During my first year playing in Germany, my sister had a baby boy back home in California. I was experiencing some serious homesickness being so far away during the special time.
Since his nursery was decorated in animal theme, I decided to draw a baby elephant to bring additional protection and comfort into his room.
Elephants are a symbol of strength, power, luck and vitality. My mom always said that having elephants around the house brings good fortune and safety into our space; she would put elephants all around the house when we were growing up, and it became a big part of our upbringing.
One in particular caught my eye at a young age. Even though I had to be "very very careful when playing with it," it became one of my best friends. It was a ballsy move of Mama Dowd letting little Lindsay play with the elephant considering the number of broken sewing machines, dishes, and bowls that always led back to me. Luckily, we both grew up unscathed. To this day I believed it to be my protector.
Inspiration: During my time in Bali, I went to go visit some elephants rescued from deforestation in the Samatra Forest. It was one of the most surreal moments I had ever experienced. Time was silent, and still. I hadn't realized that the group I was with had been finished for over an hour, yet I was completely immersed with the elephants. Our energies were just speaking to one another.
Elephants are my spirit animals. They had been my mom's spirit animals since I can remember, and I believe that it got passed down to my sister and I.
The culture of elephants reflect our family in a direct way. My dad was always happy to have been surrounded by "his three girls." He was proud to have raised two strong females with attributes also seen in the strength of their mom.
In elephant culture, the females lead the herd with the eldest being the main director. Babysitting also plays a large role in elephant development as they help look after each other's calves. My aunt's have played a massive role in my life. My mom's sister in particular has been a part of my life since day one. She's been to every soccer game, ever dance recital. swim meet, birthday, you name it. That's what our family does, we take care of each other. Since the elephant culture mirrored much of how my sister and I grew up, I wanted to extend these values of Ohana to baby Cooper.
This specific piece was drawn with a simple number 2 pencil on a 14" x17" drawing paper.
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