Maria, weaver

Maria belongs to the Karen tribe originally from Burma but now living in northern Thailand. I first met Maria in 2012 at her village near Chiang Mia Thailand. She was very shy but showed me how she created beautiful weavings for sale. In 2013, when we met again, I...

Elephants retiring

I retired two years ago and was interested in learning what happens to elephants when they are too old to work. Some are lucky enough to be rescued by Elephant Nature Park. Mesae Elephant Camp in Northern Thailand has a different type of retirement. The older...

A New Painting with an Elephant

My third trip to Masae Elephant Camp to paint with an elephant yielded my favorite painting to date. I was assigned a new elephant, Pangkwan. At ten, he is the same age as Thongpetch who I painted with on two previous trips. But Thongpetch no longer enjoys painting...

Painting With an Elephant

While making my second book: Painting With an Elelphant, I went through the normal process of editing/proofing and then reviewing the sample book. After receiving my first proof, I realized I wasn’t clear on who my audience would be (one of the first things an...