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This is Tomie's friend Delli from Pittsburgh. She knew Tomie when they both were at Pratt Institute, and before he was an icon.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "icon," as: "an emblem, a symbol, an object of uncritical devotion," among other meanings. When presented with the iconic news, Delli replied, "Who knew?!"
Here Delli is volunteer knitting for children and the elderly.
Many years ago, Tomie autographed in a store in the Seattle area. One of the teachers from Peter Kirk Elementary in Kirkland, Washington, attended the autographing. She brought Tomie a gift of two Peter Kirk Elementary sweatshirts.
I have worn "mine" nearly every day for YEARS. It is simply indestructible.
The Peter Kirk name is on the front of the sweatshirt. It is also on the back in HUGE letters.
This summer a clerk in the local hardware store asked me if Peter Kirk Elementary was my alma mater. I said, "Yes, and I'm very proud."
Tomie just received a letter from his alma mater, Pratt Institute.
"We are pleased that your work has been voted by the Pratt Institute community and public as one of the top 125 Pratt icons of all time. In honor of the Institute's 125th anniversary this year, Pratt hosted an online gallery of works by Pratt alumni and faculty, and invited alumni, students and friends to select those they consider to be the most iconic. It is a truly impressive collection of work, and we are delighted that yours has been recognized as among the best."
Some of the other 125 Pratt icons are:
Philip Johnson, Architect
Jules Feiffer, Artist
Arnold Lobel, Illustrator and Author
Betsey Johnson, Fashion Designer
Harvey Fierstein, Actor
Robert Sabuda, Illustrator and Author
Edward Koren, Illustrator
Richard Meier, Architect
Although we've never seen them in the local grocery store or pharmacy or in one of the area restaurants, we learned this week that former CIA Director David Petraeus and his wife, Holly, own a home in Springfield, New Hampshire, which is a hop, skip and a jump away from Tomie's home.
Mrs. Petraeus inherited the home from her parents.
The wikipedia entry for David Petraeus lists Springfield as his "official domicile."
Nancy Paulsen (Nancy Paulsen Books of Penguin Young Readers Group), Tomie's editor, is visiting. She arrived last night to the sight of Tomie holding a platter of meatloaf for her. Nancy loves Tomie's meatloaf, so Tomie makes meatloaf every time Nancy visits.
Tomie and Nancy worked on new projects today. They completed a nearly final draft of a story for 2014. They discussed several other ideas for books for 2014 and beyond.
It's always helpful when Nancy comes to New Hampshire to discuss projects.
Elizabeth Masucci (left) and Cynthia Pietrantoni, "early retired" teachers, visited yesterday from the Boston area. We've known "the grammar queens" for many years. They like to be called "early retired" because they retired YEARS before the usual retirement age.
They came with a box from the Gingerbread Construction Co. filled with two gingerbread girls and six SWEET muffins.
We learned for the first time that Elizabeth had become an actress. You may have seen her in scenes in the following movies:
Edge of Darkness, with Mel Gibson
Game Plan, with The Rock
What's Your Number, with Anna Faris
The Makeover, with Julia Stiles
Clear History, with Larry David
Here Comes the Boom, with Kevin James
Crowd scenes, that is.
www.gingerbreadusa.com
It is common for the poll worker (often the poll worker is Thelma) to have trouble finding Tomie's last name in the list of registered voters. It must have something to do with the "de," capital D or not, space between "de" and "Paola," or not. His name is eventually found, but it's never quickly found.
This morning as we were walking to the voting area, Thelma told Tomie that she told the poll workers last night to find his name last night so that there wouldn't be a delay this morning when Tomie came to vote. It worked. Tomie's name was quickly found, and he voted.
Ahh, small towns.
Left to Right: Tomie, Olivia, Leeza, Kelly
Olivia, Leeza and Kelly visited yesterday afternoon. Leeza and Kelly are both artists. Tomie first met Leeza years ago at a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference. Olivia spent much of the afternoon drawing while her mother, Leeza, and Kelly talked with Tomie.
Olivia and Leeza live in New Jersey and are without electricity. Kelly lives on Long Island and is without electricity. They are all staying at Kelly's second home in Massachusetts.
www.leezaworks.com
www.kellylight.com
Tomie asked Kate Feirtag, Exhibition Director, Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, if she had any information about the beautiful Society of Illustrators medal.
Richard J. Berenson, Past President of the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators replied:
"The bas-relief of the Bison shown on the face of the medal is adapted from the wall painting in the cave of the Font-de-Gaume at Les Eyzies in Southern France, and was one of man's earlier art efforts. The species of Bison, now almost extinct, differs somewhat from the North American form, with a rather small head, neck and shoulders. Just what prompted Prehistoric man (in this case the Cro-Magnon type, who lived about 10,000 years ago) to draw pictures of this sort is hard to say. They may have been done to propitiate the game to be later used as food, or simply to satisfy an artistic urge and northing more - just as one might paint a picture today. --Charles R. Knight
"The medal was sculpted by Mario Cooper from designs by Robert Foster."
Brita, Swedish friend, and now, US resident, made Tomie a massive Swedish Princess Cake.
