In January 2023 I composed a children’s storybook called “The Seven Flights of Spiro the Sparrow.” My idea was to communicate a message of God’s care and of faith/family values that might resonate with young children to counteract the variety of fearful things they hear and experience these days–whether through the TV, through adult conversations they overhear or through other things they may witness.
The main character is a little sparrow, and through repetition, children anticipate his daily flight pattern. The theme of numbers and counting, the weeks of the day, time, and the mixture of happy and sad things each day is presented through the storyline of Spiro the Sparrow’s observations of humans and the anthropomorphism of his thoughts. Spiro lives his little life with purpose, and in the end, we find him directly connecting with all the various children he saw during his week!
I’ve been working gradually on the artwork and layouts, using collage and acrylic painting techniques.
Below are images of some of the currently finished spreads (left and right page) as well as some of the original artwork that is currently for sale. At the end is a YouTube video from a “sparrow making” party last February with my older son and a couple friends. We had some fun painting and collage-constructing “Spiro” in various flight positions to be scanned and utilized in the book.
How can you support this project and my art?
- 1. I would like to find the perfect “forever” homes for the four derivative sparrow pieces I currently have finished. I think they need the right setting–perhaps in a child’s room, day care, church Sunday School room, etc. Right now, it is more important to me to make quick sales and keep cash flow going rather than to set a price that reflects the entirety of the work that went into each piece. So I am suggesting here that if a piece strikes you–please make me a reasonable offer that you could afford to pay that would cover the shipping and help me to clear things out and keep moving my business forward. Every sale and cash flow helps me! So thank you for your consideration!
- 2. Last year I set up a Patreon page, which is a crowdsourcing platform. Many friends and clients from over the years express love and care for what I do (and my life vision at sixty years old is to “create as much art and beauty as possible in the world” while I attempt to sustain myself in my current situation) and Patreon is a means through which you can show general support through a monthly pledge as low as $5 per month (like taking me out for a cup of coffee!) that will help with cash flow and offsetting the big costs of simply keeping my business running (website costs and more) and making all my other services and wedding-related products I’ve developed over the years continue to be viable-and-available. A collection of patrons with small $5 a month pledges may seem like a drop in a bucket, but many creators these days are benefiting from a network of those who believe in what they are doing. So here is a link to my Patreon where you might review and consider a small monthly pledge and I thank you in advance for your consideration! (There are also tier incentives for those who pledge various amounts–free products and such–and please ask me if it is hard to understand the options.)
- 3. I love doing children’s book and if you have always wanted to write a simple story and self-publish, I would be interested in guiding you through the project as an “art director.” I would offer my services at a package price, to include storyline editing/guiding, developing illustration scenes and providing oversight and needed prep materials to guide you and a group of your friends through a process of shredded paper collage/painting techniques similar to what you see below which would serve as the illustrations. This could be achieved through in-person painting party marathons in my studio or in your home (if you are within range) or could be done remotely if you live far away. If you have an interest in this, please message me to discuss ideas and possibilities. I believe children need all the positive messaging they can get these days, and if this is one of your life dreams and a potential personal project that will be cherished by your own children and grandchildren, I would love to assist you with my professional services to bring it to completion and self-publication. The package price would also include the Photoshop layout/design work necessary to have a full, finished product for submission.
Next are some scenes from the book, and lastly the four original artwork pieces for sale will follow! Thanks for looking and please feel free to share this with friends who may have interest!
The following four pieces of original artwork are for sale–please make me an offer! These are display-able adaptations/derivative variations utilizing the components from the artwork in the book.
