By Kathy L. Collins
For 25 years, Rodney Brammer, Jr. saved lives as a fireman using his strength, intelligence and experience. Now retired, he is still saving lives but in a much different way. Brammer creates art on napkins. He calls his enterprise “Rodney’s Napkin Art For Causes.”
Brammer creates fun and intricate images of tropical fish on napkins. He takes the creations and makes coloring books for children. Brammer said, “Even though I had been a firefighter working with kids and adults for over 25 years, it was not until I saw a scene in the burn ward from the movie Shallow Hal that the idea came to me clear as a bell. With the help of some friends, and Lou at FNBR printing I was able to get the first coloring book printed.”
“It was early 2006 when I started drawing fish in and out of restaurants. My first fish was on a brown paper table cloth in a restaurant. Our dinner guest asked if she could keep it. At that point I did not know why I was drawing them; I just love to draw and this was an outlet,” Brammer said.
Brammer has distributed his coloring books to children at the Children’s Cancer Center through the One Voice Foundation, at the VA’s Wounded Warrior’s Clinic and is in talks to distribute them at the Shriner’s Hospital.
“My goal is to put the coloring books in the hands of as many children in recovery as I can to help them escape, if only for a short while,” said Brammer.
Brammer puts his fish on T-shirts to help fund his project. The shirts are available at etsy.com/shop/Rodneysnapkinart.
By visiting the Facebook page: Rodney’s Napkin Art For Causes, individuals can see all of the fish drawings that are in the current Fantasy Fish coloring book as well as those in volume II. Both of these books are available for children in recovery, and Brammer is working on a coloring book to sell.
For more information on Rodney’s Napkin Art For Causes e-mail rodneys napkinart@hotmail.com.
