True Colors - Sarah Fishburn/Keely Benkey

TRUE COLORS

Sarah Fishburn
Red

To whom it may concern:

I would love to help create an ad campaign for your unparalleled and seminal 2003 book True Colors.

I {literally} have more ideas than you can shake a palette, or more precisely, a brush, at!

Here are a few of my notes, just in case:

True Colors: Kinda like an encyclopedia, but better.
True Colors: It's got Poetry, it has Imagery...what more can One Girl need?
Tru{e Color}th vs. Fiction: Watch {stunned} as the color wheel takes down all comers.

Bodice ripper, anyone?
Read the sordid tale of Violet, who slept with Yellow, when really in her heart, she loved only Green...

Appropriated, and altered {appropriately, from Yellow Submarine}:
Red, orange, green, oc-h-re, can I have a little more,
Blue, white, black, turquoise, tan I love you.

Also appropriated, altered, and especially for Lisa Hoffman:
She's a little bit Aqua and a little bit Forest Floor.

Or, especially in honor of Lynne Perrella, Teesha Moore, and Linn Jacobs:
Come White, come Hot Pink, come Yellowgreen & Copper - to the Greatest Show on Earth!

Ala Fiddler on the Roof:
A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a leaf, a twig, Metallics, a cat...
What do we leave? Nothing much - only Green and Se-pia...

Maybe a hologrammed Audrey Hepburn, perched waifishly in her Breakfast at Tiffany's window,
singing wistfully to the tune of Moon River:
"Blue & Och-re, dark-er than A-qua..."

These are only the tip of the iceberg...

Respectfully,
Anne {"Out of Control"} Copywriter

Please contact me to discuss further before Sunset, or at least by Autumn, at the following:

Sarah Fishburn
http://www.sarahfishburn.com/

Sarah, Lisa H. and Monica at book signing

And Sarah adds that her favorite line from True Colors is in the Tip & Techniques section on page 274...

#1 Adopt this philosophy: When it comes to art journals, anything worth doing is worth overdoing!
_______________

Keely Barham Benkey
Black

Written by Lynne Perrella

The Art Bar in California hosted a True Colors event, and many of us travelled there to teach and participate in a wonderful Panel Discussion; also attended by many of the editorial staff of Stampington, including publisher Kellene Giloff and Kathy Bold, the editor of True Colors.

I think, BEST of all, was the chance to see all of the True Colors journals in one place, at one time. The organizer of the event, Nicole Steinam, thoughtfully gave all of us an extra hour to be alone with the journals, before the public arrived for the Panel Discussion. I don't think I will ever forget the scene of seeing all the attending artists circling the journals, lost in appreciation and exclaiming over all the details or a new-to-them page. It was a total love fest. For many of us, it was the chance to see how a journal had turned out - perhaps one we had worked on in the earliest stages.

Keely generously invited all of us to her home one evening, for a beautiful dinner party with delicious Mexican food and other homemade treats; and we had the joy of meeting her family and being surrounded by her wonderfully artistic decor. Keely had transformed her living room into an art room, and the results were spirited and beautiful. As soon as we entered her home, we were literally surrounded by her whimsical and colorful works of art, perfectly arranged - almost like being in a Keely Gallery.

As Keely busied herself with the dinner preparations, we were all
invited to take a seat and make ourselves at home. Lisa Hoffman and I noticed that each of the dining tables had a centerpiece consisting of a wooden bowl full of AMAZING small dolls, each one dressed in stunning colorful costumes. Obviously, a bonanza of Keely artwork. We carefully looked at the dolls, exclaiming and marveling -- when Keely appeared at the doorway. "Oh! You've found YOUR dolls!" she said, with an ear-to-ear grin. OUR dolls!?!?

In a customary gesture of over-the-top generousity, Keely had literally created a doll for each of us, according to our True Colors color-of-choice. There was a doll for each of us. Mine has a halo of white maribou feathers surrounding the face, and the body of the doll is covered in a white-on-white damask fabric, with an off-white canvas printed tape, and a tiny white-washed wooden dollhouse fence.

Everytime I look at it, I think of Keely and the wonderful True Colors event and how marvelous it was to finally meet some of the artists for the first time -- and to reconnect with other longtime friends.

Written by Lynne Perrella

Keely Barham Benkey
http://straystitches.typepad.com/