I consider myself to be extremely fortunate. I make a comfortable living doing something I really enjoy doing on a daily basis. I get to create. I bring smiles to thousands of people every year. And aside from the occasional unsatisfied customer or perhaps an extra long gig that is too close to a DJ speaker, my profession is very low-risk, high-reward. As many of you know I am also a member of the International Society of Caricature Artists. It’s a trade association of caricature artists from around the world. It’s membership is around 500-600 artists and many of us have been involved for years. We are an extended family to one-another.
One of my closest friends that I met through ISCA is Glenn Ferguson. We both served as board members for 6 years. When I became president, Glenn was my vice president. We got along so well over that time that we became best buds. Even after we finished serving on the board, we keep in touch. He’s been to Michigan several times and has drawn with me at the Art & Apples Festival near my home. My family has visited with him and his wife, JoAnn near his home in Orlando. Glenn is an extremely talented artist who manages the caricature concession for Fasan Arts at Universal Studios, Orlando. He’s been there bringing smiles to visitors for decades now. Not only is he a very popular artist with guests but he is greatly admired among the artist community as well. In addition to serving on the board, Glenn has won more awards at the annual convention, ISCACON, than any other artist in history, including the top award of Master of the Year. Besides being an outstanding artist, Glenn has got to be one of the nicest guys I have ever had the pleasure to know. He encourages other artists, he is mean to no one and he has the patience of a saint. He also has a great sense of humor. In short, Glenn is one of the good ones.
On the morning of New Year’s Day 2016, Glenn Ferguson was attacked at Universal Studios, where he has drawn thousands upon thousands of caricatures over the years for tourists. He was viciously stabbed in the side of his head by a disgruntled co-worker and had to undergo a lengthy emergency surgery that lasted more than 5 hours. Glenn’s prognosis remains unclear–what has immediately become clear is how many people are pulling for him, a testament to how many lives Glenn has touched.
Right after celebrating their first wedding anniversary, his wife JoAnn is now facing the fallout from this attack–it will no doubt contain many bills from doctors and hospitals (even with insurance, copays and deductibles add up) and a long road ahead involving rehabilitation and recovery time. We all hope and pray that Glenn can make a full recovery, but there will no doubt be many hurdles to overcome since Glenn has suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Several of us who have known Glenn through the caricature community have set up a fund to help, which JoAnn will be able to access as bills mount. If you already know Glenn, I am certain that you have already donated or you are about to soon. If you do not know Glenn, please watch the video I included to get a sense of the kind of guy Glenn is. The world is a much better place with him in it and with your help, hopefully he can recover so that he can get back to his drawing table and delighting people once again.
It’s that time of year once again. Each year around November, the International Society of Caricature Artists holds its annual caricature convention. This is the 24th year that it has taken place. This year’s con is at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH. The convention lasts all week long with seminars, competitions, networking and lots of catching up with fellow artists from around the world. This is my 11th convention. Last year was the first time that I missed it in 10 years. As a former board member and president, I have invested a lot of time to help this organization grow and succeed. I am happy to see how well it continues to improve over the years. This year, I am one of the guest speakers. I am looking forward to spending the week catching up with old friends and making new ones. If you care to check out the activities on Facebook or Twitter, look for the hashtag #iscacon24.
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I recently had the good fortune to be interviewed for the International Society of Caricature Artists’ Podcast, ISCAST by ISCA president, Nolan Harris! Have a listen!
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Today is the most exciting week of the year…if you make a living as a caricature artist, that is. Artists from all over the world assemble once a year to enjoy an entire week of seminars, competitions, camaraderie and a ton of drawing at the International Society of Caricature Artists Annual Convention. ISCA (formerly known as the National Caricaturist Network or NCN) has been around since 1992 with a handful of American caricature artists gathering in Mexico for a get-away as well as a cozy convention. 22 years later and the organization has grown into a worldwide trade association with over 500 members from as far away as Mongolia! To find out more and to see who are this year’s top winners, check out ISCA’s public Facebook Page for the latest news.
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