"And the best was yet to come," I mentioned in my last blog. A rather mysterious ending when business and obligations picked up to an extent that made blogging difficult to get to. And the material that I wrote for the last entry about grace has long been lost in the labyrinth of my computer files.
But to pick up where I left off, there were a series of fortunate occurrences and help from family and friends that I wanted to acknowledge and the last one, this one, is dedicated to my sister, Jessie Thompson. I had been preparing for the Arts in Education Booking Conference and was struggling with graphics for my presentation fliers. My sister offered help well beyond what anyone could hope for as last minute rescues go. She came up with a flier that was about ten times better than the one I designed and her husband Ed, ran off a jumbo size poster of it which was rush delivered just in time for my conference. Jess also did book jacket covers for my books in progress so I could have those on display as well.
Walking into the Booking Conference this time around I felt like a well-armed gladiator, with keen graphics and an advertising strategy. It worked. I booked business into autumn 2009 and by the grace of family help and persistence, am now able to continue being an artist for one more year in these uncertain times. Not a small thing.
The drawing illustrating this blog comes from a sketch I made of my sister as she was sketching in the woods behind the house that I spent my young adulthood in and my younger brothers, their teen years. She is accompanied by her faithful white dog Puff. It was created with pencil and my favorite Yarka pastels from Russia.
As I archive my work, I keep coming across drawings of friends and family. I revise, restore and return them to the posers when I can.
But to pick up where I left off, there were a series of fortunate occurrences and help from family and friends that I wanted to acknowledge and the last one, this one, is dedicated to my sister, Jessie Thompson. I had been preparing for the Arts in Education Booking Conference and was struggling with graphics for my presentation fliers. My sister offered help well beyond what anyone could hope for as last minute rescues go. She came up with a flier that was about ten times better than the one I designed and her husband Ed, ran off a jumbo size poster of it which was rush delivered just in time for my conference. Jess also did book jacket covers for my books in progress so I could have those on display as well.
Walking into the Booking Conference this time around I felt like a well-armed gladiator, with keen graphics and an advertising strategy. It worked. I booked business into autumn 2009 and by the grace of family help and persistence, am now able to continue being an artist for one more year in these uncertain times. Not a small thing.
The drawing illustrating this blog comes from a sketch I made of my sister as she was sketching in the woods behind the house that I spent my young adulthood in and my younger brothers, their teen years. She is accompanied by her faithful white dog Puff. It was created with pencil and my favorite Yarka pastels from Russia.
As I archive my work, I keep coming across drawings of friends and family. I revise, restore and return them to the posers when I can.
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