This is how someone with a cast can move a chair, not the most efficient way but it worked. Also in front of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, I wanted to celebrate the fact that this place not only joins communities together but provides a destination where people can open their imaginations and feel good about life.

These are the "Dancers" in front of the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

These next three destinations couldn't have happened without my good friend Josh. We continue to progress one step at a time even when it seems unfeasible. Looking forward to tomorrow, a new day with countless possibilities.

This is DC Burns Park on Colorado Blvd.

I've been enjoying my time here. Hanging out with friends and meeting a lot of new people. I just so happen to hit another hurdle though, one that will substantially slow this trip down. I broke my talus bone in my right ankle on Wednesday, the 8th. I was bouldering in Boulder, CO. Coming out with only a broken talus, makes me happy. Special thanks to my buddy Josh for pushing me into that crash pad. The MRI this week will tell me more about what is actually going on.
Stacy gave me a choice of black, white, blue, and I think yellow. It took me a while but in the end I chose to go with a blue cast.
Everyone has been saying, "that sucks" I'm sure it does, but I can't stop enjoying the fact that I am experiencing it for the first time.
Here are all the firsts so far
instant ice packs ✓
used my health insurance ✓
wheeled around in a wheel chair ✓
portable x-ray I nicknamed "PORTY" ✓
received a splint ✓
walking around with crutches ✓
-up stairs, down stairs, grass, doors...
experiencing the world with a handicap ✓
my first cast ✓
shower with a bag over my leg (this one is strange) ✓

What does the Progress chair mean to me?

This symbolizes a new category of what a chair can be or represent. Can a piece of furniture be more than just an inanimate object, be able to tell a story or impact society? I have begun to fall in love with the life of furniture, making it and contributing to it. Blending the worlds of art and function, with real issues. The idea of progression started with the first 5 pieces of chairs growing from the ground up and continuing to go forward with no resistance. I have been reading a lot about the 2nd industrial revolution and the great depression.
It is compelling to see the need and desire to move forward, but the greatest flaw of the revolution is not moving forward but doing so with no regard of its impact or boundaries. We must respect that “what goes up must come down.” The paradox and cycle of construction/destruction or life/death is something we must embrace. It is our responsibility to have concern for the end in the very beginning. 6 Chairs were built 4 were cut apart, the 5th chair used as the climax of the cycle and the 6th is the icon. I want people to begin to take steps forward towards change, rather than waiting for something to happen.

One of the subjects that has been coming up in conversation is money. How am I affording to do this? Honestly I can't. We've become so reliant on money for making some of the choices in our lives. I had a vision so I'm making it happen. Of course, the debt is tearing me up inside. Being alive, and exposing my art to people is what matters to me, the money will come.
Ty said it best, "Money is nothing, when we die its our memories and the things we owned that stay alive. Money disappears as it's spent and is gone before it's even made, so don't be afraid to spend it."
How did something so disposable and worthless become so dominate?
Life should be lived by the individual and not by their currency.

This was my set up for First Friday, on 8th and Santa Fe. Check out the gallery space right above at 802 featuring Paul, Xan and Tabitha. There are some great things happening in this place and some beautiful people.
I finally had the chance to use the dolly I've been hauling since NC. This is me packed up and heading out.

Finally reached Colorado yesterday around 6 in the morning. After spending the afternoon sanding the chairs for First Friday, I set out. On 5th and Santa Fe in Art District.

This is right before I reached Amarillo, TX.

I am so happy I drove through Texas to get to Colorado. This is the good ol' Texas country. Seeing this for the first time, really makes me appreciate the land not altered by human hands. We need to stop expanding and preserve what is left.

This is the National Weather Center at University of Oklahoma. By the way this picture was taken on Thursday.

This is a small vineyard in Norman, Oklahoma. One of the dogs on the property decided to piss on my chairs marking them as his, another event in the life of my chairs.

Right now I am in Norman, Oklahoma. Visiting with friend and previous collegue from SCAD, Thomas Klein.
I'll see what I can come up with here.

Dallas, TX 4:30 am this morning. Seven different sections each in a different language, saying welcome. The merging of cultures unify to make one collective, it's a beautiful thing.

So I started driving to Dallas yesterday around 11 am. Right out of Baton Rouge, I get a flat tire. As I'm trying to change it, the lugs are breaking, I break one and one was already gone, two lug nuts removed safely and the other two are about to break. So if I break the two left, there's only two holding on the spare, that's definitely not going to work. Tow truck it is. A real cool guy by the name of Bruce comes and takes my car and I to Ty's joint 'Champion's' mechanic shop 6.75 miles away.
These are some good people. Thanks guys.

Art museum in City Park. New Orleans

This is on an empty lot, right in the middle of the Make It Right development in the 9th ward. Above is an image of Raymond, her family is visiting and hoping to move to the area. A great sign of progress. Check out http://www.makeitrightnola.org/index.php?isDirect2=true and let me know what you think. I am glad that MIR is helping on such a large scale but how is this new image going to play in the culture and the environment?
Interview for Tony from Raymond
R:what are you doing?
T:i am on a road trip to bring art to people and hopefully make some people smile
R:are you married
T:no
R:do you have kids?
T:no
R:do you have a girlfriend?
T:no
R:so you don't have anyone to do stuff with or hang out with
T:not now
R:so you're all alone then?
T:haha i guess so
R:is that the police?
T:oh man...
Security guard Glen rolls up in a black pick up, flashlight in hand "Sir you have to get off this lot, you're on private property"

I am really happy to put this up. This was brought to my attention from Mel, who actually teachs art here. This is KIPP Central City Primary. It has been open for a year now, so next year there will be both K and First grade available. I applaud everyone involved with this gem.
Here's a blurb from http://www.kipp.org/

Who we are. KIPP is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 66 KIPP schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia serving over 16,000 students.

What we do. KIPP builds a partnership among parents, students, and teachers that puts learning first. By providing outstanding educators, more time in school learning, and a strong culture of achievement, KIPP is helping all students climb the mountain to college.

Why it matters. Every day, KIPP students across the nation are proving that demography does not define destiny. Eighty percent of our students are low-income, and 90 percent are African American or Latino. Nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have gone on to college-preparatory high schools, and more than 80 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college.

near downtown New Orleans
Shattered flourescent tubes create a jagged rocky surface as I walk up to this spot. No Trespassing signs litter this place, I know that I'm not the only one here. The echoes of glass breaking send an alarm of my presence.