Zoo Series - Farm directly below is the first design from a series of circle of life drawings that Kathleen Zimmerman is making into serigraphs. Farm, the drawing, lead to the rest of the series along with a number of fictional tales/poems that she created to help her clarify her thinking, and to have a bit of fun. Zimmerman used symbolic, and surreal, elements, much like the fairy tales of old, but in a more contemporary fashion. The use of blue gives a nod to our watery beginnings and our lovely blue home.
This is what Kathleen had to say about these works.
I created the original drawings for exhibition, being a visual artist, but the desire to combine these images with words came about as the ideas progressed. While I do not consider myself a writer, being much more at home visually than verbally, I saw words as just an tool to help me clarify my thinking and to add another level of enjoyment.
Below are the rest of the Zoo Series shown in the following order: Desert, Forest, Jungle, Ocean, Savanna and Tundra. The images are from the original graphite drawings.
An example of a poem Kathleen wrote that related to Zoo Series - Savanna follows.
Elephant, Hyenas and Birds
Elephant was foraging at daybreak,
Leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
The trees in his path were mangled and toppled,
Even the grass was uprooted and crumpled.
He left quite a mess behind as all knew,
But nothing about this was anything new.
He was not aware of the mess he left behind,
But the Birds and the Hyenas noticed in kind.
The Birds always looked to the gray bulldozer,
It made feeding easy, with the soil turned-over.
But Hyenas thought Elephant was an ogre,
For leaving debris for them to trip over.
Elephant noticed them give him the ‘old evil eye’,
Making him glad, he was no slim, little guy.
When hyenas laughed, Elephant felt wary,
But knew he’s too big to kill and bury.
One of the hyenas spoke up at last,
Barking at Elephant, while she passed.
“Why must you leave the trees knocked over?
Destroy the turf, and leave it turned under?
You should be ashamed of the mess that you make,
Why aren’t you more careful, for heaven’s sake?”
Elephant could hardly believe her rude question,
Who made her queen of this place was his question?
“I don’t know what you mean, my dame,
Mind your own business, and I’ll do the same?”
Hyena was determined to have her own say,
She had all she could, of his unsightly way.
“I know you are big and powerful and all,
But have consideration for the rest of us all!”
“Coming from you, this is hard to believe,
The one who destroys zebra, please leave!”
Hyena could not help but grow angry and bark,
She thought what he said, was way off the mark!
“Now I’ll admit, I eat all kinds of fowl things,
But I’m thinning the herds of unhealthy things.
We do them a service to keep their herds strong,
I can hardly believe that you think that is wrong.
In fact, we never leave carcasses littered about,
We eat every bite, from tail to the snout.
So feel free to ask anyone, from far to near,
We leave not one speck, not even an ear.”
Elephant had to concede that this was true,
Making him begin to see them anew.
If he looked at it from their point of view,
What they did wasn’t wicked, but noble, who knew?
Elephant now noticed the mess he had made,
And suddenly he sat down turning a blue shade.
This made the birds fly out of their way,
To scold the hyena, but this is what she did say.
“I am sorry to make him feel so bad and all,
But it was really his fault for making trees fall.”
“He was just doing a service in clearing the way,
So new plants can grow strong for a new day.
Now go your own way and do your own thing,
And let Elephant be”. The birds did sing.
Hyena now understood he was not a bad guy,
He was just doing his job, so why make him cry?
So live and let live was the lesson they learned,
And back to the hunt the Hyenas returned.
Elephant felt better and quit crying by then,
Listening to Birds made him content once again.
Zimmmerman Fine Art Studio