Never a dull moment. I usually draw the entire time that an event is booked for me to draw. But I just had two days in a row that worked differently. It's more of those NY Surprises. I love New York.

On Wednesday, I worked for NYU. A small 2-hour gig, I got there early, hung around Washington Square Park - It was a beautiful day. Plenty of time to set up at the event, drawings going well:

And ten minutes before the end of my shift,

RRRRrrrrrrppp. VVVVVvvrrrrppp. RRRrrrrp, RRRRrrrrpp.

Loud noises don't affect me. I live with a musician and I work at parties. I take the subway. I kept drawing.

What is that - the people around me asked. It's a Fire Drill - was the answer. A Fire. A Fire Drill. A Fire.

I'm busy! This Caricature is coming out Great ~ I kept drawing. The room started clearing out. Could this really be a fire? I wondered. But I don't see any fire. I finished the drawing quickly.

Okay - we'd better go. I was the last one to leave the room because I packed up my supplies. (If it is a fire, I'll need this stuff....)

The large beautiful building was cleared out. There I was with all those college students:

I called my agent when I got out there. We met in that park. Most unusual. But she told me to leave early.

That's why it was such a Surprise that the very next day, the Very next day - Thursday, who would think that I would be told to leave early again????

I was working at a Brooklyn Housing Project for the NYPD. Now, if you know anything about the NYPD, they do not tolerate anything questionable. They had made a block party, hired entertainers, set out food - - We could all have Fun, but be sure that you Mind Your Manners!

I was hired for 4 hours. It was another beautiful day. Shortly after I arrived, people started coming out. I was set up very comfortably. The guests chatted and watched me draw. The Police Officers were kind.

Here are some of the pictures that I drew:

Then, 50 minutes left of my shift, a young Mother sat down with her baby. As I drew the baby, a Police Officer handled the crowd for me. She let them know realistically how many more I'd be able to draw.

She counted the baby as one, and then she counted ten more people on the line (that's the number I suggested).

Baby drawing finished. Next.

"But what about me?" asked the Young Mother. "It's my turn."

"You had the baby drawn" said the Police Officer. "Now it's somebody else's turn."

The young woman was upset. She talked back and kicked over the chair as she got up.

"That's it," said the Police Officer. "There will be no more drawings for anyone."

Huh? What do I do? My job is to draw. "I don't mind," I said. "I can keep drawing."

"Oh no" said the Police Officer. "Pack up your things. "There will be no more Caricatures here today. "Violence will not be tolerated."

I should make note here that I'm freely rewording the gyst of what went on. I was at the incident, but I didn't write down everybody's exact words.

Uhm, what was I to do? I was paid to draw for four hours. I was there. I was ready and willing to do my job.

"How about if I gave a little Art Lesson instead," I offered.

"Okay. We'll set you up inside." said the Police Officer.

I found myself on the side of a large gym where people were running around, playing basketball and stuff. I had a group of kids in front of me - all different ages, no supplies, no lesson plan. My voice didn't carry easily....

Okay, Alison - what are you going to do now?

I handed out plain papers from my time-off drawing folder. I handed out my Lucky Pencils. With very little talking, the children followed me very well in a 'Draw Along'. I came up with the following picture:

I had had the group do a light predraw first - planning on making 2 cartoon heads sticking out of the car. I checked after each step, seeing that the kids had it going well. The way they did the predraw, Aha! A Creative idea popped into my head. I could just have two EYES popping out of the car. It was fun. Thinking on my feet like that.

I mentioned things like line quality - light and dark lines. Predraws. Shading. And I remembered one of favorite slogans that I glommed onto when as a teacher: "The first rule of teaching is to do no harm."

Gotta roll with the punches. Gotta bend with the wind. Gotta be flexible. And I'm glad that I've developed several skills over the years. That B.A. degree that I got in Teaching from Stony Brook University came in handy this day for sure.