“His last Christmas, we found the biggest tree we could find,” Barr said. If you still tried to get him to paint, he’d tear them up. If he didn’t want to paint, he’d push them back through the bars. He painted with his finger or a paper towel. Some paintings have lip prints or a fingerprint. “One lady wanted a painting for her dad in Seahawk colors. “People would order paintings in certain colors,” Barr said. His keepers gave him paper and paints so he had something to do.
He’d pull his hair out when he was nervous. He’d show so much of his personality when he got to know you. “I’d go down and feed him peanuts,” she said. Being raised as part of a family came to an end.īarr worked at the B & I pet shop for six years. He was moved to a 40-by-40 foot enclosure at B & I at the age of 3 when his size and destructive behavior made it too difficult to keep him at home. Ivan was raised as a child in the Johnsons’ home during the early years of his life. The 6-month old western lowland gorilla was imported as a pet by Earl Irwin, co-owner of the B & I with Ruben and Lois Johnson. Ivan was born in 1962 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Barr’s art collection and photographs provide a unique glimpse into his life. Palmer Lake resident Joyce Barr was a keeper for Ivan at the B & I before his transfer to Atlanta in 1994. Ivan’s artwork is now on display at the Key Center Library through October. 21, 2012 in the Atlanta zoo at the age of 50. Ivan the gorilla was a familiar beloved attraction at the B & I shopping center in Tacoma for 27 years. Joyce Barr, one of Ivan’s former keepers, with an example of his artwork now on display at the KC library Photo: Karen Lovett, KP News
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