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 My
first "official" Letterhead meet! It was absolutely incredible & so
intense. I cried all the way home.
It was like one of those movies where someone steps thru a rippling wall
into another dimension. At that moment you suddenly realize there are so
many paths you haven't even started to explore.
I couldn't even sleep at night. Colors, textures and lines raced thru my
head. I have this experience a lot, but this weekend it was really
intensified because of all the contributing dynamics of sights, sounds,
smells and getting to actually meet everyone LIVE. I fell in love with
every person there.
I jumped in really gung-ho . . . I don't know what's worse: being
"gung-ho" an' not knowin' it or knowin' it and not carin', LOL! But I did
try to do too much and so for the next meet, I'm gonna paint up panels at
home and just watch a lot more.
But I learned SO much!! I will be absorbin' and applyin' stuff for months
and years to come! ...Just some of the stuff I learned...
- How to use a striper. I was gonna throw that ol' brush away? Also,
never allow anyone else to trim your striping brush.
- The basics of wood carving. How and why trees grow as they do.
- How to do gold leaf, which I had never even touched before!!
- A bunch of tips and method directions to "go with" my own personal
style.
- Some new bass licks.
I told ya'll when I first came to Letterville that I knew I was home!
Sheila Ferrell, Alabama
What a fantastic meet!
After I dropped off "Chips" Cieslowski (thanks again Joe for the awesome
carved panel) I went home and slept for 13 hours. Just to mention a few of
the many highlights this year: the best Letterhead music jams I've heard
at any meet. And Sheila gets my vote for the "Letterhead First Meet
Duck-to-Water Award". She jumped in and was painting, picking, and
singing, all simultaneously. When she talked, it was serious southern
fried - I had to translate for Bob and Marsha Peach. Thanks go to all the
gang on the Yankee Bus for making the trip - they get my vote for the
"Endurance Award" - 14 hours in a van with Rapid Ray, Letterville's own
whirling dervish.(does he sleep?) And it was hard to believe it was Ron
Costa's first meet-he was slinging some good paint, as well as Cam Bortz,
all-around good guy and organizer of the bus.
Of course, I have to mention John Smith's Famous Dixie Letterhead Omelets
and Pancakes. Steve Shortreed told me that was his motivation for coming.
Can't forget to mention the appearance of Jim Norris, one of the most
amazing people I've met in this biz. I watched as he taught several people
the fundamentals of striping, one of whom was a wide-eyed 9 year old boy
who will show up on Jim's doorstep in about 10 years with an armful of
killer panels. For Carol from NH, it'll only be about 2 weeks.
Always fun seeing Don & Dora, Judy & Roger, Marty & Si, Jillbeans & her
Mom, "The" Joe Buck and his pal, Wade, Timi, Cheryl, Harris, Jeff &
Racheal, Jimmy, Steve & Barb, Bruce, Billy, Kevin, Roger, Rodney, Curt,the
Grace Signs guys, and especially, all the people who were attending their
first meet.(Too many to name,y'all) I saw lots of people with that glazed
Letterhead Look, trying to remember everything they saw, so they can give
it a shot at home.
Appreciation also goes to the many suppliers who not only kicked in some
great door prizes, but covered all the food, allowing the meet to be free.
Thanks, Frank Manning from of course, One-Shot, as well as some great
folks who were there for us from Everwood, Aluma-Panel, West Systems,
Beacon Graphics, Carvaggio, Vector-Art (I hate to forget anybody - help me
Donald)
I hope you heard from many of us that we notice who's in touch with
Letterheads, and we buy accordingly.
Most of all, thanks to our hosts, Donald and Ryan, and their families for
the ultimate in Southern Letterhead hospitality. Those 2 guys have a very
special energy that made this a meet we'll never forget.
Sonny Franks, Atlanta
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