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Are you passionate about animals and believe that they deserve respect, compassion and understanding? Do you believe that it is important that people understand that animals are sentient, feeling beings? Or, does it pique your curiosity to see how animals enjoy and manipulate art materials? If you answered "yes" to any or all of these questions,than this is the book for you! Titled: "You Can't Make an Elephant Paint: Animals Who Create," this book presents numerous animals who create using art materials. This book features animals such as Hong the elephant who paints realistic self-portraits, Congo the chimpanzee who created more than 400 drawings and paintings, and Cholla the mustang who loves to paint on an easel set up in his pasture. This book even shows dolphins, orangutans, dogs, pigs, and anteaters who handle brushes and who create. The book features 12 two page spreads that describe how the animal creates (left hand page) and a graphite and watercolor image of the animal with a copy of their work inside their body. On the left hand page, are questions that elicit aesthetic discussion about the creative process. These questions are designated with a question mark. Examples of questions are: If a person sets up the art project is the person the artist? Or, is the animal the artist or is it a collaboration between the two? Another example of a question is: If the animal's work resembles that of a professional or famous artist, should the work be valued the same? Or, should the work be valued less or perhaps more? These pages feature websites and other resources to do further research. This information is designated by a pawprint symbol. The remainder of the book presents animal groups who use art to help animals. Groups such as the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project, Metro the Painting who funds – and all of whom use art to support animal groups who rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome animals. ABOUT THE ARTIST/AUTHOR: Gaye Leigh Green is a professor of Art at Western Washington University. She is a former elementary education teacher and elementary art education specialist. For the past 17 years she has taught art methodology courses for elementary teachers and social issues-based art courses. She currently shares her life with her 2 cats and miniature Aussie.
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