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Reflections On an Insane Yet Wonderful Week “How long were we gone?” asked George Rodrigue. “A week?” “More like 48 hours,” I replied… …as we recalled our visit to Little Rock, Arkansas last weekend, where we raised funds and awareness for arts education through events for the Thea Foundation and the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. Between us, in just two days, we flew to Little Rock and back, where we presented three lectures, attended two cocktail parties, painted (in George’s case) and auctioned off an original painting, judged an art contest, toured the Thea Foundation offices and the neighboring Argenta Community Theatre, shared meals with clients, foundation supporters, and community leaders, visited a private art collection, and toured the Clinton Library. “Did you forget to tell me that you’re running for office?” I asked George earlier this week, as I organized my list of thank-you notes.
(pictured, a painting demonstration and lecture in the Clinton Library, Little Rock)  Upon our return, we drove two hours west for the day, where I spoke to an audience of sixty women --- university professors, philanthropists, and friends --- about my search for identity as the wife of a famous artist. Presenting at the University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for the Women of Vision Lecture Series, we raised funds for the UL Foundation, as I explained my life’s journey through the art of Egypt, Austria, my mother, and of course George Rodrigue.* For some reason I’ll likely never understand, my audience hung in there as I spouted on, knowing full well that every woman in the room has a life just as (if not more) interesting. (pictured, Selket guarding King Tut's tomb) 
“But you’ve got to go to my lecture,” I pleaded with George that morning. “I’m a bit nervous about this one, and I need your support.” Instead he spent the day signing his new silkscreen prints, claiming, “If I’m there, Wendy, everyone will want to talk to me.” Oh Brother… Just as I understand better after visiting Arkansas how the city of Little Rock must have flipped when Bill Clinton became President of the United States, I can see how the Lafayette ladies would have flipped over George’s presence. I too still swoon at times when he talks about his art with that Cajun drawl. (You should be wrinkling your nose at the sap here, so go right ahead; nevertheless, it’s true). Instead George spent the day only a few blocks from my speech, at his warehouse signing his newest silkscreen prints titled, appropriately, I’m the Real Thing. (for the story behind this coke machine visit here)  Yesterday we left our house in New Orleans early for another marathon day, this time in Lake Charles, Louisiana, sixty miles west of Lafayette, and more than three hours drive from our house.While there, we hosted an informational luncheon for forty people to raise funds and awareness for the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA). We followed with a lecture and painting demonstration for more than four hundred people in the historic 1912 auditorium of the Central School Arts and Humanities Center, where George painted a Blue Dog for the crowd while I shared stories from his art and life.  From there we toured Lake Charles Memorial Hospital and reunited the painting Doctor on the Bayou (1982, 30x40, below) with its artist, followed by a reception for several hundred people in the hospital’s atrium, where we sold silkscreens of the classic painting to raise funds for the hospital’s foundation, as well as our own. (For a detailed history of this painting visit here.)   (pictured above, Jacques Rodrigue and George Rodrigue at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, November 11, 2010) It wasn’t until we reached our garage at 1:00 a.m. that we realized (and no longer cared) that we’d forgotten to eat.  At day's end we had a key to the city of Lake Charles (courtesy of the mayor), money for scholarships and student art supplies (through GRFA), several pieces of Blue Dog cake (courtesy of the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana and especially the marvelous Lake Charles bakery artist, Kelly Lowe of the Stacked Cake Company), an invitation to return in January for the opening of a museum exhibition of George’s work (courtesy of the New Orleans Museum of Art), and fond memories and stories of the 1984 ballet, Ghosts of Rodrigue, based on his Cajun paintings.  “It’s weird. I’m startin’ to feel like Marilyn Monroe,” said George, as he washed his face. “Say what?” I turned with surprise from the side of the bathtub, where I sat rubbing my feet. “Used? Depressed? Blonde?” He explained, “It’s like I’m two different people. I can’t believe they’re talking that way about me. I can’t believe all of those people showed up because of me.”
I looked at him, not knowing what to say. After all, in many ways this is a typical week. “Why two people?” I asked. "Why Marilyn?” (Why not John Wayne or Johnny Cash?, I thought...)
