Childlike Play

For my birthday, which was back in the summer, Rebekah wanted to sign us up for a local venue's painting event, which featured waterscapes.

But the amount of was out of her budget.

So she went to a craft store and picked up two children's paint kits and brought them home. We did nothing with them because we could not find several hours where both of us were free.

Until this past Sunday.

For most Sunday afternoons over the last two years, I've met with a woman in her mid-90s to listen to her stories and take notes, as I was hired by her family to write her memoir.

But last Sunday, she celebrated Thanksgiving with her friends. Rebekah does not work on Sundays.

So, finally, we painted!

We had no time pressures. No looking at our phones to check the time or messages.

We listened to music (because my art teacher in sixth grade always played classical music during art projects and because my sister and I loved to listen to music while we colored, hours and hours of coloring) and we painted.

We did not talk much, except when asking to borrow a color of the other's paint.

It was several hours of background classical music and brush strokes.

Here's Rebekah's

Here's mine.

Bertrand (and I) Go to Art Camp

On July 17, Bertrand the Mouse and I were the special guests at an art camp offered by Dottie's Art Studios in Plainfield.

Bertrand visited one class; I visited three, with students ranging from the very young to teens, depending on the class.

At each class, I read for fifteen to twenty minutes from one of my books (Bertrand and the Lucky Clover, Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone, and Staked!) and then gave the books away.

This was a terrific idea (not mine). As an author, I can't express how gratifying it was to see the resulting artwork, all based on scenes from the books.

And, of course, Bertrand had a great time being passed around, checking out the kids' drawings, and meeting everyone.

Here is a brief pictorial recap, compliments of the art studio.