Artist's Inspiration:

Tembo

(Swahili for elephant)

According to Dr. Seuss,  “An elephant’s faithful 100 percent”. 

They are also known for their intelligence, memories, and display of emotions.  Love, joy, grief, rage, compassion, and even altruism are within their repertoire.  The herds of females and young males are lead by a matriarch female and they all raise and protect the calves.  They ‘talk’ to each other by touch, taste, trumpets, rumbles, and grunts.  Amazingly they communicate up to 110 square miles (without cell phones) with low frequency subsonic sounds too low for us to hear.  I guess it is no surprise that a society led by females are legendary in their communication skills! 

Elephants are such a magnificent creation and joy to behold – mighty bodies, huge ears, gleaming tusks, and stone column legs.  Their inch thick hides are surprisingly sensitive.  Even their gait is different from other quadrupeds.  In my study of their anatomy I discovered their femurs and humerus leg bones are much more vertical than that of horses, dogs, cats, deer, and many others.

I’ve kind of gotten attached to Tembo as he slowly emerged from my drawing board and scrap metal collection.  Perhaps it is the many human-like characteristics these critters exhibit that makes them so endearing.

Perhaps Seuss came closest with the faithful description.  Trustworthy, loyal, reliable, steadfast, and true.  Wow, I wish more people were like that.  Maybe we would be if we paid more attention to the One who made the elephants as well as us.     “O Lord God Almighty!  Where is there anyone as mighty as you, Lord?  Faithfulness is your very character.”  Psalms 89:8