Photos from the Mill Brook Gallery Reception

Top Photo: Tomie with Pam Tarbell, owner of the gallery.

Middle: Sherry Litwack with Pam Tarbell. Sherry is an educational consultant, and Tomie's artwork representative.

Bottom: Tomie with friends Caroline (left) and Brenda Martin. 

Another Op'nin', Another Show

Here's Tomie standing in the gallery before people arrive for the Opening Reception at Mill Brook Gallery.

A nice mix of families and adult fans came to the reception, including a couple we'd lost track of decades ago: Rona Zlokower and her husband, George Bruno. We're not sure if we ever did meet George Bruno, but we had heard of him. He was President Clinton's Ambassador to Belize, and a prominent New Hampshire politico. Tomie had worked on a project with Rona when she was at Digital Equipment Corporation.

Tomie dePaola: Painting, Illustrations, and Prints
April 25 - June 23, 2013
Mill Brook Gallery
236 Hopkinton Road
Concord, NH 03301
www.themillbrookgallery.com  

Tomie Cannot Stop Laughing

"Justin Bieber's Tour Bus Was Searched in Sweden" is the headline.

Gayle King, on "CBS This Morning," this morning, said regarding Justin Bieber's latest behavior, "Maya Angelou would say, 'Stop it, Justin. Stop it right now!'"

Tomie is in tears from laughing so hard. 

An Article in the CONCORD MONITOR

http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/5861754-95/back-in-kindergarten

Comforting Remarks From a Second Grade Boy

A second grade boy in Florissant, Missouri, wrote:
I like your dog and I have dolls too, and don't listen to boys that make fun of you. Just know you are special inside your heart.

The teacher wrote:
He is a little boy in my class who doesn't like sports and loves dolls. He loved your books. 

Happy Birthday, Shirley Temple!

A Moment of Silence at 2:50 p.m. for Boston

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise!

Happy Earth Day!

Pay Attention, Big Anthony!

A mother in Eliot, Maine, wrote:
Thank you for all of your wonderful drawings, artwork, and stories. My 13 year old son and I have been reading you since he was a baby. Names like Strega Nona, Big Anthony, Helga (to name just a few) are regular references in our home, in our lives to this day. So thank you, thank you for [helping] this family [make] some of our own togetherness through your work.

Still Alive

The kindergarten book group at the Bedford Montessori School in Bedford, Massachusetts, wrote a letter to ask several questions, including this one: Are you still alive?

Tomie: Yes, I am. Thank you for asking.

Mill Brook Gallery Art Exhibition

"Tomie dePaola: Paintings, Illustrations, and Prints"
April 25 - June 23, 2013

Artist's Reception: Friday, April 26, 5:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden
236 Hopkinton Road
Concord, NH 03301
Open Tuesday-Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
603-226-2046

www.themillbrookgallery.com

I Saw Cyndy Kissing...

Tomie, Cyndy Szekeres Prozzo, and I recently went to Burdick's in Walpole, NH, for lunch. This winter, Tomie had found two thank-you-cards that Cyndy had sent when both of them were at Pratt Institute. Cyndy had not only written notes, but had created drawings for the cards. Tomie wanted to give the drawings back to Cyndy for her archives.

When we sat down at our table, one of two gentlemen, in suits, at the next table said hello to Tomie and re-introduced himself. We had met him when he was part of the security detail for our former governor, John Lynch. He was at the restaurant with our new governor, Maggie Hassan.

When the governor was ready to leave the restaurant, she came to our table, with Ken Burns (documentarian, part-owner of the Restaurant at Burdick Chocolates, and resident of Walpole), to say hello to Tomie.

Lots of laughs with Cyndy, and a chance to meet the new governor, in a restaurant with great waitstaff and wonderful food. A very nice Saturday indeed.

(If you google "Cyndy Szekeres," you can see jackets of many of Cyndy's books in "google images.")

A Raucous Tomie dePaola Day

Mrs. de Cristofano's first grade class at Sea Girt Elementary in Sea Girt, NJ, wrote letters.

Mrs. D wrote: The first grade class at Sea Girt Elementary School recently celebrated Tomie dePaola Day, a fabulous day filled with mindful activities which included making a Tomie dePaola mural for a hallway display, publishing our own books (using I LOVE YOU, SUN; I LOVE YOU, MOON as a launching point), and making pancakes (for snack) in the school kitchen. We read as many of your special and dear stories as possible, and the children concluded the day with games centered around the ideas and themes of your stories; this culmination of events included a pasta toss game (picture "hot potato" but with large handfuls of spaghetti!). Raucous!

Tomie: How wonderful it would have been to see photographs of the pasta toss game. Clean-up in Mrs. D's classroom! The janitors must love Mrs. D. 

Amaryllis Abundance

When no amaryllis stalks and blooms appeared this winter, I thought I had erred in the care and feeding of the bulbs. But now, there are over 50 stalks coming from the amaryllis bulbs. Tomie's house will be filled with amaryllis flowers for a few weeks.

I don't rest the amaryllis bulbs as suggested. I keep them in the sun and water them throughout the year. The bulbs decide to erupt when they want.

Making the World Smarter, One Book at a Time

Makayla is in a second grade class in Jacksonville, Florida. She wrote: You make the world SMART!

Tomie: I can't take ALL of the credit.