CF Walk

Last Sunday we had a fabulous turn out for The Maddie Mockingbirds at the New Canaan Great strides walk... I guess word got around that it was going to be the best party ever, or maybe it was just such a beautiful day they decided to walk for a great cause. Either way I enjoyed seeing so many family and friends coming together for it! Even though I had a quick exit before the walk even started. I was feeling to very exhausted, sick and run down. Not to mention I also kept coughing as if I was going to cough up a lung. So I went home to rest and get rid of my fevers only to go into the hospital a day later and realize I have the Flu... THE Evil Flu. But I have been doing better since starting Tamaflu, and hopefully will continue!! 

Thank you to all of those that came and especially to all of those who donated!! As a

 whole Maddie Mockingbirds Raised $11,240 with all of the extra donations aside from the website donations! They were all so amazing and generous and will be going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to work towards a cure! 

The Whole Crew

Ohio Wesleyan Friends (OWU)

Friends from around Town!! 

The Crazy World

Recently on the news there have been so many horrible, sad and depressing stories about school stabbings and other people going crazy across the board. Even one from my alma mater which I find so bizarre, strange and scary. But I feel like there has been a change, ever since I heard about Shaun White Surprising a high schooler at her senior prom, I believe things are starting to look up. Maybe that is because I love Shaun White and have a very biased opinion, nevertheless you can't deny how amazing it is that he completely surprised a fan at their senior Prom, I mean, COME ON!! 

But also on a more personal level I went to my Pulmonary doctor today, and my Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT's) are much better then the last time... and I am feeling fabulous. I was feeling great before going to the doctor, but having that encouragement from the PFT makes me realize I am feeling well, it isn't me being in denial or anything! Last year I was in denial, almost pretending that I was well when I wasn't. I didn't want to face the fact that I couldn't keep my self well and didn't want to keep going back to the hospital! But now since my PFT's a great, I can get back life with my regular treatments and hopefully running!!! 

The great strides walk in New Canaan is right around the corner, and with the walk we are hoping to raise a great deal of money for Cystic Fibrosis, to keep people like my self feeling well and out of the hospital. I was ecstatic with the news I received today at my appointment, but at the doctors office I also saw a handful of CFers that were on oxygen. One person was too tired to do a PFT, which is essentially breathing in as deep as you can and then breathing it all out with as much force as possible. Even at my weakest I have always been able to do it, not saying that all my PFT's have been great, but still my effort was there. It is a total wake up call to see people who are that sick, especially when you and them share the same disease. Of course you can tell your self to work extra hard to not get as sick as them, but actions are a lot harder to follow through with then just saying it. CF is  a horrible disease that no one can really fully understand if you haven't seen it first hand, And it dose have the ability to kick my ass... BUT NOT TODAY!! 

So Please in honor of Maddie Mockingbird's (Inspired by my dad's restaurant Tequila Mockingbird) and Cinco de Mayo, Please donate to our Great strides team, The Maddie Mockingbirds, if you haven't already!! 

Via

The Beautiful Shaun White before his hair cut! 

Maddie Mockingbirds Last year in Ohio!! 

I Opened an Etsy Shop!!!

Since I moved back home to Connecticut, I have been trying to become healthier and stay healthy. Even though it is pretty much a full time job I have become very restless, I need to be doing something, I have applied to a few jobs and I have been babysitting but still nothing major has come through. 

That was until the other day I went over to Michael's Craft store, I needed something for a small project I was working on. While I was there I found numerous baskets of plastic fruit and my mind was going crazy. Earlier on this week I had planned to go to Michael's to pick up items to make my own massive bows instead of buying them. However, once I saw the fruit I immediately thought of using those instead. I remember when I was in middle school I had a Swatch watch that had a white background and had fruit all over it, I loved it and I often have tried to find it again, but never had any luck. So in my head the idea to put fruit on hair accessories was genius, however has been done before especially with Carmen Miranda and Chiquita Banana. But I was thinking to make them less over the top, but still fun and quirky, but without looking like you have a bowl of fruit on your head. 

Nevertheless my trip to Michael's got my juices flowing and once I came home I went to work. Since my thoughts were flowing so rapidly and naturally I decided to open my own Etsy Shop!! It is called FruitHeads!! So go check it out!! Also three dollars from each purchase from now until May 18th will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, in order to fundraise for our Great Strides Team! 

