The National Catholic AIDS Ministry Conference was held at the University of Notre Dame during the summer of 1988. It was the first national gathering of people working in HIV/AIDS ministry, and was focused on helping the Catholic Church respond with compassion and understanding to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Sister Marie and Jay Pinkerton asked Tomie to create a drawing that could be used on conference materials. Jay wanted a Good Shepherd drawing. They didn’t want portrayed “the one who strayed.” They talked about “the ones outside the fold, the ones who were ostracized.” As is common in the best lively back-and-forth editor/client/art director/artist conversations, they eventually settled on an image and concept they all liked… in this instance, black sheep. Black sheep were not bad. Black sheep were ostracized by the group. I thank Jay for reminding me of this drawing and story. (Bob)
