Joan Evans
The Ladies who paint instead of lunch.
A group of very talented ladies who spend their Thursdays together at a local community hall sharing their passion for art and creating beautiful painting.
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I approached this group of lovely ladies in the hope of maybe even getting one of the talented artist to consider donating a piece for the exhibition. I pulled out my computer and loaded the 1000 images of orangutans for them to look at. They all gathered around and with the ooh ahs and squeels of excitement over these gorgeous creatures I knew then I had them hooked.
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The all agreed to do their best to produce a piece for the exhibition. Now it was just up to the fighting of who would get which orangutan as their subject. Some were greedy and ended up with 3 of them much to my delight.
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The Ladies from Goulburn come from many different backgrounds all retired now and many have sold painting for years but still don’t call themselves professionals though in my mind they should, so you wont see their websites or exhibition lists here. If any one is interested in asking any of these talented ladies to do a commission piece for them please contact Jessica Warwick at jw-jb@hotmail.com who will be most happy to forward on your details.
SUSI
From Chains to Cradles: A Mother’s Wild Comeback
Susi’s life began in misery. Rescued on 30 July 2011, she had spent years chained by the neck, neglected and suffering in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. When IAR veterinarian Dr Anita arrived to assess her condition, she found Susi in a terrible state. A foul-smelling wound encircled her neck, a cruel reminder of the heavy chain that had once dug into her flesh. After anesthetising her, the team cleaned the infected wound and administered antibiotics and pain relief before flying her to the IAR Orangutan Centre in Ketapang.
Despite her past, Susi showed incredible resilience. Upon arrival, she displayed a healthy appetite—devouring rambutan, mango, and banana—and adjusted quickly to her new surroundings. She recovered well and began her rehabilitation, gaining strength and socializing with other female orangutans in the centre’s socialisation cages.
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Her journey didn’t end there. After completing pre-release training and thriving on the forested island, Susi was released into Gunung Tarak National Park alongside her long-time companion Desi in May 2016.
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In March 2020, something extraordinary happened—Susi gave birth to her first baby in the wild. Her daughter, born free among the trees, is a symbol of everything Susi has overcome. She is now thriving as a wild orangutan and a mother, under the watchful eye of IAR’s post-release monitoring team.
From captive suffering to freedom and motherhood, Susi’s journey is a beacon of hope for orangutan conservation.
