HispanicBusiness

A Haiti baby girl is depending for her adoption on a Indiana mom's creative flair for making intricate works of art on an Etch-a-Sketch.

Artist Angie Thieszen has published a 2012 calendar combining some of her newest Etch-a-Sketch images, intricate works of art that highlight familiar locations in downtown Goshen, Indiana, to raise funds for the adoption.

According to Thieszen, the 2012 calendar includes 12 Etch-A-Sketch drawings of downtown Goshen, including the Goshen courthouse, the Old Bag Factory, and various downtown restaurants and businesses. Each picture took about two to three hours to draw, Thieszen said.

"Etch-a-Sketch is something I grew up using," Thieszen said. "And I was actually part of the Etch-a-Sketch Club as a kid, so it has been a fun hobby of mine for a long time. As an artist, I could have used some other medium for the calendar, but Etch-a-Sketch is unique enough that my friends always respond to my work by saying 'Oh my gosh, I could never do that,' and it just really seems to resonate with people.

"So when I started talking about using Etch-a-Sketch drawings for the fundraiser, everyone really encouraged me, and that's how I decided to go this route."

Last week, Thieszen and her husband Micah, a registered nurse at IU Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care, got word from the orphanage in Haiti that a match has been made with a baby girl, who they will name Nora Josephine. The couple are planning a trip to meet Nora in Haiti this month.

Due to the lengthy administrative processes required, it will be between a year and two years before the Thieszens bring baby Nora home for good. The adoption will cost the family at least $25,000.

Thieszen said they first began thinking and praying about adoption after Micah visited Haiti on a mission trip following the devastating earthquake in January 2010. The thought never left them, she said, so a decision to start their adoption journey began in July 2011.

Nora Josephine will be a sister to the couple's three other children, Lily, Tobias and Quinn.

"The kids are really excited," Thieszen said. "We put Nora's picture in a frame and we're counting the days of waiting by putting links on a paper chain in her room. We're all so grateful to the downtown Goshen businesses who are participating on this journey with us."

Thieszen said while she has only just distributed the calendars to the downtown area, she is already pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback she is receiving from the Goshen community.

"The community has been so supportive, and we've already had several people who told us they wanted a calendar before they were even printed," Thieszen said with a laugh. "I've had several people say they went down and got them and shared them with friends, and people seem to be talking about them, so I think that overall it's going well as far as community support."

The calendar is available for purchase at the Old Bag Factory, Goshen Farmer's Market, The Electric Brew, South Side Soda Shop, Tony's Famous Grill, Ten Thousand Villages, Snider's Jewelry, New Image, Il Forno, Seconds on Third, and the Trolley Cafe. The calendar can also be purchased online from the Thieszen's blog, http://overthebrm-thieszen.blogspot.com. The Etch-A-Sketch calendar is selling for $20 with 100 percent of the proceeds going towards the Thieszen's adoption of Nora.

"This is a generous and supportive community," Thieszen said, "so we're hoping many in the community will want to be a part of our adoption story by purchasing a calendar."