While merchants on the mainland are just hoping to get a decent Back to School season,
Elaine Estern is already gearing up for Christmas. She’s taking pre-orders for her
2010 Calendar, and built interest by running a contest to name the item.
There were several winners who offered “St. John Citizens,” the chosen entry. Estern said she’ll give autographed copies of the calendar to them: Jim and Annette Harper and Sandy Dean. But rather than people of St. John, the "Citizens" depicted are animals: fish, peacocks, dogs, cats, and various beautiful birds. Each of the monthly pages feature one of Estern’s colorful, sometimes whimsical, and always entertaining watercolors.
You can see this year’s art selections at http://www.coconutcoaststudios.com/Site/Calendar.html.
Estern plans to start shipping calendars in September.