Painting The Face Of The Great Human Race

Well as much grumbling and griping as I did about this event (due to a miscommunication with my dad, I thought I was going to a freaky Beaver Queen Pageant in a a shady park, instead of a jogging event in parking lot at NorthGate Mall) kids ARE kids, and they seemed vividly drawn to my crittur pitchurs none the less, making it as rewarding time as any. I also had some very enthusiastic booth mates, who rolled up their sleeves, and jumped right in, getting their tattoos, which they seemed to cherish.
I wound up (as usual), with a long line of patiently waiting kids, long after the rest of the festival had cleared out.

As it turned out, it was actually a pretty cool event (much larger than I had comprehended), called the Great Human Race, which I think raised quite a lot of money for such worthy causes as The Humane Society, Dogs off Chains, and of course, The Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association!





Hopefully, some parents spent some time at the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association booth, and will keep us in mind for sponsorship next year!





Besides my crittur pitchurs, there were a few other key items on display, to help visitors recognize the natural assets that the creek provides. One was a beaver pelt, provided by yours truly (with key supportive sponsorship of the tanning stage from my Dad, Steve). You can follow this Beaver's Tale, by click this link.
 Another attraction was this beautiful display of native flowers which can be found along the banks or Ellerbe Creek, assembled and constructed by the lovely Cynthy.

I did paint one non-native critter today- a tiger. I made an exception, because the little girl (and her Mom) already had their 'tiger ears' on, and they there to raise money for the Carnivore Preservation Trust in  GPittsboro. That kid looked pretty fierce when she left my table!

(Hopefully my booth mates will send me their photo of the progress, will post).

A Return to my Roots with ECWA

This coming Saturday morning, I will be embellishing participants at a fundraiser for the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association (ECWA) with some of my River Critter Pictures.

This marks a return of my face painting to ECWA fundraising efforts, from whence they began 8 marvelous years ago!

I first developed River Critter Pictures back in 2004, to paint on kids at an ECWA table at an Earth Day celebration, in Downtown Durham.

Getting my gear set up, as first customer's wait patiently,
and ECWA superstar Jane Finch helps out.
Circa 2004

Back then I did a lot more creepy crawlies, such as mayfly nymphs etc. But I didn’t have many takers on those, so I’ve broadened my pallet, to snakes, snapping turtles, and leaches. Just kidding! Sort of….

My current pantheon is centered around angiosperms, specifically our reptiles and amphibians of the Southeastern US.

These include our magestic Rough Green Snakes, Tree Frogs, Marbled Salamanders, Fiery Red Efts, Striped Skinks, Anoles, yellow-bellied sliders, even an American Alligator or two!

But I am always looking to widen my pallet of critters, and recently, at a Haw River 30^th Anniversery celebration, I did my first snail! It was glorious!

I have also recently added a tiger lilly. and would like to bring in some more riparian flora, such as swamp lily’s, snake grass, maybe a willow tree?

For this event, and the upcoming Beaver Queen Pageant, it looks like I’ll be adding our lady of the lake to the Pantheon. Should be fun!

In case you are wondering about that picture above, that fateful Earth Day in Durham was not just the debut of River Critter Pitchers, but also the debut of my infamous ‘Possum costume, which has sadly since fallen into disrepair life is hard on a 'possum's tail, but was in full effect that Spring day downtown!

Rabbid 'Possom sighting Downtown!

I had also fashioned a pretty good flea mask for fellow ECWA brat, Matt Brockman.

I never did get the rest of the costume together though, and he has grown out of his flea days.

 But, as much fun as I was having, I did not get the last laugh. My co-worker at the time, Terry, The Storyteller, turned the tine on me. What did he give me? True to his storytelling, said the little man with the black hat, I'll never tell!

Here Story Teller Terry turns the brush on me!