The Napkin Story

I drew a series of drawings and quotes on napkins that I put in my teenage daughters' lunches for Middle and High School most every school day over a 5 year period.

Nice story how they were saved: I started doing the napkins while I was unemployed and making their lunches for school. I did 3 a day, one for each daughter. After many months I felt sort of depressed because, as funny as it sounds, it was the my main creative outlet, the only artwork I was doing at the time, and they were all being thrown away every day. 'Oh well' I said, and went about doing them until the end of the year.

My wife at the time was not happy in the marriage (we later divorced) and took the girls to California to visit her family in the summer, and I was not invited. I was home alone on Father's day when the girls called to tell me they had hid their presents for me around the house. I walked around the house following their hints and found my oldest's and my youngest's presents.

My middle daughter directed me to a bottom drawer somewhere and there I found a napkin she had drawn for me

the napkin

and below it... were all the napkins from the entire year! She had saved every one and given them back to me for Father's Day. It truly was the best present I ever got, I cried when I found them.

She really didn't, and couldn't, understand how much it meant to me to have her do that, and to have them still in existence.

I continued to draw the napkins for 4 more years, almost every day, until my youngest graduated from High School.

admire


In 2005 I started scanning them little by little and posting them to my flickr.com site, which I had set up for my photographic work but had been posting drawings to as well. The napkins got a great response and I started to consider ways I could get them out to a larger audience. In 2008 I started the blog you see here, the Napkin Dad Daily, and started posting a napkin a day. Eventually I added commentary below some of the napkins, in response to conversations that were going on in the comments, or on flickr.

In November of 2008 I was enthusiastic over the exciting presidential campaign and glad that Obama had won. I went looking through my napkin collection to see if I could find one that would be reflective of my feelings the morning after the election. I could not and so decided to draw a new napkin, the first in almost 4 years at that point. I posted the napkin on my blog and on flickr and had an incredible response. Hundreds of hits and comments came in, as they did on many other images people posted that day.

A few weeks later I got an email from flickr stating that Time Magazine was interested in one of my 'photos' for inclusion in an upcoming issue. They said if I was interested to contact Time for further information, which I did. I found out they were interested in using that napkin drawing in their 'Person of the Year' issue about the President-elect Barack Obama.

When the issue came out the local media in Tulsa took notice and I started to do some print and TV interviews. In anticipation of that I made my first self-published book, a t-shirt with the Obama napkin on it, and a series of coffee mugs. You can see those at my <a href="http://www.martycoleman.com/napkin-stuff.html">website</a>. A number of companies and individuals saw the various segments and articles and as a result drawing, web design and graphic design work has come my way.

A local gallery &amp; coffee house expressed interest in having a show of the napkins. In May of 2009 I opened the show, title 'Absorbent Ideas'. It closed in June of 2009.

To keep up to date with the napkin story subscribe to The Napkin Dad Daily. you will get a napkin a day AND find out when anything new and exciting happens.

Absorbently,
Marty Coleman

 
Selected Responses
to the Napkin Story

This is the best story I have ever heard of a loving father and his daughter's appreciation of his love and art. Truly touching and I am inspired... one day I will do something like this for my son...
Moriza

My father did something similar - he wrote poetry on little white pieces of paper and put them in my lunch bag. Some of the poems were moving, some of them silly. I kept every single oneand now that he's gone (passed away when I was 20), I'm glad I did. The napkins are beautiful - thanks for sharing them.
Kaivalya

 

Do you have a favorite story regarding how your father (or mother) showed love and affection for you? Or how you are showing it to your children? We would love to hear it. Simply drop me a note in this comment box. Keep it short and sweet and I will post the best on this page in the future.

 

Now, that is a fantastic idea! I often think of how to influence my child more and more as he ages and gets further and further from being influenceable. It's really sweet that you did that for them all, and even sweeter that they came back to you. fantastic.
THnZone6

Wow, as i expect my first child this year... you've inspired me and reminded me how lucky i am to have had such a great father too. thanks for that!
Valle

Now I'm crying. Lovely, lovely story. My husband used to make my lunch for me sometimes when we were first dating and he'd drop awesome little notes in there for me to find. I also said I would do the same for our children when we have them. I don't have enough words to adequately express how what you and your daughter did has touched me.
Ferrazzo

hmm, great story, wonderful napkins, I especially like them all together.

I hope there will be a book, and that many generations will tell this story about their mom and grandpa, there grandmother and great grandfather etc. etc.

Perhaps napkin notes will abound in the family like the stars in the sky, generation upon genteration.

"and these are the ones my mother did for me and these the one her father did for her."

I like to think of the story going on that way.
heavin, inc.

Marty,
How to add meaningful words to those already said above? A tall order. The chord you've struck is resonating with us all. I'm waiting for the book. :-)

My only thing to contribute to this thread is that I've moved a lot in my life, including when I was a child. Back in those days I was a dedicated letter writer and corresponded with 3 friends (and also later with my younger sister after I moved again). On my friends' 40th birthdays, and my sister's 30th, I bundled up each of their letters to me, tied a ribbon around them, and returned them to each person as my gift. Tears and laughter rose up from all as they read through tales of their childhood and young adulthood in their own handwriting and doodles.

The gift of remembrance and love is felt profoundly by us all. Makes me want to buy some new stationery and start sending snailmail again.
ShazzMack

That is amazing. I've only read about 20 of them when i was looking for a quote to write on my dad's card for his birthday. this is awesome though and i definately plan to read them all. you have very lucky daughters, and it makes me appreciate the little things my dad does for me even more. thank you.
kristenb7117

 
© 2009 - Marty Coleman. 'The Napkin Dad' and 'The Napkin Dad Daily' are registered trademarks. All drawings are copyrighted with the United States government and no reproduction or publication is allowed without prior written consent.