Bertrina Hetzel - Pen & Ink
The remarkable Vietnamese pig, Bertrina.
I was roped into feeding her for three days while the family Hetzel went on vacation. I lived in Yosemite at the time, and the house was far superior digs (despite the resident pig) to the little goldminer’s shack I called home about twenty minutes drive away, into the foothills.
Bertrina was exceptional. Very bright, allowed inside from her palatial outdoor combos of rooms and housing and pens and plants, to frolick with the family and dogs. Bertrina would roll on her back, little stubby legs in the air, and wait for belly rubs. The dog had short legs too.
I had some trepedation about this, being alone with the house and its occupants as Bertrina and I weren’t exactly friends yet and she was blind as a bat. The feedings were adventuresome.
I tried to block her running into the house, keep the dog from running out, find the cat in the tree, and water the plants.
But the most exciting moments arrived when Bertrina mistook my bright orange clogs for mangos and tried to eat them.
You don’t want to be wearing anything ever that a pig is keen on eating.
Okay, you’ve been warned. Who else would give you advice like this.
Greeting Cards and Matted Prints
Sande Elkins
Love the story…made me laugh out loud….and the wonderful expressive drawing. Pigs can be quite aggressive creatures…I speak from experience.
Barbara Sparhawk replied
I greatly appreciate the skilled rancher/farmer’s back up on this. I didn’t make it up, all true.
Thanks, Sande.
David Harris
I love this! It reminds me of an illustration froma book I read as a child! Great story too! Made me smile! Thank you Barbara.
Barbara Sparhawk replied
Thanks David. Yes, illustrations from children’s books stay with us for a lifetime. And having said that, surprised myself…glad to be doing some of it!
PrairieRose
What a wonderful story Barbara! and…..what a time you had keeping the ‘herd’ of animals in line! You are so gifted to be able to draw from memory…...heck, you are just SO GIFTED! I know how smart these little piggies are …...... beautiful living creatures, that’s for sure…....such a sweet capture…...........
Barbara Sparhawk replied
My thanks, Prairie. I’m not sure who was keeping who in line during these marvelous episodes. I’m so glad you liked this, I had the feeling you would!
Gene Praag
Thankful for the advice. Sounds like you had a true adventure.
Barbara Sparhawk replied
I did, Geno.
They may not weigh 1500 lbs like the beauties you romp with, but there’s every bit as much intensity in a domesticated pig as in a wild horse.
Sandra Gray
I am impressed with your drawing from memory! That pig owns the space. Great composition. You almost constructed the head out of lines like a wire sculpture. It has depth.
Barbara Sparhawk replied
Thanks, Sandra. Interesting remark about that. Maybe the sculptor in me got hold of the pen.
I’m looking at that to see what you mean, I think the circular motion of life and molecules leaping around in the air—then getting under control by demand for a substantial form – is somewhere in me that I’m always headed for.
LadyRhiannon
Bertrina had a brother and sister. The brother was lucky enough to be adopted by a lady who worked in the produce section of a grocery store, and the sister was even more fortunate . . . she was adopted by a lady who owned a restaurant named after her three pot-belly pigs. Bertrina’s human mother (moi) fed her according to a reference book on raising baby pigs, but overlooked one small detail – and that was the bounty of acorns hidden within the grass of the shaded back yard. Thus, she developed a figure that only a mother could love.
She was named Bertrina for the combination of a big butt and small ballet slipper-like feet and she could make a low gutteral noise that almost sounded like she was trying to say her own name. Although Bertrina could be pushy at times, she also coveted attention and was as greedy about that as she was about food. One finds out the true meaning of the phrase “eat like a pig” once you’ve watched them gobble the goodies you give them.
Besides the lesson of learning that love comes in all shapes and sizes, Bertrina also taught me as all my pets have done, how precious life itself can be. Where would we be without all the beautiful creatures our Creator has blessed us with?
Barbara Sparhawk replied
Dear heart!! LadyRhiannon – for all the visitors here to know – is Bertrina’s mother, and adds so much to the Bertrina story. That was indeed one fantastico piglet. Thanks, my friend, for the visit and additional story about your girl. And yes, beautiful creatures in our lives enhance every minute a thousand fold. Hello, and love, xxx00.
rosepepper
hehehe… Bertrina has come to life, what a pig she is! Sounds like quite an adventure babysitting the animals Barbara….lol and she looks like she can throw her weight around. The drawing gives Bertrina volume and character just as you describe her.. Love the story and the follow up about her family. Just great.
Barbara Sparhawk replied
She was formidable, rosepepper. Thank you master of volume and form for what you said. You express a rare freedom of depth and substance with your figures, and I’m proud to receive a complement on those important observations from you.
Louise Cooke
Mango clogs…priceless!!! I’m so happy you bought Bertrina to life for us…what a character! You breath life into each and every one of your artworks, and there’s never a dull moment as a viewer.
Barbara Sparhawk replied
Ah, Louise, you do my heart so much good. Thanks for that. And the Mango clogs still exist. I’ve poked out the toes, I get splinters from the worn out innards, this is my fifth pair and the dopey company stopped making them. I’ve even saved the earlier ones that are barely there but I love them. Every bit as much as a pig would.