14 hour work days for a few weeks before last weekend kept me busy, with the bulk of the promotional work for the Walkabout tour, where friends sat for me in my home (also occupied by the artist John Books and his wonderful bronze sculptures) while I was in Kenora for the Word on the Water Festival. Meanwhile I have about twenty paintings and drawings in the gallery space at the Baggage Building in Prince Arthur's Landing. But no complaints! It was stressful, yet fun. Some of it made me money, and some won't but I met some wonderful people and got involved. Now I'm painting, writing and practicing lines for 3 student films where I'll play Victor von Frankenstein, an action hero, and the son of a man with Alzheimer's. More fun stuff.
In the photo above is Mike Grandmasion (amazing photographer) getting a copy of Little Ship of Fools signed by the author – our very own Charlie Wilkins who is, by the way, an excellent travelling companion. We rode back and forth to Kenora and had excellent and honest conversations. Thanks Charles! The list of other authors allows me to do some serious name dropping - Gail Bowen, Catherine Hunter, Chadwick Ginther, Sherry Peters, Doug Whiteway (whose photo above needed to be censored, but I dare not say why), Robert J. Sawyer, Karen Dudley, and the young and talented Samantha Beiko. Attendance may have been strangely low, but I loved Kenora, the enthusiasm, getting to meet other writers and being able to commiserate about this bizarre industry. The Best Western Hotel was wonderful. I loved my room! The sculptures (above) were a nice addition to the school yard by the hotel. The kids playing there were interacting with the colourful monoliths.
The October Walkabout Tour saw eight artists (see card) opening their studios with work for sale. My art was on my walls (and books for sale) and John Books had his sculptures dispersed throughout my dining/studio room. And finally, I threw up my work when a short term space became available at the Baggage Building. It's coming down soon (no deadline as yet), but I love an opportunity to show somewhere new.
One of my next missions is finding a place to show work and sell books before Christmas.
Success! Neve, my three year old niece can't yet read, yet Neve has memorized the complete text of my books Big Electric Cat and The Ugg and the Drip. She can be heard reciting the text aloud while she plays with her toys. "Dr. Yes is a crazy fool!" she'll declare. And she makes noises in rising volume to mimic the increasing size of the text. The dialogue is printed in different colours to help children discern between characters, potentially reveal a character's mood, and to make reading a little more fun. What I didn't think of was how the shape of the text on the page, which is very identifiable with the illustration, allows a child to more easily memorize the text that belongs to the corresponding picture. When Neve asked me to read The Ugg and the Drip to her, I sat with her. When I began to read she immediately began reciting the text. I was only there for comfort. She read the entire book to me! What a nice surprise. I'm honoured to have my books memorized, two of the dozen or so she has completely memorized.