“Well,” he mumbled through the toothpaste, “They all make a fuss over me, and then I come home and everything’s normal, like I’m a regular guy.” You’re delirious. Go to bed. Wendy  Pictured above: Marilyn Monroe with the Blues Brothers -Jacques, Wendy, George, and André, May 2004. For more on George’s sons, visit here. *Also see "The Muse" For a related post visit "Defining Success"
“If you help others, you will find the happiness you want. This is the secret they don’t tell you at school.” Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche How do we end up in our personal (and public) situations? How do children with big problems, those born into poverty, ignorance, and crime, find real happiness inside a box of paints or a piece of cake?  I saw them with my own eyes, two hundred K-3 kids at New Orleans College Prep, a public charter school for grades K-8, expanding soon to K-12, available tuition-free to all children in Orleans Parish, regardless of demographics. With dedicated and highly skilled teachers and a hands-on principal, this school instills a desire for college from day one with strict academics and discipline, a code of honor complete with advanced concepts and vocabulary, and a tremendous amount of fun, such as the zoo, sports, music lessons, art therapy, and dance.  In a school in which more than eighty percent of their parents lack a high school diploma, these students have their eyes set on college and their hearts set on the person sitting next to them. One little boy grabbed my hand to show me not only his own painting, but also that of several of his friends. They painted hearts and sunshine and flowers. Their dogs weren’t just blue, but also purple and yellow and red. When I told one child, “Look at your painting! You’re an artist!,” she smiled big and opened her arms wide, “We’re all artists, Ms. Wendy!”  I spent much of this week thinking about growing older and about life’s circumstances. I should have been born twenty years earlier, I thought to myself as I toasted John Bullard, a dear friend and the former director of the New Orleans Museum of Art, who recently retired after thirty-seven years. Looking around the room, I couldn’t help but wonder what I was doing there, why I was included among this distinguished group. I fought back thoughts of losing my friends, so many of them approaching seventy, eighty, and even ninety, and all of them significant contributors to the arts in the New Orleans community. (pictured, cakes for the students of NOCP, donated by New Orleans' culinary artists: Chef Matt Murphy and Chef Thomas McGovern of M Bistro at the Ritz-Carlton, and Chef Ziggy Cichowski of the Maple Street Patisserie)  This aging conundrum weighed on my mind since presenting a lecture the day before to The Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge. With their modest budget these dedicated Americans, most of them senior citizens, devote their efforts to sending at least one student a year to school in Washington D.C. They speak of changing our community, instilling a sense of pride in young people so that they appreciate our country and understand the importance of practicing and preserving its values: “…To share with others our appreciation of the benefits and obligations of freedom…” from the “Bill of Responsibilities” of the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge. George and I ended our week with a painting demonstration and lecture for the Louisiana Art Educator’s Association during their fall conference in Baton Rouge. The two hundred teachers from all levels came from around the state for a weekend devoted to (according to their flyer) “altering our ideas and passions as a necessary continuous process of growth, both personally and professionally.”  What did we do with our time before we had a foundation? I asked George Rodrigue this week. “Book tours and museum shows,” he reminded me. Oh yeah, I forgot. Wendy  I was surprised when a friend of my sister’s asked her recently,
“Are you ever jealous of Wendy?” My sister explained the closeness of our relationship and the fact that we share each other’s good fortune (...to my great relief, sighs Aunt Wendy):
“No, I’m not jealous” Heather said, “and besides, she’s tired all of the time!” *Sprinkled throughout this post: photographs from our afternoon at New Orleans College Prep *Special thanks to Forum 35 of Baton Rouge, Char Thian of the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, Chef Matt Murphy and Chef Thomas McGovern of M Bistro, Chef Ziggy Cichowski of the Maple Street Patisserie, our wonderful GRFA staff and interns, and the many volunteers that helped us create a special afternoon for students at NOCP Coming later this week: “Doctor on the Bayou”
George Rodrigue has created this one-of-a-kind artwork exclusively for charitybuzz to raise funds and awareness for his foundation, the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts and the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA). Rodrigue has added hand embellishments using colored paint pens, as well as a pencil sketch, to create this original mixed media piece. The Three Amigos, an original silkscreen print, measures 22 X 28
GRFA is pleased to announce that the GRFA Art Contest finalist's artwork is now hanging in the new Rodrigue Studio in New Orleans. The art will hang there for the next few weeks at 730 Royal St. in the French Quarter. Come by and see it if you can!
We are so proud of all of the finalists. The artwork will next move on to be displayed at the Louisiana Governor's Mansion in Baton Rouge and at Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches.
Thank you once again to everyone who made this year's art contest a success!
 Thank you to everyone who attended the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts 2010 Art Contest Luncheon on March 27, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans. We would especially like to congratulate Sean Hicks from Hackberry High School in Hackberry, Louisiana for taking the first place prize of a $5,000 college scholarship.  Overall, we had over 300 entrants into our contest from all over the state of Louisiana in our first year. Thank you to everyone who entered and to all of the teachers and parents who encouraged the talented high school seniors of Louisiana to participate.
 Sixteen finalists attended our luncheon. The top 10 received college scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000. And, we awarded each finalist a $250 gift certificate for art supplies and an original silkscreen print by George Rodrigue entitled "Ain't Dat Super: We Blues Dem Away".
Again, thank you to everyone from the GRFA staff for making our first annual GRFA Art Contest such a success!
More photos from the event and a list of all of our winning entries available on the GRFA website.
