Lamb on a Mission

Tarpon Springs Artist D. Byron Patterson
Inspires Kids to Spread Love & Fleece

Tarpon Springs, FL (July 6, 2010) – Spreading the happy and not the cranky has become Tarpon Springs artist D. Byron Patterson’s mission. Through a sassy cartoon named Lamby, he has spent 3 years making kids and parents laugh at the antics of his lovable character. Lamby, a stuffed toy lamb magically come to life, wears cuffed blue pants and a bottle-cap eye patch covering what was eaten by the family dog. His obvious physical disability has not broken his spirit, and it even contributes to what makes him so loved: he has the ability to bring other stuffed toy animals to life.

Patterson admits that creating Lamby's world is a big task. Myriad comic drawings, music, poems, short stories, fables, fairy tales, original songs, covers and parodies, audio book recordings, and interviews are FREE content he posts to his website (lambpants.com), blog (loveandfleece.com) and Facebook Fan Page. "Building a world from the ground up through storytelling, music, sound, and simple imagery is controlled chaos," Patterson says with a laugh. "The themes, stories, song ideas, and art direction exist in my mind. Organically revealing what's already there is my process, a repeating cycle of imagination, discovery and creativity that's just as important as the end results. I've blended a lifetime of beliefs and artistic talents into a spiritually-positive vision. Lamby may be a sassy character for kids, but he also embodies the potential in us all, that we can live a happy, meaningful life if we choose to be our authentic selves. I'm tired of honesty and self-reliance being dirty words."

Patterson's mission does not stop there. By giving freely of his time to create Lamby’s world, he hopes to inspire kids to do the same in their worlds. Whether it's giving through time or talents, he hopes his example will be the catalyst to spark a child's creativity and a desire to find meaning through imagination and then self-acceptance.

"I believe that living a happy life starts only when you can laugh at your flaws and accept yourself as you are," says Patterson. "My artistic message, or whatever you want to call it, is difficult to explain to kids without a silly wrapper around it. The last thing I want is to talk down to kids, who are too smart for that. It also makes me look like an elitist bully. Lamby, then, is the silly wrapper for my message. He calls it his mission to spread Love and Fleece on Earth. 'If you want to be nice to others—to spread the happy and not the cranky—then you better start being nice to yourself first. It's hard sometimes, but giving begins in your own heart.'"

With his fan base growing, Patterson has expanded the Lambpants world from an online-only digital media format into other more traditional forms. An accomplished artist, his vibrant pastels, drawings and illustrations of Lamby's world is available to purchase at Cafepress.com. A published award-winning short-fiction writer, he opted to retain creative control of his stories for kids and self-published them as print-on-demand storybooks sold at Lulu.com. Using some of the proceeds, he has opened his office, headquarters for Lambpants Media, in Tarpon Springs. He has been able to contribute to his favorite charities, including Ronald McDonald House and the American Diabetes Association, taking his message “spreading the happy and not the cranky” to a whole new level.

"Being yourself is a powerful universal truth," Patterson says. "Lamby is fearless and imperfect, and yet he retains his sense of innocence (as well as a proclivity for getting into mischief). Because he lives his life with meaning, he shows kids how to do the same."

About Lambpants Media

Lambpants Media creates original digital and traditional kids' content through Lambpants.com, the online world of Lamby, a cartoon lamb with a magic blue eyecap. Kids access Lamby's ongoing adventures with best friend Little Tiger, his two Chinese Puppy Dragons and a motley crew of living stuffed toy animals. For now, Lambpants.com offers FREE streaming audio sound bytes, storybooks, comedic renditions of traditional fairy tales, fables, nursery rhymes, song covers and parodies, as well as original comic artwork, animation and cartoon sketches. Helmed by Tarpon Springs artist D. Byron Patterson, Lambpants Media creates entertainment for the whole family.

Lambpants Creator D. Byron Patterson

D. Byron Patterson graduated from Coker College in 1993 with BAs in Theater and Graphic Design. When he is not lending his voice, songwriting and artistic talents to Lamby’s world, he works as a senior webmaster for a supplement company in Palm Harbor, FL. Patterson’s imagination is on display at Lambpants.com. Posters and prints are available at http://www.cafepress.com/LambShop. Storybooks are available at http://stores.lulu.com/lamby.

Sample Performance Content & Booking Information

D. Byron Patterson has been a professional entertainer for 20 years and is available for music performances and dramatic readings of his original stories (samples below). Contact (727) 431-2682 or lamby at lambpants dot com.

1-Hour* Live (VERY) Dramatic Readings

Little Tiger & the Dragon King of Beijing - A Chinese orphan named Little Tiger visits the mysterious elderly gardener he has befriended on the first day of the New Year. The boy knows that Ming Wu is not who he seems to be. But after the old man reveals that he has protected dragons for a thousand years, Little Tiger finds himself face-to-face with the last Dragon King of Beijing. This first installment of Little Tiger Tales is for ages 8 and up.

Listen to the Introduction

The Christmas Witchling - Kris Kringle has just started his job as Santa Claus and needs help getting things off-the-ground. He has his Elves, but they are only his toy makers and tinkers, and Santa needs a different kind of magic assitance. Although he doesn't know it, help is coming. Not far from his valley in the icy North Pole, a Witchling girl is about to run away from home. Teased for being so different from the other Witch children her age, Tulalulalen Flue decides that she doesn't belong. The day after Halloween, eight year-old Lulie leaps onto her broomstick with her spider kitten and leaves the safety of her mountain home. Without knowing why, the brave Witchling heads for Santa's valley under the mysterious Northern Lights and accidentally changes the world.

Read the Introduction (audio coming soon)

* Refers to a single block of time for the performance or reading. Several blocks with breaks may be scheduled.

About Lulu.com

Lulu.com is the premier marketplace for digital content on the Internet, with over 300,000 recently published titles, and more than 4,000 new titles added each week, created by people in 80 different countries. Lulu is changing the world of publishing by enabling the creators of books, video, periodicals, multimedia and other content to publish their work themselves with complete editorial and copyright control.

About Cafepress.com

CafePress offers a selection of personalized gifts and unique t-shirts, clothing, mugs, art & posters. They have millions of designs from shopkeepers around the world that range from funny to cool to promotional. All products are high quality and are 100% customizable to fit individual tastes.