Buy an animal art piece to support zoo education

Ekundu the lion has been taken, along with the cheetah, the penguins, pueo, iiwi bird and tiger, but Rusti the orangutan, an elephant, zebra and giraffe are still available, along with a nene, macaw, hawk and several other birds.

These animals are all part of a planned, 7-foot-wide-by-10-foot-tall mosaic art wall to go up at Honolulu Zoo’s front entrance as part of a fundraiser for the Honolulu Zoo Society to support its education programs.

Mosaic artist Leah Rigg is working on the various animal pieces one by one in her art studio on Wilhelmina Rise.

The project was launched earlier this year, but before it can be installed on the wall, the society needs to sell at least five more birds and four more mammals.

Rigg uses slab-rolled clay pieces to cut out the animal shapes and to add details like eyes. In electric kilns she glazes 6-by-6-inch tiles, which are broken up into pieces with a hammer to fill in color in the spaces in between.

Rigg — inspired to specialize in mosaics by her trip to Barcelona, Spain — has completed projects for Kailua town’s fountain plaza, a self-storage facility in Kaimuki and courtyard walls at Punahou School.

Last year she completed a similar animal collage on the exterior of the bathroom wall at the zoo. Another project, the Savannah Wall, is also in progress by the zoo’s meerkat exhibit.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser purchased Ekundu the lion, while Bank of Hawaii bought the cheetah, Outrigger Enterprises Group the tiger and the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort the penguins.

The Law Offices of Ian Mattoch, meanwhile, purchased the beautiful, red iiwi bird, and the Daley Family the pueo.

Prices for the animal mosaics, which will bear the name of the donor in letter tiles, range from $2,500 for birds to $5,000 for larger animals like the zebra and elephant. For $9,000 the lion will have "Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The pulse of paradise" written around it.

Corporations, families and individuals are welcome to purchase an animal, as a tax-deductible donation. To find out more about the mosaics project, call the Hono­lulu Zoo Society at 926-3191 or email honoluluzoo­mosaic@hotmail.com.