Thursday, July 24, 2008

One Year Since the Murders




Well it's been a few months since my last post. I haven't been painting much since February. I've been kind of taking a break. But I've started needle felting. It's a process of repeatedly poking a barbed needle into wool roving to make sculptures. Above is one of my creations. It is of Ndeze, the little gorilla whose mother and other family members were murdered last year on July 22. You can read my post about it earlier in this blog. My little feltie of Ndeze is up for auction on eBay now. I plan to give 20% from the sale to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. They have taken on the responsibility of raising her and hopefully releasing her back to her home.

Here's the link to my feltie Ndeze's auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200241416567



I've also started a painting of Senkwekwe, the murdered silver back leader of the Rugendo family. Diddy recently posted a video of the Rugendo family in the Gorilla Protection blog. It was taken just a few days before the attack. Senkwekwe was watching over his family. That careful concern is the inspiration for this painting. I can imagine his spirit still looking after and protecting the remaing members of his band. I'm titling the painting "Watchful Eyes".
Here's my initial sketch:


11" x 14"