Topps Project 2020 seemed to be hit or miss with collectors... more specifically... bloggers. People either bought them or didn't. Although I didn't get swept up by the hype, I definitely purchased a few for my Tony Gwynn and Rickey Henderson collections from my favorite Project 2020 artists.
Then a few months ago, one of my former students shared her rendition of The Great Wave off Kanagawa. I asked her if she would be interested in doing a commissioned piece for me. I gave her a synopsis of the Topps Project 2020 and she loved the idea and accepted the job. She mentioned that her schedule was pretty busy. I told her I wasn't in any rush.
Last week, she messaged me that she finished the piece and within two days it was in my collection:
Outside of asking her to use a 4x6 index card... I left the rest up to her and was truly blown away by her rendition of Tony Gwynn's Topps rookie card. I really enjoyed her use of natural colors and the little 'stache she put on Mr. Padre. I'm also glad she included the roses, because flowers seem to be a popular theme in her works of art.
We've already discussed her doing another piece for me... which will be the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card. However... her schedule is a little crazy right now. You're more likely to see it on this blog sometime in 2022.
Regardless of whether or not you're a fan of Topps Project 2020, I hope you enjoyed this post. We all have cards that stand out more than others in our collections. This one is definitely one of my favorites. Not just because it a one of a kind piece of artwork... or the fact that it features my all-time favorite baseball player. It's because it was created by a former student who has gone out of her way to keep in touch.
Thank you Sarah!
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
22 comments:
Pretty darn awesome, congrats!
You obviously, made a positive impression upon the young lady.
Great to see students reach out to someone who must have been a great influence on her. Keep up the good work.
Such talent! What a great card.
Very cool! Looks better than anything I've seen from Project 2020.
Good stuff.
Wasn't a fan of Project 2020 at all but your former student did a much better job than most of what I saw.
It looks great. What a special and unique addition to your collection.
Never interested in or collected Project 2020,but your student did a great job on that Gwynn.
That came out amazing!
One of the awesomest things I've seen in a blog in a while. Thanks for sharing.
Very cool. A true 1 of 1!
WOW!!! That is incredibly awesome, i love it. She did an amazing job and her interpretation is fantastic.
Dope!
Impressive indeed! Beautiful work!
Excellent job
Sarah's Gwynn looks as good as any Project 2020 card I've seen. Better than most, in fact. Very well done!
I can't wait to see her rendition of Rickey's rookie card.
Why is Topps not hiring her?
Yeah, that's fantastic and way better than some of the Project 2020s. Well done for being a supportive teacher!
That is easily as good as or better than 80% of the Project 2020 cards that Topps has put out. She's amazingly talented, and I hope her art takes her anywhere she wants to go with it.
That’s a beautiful work of art - and a very cool relationship you have!
thanks for all of the kind words. i'll be sure to pass them along to her the next time is talk to her.
johnnys trading spot - she was part of a class that had me as their sixth grade teacher and happened to move up with me the same year i made the transition to middle school. so she ended up being in my class 3 years in a row. plus she worked as my teacher's aide for two summers while in high school. it's kind of a long story, but she's also really close to my best friend, so we've made the effort to stay in touch with her and her little sister.
chris - me too. my friend is even interested in having her do a piece on her dog.
jon - no idea. maybe someone at topps will come across this blog post and reach out to her
matt - she seems to be enjoying life as an artist. and yes... she's extremely talented. i've kept a few of her projects as examples for future classes that i still use each year
cincicuse bill - actually, i've stayed in touch with several of her classmates as well. it's because i had them three years in a row. really great bunch of kids.
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