Friday, April 30, 2010

Windtoons...An Artist's Contribution to a Cause


Meet John Terry, a retired art teacher from New Jersey and part-time resident of West Virginia. John is the artist behind the website 'windtoons.com' and his depictions of life in the shadow of industrial wind are stark reminders of what the future might hold.

I was contacted by a reader of GAG a couple of months ago, and this gentleman pointed me in the direction of the Windtoons website. I meandered over and liked what I saw. Since that day, I have showcased different Windtoons on Grumbles and Grins, with the website's permission.

The Friends of the Highland Mountains, thanks to the generous benevolence of Nancy Gray, owner of the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, are holding a benefit supper in an effort to raise money to fight the development of Highland's mountains. One of the ways in which we will do this will be to hold an auction of donated items and services on the evening of the event.

Sitting here at my desk the other day, I wracked my brain; trying to think of unique items that might garner good bids. I wanted something windy; after all, that is the theme of the Big Wind Regatta. And all of a sudden, I had a thought! (That happens so rarely that I thought I ought to point it out...)

I contacted the Windtoons website, not having any idea who was the talent behind the industrial wind turbine drawings. I made my plea to the anonymous artist. Would he or she print off one of the cartoons, autograph it, and send it to me to be framed and auctioned off? I was contacted by John Terry the very next day.

And the rest-- well, it's soon to be history!

Mr John Terry not only generously agreed to donate a Windtoon to our cause, but he volunteered to create an ORIGINAL, one apropos to our particular fight here in the western mountains of Maine! And then... oh, and then... he drew us TWO! Actually, three, if you count the color and the black and white versions of the vacationland Windtoon! And not only has he drawn, signed and donated them; but he's matted and framed them, too.

Holy smokes! What a man!

I've said it before. I am constantly humbled by the goodness and generosity of the people who have come together to teach about and decry the folly of industrial wind on our mountaintops. Rarely have I been so impressed by a grassroots movement. These people come from all walks of life, all political persuasions, all corners of America. They are polite. They work to spread facts, and not propaganda. They fight honorably, and they make me proud to be counted among them.

With good people like these, I believe we will prevail in making sure this state stays: "Maine-- the way life SHOULD be!"

Thank you, John. You're a Wind Warrior, for sure.

6 comments:

  1. That's great! Those drawings capture the feeling exactly! Thanks to John, and everyone else fighting to keep our mountains wild.

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  2. Hiya, DC!

    Yeah...John's one of the good guys.

    Just like you. Your contributions to this cause are appreciated too, you know.

    (And so was the pizza, by the way...)

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  3. Checked out John's site..great toons.
    With our enormous birdlife here, also discovered today a pair of brown falcons now living in the middle paddock. imagine what a bloody wind turbine would do to them. John's toon of sliced geese going through a turbine was most apt.

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  4. Good day, Ali g.

    Yes, the Windtoons are very telling and apropos, and it's not just us dealing with this issue of industrial wind, is it? I read of Australia's conflicts with it as well. And Great Britain's, and Ontario's, and Denmark's, and on and on...

    Education is the key... if people just discover the facts about wind power, instead of believing the 'feel good' lines, I think we can affect change.

    Thanks for weighing in... and how about a photo of those falcons? I'd love to post them here...

    xxoo
    Kazza

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  5. Hi, I'm a seasoned old wind bag (artist, and busy community activist) from the other side of the continent, an area called Puget Sound, Washington. I'm totally out of the loop when it comes to your cause ... but I'm always looking around and learning new things. You can download any of my artwork and make as many prints as you like and sell them to raise money if you like. It's just my cup of tea! (I'm just getting my web-presence together, so give me a shout and we'll work something out, free of course.

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  6. Hey, Nuri!

    How wonderful to see you here on GAG! And what a generous offer. I'll be sure to pop over to your website as soon as I have this afternoon's chores taken care of... Is there an email address on there I could use?

    I'm looking forward to getting to know you. Come back anytime, and thank you!

    Kazza

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