Here's a saucy siren that has a fitting online name. Joni was one of the lucky few to have been born with the much-desired "smiling eyes". You know, the kind of eyes that sparkle and express joy just as effectively as a big, gleaming grin. And from my own personal experience of exchanging emails with Joni, her warm, effusive personality is in character with those happy, shimmering peepers.

Joni and I both put our noggins together and came up with the age-old concept of "Ya can't judge a book by its cover". I was paying tribute to Gil Elvgren, Art Fromme and all the other cheesecake art luminaries of the golden age, and she was paying tribute to her family's green mini van seen in the background of her art, and TOGETHER we were paying homage to the anatomical goods God gave her.

Joni, you're as effervescent as Schwepp's Club Soda and I hope I captured your carbonated cuteness in this piece. Thanks so, so much for helping to keep a classic institution fresh.

Date of entry: 10/00
of entry: 07/00