Lincoln into Art

A few months ago, I decided to bring Wendy Allen, an artist who paints Abraham Lincoln (and ONLY Lincoln...that's her only subject) to Rochester. She is on a tour of cities in the U.S. for the Lincoln Bicentennial. Wendy conceived of an enormous Lincoln Birthday Card signed by the people. At each city, she has the public sign these enormous white panels (switching them out when they get full), with birthday messages for Abraham Lincoln. She also paints one portrait of Lincoln over the several days she is in the city, and she also has a program called One Brushstroke, wherein she draws in an outline of Lincoln on a canvas, and then the entire community helps paint the portrait.

I say *I* decided to bring Wendy.

Okay, how could *I* decide to bring her?

The answer is testament to the power of one individual to make things happen. Well, two, actually, if you count Wendy, and three, if you count her partner Elaine.

I talked with various committees (it's also Rochester's 175th anniversary) and organizations about bringing Wendy. It wasn't going to cost that much, just some shipping expenses, supplies, and putting her up for four nights in a hotel. Everyone was interested, but then everyone declined because of The Money.

But I wanted her. I knew it would be awesome. And I wanted to Do Something. You know, to celebrate the Big Guy on his 200th. If there's anyone worth celebrating, it's Lincoln.

So I decided to bring her. KidsOutAndAbout.com would pay for the supplies and shipping and overnight (she's just driving from CT). The Rochester Museum & Science Center agreed to host her from 12-4 today through Sunday. And the Strathallan hotel put her up in a lovely executive suite for four nights, free. (Amazing what you can get when you ask.)

So wham, there it is. She's here. And the event is not only a National Lincoln Bicentennial event, it's also an official Rochester 175th Anniversary event. I took Wendy and Elaine out to dinner last night. They're great people, true Lincoln aficionados, and we had a lovely time. It made the Democrat & Chronicle. I've faxed the TV stations; we'll see if they show up.

This morning, I helped her set up. Ella was the first person to paint One Brushstroke on the portrait of Lincoln that the community gets to keep. Actually, technically, I think *I* get to keep it, because I'm the one who bought the supplies and got her to do it in the first place. But I'm going to donate it either to the RMSC if they want it, or to the Memorial Art Gallery if the RMSC doesn't want it.

Here are some photos:







Wendy's web site is LincolnIntoArt.com.