Though 5726+/- miles or more kilometers and two languages separated us, 
Elena and I had the most fun collaborating! In a relatively short time, we got the stream, the findings of hope, and the otters swimming in from Kiev all lined up within the finished covers.

Since any serious artistry was new to me, the whole process ~ drawing, erasing, inking in, starting over in some cases (mostly mine), & hopping up and down in front of the paint trays ready to daub brushes ~ intrigued me no end. And Elena absolutely loves what she does! We thought you might like to see the images for "Hope for our World" as they came into being.

on the southern Oregon coast, USA

and in Kiev, Ukraine

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Emma had to give my new tools a sniff.

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And she was incredibly patient 
as the stream 
flowed  
forth.

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I brought in sixteen feet of table space, which was barely enough. I loved lining up the pages, as the stream flowed out of my brushes, day after day.

With otters arriving from Kiev ...

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... my work tables got pretty messy for a while.

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Before long though, and once again, things began taking shape, this time with all the pieces coming together. 


GIMP! 
What a cool program. 

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If a being-silly self portrait seems odd or out of place to you, I refer you to Zach Helm's  line in "Stranger than Fiction." where EmmaThompson's character Kay Eiffel puts Latiffa's Penny in her place. It's close to: 'That just shows how much you know about writing!'
(So you know, I am quoting with ear-to-ear grin here.)

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early on

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Another otter, all cleaned up.

That eraser and brush come in handy.

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some of Elena's tools

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Elena gave so much attention  to every otter.
Amd she produced every position, and stirred up every 
emotion I requested.

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How we did it with only our buddy translate.google to help us communicate, will remain a mystery and magic to me.

I often felt Elena and I with each other, connected so surely through the ethers.

And here is my friend & collaborator, Elena Raspopova aka Алена Распопова who is ever eager to share her work and to talk about further projects. 
http://iscusstvo.jimdo.com/

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