Changes have been made to my website with more to come over the next week or two.  The book project is being made more front and center as we move into the last months of getting ready for printing.  The projected printing date is mid-July. I don’t know yet when there will an actual hardcover book in my hands.  Originally, we aimed for a September release.

I just received a “to-do” list from the publisher, Top Reads.  I must admit that is totally overwhelming to me!  I will have to continue to approach it by “eating the elephant one bite-at-a-time”.  If I would not have adopted that attitude I would never be where I am today. Surely, I would have bailed a long time ago.

One thing I am going to add to the website, or perhaps blog about, is the statement I make that “I promised my mother”.  I did promise her.  Many times.  The first promise came the very first time I told her the story, which was a verbal telling.  We were painting the ornamental tin ceiling of the historic house on the Old Post Road where I lived in Upper Red Hook, NY.  I was busy turning it into a bed and breakfast.  The dining room was huge and presented the opportunity to return it to its original opulence.  Mom and I loved to paint houses together.

So up there on the ladders and scaffolding I told her the tale, which was much shorter but had all the elements of the story that will be printed.  It caused her shed a tear – and my mom was not a crier.  She always felt that the story was important … and mom had incredible intuition. Second sight. She knew things.

As my artwork continued to develop using the gourd as muse, canvas and sculptural material, I eventually wrote the story down.  As life would have it, the guidance and care that both parents required extended over quite a number of years. That took precedence and other things were put on the front burner and shuffled to the back burner many times.  During the last weeks of her life, my dear mother continued to tell me in her more lucid moments, please promise me you will finish that book. I did. And I am.

There is so much more I could write about that chapter of my life.  Maybe one day I will write my memoir.  Time will tell.
In the meantime, I am dining on frequent small bites of elephant!  Writing this and sending it out to you was one bite.

Thank you for singing up for my newsletter, your continued friendship and belief in me and my work of art it the form of a book.

With Gratitude,

Victoria