For Teapot Tuesday this week, Susan introduced us to an amazing hotel in Oregon where every room has a different theme, based on different authors. The JK Rowling room was an obvious choice for me, but I decided to celebrate Mark Twain.
Many years ago, I attended a writing seminar at the University of Missouri. It was for business writers, but at our heart, we were all readers, too, and so a bunch of us crowded into a small car and drove to Twain's hometown of Hanibal one Saturday. It was a small town that didn't seem to have changed much since he was a boy.
The very first Twain writing I ever encountered, as far as I remember, is Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence, so that was my inspiration for this card. I just sort of compiled it from bits -- the fence die cut is from a previous Tickle, I've had the paintbrush stamp forever and maybe never used it before. I found clip art for the boy and Googled the quote and printed it out.
Another story: I interviewed the director of the Peachtree Road Race, which is a HUGE 10K held on the 4th of July through Atlanta. One thing she said that I'll always remember is that the race depends on volunteers to run smoothly, so part of her job "was to be like Tom Sawyer and convince people that painting a fence is great fun."
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 GMT Views: 789
Favorited:2
Splitcoast Dirty Dozen Alumni SCS Gallery Moderator Splitcoast Challenge Hostess Teapot Tuesday TEAm
Registered: July 27, 2007 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 131329
Wed, Apr 28, 2021 @ 11:02 AM
That was my first reading of him too - I think it must have been in our school anthology! I think my favourite one is the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but I haven't read all that many of his complete books. The paintbrush is great. I liked your story about the interview. A good analogy - a lot of volunteering is just basic slog.
Registered: March 8, 2005 Location: Halfway between Dallas and Houston Posts: 23966
Wed, Apr 28, 2021 @ 12:37 PM
Love this card. My husband tries to use that psychology on me when he wants me to do something for him. I always just tell him that Tom Sawyer routine will not work on me.
------------------------------ Proud Fan Club Member
Dirty Dozen Alumni
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Registered: August 15, 2007 Location: Twin Cities MN Posts: 50355
Wed, Apr 28, 2021 @ 1:05 PM
What a wonderful card! I remember reading this,..and of course since he has an Aunt Polly I felt a connection to the book. Great idea to illustrate the fence!
Registered: February 23, 2016 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 22777
Wed, Apr 28, 2021 @ 1:14 PM
This is so incredibly cute - That barefoot boy sets the stage and fence and paintbrush tell the story. In a way it reminds me of my 2 young grandsons - They come to visit for a few days each summer and think it the absolute MOST FUN to rake and bag the leaves that fell the previous fall. (Something I tend to avoid doing if I don't want to put my back out)
------------------------------ Linda aka Bubbles
I'm not a Hoarder . . . I'm the Curator of an extensive collection of embellishments!!
Proud Fan Club Member Guest Designer Color Challenge July 2017 Favorites Notification Team
Registered: September 11, 2004 Location: Brentwood, TN Posts: 7658
Wed, Apr 28, 2021 @ 3:24 PM
I LOVE your rendition of the classic fence-painting episode, which is my favorite segment in the novel and the one that has stayed with me over 50 years since I last read it. This is such a sweet image with the young Tom Sawyer and the colorful paintbrush. Great job!!
------------------------------ Linda
”From the rising of the sun to its setting,the name of the Lord is to be praised!”
Registered: November 7, 2006 Location: Willamette Valley Oregon Posts: 34498
Wed, Apr 28, 2021 @ 6:20 PM
You chose a book near and dear to my heart, Sandy...how create you were to bring all this together! I love your paintbrush rainbow and the 'found' boy! Thanks for wrapping a personal memory...makes it all the more special.
------------------------------ Susan~~~One4Joydaily I'm a FAN CLUB member, U? MY GALLERYof visual Delights MY BLOG
This part of Tom Sawyer always made me laugh, and you captured that moment perfectly in your card! I love all the elements you included to visualize the scene!
Your anecdote about volunteers got me chuckling, because I (and my son) volunteer at Habitat for Humanity's A Brush with Kindness. We do enjoy it, and have great fun, LOL