REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 6, 2020

A man wrote two years ago in August to ask about a crucifix he had bought with “dePaola” engraved on the side. He wondered if Tomie was the “dePaola.” Tomie’s reply, in its entirety: “In 1969, I spent some time in Paris with my wife (at the time) and her family. My wife’s father had a liturgical art studio, M. Cheret. It was quite well known, and is still going… http://www.cheret-aal.fr/en/ I was asked to create a crucifix, but because I am a two-dimensional artist, I prepared a large drawing, and a young woman sculptor, A. M. Roux, realized it in three dimensions. The crucifix was struck in bronze in several sizes with both of our names engraved on the side. I put ‘my symbol’ next to my name - a symbol that I use to this day. The symbol represents the tree that grows by living waters from Psalm 1. The Botolph Group in Boston, a gallery for contemporary liturgical art in the 1960s/early 1970s, imported the crucifix and it’s possible that your crucifix was purchased at Botolph. Or, it could have been purchased at M. Cheret at their original location on rue Saint-Sulpice, in Paris. I hope this helps. Thank you for sharing. Tomie dePaola

“I just looked more carefully at the crucifix on the Cheret website. After my wife and I divorced, my name was removed from the crucifix. It also appears as if the design has been changed a little.”

Tomie mentions looking at the crucifix on the website. The crucifix was there in 2018, but isn’t there now. I googled “cheret crucifix roux” and found images of it and a page from a past online catalog. During a visit to Paris, we walked by the shop, but Tomie was uncomfortable going inside. (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality

Day Five of the August, 2020, Peace Novena

Think and say the word, or think and say “Peace.”

REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 5, 2020

In this photo, Tomie was put to work preparing dessert at a 75th birthday party in his honor, September 10, 2009. The party was organized by his publisher, Penguin, and held at an events space in the Meatpacking District in New York City. Earlier in the evening, he was asked to say a few words. His remarks were an attempt at humor, and a way to express that he had been in the book business for many decades. He paraphrased lines made by Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest,” the movie. She said, “Don’t f*!k with me, fellas. This ain’t my first time at the rodeo.” Twitter was only a few years old and we tech ignorant guys didn’t understand the way it was used. Within seconds of making the comment, we learned the next day, tweets called out from the party, “Tomie dePaola said the ‘f’ word!” The fear of Twitter became a running joke for us. (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality

Day Four of the August, 2020, Peace Novena

Think and say the word, or think and say “Peace.”

REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 4, 2020

I love this photo from August, 1995. It looks as if Tomie is preaching at a revival meeting. Although I’ve yet to identify the specific group to whom he was speaking, I know it was a group of educators after seeing similar black-and-white photos. When Tomie was building his current garage, folks would comment that the building’s framing looked like a church because of the tall peak. My reaction, “Well, we all worship Tomie.” (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality