REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 17, 2020

A woman wrote in 2007 and her letter was answered promptly… after I discovered it FIVE years later in 2012. She sent copies of two prints she had purchased around 1968 in Novato, California, at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. She had loved the prints for nearly 40 years and wondered if they were Tomie’s work. Tomie said he had gone to the Faire with a group of artists - all print makers. Tomie was attending California College of Arts and Crafts and teaching at San Francisco College for Women/Lone Mountain College at the time. The group had made prints and sold them. He remembered it well and yes, her prints were his work. Although his photograph wasn’t taken at that Faire, he said the shirt was the one he wore to the Renaissance Faire in Novato. My motto: Mail IN one day, OUT five years later. (Bob)

Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality

REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 16, 2020

Tomie was invited to visit the Jakarta International School. His friend, illustrator Trina Schart Hyman, encouraged him to accept the invitation to travel to Jakarta in February, 1993. Her reasoning: Significant travel expenses would be paid that get you close to Bali. Tomie took Trina’s advice and went to Bali after his week in Jakarta. He quickly adapted to the Balinese style of wearing a sarong. He was revered and respected because of his age… and his belly. He returned home with a suitcase full of sarongs and the intention of wearing them every day. Soon after he returned, the boxes from Bali began to be delivered filled with traditional Balinese bamboo weathervanes. There’s a name for such a weathervane/wind chime/whirligig, but I can’t determine it. The weathervanes were placed in the meadow. I can’t remember if they were supposed to ward off something, or if their purpose was simply visual and auditory. Tomie loved their sound and I disliked the loud racket. It didn’t take long for the wind to destroy them all. As to the daily wearing of a sarong, it didn’t happen. One of the cashiers at the grocery store would often ask me, “What’s he up to NOW?” I never had to reply, “Sarongs.” (Bob)

Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality

REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 15, 2020

Tomie created artwork for interstitials for Nickelodeon TV. The artwork and story for one of them, “Tortillas and Salsa,” were later adapted for the Fall/Winter 2002 issue of DORA THE EXPLORER MAGAZINE. (Bob)

Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality

REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 14, 2020

Tomie joined the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra for concerts on June 1, 1997, at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH. Illustrations were projected on a screen above the orchestra as Tomie read from two of his books. A card with this image was given to everyone in the audience. This was the first of several collaborations with the NHPO. I probably don’t need to say that Tomie LOVED reading his stories with an orchestra performing behind him. (Bob)

Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality

REMEMBERING TOMIE on August 13, 2020

“The Heart of the Whitebird: The Art of Tomie dePaola” was an exhibition, October 17 - December 31, 1999, at the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut.

Tomie named his home in Wilmot Flat, NH, and his company Whitebird. The white bird - the dove - had divine symbolism that was important to Tomie. He was also inspired by the San Francisco band, formed in the 1960s, called It’s a Beautiful Day, and their song “White Bird.”

Photograph Copyright by Jon Gilbert Fox. This photograph is one of a series of photographs of Tomie featuring SOME of Tomie’s Converse high-top sneakers. (Bob )

Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality