Opossum makes an artistic imprint
By Leigh Weimers
Mercury News
Koko the gorilla paints. So do elephants in Thailand. And to the list of famous animal artists, now add Morgan Hill's Blossom the opossum.Blossom lives at the Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Center (she can't be released back to the wild because of an injury) and serves as an education animal there. But dip her feet in non-toxic finger paints, put her on a flat piece of canvas and she walks about doing her artistic thing (if properly tempted by bits of cheese or turkey).
Blossom will have an exhibition from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Holiday Inn Express in Morgan Hill, if you want to see what she produces first-hand. It also will feature framed 5-by-7-inch prints by Pogo, a smaller, younger opossum passing through the center. And there'll more Blossom on eBay.
More info and a photo of the painting sold on ebay can be found here:
Now, in addition to her work as an animal ambassador, Blossom has embarked on a second career as an artist, which due to her age, makes her the Grandma Moses of marsupials. At one-and-a half years old, Blossom is a veritable senior citizen in the animal kingdom, since the average lifespan of an opossum is only two years. Though technically she would be able to hold a brush with her prehensile tail or with her opposable thumbs, Blossom’s preferred method of painting is to apply brilliant rainbow-colored paints to her hands and feet and walk around on paper, sometimes just for the joy of it and sometimes requiring the enticement of a slice of cheese.Posted by Emily at October 24, 2005 12:44 PM