When James Foley, began this session assuring us the white substance all over his hand was nothing to worry about and honestly just chalk, we all knew this was going to be a crack-up hilarious event.
A duel like no other, we witnessed with mouths agog, how spontaneously Sarah and James created magic with just a piece of coal and brown paper. Prompted by the audience’s outrageous prompts based on action, character, object and setting, Absolutely, the certain air of competitiveness between the two, was fuelled by Susanne Gervay’s cheering, sabotaging and berating of Sarah’s cheating.
The room filled with the smell of fear and ambition. Who would finish first within the given time mark? Who would create the better artwork to go up on auction?
This duel meant the difference between glory and shame for both Sarah and James and how they knew it! Anticipation was rising to its max, the audience gasped and groaned, James Foley’s wife on the far right side of the room praying for a miracle.
Personally, I couldn’t bear the tension any longer and while the scratching chalk swiftly placed on the paper in a mad speed by both illustrators echoed in my feverish ears, I left for a few minutes to catch my breath (aka collect my portfolio) only to find both illustrators had finished absolute masterpieces by my return.
Sarah’s rendition of a crocodile in a burning house being rained on while juggling a jar of brains - we think.
Before the dinner bell rang, four extremely grateful bidders (aka Conference delegates) snapped up each of these original pieces in a bidding frenzy, the moneys from which have been donated to Room to Read. The rest of us then poured out of the room to recover from this mad but memorable event.
#SCBWISyd