In May, 2010 The Aha Moment Tour invited me to tell the napkin story to a national audience. click on the photo to see it. At the end of the tour the online audience can vote on the video they want to see turned into a 30 second spot on network TV.
Glenpool Post
Multimedia Interview
Mia Magazine - Winter 09 edition
A friend from years ago contacted me after seeing one of my interviews and expressed interest in having the Napkin story featured in a new women's magazine she was introducing.
I suggested that my daughter, Chelsea, could perhaps write the article, which she did.
Reporter Janna Clark and her videographer, John Gibson, came by our house at the beginning of February, 09 to do an interview with myself and my daughter, Chelsea. They spent almost 3 hours interviewing and videotaping the two of us, separately and together. They recorded us talking about the napkins as we leafed through them and as I drew one.
See the story here:
The were quite creative in their editing and I enjoyed the end result, even if I do sound like a doofus!
Good Day Tulsa - Studio Interview - 01/08/09
Kristin Dickerson of Good Day Tulsa (KTUL/channel 8), a local morning show, interviewed me about the napkin drawings and about the inclusion of the Obama napkin in Time magazine.
See the interview here:
The interview was a lot of fun and the on-air and behind-the-scenes people were enthusiastic and very helpful.
Ms. Dickerson was kind enough to mention my other artwork as well. In particular she directed the audience to my 'Velveteen Woman' photo-collage series on my website. She was also enthusiastic about contributing to that same series.
'Drawing on Love' and 'Dad's Napkin Messages' articles in the Tulsa World Newpaper - 01/04/09
My local newspaper, the Tulsa World, published two articles about the napkins today. One was the local angle on the national Time Magazine article and the other about the original Napkin Story.
Read the stories here:
They were nice enough to put a link on their front page for people to purchase the book. The reporter, Matt Gleason was a very cool guy and I enjoyed the interview quite a bit. I am very grateful people have caught on to the napkin stories and are passing it along to others!
First TV Interview - News on 6 - KOTV Tulsa
I contacted an anchor/reporter I knew, Lori Fullbright, at KOTV in Tulsa after I did the initial interview with the Tulsa World (but it had yet to be published). She liked the idea of the napkins and arranged quickly to come visit my studio and do an interview.
See the interview here:
It aired 12/31/08 and was then picked up by their sister station in OKC and aired a few days later.
I really appreciated Lori's enthusiasm and interest in the story and how determined she was to get the interview done and broadcast quickly.
'America the Beautiful' in Time Magazine - 12/29/08
On November 5th, 2008, I drew a new napkin (the first since 2004). I drew it in response to Barack Obama's election as our next president. I happen to be a supporter of his candidacy, but the emotion and happiness went beyond the politics of the moment. I searched my napkin drawings for an appropriate image and quote that expressed my sentiment and, finding none, drew a new one.
The morning after the election I scanned the drawing and posted it on my blog and on my flickr.com site. It got immediate attention (as did many posted that morning) and a great conversation ensued below it on flickr.
Eventually Time Magazine saw it and decided to include it in their 'Person of the Year' issue (Obama being person of the year for 2008, obviously).
The Nun Story
In November, 2008 I received an email from an Irish nun, Sister Patricia Murray, working on her Masters degree at a seminary in Chicago. She found my blog when she googled 'Imagination'.
She became a subscriber and had interest in a number of my napkin drawings. She wanted to purchase the rights to 5 of them for use in her thesis on 'Imagination and Peace Building' and in presentations in southern Sudan where she was doing her work. She said she would use the "drawings to show how simple illustrations can be an inspiration to capture ideas and to give courage.”
I loved the idea and sent her the drawings. She is will be sending me the presentation she uses them in once she is finished with her thesis and back at her work in Africa. I am excited to have them be part of something so important in the world.
If you would like to do a story about the napkins, or would like me to tell the story and share some of the napkins with an audience contact me and we can go from there. I am excited to share so don't be afraid to ask!
