Disappearing Panda Fundraiser for WWF

Like most of the world, I've been in love with pandas since I was small enough to be aware of them. My first magazine subscription was National Geographic, which I paid for with my own money and gained most of my knowledge of the outside world. I've only had one quick glance of a panda at the National Zoo in DC. The small window and huge crowds where disappointing and nothing like I long imagined my experience would be like. Since then, pandas live on only in nature documentaries and books for me, and I am content with the fact that I will probably never see one in my lifetime.

I made the painting "Disappearing Panda" many years ago after coming across an old book "The Last Panda" by George B. Schaller.

I had barely remembered owning the book and found a newspaper clip inside about Hsing-Hsing, a panda at the National Zoo. I found this clip just a couple months after visiting the National Zoo.

Chicago Sun-Times, April 17, 1997

Hsing-Hsing had been a wild panda before being gifted by China to the National Zoo. He died in 1999 at the age of 28, which at the time was the longest for a panda living in captivity.

World Wildlife Fund Panda Facts
The National Zoo Panda Facts

I've created a print on panel of "Disappearing Panda". Half of all print sales of will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund. It can be purchased on Etsy and will be shipped with proof of the $20 donation.

Disappearing Panda - 5x5 print on panel $40

The World Wildlife Fund has been protecting nature for over 50 years. To learn more about them go here. 

Being Thankful

I'll keep it simple and say I am thankful to live. A list of the things I am thankful for will always be incomplete. Instead, I will take life at each moment it comes and appreciate all the things it has to offer, good and bad. 

Two Books to Inspire

First, I just finished "Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds", which I wrote about in an earlier post. I picked this book up because I wanted to read about birding but instead found myself much more interested in the life of Phoebe Snetsinger and her never ending energy, power and zest for life. Upon finishing, I was reminded of Lynne Cox and her book "Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long Distance Swimmer". This is another almost unbelievable tale in which Lynne Cox archives what seems impossible. Both risked their life and much more for the passion of doing what they love and doing it well.

We can think of Lynne and Phoebe almost as superhuman but we all have a piece of them in us some where. Lynne and Phoebe both had goals that no one had ever achieved but they didn't archive them overnight. They reached their huge goals by taking small steps. 

Favorite Blogs

In an attempt to get this blog thing moving, I am rounding up some inspiration. I love blogs because unlike normals web pages, they are ever changing and filled with sometimes endless links, stories and photos. My blog is lacking all of that right now and that is what is slowing me down. It's a catch-22 I guess. I don't think anyone is reading this but if you are what are your favorite blogs?