Tuesday, March 21, 2000
Cincinnati Zoo has pachyderm Picasso
BY MIKE PULFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Where does an elephant paint?
Anywhere she wants to.
So, if you're going to let an elephant paint, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is a good place to teach her.
Since 1990, trainer Cecil Jackson has been working with pachyderms and paints and canvases to create colorful contemporary designs.
The zoo's artist in residence, My-Thai, a 26-year-old Asian elephant, has done three special watercolor pieces for zoo benefactors and leaders.
“My-Thai is our little Picasso,” said Donna Oehler, the zoo's director of marketing.
“She responded really well when he (Mr. Jackson) put a brush in her ... trunk, showed her the colors ... how to dip the brush and what to do.”
After she learned the routine, My-Thai was left alone for 20- to 30-minute sessions in which she created large-scale paintings (typically 3-by-4 feet) in vibrant colors.
The first, for Virginia Kettering of Kettering, was done in pinks and purples. Another, for Rob Sibcy, former zoo board president, is in oranges and yellows. The third, in a variety of colors, went to former Cincinnati Reds owner and longtime zoo supporter Marge Schott.
Color choices were left to the artist.
“We just got a palette of colors and brushes and canvases and let her create masterpieces,” Ms. Oehler said.
“Elephants are extremely intelligent animals,” she said. “Very, very intelligent.
My-Thai uses artist-style brushes with extra-thick handles and holds them in a trunk that has more than 50,000 muscles. Ms. Oehler calls it “an incredible tool that elephants use in a variety of ways.”
Earlier local elephant works, some by Princess Schottzie II, temporarily living in Louisville, were sold in the zoo's gift shop to benefit elephant conservation and research.
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