THE BLOG
Bailey and I have been busy.
A whole week of organizing paintings and carrying them out to the van. Bailey said, “I would love to go down to St. George with you.” He had never been to the art festival in St. George so he wanted to go and check it out. He spent a lot of his time growling at the dogs that were attracted to his particular scent. My husband and I thought that he might be helpful putting up the tent because of his height but he wandered off to check out the other tents. He made quite a scene lumbering between the tents. Some of the artists were quite frightened by him but most people just accepted him as part of the crowd. I thought it might effect sales to have our big friend hanging around. People ventured into the tent and bought paintings despite his looming presence. Thanks to all of you who despite Bailey, bought our prints and original art. An original illustration from “The Centaur” the picture book from the poem by May Swenson has found a good home down in St. George. If you missed seeing Bailey, he was probably out buying a bag of kettle corn when you came by the tent.
Bailey Sketching
There is a quiet energy when people are sketching. After a big bowl of oatmeal or berries it seemed like the next best thing to do. We all got our sketch books and pencils and sat down on the couch for a sketching session. You can get lost in time with a pencil in your hand. We lost track of time.
Bailey and Berries
“You’re just in time for oatmeal,” I said. “We like to fix it with berries and nuts.”
“Mmmmmm nuts. Sounds good,” said Bailey. Bailey not only ate all of the nuts in our house but also all the frozen berries out of our freezer. I guess berries also sounded good. I don’t know how he did it but he picked the nuts and berries out of the oatmeal, leaving only the oatmeal in his bowl. My husband took a picture and as soon as the camera came out, the grandkids couldn’t resist popping into the picture.
Bailey Comes to Town
I didn’t hear the doorbell ring. My grandson ran to answer the door and just as quickly ran screaming up the stairs. I didn’t know what I would find at the door but there was Bailey. He had a sack of BeeHive State Honey for us. I asked, “What are you doing here?”
He said he was reading in his bear habitat book and found out that Utah was the beehive state so when the flight came into Salt Lake, he decided to stay. “Come on in Bailey,” I said.
Bailey at the Airport
I was amazed when Bailey showed up at LaGuardia. He was catching a flight into Salt Lake and squeezed into the last chair at the gate which was right by me. He grunted and snuffled and then asked a question, “Did you have any trouble getting through security?”
“They did rumble through my suitcase a bit,” I said, “but they were very polite. They offered to help me repack.”
Bailey shook his head and said, “I had no idea that honey was a liquid”. “They confiscated my honey bear and even my honey combs. They said it was a gel and that there was a powder residue in the bag. I told them it was bee pollen but they took it anyway and said something about an agricultural byproduct.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “Would you like a candy bar?“
Bailey said, “Thanks, but I don’t like to eat anything but honey when I fly. I get uncomfortable squeezed into those little airplane seats and the flight attendants always give me the eye.”
“Well they will be handing out little teeny tiny bags of peanuts. If you’re lucky, they’ll give you two,” I said.
Bailey doubled over laughing at that comment. He said he could use them as ear plugs.
When his shoulders stopped shaking I said, “I was a bit surprised to see you out in the middle of January at the Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference. Bailey said, “It’s been a warm winter so I’ve been restless and just felt like being out and about. Speaking of that I think I’ll stretch my legs.” He hefted himself out of the chair with some effort and walked out to the main concourse. I never saw him come back nor get on the plane. I wasn’t even sure he made the flight.
Bailey
Here’s Bailey in New York listening to Lin Oliver. He snorted a bit when he laughed at her jokes which caused a few people to turn around and take a look. Bailey just buried his head and started doodling. I zoomed in and took a picture of his sketches. Here they are.
