Sad Sendoffs.

Trying to catch up with life... I figure that if I tell pieces of the story, I'll clue myself in on everything that's taking place within and without. It's really just another strategical attempt to organize my thoughts and make sense of it all. Here goes the first piece...

Today I send off my kid sister and her boyfriend Chis to Philadelphia. As it becomes reality, I am feeling awfully morose... Living near Sherrie for the past four-plus years has been so cool for me; she's one of my best friends and it's going to be difficult to see her head east. I'm happy for her though and can only hope that we'll be able to live near each other again someday... (it'll happen)

And, their move comes right after two other best friends move back east... Bryan and Sarah just completed their journey back to Rochester, NY. Again, I'm happy for them, but selfishly sad for me... they're already greatly missed and will be until they ditch the grey and move back to Colourful Colorado!

The Return of FRESH 23.

Studio 23 is Back for our third year, and in grander than ever fashion... Studio 23 will be presenting the FRESH 23 Fashion Show at Wheat Ridge High School on Saturday, 1 May 2010.

Shawn and I are back at it with my advanced painting students for another another great show... only this year, the show has picked up a little extra steam and recognition. Our friends at Vans have been incredibly supportive of the event and have sponsored us each year. Anyway, after the FRESH 23 documentary of last year's show (check it out if you haven't by clicking this link) was released by filmmaker Mark Spencer last summer, the VP of Marketing at Vans got a hold of us and asked us what we thought of taking the show to the national level... long story short, Vans decided to blow out the FRESH 23 concept and pitch it to schools across the nation... so, this spring, as many as 510 schools (10 per state, plus DC) will participate in a nationwide contest to design custom shoes for Vans... all based on our FRESH 23 Fashion Show!

Please check out the Vans Custom Culture FaceBook page and the nationwide promotion by clicking this link. Of all the entries, four art classes will be selected as regional winners and will be flown out to Los Angeles this May to tour the home of Vans, to check out LA for four days and to participate in a big showdown event with celebrity judges... pretty righteous, eh? We're going to be submitting our shoes for consideration in less than a month, so we've got a lot of work to do...

I'll be posting other news and updates on the fashion show and Custom Culture status as it unfolds but for the best up-to-date information... check in with our FRESH 23 Blog that the students will be launching in the next week or so...

Farmer Baseball 2010.

Wheat Ridge Baseball is back and we've got high expectations this season... In my second season as an assistant coach with the club, I am looking forward to making a run with these guys well into the end of May. And, with seniors Eric Shannon and Charlie Land anchoring our pitching staff, I feel pretty confident we'll do just that.

We had a rough start on Tuesday, dropping Opening Day to visiting Douglas County 2-1. But, after a full week of work, we bounced back with high energy and big bats against Valor Christian Saturday. We had the breakout game we'd been looking for, ten-running Valor 14-4 in an abbreviated five-inning game. Matt Zarlengo exploded for seven RBIs including two three-run bombs and the walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.

We play Monarch at Coors Field this Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day at 3:00pm. It's always a thrill playing on the big stage and we seem to fair pretty well there too... hopefully we can keep the intensity up and tack on another win before we head to Arizona for four games over Spring Break.

Michael Bies: Composition Extraordinaire.

Longtime friend, former bandmate, and seasoned composer, Michael Bies is among the growing list of artists to be showcased in Southern Florida this coming week. Bies will be performing in Palm Beach on Sunday, 27 December. I know I'll be there... can't wait to support my incredibly talented pal!

I just got this blurb from the Palm Beach ArtsPaper about the gig...

A local composer offers a fresh collection of art songs set to texts by the great American poet William Carlos Williams in a concert Sunday afternoon at the Lighthouse Center of the Arts in Tequesta. Michael Bies, who teaches at the Jupiter Academy of Music, also is a composer with a sizeable body of work to his credit, as his website shows. Baritone David L'Hommedieu will sing the Williams songs in its world premiere performance. Soprano Roberta Rehner also will be perform in the concert, which is dedicated to the art song and aria repertoire; music by Bernstein, Britten, Mozart, Schubert and Wolf is scheduled. The recital begins at 3 p.m. in the museum at the Lighthouse Center. Tickets: $10 adults, $5 children. Call 746-3101 or visit www.lighthousearts.org.

Mock Show: EPIC NYE (Miami, FL).

I will be exhibiting my recent prints in Miami as part of a group show coinciding with Phish's four-night run at the American Airlines Arena. The exhibition is Wednesday, 30 December from 10am-3pm...

EPIC HOTEL
270 Biscayne Blvd. Way
Miami, Florida 33131
14th Floor
Metropolis Ballrooms

EPIC NYE welcomes exhibitors from around the world including official Phish artists Jim Pollock, David Welker, Jeff Wood, Justin Helton and Sei Rey Ho. Additionally, Headcount will be sponsoring an opportunity for patrons to engage themselves in the democratic process of voting by helping stage a juried art event wherein patrons will receive ballots upon entry (and previously online) to “vote” for the their artists spanning various categories including “Best of Show”, “Best New Artist”, “Best Mock Show Poster" among others. These votes will be tallied and awards will be presented during a catered VIP banquet ceremony Thursday, December 31st, 2009 from Noon-4pm. The awards ceremony will feature an additional surprise roster of artists exhibiting in a currently undisclosed location.

More information about the show can be found at the Mock Show webpage...

Haakon Musser Gruenhagen.

This is my littlest friend and my best one-year old friend, Haakon. We've been shredding on his new ramp a bunch lately... this kid's gonna go pro someday! Uncle Fwanky's trying to set a good example by donning the pads (plus, I'll break myself, again, if I don't). Check out Haakon's gear (junior elbow pads are full-arm protection). Amazing little dude... son of two of my best friends in the world, Shawn and Jeanette. Happy Birthday Haakon!

Festival 8: Totally worth it!

Phish reinvents themselves... again. After another spectacular weekend, full of installation art, 93 degree weather, microbrews galore, ridiculous costumes, and top-notch jams, it'd be hard to ever miss a Phish festival again. The Empire Polo Club in Indio proved to be even more impressive than the last time I was there for Coachella... and Phish's musical costume: The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street... what a party!

As far as my octopus-themed Halloween identity... things went well. I am extremely thankful that my incredible students helped me build this elaborate octopus costume, and equally as thankful that I was able to stuff it into my pack and carry it on the plane with me (luckily, I didn't need much else with my California friends bringing the camping gear).

And, thanks to all the kind support in Cali, the OctoFest prints sold out of the festival allotment on Saturday morning (before I even got in costume, unfortunately); I have a limited number left here at my studio in Denver (less than twenty, plus about eight artist proofs)...

I saw a lot of great artwork out there this weekend and wanted to send my appreciation to Isadora, Jerzy, and so many other fantastic artists for doing what they do. I look forward to seeing you all in Miami and hope to have some new art to spread around.