This was the watch I once owned and Loved 

Figural pieces from the Armory Show

Klodin Erb

I personally love drawing people, especially their faces. Each face is so different that makes it easy to want to study, whether it is more round or sharp in angles it is always very intriguing to me. So when I went to the Armory Show I loved viewing other artist's portrait and figural work. Here are a few that I really enjoyed, some bizarre, and just awesome. I am sorry for the slight blurriness in some of them, but with my CF and all my meds, my hands have a slight shake to them, especially when trying to stay still. 

Jocelyn Hobbie 

Hans op de Beeck

Pax Kaffraria

Cajsa Von Zeipel

The Colors are Following Me!

James Hugonin Binary Rhythm (IV) (close up)

This past weekend I went with my mom to the Armory Art Show and I found a few pieces I loved but also I felt like I was being followed by my 2D class from my freshman year of college, the color aid paper was chasing me. When I took the class the head of the art department would joke with us that we would never forget our 2D class and he has been completely right so far. Nevertheless it wasn't to long ago that I took the class… so only time will tell I guess. 

While viewing all the colorful square and triangle pieces, I think back to when I spent hours upon hours with an exacto knife and rubber cement and how many brain cells I may have lost inhaling it all first semester… I ended up digging some of my old color studies, or at least the ones I could find. After I viewed them, I like to believe I have improved in my own art world, I have found a way to enhance my messiness in good ways… with my own touch of the oil pastel rather then leaving remains of the rubber cement. 

Below are pieces from the Armory Show as well as my own pieces. 

Garry Fabian Miller Year Two, Silicate 5-6

Spencer Finch Color Test

Barry McGee Untitled (geometric) 2006 

Ekrem Yalcindag Barock in Istnabul 

Simon Evans The Eye, Part of a diptych

Detail

And below are some piece I found among my old work from my 2D class.

This was a series of 4, however the other two are settled in 

another pile of art somewhere

This was my favorite piece from the class, but over time the pieces seem 

to be coming off... I believe I may have gotten more rubber cement 

on my fingers then on the strips of color aid paper 

The Blue Red Cross piece

Crazy Amazing Reshaping Sculptures

Via

I have always loved the human form, and I thoroughly enjoy depicting the human form with my drawing and paintings. I have been working away on a few pieces that the public aka the blog readers will soon see, as well as on my website! But Colossal posted about this artist who currently has a show in NYC and his work deals with classical sculptured heads, which usually might be boring and over done. Nevertheless Li Hongbo's work is absolutely amazing and intriguing because the sculpted portraits are made out of sheets of paper that stretch out like an 

accordion and then go back into their original form… which is 
absolutely insane if you ask me! 

Via

Whenever I see amazing, jaw dropping art, or design elements it gets me motivated 

and makes me want to create something magical as well!! As I truck 
away at my daily routine I try to countdown the days until I can go in to the 
city and see these crazy items of art in person… In the mean 
time I am trying to create my own creations!! 

2014 Here we Goooo!

I have finally felt accomplished and I am starting to feel better again (I believe), it literally is the most tiring and exhausting thing to do everything your suppose for months and months on end and still not be well. It goes against everything anyone has ever told me about doing what the doctors say, and it will work and you will get better… I was actually starting to debate whether they hadn't missed some huge issue in my lungs, lab work or sputum cultures. 

Nevertheless, gaining weight is one of the main issues so I have been downing food, left and right… haha lucky me you all might say… but just like trying to loose weight, gaining weight is tiring, it might sound absolutely ridiculous to you all, but when your body has such a hard time as mine has to gain weight and keep it on, I look at people and want to say "no I don't want an Ensure on the side of my meal, they taste gross!"  But finally the pounds are starting to come on slowly but surely (WHoooop WHoooop), with the egg nog diet I have been on since the holidays… keeping weight on is essential to keep my lungs HEALTHY and to breathe easy. 

 I have finished the sketchbook project book, which had to be postmarked by January 15th… when I talked about it before, it sounded like it was going to be easy. However, with the last minute decision to move home at the beginning of December from San Francisco really threw off everything and anything of my life that was in order. Considering, someone had to help me pack… aka I had no idea where things had be placed when unpacking on the other side. As well as being hospitalized pretty much the minute I got home didn't help in the beginning of the unpacking either. Everything was mayhem for a good while, things are finally starting to settle, and with all the drawing I had been doing to finish the sketch book my creative juices are flowing again... which is always exciting!!

Here are a few of the drawings out of the sketchbook I sent in yesterday, it contains drawings of friends, family and family dogs. It will be going on tour this summer with other sketchbooks around the northeast and it will also be on the digital sketchbook library.

Dad aka Paul

Kodah Bear 

Fi and Sarah