One of my goals for this trip was to keep an active sketchbook and do some watercolors of our experiences. I started out having fun but at some point my critic started making too many visits and my confidence went south in a flood of muddy watercolors. So the brushes and paints have been sitting idle and I find the camera and computer are at my fingertips more than my sketchbook. Once again I am disappointed in myself, such a simple goal and I am not following through. Months before we embarked on this journey I saw the utube video of elephant
s that painted with their trunks. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, the skill, the focus, it was amazing. When I discovered that the painting elephants were located near Chang Mai I knew I had to experience it in person.
Just seeing the elephants up close was an inspiration. I did lots of very quick gesture sketches on the watercolor paper so that when I get my courage up again I can splash some colors down on decent paper. I even bought an elephant original for $30. Here was a painting to look at and say to myself…”if an elephant can paint then so can I.”
Unfortunately or maybe fortunately I later saw a video of what is
done to these elephants to ‘break’ them so that they can be trained to paint and do tricks. I was horrified at the absolute brutality. So now my original elephant painting is a sad reminder of what is done to these magnificent beings to make them perform for our entertainment and tourist dollars. I think about how they tortured these elephants to make them paint and I think about how I torture myself to paint. Hmm, but I have a choice, the elephants don’t.
The next day we visited the Elephant Nature Park where abused elephants are rescued. www.elephantnaturepark.org Here they give them positive feedback, no hooks, no riding, no tricks. It is a safe haven to heal the wounds and broken spirits within a predictable routine of care and nourishment. I need to remember this sanctuary, remember the elephants and let them be my teacher. If they can recover and thrive again, so can I.
s that painted with their trunks. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, the skill, the focus, it was amazing. When I discovered that the painting elephants were located near Chang Mai I knew I had to experience it in person.
Just seeing the elephants up close was an inspiration. I did lots of very quick gesture sketches on the watercolor paper so that when I get my courage up again I can splash some colors down on decent paper. I even bought an elephant original for $30. Here was a painting to look at and say to myself…”if an elephant can paint then so can I.”Unfortunately or maybe fortunately I later saw a video of what is
done to these elephants to ‘break’ them so that they can be trained to paint and do tricks. I was horrified at the absolute brutality. So now my original elephant painting is a sad reminder of what is done to these magnificent beings to make them perform for our entertainment and tourist dollars. I think about how they tortured these elephants to make them paint and I think about how I torture myself to paint. Hmm, but I have a choice, the elephants don’t.The next day we visited the Elephant Nature Park where abused elephants are rescued. www.elephantnaturepark.org Here they give them positive feedback, no hooks, no riding, no tricks. It is a safe haven to heal the wounds and broken spirits within a predictable routine of care and nourishment. I need to remember this sanctuary, remember the elephants and let them be my teacher. If they can recover and thrive again, so can I.
Being tortured to learn reminds me of my days being taught by nuns. They didn't use sharp hooks, but they also did not use their rulers for measuring.
ReplyDeleteI, like Don, learned how big an inch was by the marks on the palm of my hand. But, somehow that doesn't affect me as much as hearing about the elephants. Enlightenment has come to the Catholic schools, maybe so it will come to the tourist industry.
ReplyDelete