris Ofili retrospective at the Tate Britain Gallery on exhibit now through May 16, 2010.

Insa's shoes, called "Anything Goes When It Comes to (S)hoes" were inspired by some of Chris Ofili's Caribbean-style paintings that had elephant dung mixed into the varnish (below.)

 

Wanting to get the piece just right, Insa tracked down Whipsnade Zoo, where Ofili obtained dung for his paintings and brought the donated dung back to his studio where he began working with it.

A few prototypes later, Insi was satisfied with the result that utilized some of Ofili's techniques of using varnish, beading, and paint with elephant dung, yet is still true to Insi's style. 

 
Here are the shoes on exhibit at the Tate Britain Museum:

 

Will elephant dung replace fine Italian shoe leather? Of course, not.

While Insa's art shoes are completely impractical, his sky-high Miami Sunset baby doll platform pumps (photo on left) are outrageously hot yet still wearable. I'd love a pair of those! The zoo and the museums can keep the elephant dung. I just want the shoes.

Favorite Photos: Longer Lashes Naturally

Longer Lashes Naturally, originally uploaded by Marsel van Oosten.

I have a thing for close-up photography. It's so intimate and tangible. But how does one get this close to madame elephant without a blink, a blur, or a very tall ladder? Photographer Marsel Van Oosten explains how he captured this spectacular picture of an elephant's eye on his Flickr page.

Favorite Photos: Elephant in Graphite & Watercolor

©Copyright Carson Kugler. Elephant, originally uploaded by carson kugler.

Carson's recent exhibitions include Telling Stories out of School: Midwest Illustrators Arthur Geisert, Kevin Henkes and Tina and Carson Kugler April 11, 2009 - June 21, 2009 at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah, WI, and a gallery show at Stumpjack Coffee in Two Rivers, WI from March-May 2009.

Carson has storyboarded on a number of well-known cartoons, most notably as a storyboard director for Nickelodeon's SpongeBob Squarepants and Hey Arnold. He is available for both freelance illustration and storyboards...and is currently looking for representation in illustration. If you are interested in purchasing art or setting up a gallery show, contact Carson at carsonkugler(at)sbcglobal(dot)net.

Trick or Treat for Elephants on Halloween

 
Picture credit: TOTALLY WILD, as featured on Telegraph.co.UK

Judging by the way she's eating one and playing with another, I'd say jack o' lanterns are a treat for this elephant!

A Surprise in the Mail

Wow! When I picked up my mail this morning, there was a suprise package from my colleague Laurie Mazzarella. The birthday card inside explained how "...the crystal is supposed to have many healing properties." I thought, what a great gift! I love crystals. But then it got even better as I unwrapped layer after layer of carefully wrapped tissue paper (that smelled softly of incense.) A CRYSTAL ELEPHANT! It's carved from real quartz with beautiful natural inclusions. I adore it!

Thank you, Laurie!
Asanta Sana! (Thank you very much in Swahili)