My friend Johanna Veerenhuis-Lens

Over the years of attending NCN/ISCA conventions, I have made many wonderful friends from all over the world. A special one to me is Johanna Veerenhuis-Lens of the Netherlands, whom I first met years ago at one of our Orlando cons, but also bumped into at Salt Lake City's airport while we waited for a connecting flight to Reno...

 ...anyway, we've been friends ever since. This photo is from our 2011 ISCA awards night, where she won 2nd place for 3D caricature (to add to her growing collection :-)

She started out as a party artist like me, but three years ago discovered that her true passion was caricature sculpture...specifically Sculpey sculpture. Since then, she has won lots of awards, written a book, and opened a museum with her husband in her lovely barn home where busloads of visitors come, see her creations, and learn about what she does. This year at the con she gave a seminar and shared her book with us.
Here is my copy: it is half how-to, and half motivational:

I certainly love what subjects she sculpted for the cover!!

This year, she has been asked to showcase all her sculptures that were on display in a new Museum of the Twentieth Century in Hoorn, the Netherlands.  In order to do that, she'll be closing her own museum, and is now putting out the word that she is currently taking new sculpture commissions. Click here:  commission Johanna if you'd like to look into doing so (site is in Dutch, but it's pretty self-explanatory-- or you could call her, she speaks English with a most appealing accent ;-)

I am so happy for her success!