When I finished the Posca workshop (see the post below) I had lunch with a few of the sketchers. Then I wanted to go sketch the Elephant Migration in the Meatpacking District. Even though the NYC Urban Sketchers planned to sketch this the following weekend, I wanted to sketch it while I was in the neighborhood.
This is an impressive installation of 100 life-sized elephants that is aiming to raise money and awareness for the animals. The elephants are scattered throughout the Meatpacking District mostly along Ninth Avenue around 14th Street. Each of the elephants is unique and is an exact replica of a real elephant now freely roaming on plantations in parts of Southern India. A group of 200 artisans spent years making the sculptures in India where they have shown that humans and animals can live harmoniously in the same space. The elephants are made of lantana, an invasive weed that is taking over forests and displacing wildlife.
I got there about 3:00 and it was so crowded. I tucked myself against a planter and a sign so I wouldn't get trampled. There were so many people surrounding the sculptures that I could barely see them. I sketched a few and then headed off to Penn Station for the trip home.
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