 A great article from New Orleans' Times Picayune Sunday March 21st edition outlining our visit to Bissonnet Plaza Elementary in Metairie.
Click on the image to read the entire article.
Thank you to everyone at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, LA for having George in their art classroom on March 5, 2010 and for helping the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.
All of the students created their own Blue Dogs by making sculptures out papier mache and then painting them. These dogs will be used as the centerpieces for the 2010 George Rodrigue Art Contest Awards Luncheon.Marney, GRFA's Director of Education, visited the classroom days before George's arrival to teach the children about George's work and to let them know about their project. Then, the kids sketched out how they wanted to design their own Blue Dog.
 When George arrived, they all got to work in order to bring their sketches to life by painting the papier mache Blue Dogs that they made. The students all asked George many questions about him and his art while they told him their own plans for their dog.
   George was even able to sketch on their chalkboard and give all of the students an art lesson. He talked about the history of his work and gave them suggestions on how to approach their art.
Again, thank you to everyone at Bissonet Plaza Elementary for helping us. We know everyone at the GRFA Awards Luncheon will love the centerpieces for the tables!
*Unfortunately, there is not a lesson plan online yet for this project. However, anyone could be creative and create their own dog by building their own papier mache dogs to paint.
 Congratulations to the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts 2010 Art Contest Finalists! We would like to thank all of you that entered. We were thrilled to receive over 300 entries in our first year from across the state of Louisiana.
Our winners will be chosen at an awards luncheon on March 27th.
 Announcing the release of the newest George Rodrigue silkscreen
"We Blues Dem Away (Ain't Dat Super)" $500*
More information about the print can be found here.
 The Louisiana Education Loan Authority (LELA) played a major role in helping our first annual George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts Art Contest to be a success. Now, we want to let you know about one of their great programs. From a letter from LELA:
Governor Bobby Jindal has officially proclaimed the month of February as Financial Aid Awareness Month! In connection with Governor Jindal’s proclamation, the Louisiana Education Loan Authority (Lela) has launched its ninth annual statewide campaign to inform college bound students and their parents that financial assistance is available for college and to apply early. In addition to reminding students of the immediate need to complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), we encourage Louisiana high school seniors to participate in Lela’s “Cash for College - What’s Your Story” scholarship contest.
Lela will award $6,000 in scholarships to Louisiana high school seniors through its “Cash for College” contest. Three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded through the “What’s Your Story” segment of the contest where seniors submit a brief “story” and photo online telling us why they want to attend college. In addition, six $500 scholarships will be awarded through random drawings. To learn more please visit LELA's Financial Aid Awareness Month's Website.
 In honor of Valentine's Day 2010, George Rodrigue has created this one-of-a-kind artwork exclusively for charitbuzz to raise funds and awareness for his foundation, the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. "Love Me Forever" is an original silkscreen print from 2001. In January 2010, Rodrigue added hand embellishments using gold and silver paint pens, as well as a pencil sketch, to create this original mixed media piece. "Love Me Forever" measures 20 X 27 and it will be mounted and shipped flat.
Bid on this special piece now!
(UPDATE) The auction has now ended and the print sold for $6,000! This will go a long way to help our foundation reach its goals. Thank you to everyone who placed bids. We are looking forward to doing more work with CharityBuzz. So, be on the lookout for new and exciting auction items!
 On December 2, 2009, George Rodrigue visited with students at Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During the two-hour visit to their art studio classroom, Rodrigue gave students an insight on what it takes to be an artist.
  He traced his beginnings as a young student in New Iberia, Louisiana through his professional art training at the College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA. Rodrigue was also able to give them a bit of an art history lesson on how art has evolved and the importance of knowing how art has changed over time.
 The purpose of the visit was to help further along the mission of George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts to help develop our youth through art in education. Additionally, Rodrigue gave insights to the high school seniors on how to approach their entries for this year's first annual GRFA Art Contest for Louisiana High School Seniors.
George was so happy to be able to donate a collection of his books and a signed and dedicated "We Are Marching Again" print to the school for display.  We want to again thank principal Nanette Greer and art teacher Heather Hogg for allowing us to come to their school. And, we would especially like to thank all of the students that sacrificed their sleep in order to meet us before school at 5:00 A.M. for the lecture and art lesson. It was a great day for us and our foundation!
 Watch the YouTube video of:
George and Jacques Rodrigue discuss the new children's book "Are You Blue Dog's Friend" and the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts 2010 Art Contest. Interview by Eric Paulsen.
 In honor of our launch of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts Art Contest, Wendy Rodrigue gives us some history on George and art competitions in her blog. And, she gives contestants some great advice on how to win the contest:
What will he look for in judging these works? The foundation's website lists several categories, all of which I’m sure he’ll take into consideration. But if you’re reading this, and you’ve decided to go for it, remember these tidbits: -George Rodrigue was confused and offended when he was disqualified from an art contest simply because his work did not look like everyone else’s. -He claims that the only artist to ever inspire him is Salvadore Dali, because he had fantastic, original ideas. -The best piece of advice he ever received is to “treat your painting as though it is a jewel, because if it is precious to you, it will be precious to others as well.”
