Moose with Shoose (Eli)

Eli, the Moose with Shoosh, is the first member of the Moose family. She first came to life in 1997, and was originally created as a Christmas ornament for a friend of the artist's restaurant, the Moose's Tooth - hence the gold tooth. One of the first Eli's cast (produced) was given as a present to the parents of the artist's Swedish exchange student. The father, who spoke very little English, held the Moose up and said,“älg“ (Swedish for Moose), which sounded like "Eli". So, that's what her name became. But to the rest of the Moose family, she's just Mama, and, to the most of us, she's the Moose with Shoose.