Spring and Surtex

It’s time to get ready for Surtex. Which also means getting ready for spring. We’re doing our Spring cleaning, a yearly ritual, and Monday the first night of Passover my family will be here.

For Surtex,we will be sending out regular e mails with news and new work between now and the show. This is our first which will go out tomorrow am.

Our first emailer for Surtex

Mornings are the best time to send anything on line. Fridays not as good as Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday.

Same goes for the appointment calls I will be making to manufacturers. I get all the information together first in a word “notebook.

Then I start my calls around 8:30 and continue till around 11:30 am.

Show appts

This is the notebook I used to make my calls for the Atlanta gift show. I’ve just started setting up Surtex 2013 but realized that I’d better move faster with it so I can start calling this week.

I was requested to write an article in Art Buyer magazine on various aspects of trends in the art licensing market. It should be coming out in April.When it does I’ll post it on our blog.

We also decided this year to take out a full page ad in the Surtex Directory. It is important to make your self and your work very much a presence at all times, but especially before a trade show.

And of course we are both working on new designs. We have a large collection of designs and that is great. But it is very important to have enough new designs to freshen up your look and keep with trends.

With all this going on I can’t exactly say it’s relaxing, but we are so excited about the show and about seeing all our artist friends at

“Surtex Camp”.

Saturdays

I love the rituals of the week. Especially those of the weekend.

Our Saturday ritual starts with walking over to St. Lukes’ School on Hudson Street where we are tutors in the GO program, one of the many wonderful outreach programs of the parent St. Lukes’ Episcopal Church. Go is for grades K – 6. The children who come to the program need special help in math, English, social studies and science. For some of them it is a need for feeling more confidence in themselves and trust in an adult. That’s where we come in.

First signs of Spring

Always there to welcome us at the gate is this lovely old statue of The Virgin Mary. In all seasons the children who attend the school adorn her with seasonal leaves and flowers. There is something so comforting and peaceful about this greeting.

I have mentioned somewhere that I taught in the after school division of the St. Luke’s School for 9 wonderful years. My class was called Art and Make Believe.

The kids ranged in age from Pre-K to 3rd grade. We not only did art, but created games which we made and played, put on plays. Scripts were often written by the students. Put on an annual circus event and more. I love being around kids and their creativity

A display of wood or linoleum prints

One of my favorite parts of the Saturday at the school ritual is going up and down the hallways looking at the students art, stories and collages on the bulletin boards. It’s like being at a gallery. The child who did the print n the photo above was probably 4th grade.

Linoleum or woodcut,
probably 4th grade

Can you beat “Eye Bubble”? If I hadn’t told you who did it and said it was a contemp0rary illustrator would you have accepted that?

Dennis has been part of the GO program for 15 years. He has been working with Amadeus, now a sixth grader, for four or five years. This will be the last year because the program only includes up to the 6th grade. He’s done a good job with Amadeus.

Madison’s cupcake

Madison is the second grader who I have been working with for the second year now. From my experience in teaching art to children I am a firm believer in not trying to change what they do. When they ask to learn something new I am there.If they are unhappy with something I am there to listen and help. But I want to help them keep their gift as long as possible. Most start losing it in fifth or sixth grade. What if we let them teach us a few things. I’d be game. I don’t mean to sound preachy  but I have felt so strongly about this every since i began teaching my art class.

Can I take them all home?

Today we wrote a story and did a watercolor illustration. I like hers much better than mine and told her so. She got to take them all home. Too bad. I was hoping to take her cupcake home with me.

xxxxxxxxxxx-name and photo of gamr

The ipad is a great help in practicing math and reading in a fun way.

We play a math game which she discovered on her kindle. It’s no  on my i pad “.Splash Math” is colorful and lively and fun. Every correct answer earns her points  and she wins prizes to fill her virtual aquarium. So far she has 3 crabs who hop around, 2 sunfish and a squid.They really are cute.Then she can play with her fish. This Saturday  we read from an illustrated book of Animal Prayers. They were wonderful.

Sparrows playing on snowy branches

Outside the day was warm and sunny, the snow still crusty but getting scarce.

First signs of Spring

Saw crocuses, daffodils and tulips sprouting . Oh and of course pussy willows.

No tutoring for four weeks. Spring break and School cleaning.