Rainbow Acres…
Or, la grange volante...
In my younger years, my mother would often say, “don’t hide your light under a bushel”. In Spring 2009, her words bubbled up from my subconscious, inspiring the launch of Central & Gus. Art, though a passion, had thus far been relegated to the ‘hobby’ sphere of my life. Pulling out sketches and notes from years earlier, from Malvern, it was time to see what I could do with these drawings and dreams – to lift the bushel, so to speak. The light I’d like to shine, though, isn’t on the artwork, but instead uses the artwork as its lantern.
I remember drives home from the family farm as a kid. I'd have my big rosy-pink binder open in my lap, writing down the names of all the animals I'd have at my very own rescue-sanctuary one day.
While that three-ring is now a memory, it is also the seed of our dreams. Henry David Thoreau wrote, 'If you have built castles in the air (or barns, as it were...), your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.’ We love to dream. And draw. It is almost meditative to pencil myriad tiny lines until a beautiful life appears on the page. (cont. below…)
The characters we draw are a part of an interwoven community, each with their own tale. These stories come together to underline the understanding of worth and value in every one and, from a larger perspective, the idea that we all have a gift that we must be responsible to, for our selves and our community. This is Central & Gus.
To be able to build a veritable foundation from ideas on paper is a wonderful thing and we are so grateful to everyone that resonates enough to make this a reality. It is our hope that these animal drawings offer something special to you and, with a shoulder to the wheel and an eye to the horizon, as much support as possible to animals in need.
Forever ardent animal lovers, at Central & Gus we donate a percentage of gross sales to animal welfare, supporting any species, anywhere, with the understanding that they, too, have worth and value – without commoditization. But there is an even bigger goal on the horizon: our own sanctuary here in sunny South Florida: The Found Fold. Please know that every purchase made forwards this goal and helps call it into being. It will be magical. It will have wonderful impact. And it will be because of you.
And, how perfect is it that the enchanting tales transcribed from all those telephone calls Gus and I listened in on at the farm might, in some small way, help lift the bushels of others’, too. Through their positive, uplifting messages, and intertwining stories, they underline the worth of every one. That every one matters. That you matter. We hope that our enchanting community of characters inspires and sparks joy.
