In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 3rd decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.
ELEPHANT ARTISTS
Chiang Mai,Thailand
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
GOLDEN ELEPHANT HEAD WITH VERMILLION
TUSK
At first, I couldn’t
believe it; Elephants who could paint pictures? There must be some kind of
trick here, something akin to a Las Vegas magic show. A quick slight of
trunk, perhaps, but no way could it be real. Billy and I spoke of it for
weeks as I tried to fit this event into my hectic schedule; the First
Elephant Art Exhibition with live demonstrations of the actual painting on
canvas.
Finally arriving, I spent my
time looking at the finished artwork proudly displayed, the souvenirs and
trinkets, and wandered about taking some photos of the elephants hanging
around. Pondering where I might like to sit in order to get a decent
view of the action, I momentarily looked up only to see 6,000 pounds of
elephant running in my direction! Flat at me and more
quickly than you can imagine 3 tons moving!
Apparently elephant artists can
have a bout of stage fright as well, and Duanpen, a five year old creative
beast, was having second thoughts about this evening's performance. She
headed straight away for the small opening between the tables and benches
set up for tonight’s viewers and easily knocked them down. This is no
big deal, supposedly, except that the
tables and benches are made of solid
concrete and weigh more than I could ever pick up to put back in place.
They fell over like empty cardboard boxes. Like it was a nonevent, Duanpen’s
mahout gently grabbed her by her ear, and led her back to her enclosure.
At this point, I reconsidered my
seating placement, deciding to be freelance, and stand up, in case there
was a need to escape quickly. Other viewers did not seem nearly as disturbed
by this beastly outburst, and they, along with their children,
easily took front row seats. As for me, I began to get a bit clammy.
These animals are massive. They are
children, of course, only five and six years old, but tiny they are not.
Their immensity was fascinating. I love animals, and always had a few
dogs and cats, turtles, even a monkey while I was growing up. However, my
animal care taking history
had nothing to compare with this experience, and I surprised myself with
my timidity.
DUANPEN'S
ESCAPE PATH THROUGH CONCRETE BENCHES AND TABLE
KONG KUM IN
INTENSE CONCENTRATION
Soon paint was poured
into pools on plastic plates, and brushes were readied. The easel was set
up, with art paper attached, and a cardboard frame placed over it to keep
the paint inside the lines.
Enter the star, Kong Kum, a six
year old male elephant, with his mahout at his side. The art instructor
who was on the left, loaded up the brush, and Kong Kum eagerly reached for
it with his trunk. Over and over Kong Kum took the brush, and the instructor made
differing motions on the blank piece of paper so Kong Kum knew where and
what to paint. He followed directions impeccably.
Placement after placement, color
after color, with determined concentration, this little boy elephant was
eager to please his teacher. Mesmerized, we watched. Before we all knew it, a painting was
completed, and proudly, he bowed and curled his trunk for us.
Going back a second
time, both to take more photos and to see these fascinating gentle giants
once again, I was no less afraid, and could not bring myself to sit on the
elephant’s knee when it was offered. However, I was able to feed them
sugar cane, and this I considered personal progress.
These animals are awesome in
their physical presence as well as in potential. For their size,
they are light and gentle on their feet, and can perform exacting
tasks. This attempt to train them to paint is a fairly
new enterprise, with great hopes that it will attract income to pay for
their pricey maintenance.
There are 2000 elephants still in Thailand today, most living
in camps. Only about 20 of these elephants know how to paint, and these
are the first in the world to have developed this talent.
