Still Water
To bring awareness and support towards the anti-captivity movement, I have written a children’s watercolor book entitled Still Water. The inspiration for the book came from a conversation I had with my nephew about our love for orcas.
My nephew compassionately educated me about Lolita, an orca that has been in captivity for 50 years at the Miami Seaquarium. He told me of Lolita being the only surviving orca from the first capture in 1970, and explained that Lolita’s pool is the oldest and smallest in the world.
His eyes grasped for hope as he shared that Lolita can’t even dive the depth of her 22 foot body, because her pool is only 20 feet deep. My heart literally sank as I tried offering comfort by saying “If only I were younger… I wish I could have done something”. This child put his pencil down, folded his arms and looked deep into my eyes and said, "It’s never too late”.
It was in this moment that I knew I had to get involved in the anti-captivity movement in the largest way I could. Still Water was created.
This book is about the injustices of captivity from the perspective of an orca named Lolita. The reader will experience Lolita’s journey of being taken from her family and brought to a life of captivity. Still Water passionately reignites the anti-captivity movement and brings a call to action to move captive orca into ocean sanctuaries.
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Purchase the book here. With every purchase, a portion of the proceeds will go to The Whale Sanctuary Project.
To bring continued awareness, Still Water is the first of many series of our books supporting the release of captive animals into sanctuaries.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pam Fortenberry is a newly published author of a children’s watercolor book titled Still Water and a dedicated activist continuing the movement towards zero captivity. Pam was born in Charleston, South Carolina and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. She has been married to her wonderful husband Scott for 18 years.
Pam has always been driven to speak up for those who cannot, being a voice for the voiceless. She has always had a deep-rooted love for orcas and has shown compassion towards animals from a very young age. Pam’s dream is to leave a legacy for future generations, teaching them that it is not right to take something that is not yours, keep it for profit, and never return it. Still Water is going to rewrite the story of captivity and spark hope in the hearts of children, reminding them that their voices matter and that they are capable of creating change.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Gayle LeCompte was born in Panama and raised in Puerto Rico before moving to the States. She first became interested in art at the age of nine, starting with drawings of US Presidents in her history class. Her parents discovered her talent from these pictures and encouraged her gift, fostering her passion for art. Since then, her love for art has grown, and she has expanded her repertoire with watercolor, sheet metal design, cosmetology, and floral design.
Gayle has received many awards for her incredible art; however, she believes that art has returned a gift to her. It was following open-heart surgery when Gayle began her watercolor expressions for Still Water. She believes that developing the artwork for this book brought her strength, life, and hope… all of the vital elements for our journey to end captivity.