ToFF gives a giant thank you to Christopher Street West, Steve Ganzell, Tom Pardoe, the City of West Hollywood, everyone that volunteered in the ToFF booth, Miguel Angel Reyes, the artists that showed with us: Michael Kirwan, Lalo Ugalde, E. Salvador Hernandez, Ethann Maxx, Hector Silva and EVERYONE that stopped by Tom of Finland Foundation.

LA PRIDE 2013

Everyone helps spread the word about the Beauty of erotic art,
all its merits and together we promote healthier,
more tolerant attitudes about sexuality. 

Soo Youn Shin and Sang Ho Park visited TOM House. Soo Youn is in Queer studies at City College of San Francisco and the two have been together for 7 years. Sang Ho studied in Phoenix.

The couple is now a very proud owner of a lithograph signed by TOM, which they plan on taking back to Seoul for their apartment. We learned a lot about different cultures and how religion and politics play into the acceptance of Gays.

Andy Cross, Mr. San Francisco Leather 2013, was named International Mr. Leather 2013 at the 35th annual IML Competition in Chicago May 26.

Sammy from Portland, OR was named International Mr. Bootblack 2013. Mike from Minneapolis, MN was named 1st runnerup and Fuzzybuns from Palm Springs was named 2nd runnerup in the in the Bootblack competition.

IML began in 1979 when about 400 gay leathermen gathered in Chicago. This year, nearly 20,000 people attended weekend activities centered around the annual event.

You can search with the box on the right side of the screen and the drop-down menu by title, author, subject, etc., or just press enter.

This is a work in progress! We currently have 500 books in LibraryThing and more titles are being added weekly. The list is in order of entry, so the first books on the list are the last ones loaded.

Because the books we have are rather rare, not many other members have them, so there aren’t many reviews or comments. If you join LibraryThing, you can put your own books in (up to 200 for free) and write reviews, etc.

So, go take a look and have some “literary” fun!

A Community Of 1,600,000 Book Lovers

Pasadena was under siege during April 25-29, 2013, as the 41st Annual ARLIS/NA Conference took place. ARLIS/NA is the Art Libraries Society of North America, whose members represent universities, museums and art schools.

Tom of Finland Foundation was invited to participate on a panel, “Queering Our Collections: Three Important LGBTQ Archives”. Marti Pike, Cataloging Librarian, discussed the uniqueness and organization of the library and the archives. She also shared the progress of making the library’s collection accessible to the public through LibraryThing.

Toni Rodriguez [above], Copy Cataloger, illustrated how TOM House is used as a public and private space, and the challenges of living and working in a museum.  She also stressed the importance of the Foundation as a vital community space for other local organizations such as L. A. Band of Brothers and Avatar, as well as the concerns of protecting the art and library collections.

HAVE FAITH

8th May is TOM’s birthday. EVERY 8th May from here on - all over the globe – friends and fans of TOM, his art and his messages should come together for a toast, a party – why not a full-on celebration? Let’s make it an official TOM day!

TOM’s cake at TOM House, 2013

TOM really deserves hero status for all he gave to our culture and foremost what he gave to developing Homosexuals, starting at a time when we had no positive role models with which to identify.

Alli Ruth, LA Band of Brothers, LA Mr. Leather 2013, friends and family at TOM’s party, 2013.

We’ll raise a glass, enjoy ourselves and be sexy with absolutely no shame or guilt – TOM style!

TOM OF FINLAND (Touko Laaksonen, Finnish, 1920 – 1991), Untitled, c. 1946, Gouache on paper, 10.94” x 8.00”, Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection #46.05, © Tom of Finland Foundation

Tom kept this work in his private collection
till the creation of his foundation where it now resides.

Touko Laaksonen inherited Beauty from his parents,
his upbringing steeped in Æsthetics.
He matured into an Artist who created
more than one masterwork yet
never had any formal Art training.
Schooled at the piano, self-taught with a pencil.
The consummate Homosexual.

From Tom of Finland – Life and Work of a Gay Hero

Tom of Finland’s real name is Touko –
because he was born 8th May 1920,
on the south coast of Finland,
and May in Finnish is “Toukokuu”.

Thank you to Jay Jorgensen for this perfect picture above of
Jay Lawton doing what he loved. And what we loved him for.

JAY R. LAWTON
20TH JULY 1961 – 23RD APRIL 2013

Jay Lawton was always knowing. He certainly knew what he wanted. It was very rewarding watching him mature as a photographer, not always an easy path he chose.

Jay came to Tom of Finland Foundation eager. He helped by documenting thousands of objects with his camera. He recorded our events as eventful. He acquired a quiet confidence that he took with him to all other kinds of events but he was adopted by the Leather community. His reputation was built on earnestness and dignity (and always being on time!).

Jay knew the right thing to do. He cared for his mother, not always something easy. He gave more than few of us think we can afford.  He asked for what was fair – and right. He learned the right way to shoot and learned how to get the shots he wanted. All the lessons he learned as he was learning were not easy ones. He was sometimes discouraged but incapable of bitterness.

Jay was thoughtful and wise and we wish he was around so he could accomplish all he wanted. We are grateful for every moment we got to spend together and will miss that knowing grin…

-TOM’s Foundation

We invite you to view this gallery to revisit Jay Lawton’s work
(and to see just a few of his thousands of friends).

Let’s get together to roast our dear friend
with a open mic for those with a 90 second speech.

France became the 14th country to legalize Gay marriage and to allow same-sex couples to adopt children!

TOM OF FINLAND, Untitled, 1978, Pen and ink on paper, ToFF 78.58, © 1978 Tom of Finland Foundation