Every afternoon or early evening, I walk down the spiral staircase from the studio to the front room and then out onto the porch to check the mail. Usually it’s just a pile of bills and advertisements, but the other day there was an envelope that looked different from the rest. The address was written by hand and the shape of it seemed thoroughly un-bill-like. I was intrigued.
When I opened the envelope and peered inside, I couldn’t have been happier. There, in my hands, was a Bobbledy birthday card. Usually people send us scans or photographs of their drawings, but here was a real-live card with kid drawings popping off the paper, the crayon marks so thick that I could feel them with my fingertips.
The drawing below was done by a girl named Page. She lives in Galena, not too far down the road from Chestertown.
I love the rich blue sky that Page has drawn. It makes me think of sunny days with just a cloud or two. I’m particularly impressed with how Page has drawn the cloud below the orange balloon, using a technique called “negative space,” leaving the cloud the white color of the paper while drawing the sky in all around it. That’s pretty fancy stuff, and I’m guessing that Page does not yet have her MFA.
Robbi got the drawing started by adding one balloon, but I like how Page added another, and birds, I think, to make the scene more wonderful. As nice as it is to see a balloon in the sky, how much nicer is it to see two? It’s nice to take a balloon ride alone on a sunny afternoon, but isn’t it much better to be able to glance across the way at someone else who’s floating not far distant, and maybe wave or even shout “hello!”
I love this drawing, and I want to thank Page for sending it to us. In case you’re wondering, after scanning, we sent it back. It is far too wonderful a treasure to keep for ourselves.
Before we go, I think it’s probably important to say one more thing, a thing I probably should have said from the beginning, which is HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAGE! We’re so glad you chose to celebrate with us.