I’ve gone back and forth about posting this on my blog-it’s related to an incident of violence that happened to a colleague of my husband. Some of you know that my husband is an illustrator and caricaturist. For years, he managed the caricature stands at ValleyFair. Maybe that’s why this hits home for me….
Glenn Ferguson is a caricature artist and manager at the Islands of Adventure Universal Studios resort. On New Year’s Day, Glenn was setting up for his day when a former employee attacked him viciously, stabbing him in the back of the head with a pair of scissors. He underwent 5 hours of surgery. His future remains uncertain.
I’ve only met Glenn once at a Sebastien Kruger master artist class in Germany about 10 years ago. I went with my husband-and it was my first time in Europe and I was the only spouse who had accompanied her husband to the course. So I felt a little uncomfortable. Everyone was welcoming-and what I remember from Glenn was how nice and funny he was. Over the years, I have seen his name pop up in caricature magazines and on my husband’s Facebook feed. I saw that he got married last year and saw pictures of them with R2D2. Had we lived closer, I feel like we would’ve been friends.
Glenn is considered a master in his field-he is an amazing artist who has one numerous awards. You can check out his website HERE.
Caricature artists are contract employees-often times carrying only catastrophic health coverage. They generally are paid a percentage of each drawing they do vs. receiving a salary or hourly wage. They don’t get PTO.
A fellow caricaturist has set up a go fund me account to help pay for the medical bills, lost wages, and potential rehab for what seems may be a long road to recovery.
I would be grateful if you could take time to go to the page and share this on your Facebook page. If you have ever gotten a caricature that made you smile, maybe you could donate a few dollars. Every little bit helps. Thanks for visiting and letting me share this story.
That is absolutely tragic. I’m praying for your friend.