parkour over here, please!

This
first
photo
is
very
much
a
favorite
of
mine.

Here
is
another,
featuring
the
same
graceful
young
man.

This
third
in
my
series
captures
the
bottom
half
of
a
backflip.


I've tried to be patient.
Truly, I have.
However, it's been a YEAR since I notified Lindsey Marr of the reward I wanted for backing his kickstarter campaign.
A year. Today.
In return for my support of the project, I was to receive an 8" x 10" print of the photograph of my choice. First, he traveled to several different locations, taking the photographs of folks running in the air. He then sent the survey for the backers, including me, to make our choices for the reward prints.
After going to his Flickr page, I was overwhelmed by the incredible photos! I was hard pressed to select just one... so I made several selections and asked that he make the final choice for me. I assured him I would be delighted with any of the ones I had "bookmarked" (see the post from April 17, 2012, "parkour here and there").
Partly, though, the reason I asked him to choose for me was this: in case he had a favorite that was being overlooked by others, I wanted him to feel free to select that photograph for me. I know that, as a blogger, not all posts are works of beauty. There are definitely some I consider jewels and I am always so pleased when anyone else also finds beauty in those words.
I believe all artists have favorites in their portfolio. If Lindsey felt that one of his favorites was being slighted by the public, this was his opportunity to let that one take precedence, to run into the spotlight, so to speak.
Instead, I had no reply from my email to him.
I have had no treat from him in my mailbox.
Drats.
So, I have selected a trio of favorites and shared them above.
Please enjoy.

real outdoorsmen - an adventure documentary

Well, bless Pete! The two real outdoorsmen of California are giving it another try!
Disclaimer: I am not disparaging the good people of that large, western state who enjoy being outdoors. One of my best friends is in El Cerrito and is an avid hiker and enjoyer of nature. My little sister, in the southern part of California, takes her family camping on a regular basis.
So, there.
Back to the tale at hand...
When we last tuned in, they were trying to complete a film of their hikes in the Blue Ridge mountains of Georgia. It was to be a regular guy's hike, not that of a naturalist or expert. Just a person with a camera, enjoying the views, the flora, and the fauna, with a good buddy.
When they alerted me to their revived venture, I jumped on in, of course.
I'm their first backer this time, too!
Let's hope they have better fortune this time.

PINK is my guardian partridge

As one of the many rewards for backing her kickstarter project, Connie Noyes,
soon to be world-famous artist,
said she would send an autographed 4"x4" art print,
of my choice.
"Guardian Partridge"
was the one I selected,
with the colorful bird
perched on the feet of two different people.
Perhaps my selection process was colored by my taste for the grilled quail featured at a local all-hours diner. Quail, like partridges, are pretty little game fowl, n'est-ce pas?

I also have her autograph
on the catalogue for her PINK SPACE exhibit in Chicago.
I don't know
if I mentioned it or not,
but that exhibit features work
that is dear to my heart.
"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"
has long been my mantra,
and she follows that call
with flying colors
- in shades of pink!
By "elevating the prestige of mundane materials," she literally turns trash into art, granting it a new life. She also sent me a snazzy placard for the new website. I just may turn that into a magnet for my fridge. I do like the hot pink fading to black above and below!

This is my favorite piece
from the PINK SPACE installation.
So many different textures!
Apparently,
for this art,
touching was encouraged!
With my predisposition
to running my fingers
along surfaces,
I would have had
a blast there!
My mother's admonition
to me
as a child to
"keep your hands in your pockets"
wouldn't have needed to be uttered.
Ah, to be in that Windy City for the show!
Meanwhile, let me close my eyes and see if I can feel the textures through the printed pages...

not art

A local group of artists want to share their visions, but not in a gallery setting.
Okay.
This group of painters and sculptors, printers and photographers, and assorted others would rather use one of the lofts on Broughton Street, heart of the tourist area downtown.
Personally, I would think that would be more expensive than being in one of the many mini-galleries in City Market, at the west end of Broughton. After all, it's billed as "the art & soul" of this seaport, so the tourists and other potential buyers of art already know to go there.
From the presentation Andrew Duthu makes on kickstarter, however, this particular group of artists are not yet known in the art scene. Perhaps that is the origin of the "not art" reference?
Possibly.
We'll have to wait and see.

the freedom to run

Today, I chose this project to fund. Why?
Well, for variety, really.
Kickstarter offers thirteen categories of creative quests for angel's dollars. Those categories are: art; comics; dance; design; fashion; film & video; food; games; music; photography; publishing; technology; and theatre. They even show you, with a pie chart, the types of projects you have funded and the quantities for each type.
I had not yet funded someone's photography works.
Okay, this one sounded interesting and concerned a topic of which I knew nothing: parkour.
The artist was even doing some shots in Georgia, so that made it of more interest to me.
"Freedom To Run" seems to capture movement in a living way, too.
So... it really was just that simple, this choice.
I'll let you know how it turns out.

warrior writers: third anthology

Straight up: I backed this one because it's ending on Veteran's Day and is of benefit to veterans. I'm a veteran myself, of the United States Navy, and I have several friends who are counselors for military clients.
This "Global War on Terror" has taken some serious tolls on our young people. Every one of the soldiers who return have damage, whether it's visible or not. Many times, that invisible wear and tear on the human psyche is far more difficult to repair.
That's where this kickstarter campaign comes in. Warrior Writers, an organization in Philadelphia, has already published two collections of works by GWOT veterans and is trying to get volume three into hands where it can help, heal, and inspire. Amazingly, this nonprofit had its origin in 2007, as did my life after divorce...as did my beach on these virtual shores.
Yet another reason for me to support this project. I know firsthand how helpful my writing has been for me. In times of stress, I can fight my invisible trees amid the clouds of ether - and, if not vanquish them, at least quell their assault on my mind.
Here's hoping that others will be able to benefit from this third anthology - as well as the ones before it, and the ones which will surely follow.

real outdoorsmen - a documentary

I must say, when I first stumbled across this project, I thought of my cousin Penny's cousin, Jeff. He's a fisherman and even has (or had) his own fishing show, up in the great white Nebraska. He's been very good to me over the past few years and even sent me his Garmin when he read on facebook of my driving lost, yet again.
Here's the setup: Nick and his buddy, both filmmakers in California, come to the Blue Ridge mountains of Georgia. Their goal? To produce pictures and a film that are through the eyes of a regular hiker, not some expert scientist or historian.
That sounds like a hike I would enjoy - not chiggers or ticks or sand gnats tormenting my flesh. But I would still be able to see the same sights.
Okay! Let's go!