'Giant Panda'
by Robert Bateman
acrylic, 36" x
48", 1987
Recently
I have been granted permission to use the artwork of world-renowned artist,
Robert Bateman. On this page you will see two of his stunningly beautiful paintings.
I have also received Mr. Bateman's
personal comments on the details of these paintings and you may read his words
here: 'Giant Panda', and
'Giant Panda in the Wild'. This gifted Canadian-born artist has
produced hundreds of life-like works of art, and you may see more of his
paintings HERE. If
you would like to know more about the man who creates these masterpieces, you
may read some of his thoughts HERE,
--and also see what he looks like!
We
have a new member from Australia! Please welcome Iminia.
She has a lovely website with link-ware graphics and soulful writings. So
nice to have you with us, Iminia.
Thank
you to Dave Grant who has just completed a wonderful quick-start tutorial
on Bryce 3D. This is an amazing landscape-generator program made by
Kai. Because of the intricacies of this program there is a very steep
learning curve. This tutorial makes it all easier.
Thank
you for all the e-mails, questions, and congratulations. I love reading it... but
I don't
always have the time to reply to
each one personally. If its a specific question, I will make the time, of
course. So please accept my apologies if I cannot write back to you
individually. Many thanks to those who have used the TCS
Message Board as an alternative.
Because
all things in Nature change--either forward or backwards (Einstein said it is
impossible to remain static in life)--we are making some changes at TCS.
Volunteers have come together to review new sites up for submission, deliver our
calling card to prospective members, send in articles and photos, etc. I
am most grateful for your support! One new development is that of
re-writing our 'mission statement' and opening words so that we will give better
clarity on the purpose of TCS and its objectives. Nothing has changed in
terms of its direction; only the wording will have greater meaning. This
is a work-in-progress and I will let the membership know when this endeavor is
completed.
On
a more personal note, I am not a 'group and organization' person. In fact I choose to live
a modest, quiet, reclusive type of life. The Creative Spirit was born in
March of this year, by way of a vision. The message was to spread Light
(positive energy, goodness, optimism), and knowledge throughout the world,
by the written word and through beautiful images. From the feedback I am
getting, I would say that is happening. This concept is not new to me
however, for
I have devoted many years to spreading Light through teaching Reiki and other
spiritual techniques to hundreds of students (my personal site: Spirit
Dove). The difference is that in the last several years I
feel the need to be more distant from worldly things. This TCS group gives
me the opportunity to continue spreading Light and yet maintain my own sacred
space. I mention this only to help clarify the purpose of TCS and to say
that our group will be unique once all the pieces are in place. In the six years I have been on the Internet I
have not yet seen an organization with this same goal of spirit and creativity.
Cheyenne
WOLONG
GIANT PANDA BREEDING CENTER
The
Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center was one of the earliest research bases
established in the early 1980s by the Government of the People's Republic of
China (PRC). Until 1989, the Ministry of Forestry of PRC and the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF) formulated the long-term Giant Panda Management Plan.
Today,
the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center has been turned into the Giant Panda
Breeding Center focusing on research works on breeding and bamboo ecology.
Much other research works are being carried out at other Reserves such as the
one in Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi Province.
The
Center basically takes care of giant pandas in three situations:
-
when
the giant pandas are brought up from captive breeding,
-
when
the giant pandas are somehow dispersed from the group, or are rescued from
injury, and have lost the ability to survive if released back to the wild,
-
when
the giant panda are ready to be released back into the wild.
The
Center has two types of accommodations for giant pandas - the captive cages and
the semi-nature enclosures.
Most
of the giant pandas in the Center stay individually in the captive cages, which
are in fact large enclosures, each consists of an indoor room and an outdoor
courtyard.
The
semi-nature enclosures are very large wild areas but protected by border fences.
Those giant pandas that will soon be released back to the wild will be put in
the semi-nature enclosures for a long enough period of time for them to adapt to
the natural environment. Although food has to be provided, the giant pandas will
sleep there, eat there and recover their natural survival skills there until
they can be released back to the wild.
You
can learn more about the Giant Panda breeding program at Wolong by visiting
their website HERE.
'Giant
Panda in the Wild' by Robert Bateman
acrylic,
16" x 12", 1993
"Pandas
have become as much a form of currency as they are objects of conservation. San
Diego Zoo currently 'rents' two pandas from the Chinese government for $1
million per year. Last year the pandas produced a cub which has just celebrated
its first birthday. The US Fish and Wildlife Service have now stipulated that at
least 50% of their rental payments are spent directly on the conservation of
wild pandas."
Photograph of
a baby panda
Here
is a musical Panda animation Greeting. This will not work on Mac's (I'm
sorry). It is virus-free (I
scan everything first) but its always good after downloading anything
to right-click on it and scan with your anti-virus program BEFORE running the
program. That way you are always sure. The file is 483 Kb.
After
downloading to your computer, run the PandaGreeting.exe by double-clicking on
it.
PandaGreeting.exe
Quote of
the Day
"Only
after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been caught.
Only then you will find that money cannot be eaten."
~ Cree Indian Proverb ~
Panda paintings "Copyright,
courtesy Robert Bateman".
Midi 'Heart to Heart' (c) Copyright by Bruce
DeBoer, used with permission.