Thailand - Phetmanee
ELEPHANT: Phetmanee
SEX: Female
AGE: born on Feb. 19th, 2000
MAHOUT: Mr. Suwit Chungkwon
LOCATION: Ayutthaya, THAILAND
CAMP: Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal
PHETMANEE'S BIO:
Phetmanee’s full name is ‘Phetmanee Sri Ayutthaya’ which means “precious jewel of Ayutthaya”. Phetmanee was the first elephant born in Ayutthaya from the Kraal’s natural breeding program. Because she was the first successful elephant born from this program, she is considered to be a blessing to the people of Ayutthaya. Phetmanee enjoys the regular activities of the other elephants but receives special attention during festivals and days of celebration. She is the daughter of Kam Lai Phet and older sister of Kam Lai Tong.
Phetmanee shows great potential in her painting technique. She is very patient and seems eager to try various painting styles, from dot compositions and flowers, to more natural abstract creations. She is especially fond of the nearby river and it seems that her love of water often creeps into her composition and color choices.
The majority of works by Phetmanee are done on elephant dung paper. The paper created on the grounds of the Kraal. It is beautifully textured, odorless, and environmentally sound. With 90 elephants on site, each of which eats an average of 300 - 500 lbs. of food daily, one can surmise that a fair amount of cleanup would be necessary. There has been a new movement as of late to reuse this elephant by-product in larger elephant facilities throughout Southeast Asia. The dung is processed, bleached, screened and dried into a papier-mache type material. The beautifully textured result is being used to create a variety of wonderful products such as paper, picture frames, bookmarks, jewelry boxes, even hats. Yes, "art from both ends of the elephant".