-Never, ever paint giant magnolia blossoms.
(Make sure you read the whole blog entry if you plan on entering!)
 From the New York charity Women in Need press release:
DESIGNER “HOUSES” TO BE AUCTIONED FOR WOMEN IN NEED
New York, NY—renowned designers, sports stars, Broadway performers and other VIPs have come together to decorate papier mache houses for Women In Need, one of New York City’s largest providers of shelter and services for homeless families. Working with the theme “Home is Where the Heart Is,” the participating designers have created one-of-a-kind gems--the perfect feel-good gift or decorative item for the holidays.
Over the past 25 years, Women In Need has provided housing, help and hope to homeless families. Contrary to popular conceptions of homelessness in New York City, families constitute 80 percent of all New Yorkers in the shelter system. Every night, approximately 10,000 families sleep in NYC shelters, including more than 16,000 children. WIN helps a great many of those children, and the rest of their families, in six transitional shelters in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn as well as permanent supportive housing throughout the city.
The auction will take place starting November 9th on charitybuzz.com and will end on Monday, November 30th. Houses have been designed by Sean Avery; Lidia Bastianich; Victoria & David Beckham; Halle Berry; Mary J. Blige; Chris “Ludacris” Bridges; Bobbi Brown; Cast of the Broadway Musical Hair; Sean “Diddy” Combs; Oscar de la Renta; Cheyenne Jackson; Donna Karan; Monica Rich Kosann; Dylan Lauren; Richard Leach for Park Avenue Autumn; Deborah Lloyd for Kate Spade; Jennifer Lopez; Isaac Mizrahi; Moby; Debra Messing; Josie Natori; George Rodrigue; Cameron Silver for Decades; Justin Timberlake & Trace Ayala; Today Show Anchors; Diane Von Furstenberg; Vera Wang. Additionally, Parsons The New School for Design collaborated on several of the house designs. Several of the houses have been embellished courtesy of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements.
Saks Fifth Avenue will feature the houses in their Manhattan flagship windows from November 5th – 9th. The auction will launch at an event hosted by Park Avenue Autumn on November 9th in New York City. Event co-hosts include Myla Lerner & Larry Kramer; Deborah Roberts & Al Roker; and Karin & Steve Sadove.
For more information about the auction or Women In Need, please visit
www.Women-In-Need.org
 Announcing the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts 2010 Art Contest. We are offering $30,000 dollars in college scholarships to Louisiana High School seniors. Students are asked to create a piece of visual art based upon George Rodrigue's theme "Louisiana: The State We Love" Help us spread the word!
Learn more information here:
 From Wendy's Blog:
George presented his ideas for an hour to an art class of one hundred fourth graders at Memphis’s Presbyterian Day School. They are recreating his painting The Millennium (which makes George the only artist to actually visit, since their previous projects were The Mona Lisa, Starry Starry Night, and American Gothic). Once again, as with the NOMA tours, I was reminded of young children and their ability to see and ask great questions. Their overriding curiosity was in how George processes his thoughts. One child asked, “But explain to me how you figured that out?” And another, “But how did you think of doing it that way” And yet another, “How did you know that was a good idea?”
Read the rest of Wendy's account of their time in Memphis and their visit to the Le Bonheur's Children's Hospital and Graceland on her blog here.
 Another important way that GRFA will help develop our youth is by teaming up with Children's Hospitals to try to help lift their patients spirits through art. Recently, George visited Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, TN to conduct an informal workshop with some of the children there.
You can read about the visit in this article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal:
 We at GRFA are please to see that Louisiana is continuing its efforts to infuse our education with the arts. From an August 19, 2009, press release from Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu's office:
BATON ROUGE – Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu today announced that the Dana Foundation has selected the Louisiana Division of the Arts, an agency of the Office of Cultural Development in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, to receive a $50,000 States Arts Learning Initiative Grant. This award follows the success of the Louisiana team at the 2008 Education Leaders Institute, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts. At the Institute, the team focused on creating a model for the implementation of Act 175 . . . these funds will be used for the planning and implementation of a model school program for our state. This is a comprehensive arts education program that will be implemented in select Louisiana public schools during the 2010/2011 school year.
In Louisiana, arts education has become a key component for policies and initiatives ranging from economic development to school improvement. Landrieu championed arts education curriculum in 2007, working with legislators to unanimously pass a bill requiring the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to develop, adopt, and implement a visual and performing arts curriculum in public schools.
We look forward to working with the State and offering any help that we can in order to bring more arts in education to the classroom.
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