'RAIN' FOR HOPE & ENCOURAGMENT

Besides the 3 quilts, I also brought collages to share. I love creating with painted papers!

My friend, upon seeing my collaged book titled RAIN, said, "Bring it on the trip!" The book, though dark and progressivey darker throughout, ends with the message of hope - exactly what we were coming to offer - hope & encouragement. So yes I did bring RAIN.

We showed it to many over the two weeks. At each location the book was slowly passed from person to person. I was surprised how interested & fascinated they were with how it was made and the story progression. Who would have thought! It was a hit!

Here are pictures with new friends looking at RAIN. As it made it's way around the room it finally was in the hands of the woman in the bottom 2 photos. As she paged through the beginning pages she put her hand on her chest. She was moved with emotion. The page she holds open (in photo) spoke to her so deeply, that she got up out of her seat & came over to me and kissed and hugged me again and again.

At the close of the evening, I asked her through a translator what it was about those two pages that were so special. I never did clearly understand but she said they reminded her of something very special. How amazing to have created 2 simple pages that moved a person to such a wave of emotion.

RAIN is one of the 28,000 (!!) books in Sketchbook Project 2011. I'll be sending it mid-January to Brooklyn NY where it will be the permanent property of the Brooklyn Art Library. Next year, it will go on tour to major cities in the USA with many other books in Sketchbook Project 2011.

Click here to see me creating RAIN.