Animal Artists at Work

Dickerson Park Zoo has a unique way of raising money for their foundation…..they sell art work done by the animals at the zoo!  It sounds crazy but it is true, our local zoo is home to many animal artists.  Our Community Members had seen a gallery of their art work on display at a local business a few months ago.
They were so intrigued that we decided to go see the artists create their masterpieces in person.  Our Members were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the zoo with close-up encounters with some of the animals.   We watched small apes paint with brushes that they held in their hands and their feet.  You could tell how much they enjoyed getting to paint because they begged to keep painting.   After the apes we moved the Bengal tiger area of the zoo for our next artist.  The Members all got to feed him with hunks of meat on a long stick and have their picture made with him.    The tiger did his painting with his giant paws as he paced back and forth through the paint and onto the canvas.    Our last artist we observed was the giant hippo named Harry. The zookeeper covered his snout with paint and then pressed the canvass on his mouth to make a “butterfly kiss” print.   His favorite part of the painting experience seemed to be the zookeeper spraying his face with cool water from the hose. We were able to take the art work home with us to begin a collection that Creekside plans on displaying and adding to in the future.  Some of the Members bought art work that had been created before our visit and took it home with them to display in their homes.   We plan on returning to the Zoo again in the spring to watch a cheetah, elephant and monkey show off their artistic abilities!