Monday, September 22, 2008

Hoots, Howls, and Hollers

This week's guest Blogger: Gail Cochrane, New Volunteer Coordinator


Assets are on a lot of people’s minds these days.  At Liberty Wildlife we are fortunate in that our biggest asset is something priceless yet not financial.  It is our volunteer base.  Three hundred dedicated individuals give their precious time to our organization and to our mission to nurture the nature of Arizona, and we would be in dire straits without them.

 Three hundred volunteers sounds impressive, but it does not begin to convey the talents and attributes of these individuals.  Attorneys, nurses, business professionals, school teachers, high tech experts, dads, moms, students, retirees and at least one blacksmith donate their time.  Liberty also benefits from the work of a number of talented artists who have been part of our organization for many years.  Education volunteer Anne Peyton is an impressive and successful wildlife artist who has donated proceeds from the sale of prints of Liberty education animals to the organization.  Medical services volunteer Arlene Powers paints realistic, evocative images of Liberty’s education animals as well as wildlife in general.  She is donating half of the sale price of prints currently on her web page to Liberty’s cause.  Long time rescue volunteers Anne Coe and Brooke Bessesen are superb illustrators with children’s books (about animals, of course) in book stores today.  Anne Coe is an artist well-known for her Southwest subjects.  Hotline volunteer Zoe Sayer’s paintings and multi-dimensional artwork is inspired by a Native American philosophy.   Eagle trainer Joe Miller’s drawings have appeared in all sorts of Liberty promotional pieces and have been silk screened on t-shirts.  Education volunteer and blacksmith Sam Traxell creates his works of art from steel.   Many of Liberty’s artists have wonderful web pages you can access by Googling their names. 

Hotline volunteer Susan Falcon-Hargraves, painter of contemporary fine art portraits and art instructor at BRIO Fine Arts Center has donated commissions to Wishes for Wildlife for a number of years.  Recently Susan called with news of an exciting new project.  In January BRIO will host their annual Call to All Arizona Artists Exhibit – and proceeds will go to Liberty Wildlife and Foothills Animal Rescue.  The juried art show’s theme is “Wild to Mild: Animals in Art and will celebrate all forms of the animal kingdom.  The exhibit reception will be held on Saturday Jan 17 from 6-8 pm.  The juried selections will be on display and a raffle will be held to benefit the non-profits.  If you are an artist and interested in more information contact BRIO at 480-941-8310 or email to info@briofinearts.com. 

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