This issue has…

• 🦇 A Bat in Gallery One
  yikes but not yikes

• 🐶 A Dog in My Office
  I’ll give you one guess

• 🦦 Otter Facts
  fact #1: they’re so cute

VISUAL ARTS

Significant otters

Have you been by the galleries to check out the newest exhibitions? If not, get on over here. There’s some really wonderful stuff going on.

In Gallery One, for example, artist Layl McDill has put together some very cool mixed media work in the exhibit titled “Roam, Pounce, Swim, Fly.” In it, Layl has an entire wall of otter sculptures (example above) — and imbedded in and around these beautiful sculptures are all sorts of otter facts.

Layl sent some in for you to find:

LAYL’S TEN OTTER FACTS

1. Sea otter's fur is sometimes referred to as "liquid gold.”

2. Sea otters eat 25% of their body weight every day.

3. Green crabs are an invasive species and sea otters are a hopeful solution in getting rid of them on the west coast.

4. Sea otters have a pouch where they keep their favorite rocks to use to open up shellfish.

5. The more sea urchins an otter eats, the healthier the kelp forest.

6. Sea otters have the most hairs per square inch of any mammal.

7. When sea otter populations flourish, so do all the fish because they are a keystone species.

8. From 1741 to 1911 otters were hunted down to less than 2000 sea otters globally.

9. Sea otters are the top of the food chain, so they are extremely important in what is called the "Trophic Cascade.”

10. A group of otters are called a "raft.”

Go forth and have fun on this weird little otter-art scavenger hunt!

VOLUNTEERS

Backstage Passing

A good time was had by all at last Saturday’s Backstage Pass event.

We had a handful of future volunteers stop by to get an in-depth tour of the scene shop, backstage area, props, costume shop, and tech booth. This event provides potential volunteers a deep dive into the world of Phipps volunteering.

The PCA is always on the lookout for new volunteers, and there’s no experience required. You may have missed the Backstage Pass event, but you can still get in on the action. Just hit reply and let me know what your interests are. I’ll hook you up.

👆
my favorite gallery piece of the week
It’s not just otters in Gallery One. There’s also this bat. I’m not a huge fan of real-life bats, but bats made of clay and found objects? Turns out they’re my jam.

DEEP DESK DIVE

Mr. Busby goes to Hudson

The PCA was closed this week to help staff catch up on some work around the building (we do this annually) — BUT IT WASN’T CLOSED TO DOGS!

Busby stopped by to hang out and give me some pointers on how best to shake (hands with patrons), beg (for foundation funding), and fetch (new corporate sponsorships).

Thanks for the help, Buzzy!

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Talk to you next week!