99 Elephants a Day

Seven years ago, I helped bring Fine Arts Day to my daughter's elementary school. Helped being the operative word. Art teacher extraordinaire Michele Swoope did all the heavy lifting. The day starts with an assembly. The last two times I have been back this assembly has featured a local rock band. After that, each grade level attends half hour presentations by six visiting artists. Also included in the day are two hands-on art experiences and a lunch time date with the Van Gogh Bus (traveling art museum out of Harrisburg PA).

Some of the 36,000 elephant prints created by Suzanne Fellows in 2014

When Michele announced this year's Fine Arts Day, I asked if I could come back as an artist liaison.  I used to be a substitute teacher when Michele was out. It was my favorite assignment as a sub, and I loved the kids. This year, it was my pleasure to be with Suzanne Fellows as she made her presentation. Suzanne is an artist/activist with a studio space in the Goggleworks in Reading, PA. In 2014, she started on a project to save elephants from poachers. She had learned through some internet research that 360,000 elephants were murdered for their tusks in 2013 alone. She decided to do something about it. She launched a campaign called 99 Elephants a Day. Every day of the year 2014, Suzanne dedicated herself to making 99 small elephant prints to represent each of the elephants killed that day. At the end of the year 2014, she had made 36,000 of her tiny prints which were the size of artist trading cards (2.5" x 3.5"). She continues to sell her prints, mostly through Etsy, for $9 and sends 1/3 of the money to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, specifically to foster orphaned elephants. In 2014, she was able to foster 27 baby elephants. Elephants have always been my favorite animal. As a kid, while other girls were learning to draw dogs and horses, I was sketching elephants. Babar was among my favorite children's books. Perhaps that is why I have such an affinity for Suzanne and her cause.

The presentation hit home with the students as well. It was important for them to hear the message from someone who uses her art to change the world.  I was proud to be a small part of it. We started Fine Arts Day so kids could see the role of art in their community, and so that they could see the range possibilities for careers in the arts. Being immersed as I am in Arden's artist community, I see that the arts are more integrated with life here. Children are used to seeing the guest artists that come and go as visitors to their summer program. They attend youth Shakespeare workshops, attend outdoor concerts, and see all those neighbors who are artists selling their wares at The Arden Fair. While I would love to create a whole world of artist utopian communities in which to indoctrinate our children to the powers of art, I realize that is an overreach. Until that those dreams come true, I will gladly make the pilgrimage back to Reamstown Elementary and bask in that singular sphere of influence. Does that count as art activism? I don't know. But it puts me in hopeful place to think about changing the world through art.