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Really honored to be asked questions. 

by N. Fallon Design Studio

The post she put together so well. Is

here.

I value her taste so much that it was really exciting to be included in her interview series. 

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real life shoes of an artist that a- loves  certain things  until they literally dissolve.

and b- is a creature of habit that wont stop for a second to see a cobbler.

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Valentine's day may be corporate. But I would swim in a pool of conversation hearts if you made one.

Love is a great adventure. 

If you sit down and take it in.

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And I mean all kinds of love. really. The huge grand kind of love that I believe makes everything ok.

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Sometimes the most beautiful things happen to remind you that your 12 o clock dentist appointment is a dumb concern. 

by the way. no cavities. I begged that they would just ignore anything shady. 

but they didn't have to. 

Isn't it funny how all of a sudden for those 30 min it becomes real that the only life concern you have is - DO I FLOSS ENOUGH.?! GOD TELL ME I DO.

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so back to love. the big kind:

I watched a sweet toddler randomly select and snuggle into the lap of a shy 13 year old girl on her first day of theater class. he didn't know her. he had no judgement. he just honestly wanted to sit with her. 

and she lifted her head up. and felt more comfortable. and felt important. 

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My friend called and just listed everything we love. for a good 3 minutes. that is all the message was. 

just words. of things we like. 

I thought it was over and then heard... 

"oh yeah. carnivals. bizarres. ferris wheels. and yellow gold. BYE" 

I adored the message. it made today better.

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and I have a friend that texted me this morning. Because she bought some art from me. But wanted it to go to someone else. out of the goodness of her heart. 

She even matched her purchase with a donation to a charity. 

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Tell me something you saw or something that happened to you. That made you realize this.

that love wins.

( just hit comment at the bottom of this post. and it sends you to the comment box. LEAVE ONE)

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And if you hate Valentine's day. you just hate the dumb part of it. shake it off.

and remember. it's really about love. 

Although. I have nothing against a giant heart balloon with streamers for arms and legs.

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see I have a love for holidays that is non-discriminating and maybe I was trained this way growing up. finding themed holiday socks on the kitchen table when I got home from school. 

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and I have a love of ridiculous. 

I think most things ridiculous. are fantastic.

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But I want to hear from you. about beautiful things. that celebrate love. 

The kind of things that you witness that make you squint your eyes and throw your hand on your heart. 

Tell me.

Hit the word COMMENT below and 

share.

if you think you have nothing to share. keep looking out today. and by tomorrow. you will.

(new Valentine inspired prints seen in this post, ADVENTURE and LOVE FIRST, are now available

email your orders to abernathy.parade@gmail.com)

Amazing people are weird.

I think to myself as I am wiped out on the floor staring at the ceiling.

and that is how I --- convince myself to keep going/ find comfort

When my weekends sometimes look like this:


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 So I need to make a cat.

This is at the top of my to do list. 

and when I get stressed about my to do list I remind myself that "make a cat" is at the top.

and somehow that means I am winning at life.

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this is just the base structure for the cat's head.

This creature is going to be for Old Kent Road Theater. and our latest jam. 

I say OUR because I am a collaborator with the company. And anytime you get to be a collaborator. 

You grab that title and hug it. 

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And, this play is NOT about cats. 

That is one of the harder things to explain. out of context. 

That the work we do is closer to performance art than it is to The Music Man. and no offense to Harold Hill, because one summer I sat on my great aunt's back porch with my headphones on and replayed "Trouble" until I had it memorized. 

You know. so I could perform it. 

for. 

the chairs on the screen porch.

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But about the cat. 

I googled "cat"

and. it is most important to now know that I am slightly frightened by cats. so this was awful for me.

to google it. 

THEY WERE ALL STARING AT ME.

and by were. I mean ARE.

sh. right now even.

even posting this picture gives me the creeps. I see at least 3 cats judging me to death.

and I say slightly frightened because I don't have a problem with cats unless they try and talk to me. or try and be mean to me.

and don't even say--> they aren't mean. I KNOW THEY ALL AREN'T.

( in fact I have two I not only like... but LOVE.)

number one spot goes to Mrs. Richardson. A neighborhood cat with a diamond collar and therefore it was decided that Mr. Richardson, her husband cat, worked all day to buy her bling. etc.

I held her even. Every time I saw her.

She's beautiful.

I mean. I was on the ground to get a BFF pic. so.

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Also when my friend was dying it was her neighborhood cat that sat on her lap until her last breath. Regardless of friends rushing about.  

That cat is my favorite cat ever if I had to give awards. It loved on my friend BY CHOICE before she even got sick until her last second on this planet.

And so, she gets the award because of what she did for my friend. her name. fittingly... Magic.

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but some cats have been sneaky and rude.

so I am cautious.

Let's just say... they've turned on me.

I am cautious about the ones I run by in the street. that watch me. 

their heads turn as they sit upright and judge my gate.

Once, a group was together... judging. 

and that was just it for me.

HALT- I said I loved 2 cats but make that 3-5. And that is because my love for cats is conditional.

If they can decide to stick a paw out and GET me. Then I reserve the right to say if they are cool with me or not. 

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BUT

This is not an anti-cat post. 

It is a post about how I once had to make a cat. and therefore googled cat pictures for reference. 

And. how. right now. 

THEY ARE ALL STARING AT ME.

Still.

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And. 


In conclusion, this is what my night looks like:

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kick something.

KICK THIS. <---click here. ok.

( because your latte will give you an hour of superpowers.
no, I know this. I am high on life when I have coffee.
But if you support this show with anything. even a dollar... it can give a theater full of superpowers. that last slightly longer.)

OLD KENT ROAD THEATER's newest production.

