Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

margaret parkinson

Happy Birthday to Margaret!

by

Today we have another sponsor-a-day in honor of the one and only Margaret, also known as artist Margaret H. Parkinson, creator of many amazing paintings, including the now iconic Negra in the Sun.

Negra in the Sun by Margaret H Parkinson

This painting has been recreated on stickers, wine bottle labels, and canvas prints for supporters, and also has inspired other artists like Tamara Burgess, who handmade a necklace that included this image and Lisa Wathne, who made a glass mosaic piece inspired by Margaret’s painting for the 2019 gala.

Margaret and her wife Karen have been supporters since before the chimpanzees even arrived and are wonderful friends to all animals (the human ones too) at the sanctuary.

She inspires all of us in so many ways with her warmth, compassion, quick wit, and curiosity about the world. Monica Best wanted to honor Margaret with warm birthday wishes with a sponsor a day on this last day of 2020.

Here is the original photo that inspired Margaret and some other takes on Negra in the sun:

 

June is for Negra

by

If you have the CSNW 2019 calendar, you get to look at this beautiful photo of Negra all month long:

You’ll also notice (or may already know) that we celebrate Negra’s honorary birthday on June 13th, the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Negra remains the eldest of the group of seven chimpanzees. She dominated our thoughts as we were preparing the sanctuary for the group’s arrival. She had spent the most time in biomedical research and had suffered perhaps more than any of the other chimpanzees, showing the signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder upon her arrival.

We were excited to see all of the chimpanzees fully realize their new sanctuary life, but I for one could not stop thinking about being able to witness Negra experience all of the new comforts, choices, and space at the sanctuary. This video of her in the playroom for the first time captured what will forever be one of my most cherished moments.

The expression on her face today in this photo reminded me of the video:

Which of course led me to think of the most iconic image of Negra that we have: Negra in the Sun

This is the original photo I took in 2008:

Then artist Margaret H. Parkinson created this breathtaking painting based on the photo:

Margaret’s painting then inspired other artists, most recently mosaic artist Lisa Whatne.

Here is a close-up of Lisa’s truly stunning piece:

And guess what!? The Negra in the Sun mosaic is available for bidding in the HOOT! 2019 gala auction on June 15th! Even those who are not able to make it to the event can place an absentee bid on this mosaic as well as most of the other items in the auction! Absentee bidding begins Monday, June 10th at 8:00 a.m. See all items on the auction preview site now (items are still being added).

I can’t wait to find out who the lucky winner of the mosaic is going to be!

Fun ways to help

by

In addition to making direct donations to the sanctuary and sending us gift cards to Safeway, Lowes, Costco, and Home Depot, there are a few other ways that you can help the sanctuary.

 

1) Cruise Lake Washington, September 15 at noon. We have just a handful of spaces still available for this exclusive cruise.  Spend a few hours seeing the sights and celebrity homes on Lake Washington, enjoy yummy food and drink, and meet some of the staff and board of the sanctuary. It’s a $250 donation per person, and 100% of that goes straight to the chimps because our supporter Denny Green is donating all the costs. Please contact [email protected] if you’d like to attend or need more information.

lake washington cruise for Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW

 

2) Buy prints of watercolors of Missy and Negra painted by Margaret Parkinson. Margaret is selling a select number of matted 8×10″prints of the two paintings below for $100 each, with ALL of the money going to the sanctuary. She is also offering the original of the Negra watercolor. It is 11×14″ on paper and is matted and framed for $400. You can email Margaret at [email protected] if you’re interested in owning one of these beautiful prints. It is Missy’s birthday today, so you can help us celebrate her day by buying a print of her!

Missy watercolor by Margaret Parkinson

Negra watercolor by Margaret Parkinson

 

3) Donate to the Sanctuary Century Bike Ride. The Sanctuary Century is a 100 mile (century) bike ride fundraiser in Portland, Oregon to benefit Out To Pasture Farm Sanctuary, Hope Animal Sanctuary, and us – Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Like the Sanctuary Century page on Facebook and donate directly on their Firstgiving page.

 

Thanks for all of your support!

Today in memory of Eleanor Julia Talbot

by

Margaret and Karen have sponsored today in memory of their beloved feline companion, Eleanor Julia Talbot, who passed away two years ago. Eleanor was not so much a people-person, but she found a loving home and grew fond of another feline in their household, Butchie Barney Nishitani. I know that Margaret and Karen provided Eleanor with love on her terms, and she was a lucky cat to have found such terrific humans to look after her.

As most of you know, Margaret is a wonderful artist who has created paintings of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. Below is one of my favorites – Annie grooming Missy. To me, the painting, and the photo that it was based on, really show how important relationships are. It’s true whether we are humans, chimpanzees, or cats like Eleanor and Butchie.

Our creative supporters

by

We are 1/3 of the way to reaching our ultimate fundraising goal of $45,000 by June 13. We can do this! I wanted to share a few ways that supporters are helping to raise funds.

Margaret Parkison: You may know Margaret from her painting of “Negra in the Sun” which was featured in the Celebrate the Seven auction last year.

Margaret has set up a donation page through Firstgiving and is giving away cards with a print of one of the paintings she has done of the Cle Elum Seven for every $30 donation.  You can find all of her work on her website. Margaret also donates 10% of the profits of the sale of any of her paintings of the Cle Elum Seven to the sanctuary, so consider that too when you’re browsing her site!

Catherine Mollyneaux just yesterday set up an Etsy shop with proceeds of her unique wildlife cards to go to the sanctuary.

Here’s the description of her work: hand embroidered  with the best quality Sulky & DMC threads. The animal decals are Single Decoupage, 2D Iris Decoupage and some 3D Decoupage. Each card is articulately finished with tissue/vellum paper inside and comes with a matching envelope

Visit her shop to learn more about these beautiful cards and to purchase.

Tamela. You may also remember Tamela’s work from her necklace “Let Freedom Swing,” featured in the Celebrate the Seven auction last year.

Tamela has set up her own Etsy shop and is featuring an array of her handmade jewelry and other items. All net proceeds on her chimpanzee items  until the end of June will be donated to the sanctuary. She’s already raised over $400!

Tamela is adding new items regularly and people are snatching them up, so be sure to visit her shop frequently!