All the Indifferent Children of the Earth is a play about existing now.  It's also very nearly a quote out of Hamlet.  It's as if the play were called: Describe Thee to a Nunnery or, To Be or Not To Do Things, Muchly.  Our rewards here are mostly goofy -- the performance is our offering, the rewards are a friendly wink and a sincere, if jocular, "thank you" -- however the play is quite serious, except when it is funny, when it becomes uber-serious.  And when we dance we are basically parallel-universe-level serious.

These projects are labors of love and compulsive need, and raising this money would take us great lengths toward creating this show.  Though we recoup some funds in the ticketing process, theater is a money-losing venture.  A week of rehearsals is at least a hundred bucks right there.  A little money goes a long way.  Basically it keeps the loss from becoming prohibitive and keeps people from waking up in a panic in the middle of the night.  It also keeps theater going, which we absolutely must do lest we let Aeschylus and Sophocles down, who began the whole thing if you subscribe to a brutal,hegemonic,Western-centric model of history that explicates humanity's inexorable, atomic progress.

The Old Kent Road Theater has been making plays for at least five years now that are primarily about human beings relating to one another today.  Hopefully the way we make the play offers new perspectives or something unusual to like or dislike.  We'd like to inspire a sense of play, a sense of freedom, and sense of the new.

All the Indifferent Children of the Earth will have video in it, movement, sculpture-arts, dialogue, monologue, music, and lights.  The action finds three women and one man compulsively dissecting the beauty and the monotony and the horror of life.  It’s as if four anxious, petit bourgeois strangers found themselves at 8am in the backyard of a mutual friend’s August retreat, a half-mile from the coast outside of Cherbourg or Seattle.  Or it’s as if four precocious children were abandoned in a Math/Science Center on a rainy, late-autumn Saturday morning.  Or as if people do theater, in 2012, despite…the world.

Cast: Sarah Dahlen as Sarah, Daniel Kublick as Daniel, Kathleen Heverin as Kat, & Hollis Witherspoon as Hollis.

Light Design: Morgan Anne Zipf; Sculpture-Arts/Illustration: Abernathy Bland.

Video Design & Video Direction: Asa Gauen; Text & Direction:  Eric Bland.

PERFORMANCES: Thu/Fri/Sat at 8pm, Feb 16/17/18; 23/24/25; Mar 1/2/3. 

WHERE: The Brick Theater.  575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211 (between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street)  http://bricktheater.com/

Tickets are $18.

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now you know.

let go...Feel The Rain.

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TRIPP. The Little Drummer Boy.

So there's this angel I know. 

He is 2. 

And he is so very sick. 

He was born with EB. and I have posted before about this disease. but I will do it again. and again. and if I had millions of dollars. I would give it to Dr. Tolar and his team. and the team of EB advocates. fighters. and families. 

ABOUT TRIPP. from his mom, Courtney:

Tripp was born on May 14, 2009. He was diagnosed with a rare genetic skin disease called "EB." Any type of friction on his skin or mucous membranes causes blisters. They told us he would not live to be a year old. Every day he amazes us by his strength. He is a fighter and with all he has been through, he has never given up. He is the strongest person I know. Tripp wakes up each morning with a smile on his face. Every day spent with him is a blessing. God has a special plan for him. I'm just blessed to be able to witness that plan.

Tripp when he was itty bitty

This disease is new to you? probably. 

It is the worst thing no one has heard of.

And yes, that is my opinion. but it is a strong opinion because EB is a terrible disease.

come on. he is so sweet. i love this picture.

I love a lot of babies with EB. and this one is a rockstar champion.

and today his mommy made a post that he is losing his battle. 

Wait. scratch that. He cant lose. 

so. he is winning.

he has been winning. 

Watch him

with his grandma.

go to his blog. and see this baby boy finish out like a champ.

and you will be encouraged by his mother. 

Who is an example of big, giant, amazing love. 

Tripp's link has been on the side bar of my blog for a while. Go visit it. 

and if you pray. 

Oh,

Pray for Tripp. 

to be comfortable. and at peace. 

with his momma

Children with EB are often in agony.
But sometimes you wouldn't know it.


You cannot imagine unless you live with EB daily.
and that includes EB sisters. brothers. moms. dads. grandmas. grandpas. aunts. uncles. and all those who care for these butterfly babies.

Taking care of those with EB is a major major task. wrapping.dressing.bathing.medicine.feeding.
These families are amazing.


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OK. now. best thing ever. watch him go.


This is an early video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUof-liFKjY&feature=autoplay&list=UUR2YInctbWnNRXWqzUglnVA&lf=plcp&playnext=1


really. watch all these.

EB affects more than your skin. 

it affects your mouth, eyes, and other organs.

Over time, EB has affected Tripp's eyes.
Tripp has lost his sight. But he has serious rhythm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0ZIGx48tMs&list=UUR2YInctbWnNRXWqzUglnVA&index=9&feature=plcp


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGMsFx_S_hI&list=UUR2YInctbWnNRXWqzUglnVA&index=10&feature=plcp


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq-DtZUrNeU&list=UUR2YInctbWnNRXWqzUglnVA&index=7&feature=plcp

I am so sad for Tripp. because he is hurting.
His play time is extremely short now. if he even has the energy to play at all.

But I am so encouraged by his life. and celebrate that.

You should see the amount of support and love surrounding his story.




His spirit is greater than his disease. 

He is an angel boy.

MAKE A DONATION TO CURE EB.

http://www.Debra.org/


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Since I wrote this draft post... Tripp died.

pray for his momma.
and his family.

and if you are moved to give to EB research. do it.

This print was inspired by Tripp.

and his family.


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Exodus 9:16

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 

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They have been doing everything right.
because they have been powered by love.



Visit Courtney's blog. The link is on the right side of the screen.
.learn about EB.
at least now you know a little more about it now.

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A great article about Tripp.

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