"Treeple"

"Treeple"
acrylic on board, 5'x4'
painted by Kelli Busch and Greg Schoeneck live during Art Milwaukee's "Wedding" Gallery Night After Party event at the City Center, April 20, 2012.

"Wedding" event you ask? That's right. The wedding of 10 artists on 5 canvases in the time span given of approximately 3 hours. Each pair of artists were put together to create a unique work of art together on one board.

Attempting to capture the different stages of our painting, I took a photo roughly every 15 to 20 minutes. You'll notice there are only 5 photos; after only about 2 hours of painting we were asked by a couple if we could stop because they liked the piece so much they wanted to buy it how it was in its current state. Eager to acquire the painting they put cash in our hands and our paint brushes took a bow, signing the lower right corner to make it official.

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Stage 3:

Stage 4:

Stage 5, finished piece:

13.1 miles Barefoot COMPLETE!

Today's race was the South Shore 1/2 Marathon located in Milwaukee, WI. My goal was not just to finish, but to run the entire 13.1 miles of bike-path pavement while barefoot. Not in those "barefoot" running shoes, not minimalist shoes, nothing. No shoes at all. And although I did carry my minimalist shoes with me for that "just in case" satisfaction, I managed to complete the whole course skin to asphalt, step after step. Speed was not my concern, however I made a secret deal with myself to try and finish under 2.5 hours. I crossed the finish line in 2:26:19 with a smile on my face, no blisters on my toes, and no glass stuck in my feet. Lake Minnetonka 1/2 Marathon here I come!

As a side note, there was 1 other person running without shoes, and 1 person running in sandals who was transitioning into barefoot but didn't want to risk it for his first 1/2 marathon.

Running Fool

Next weekend I will take part in my first scheduled 1/2 marathon for the year. If anyone is interested in watching, it is the South Shore 1/2 Marathon in Milwaukee, WI. The run starts at 8:30am on Saturday, April 7th. It's a 13.1 mile out-and-back (meaning we turn around at mile 6.6 and run the same route back to the start/finish line). It starts and ends at the South Shore Park Pavilion in Bay View (2900 South Shore Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53207) along the Lake Michigan coast line. The route heads south along the Oak Leaf Bike Trail - there are a few spots that come close to S. Lake Drive, so spectators who don't want to be too far from their vehicles can watch at those spots. We'll run through Bayview Park, past St. Francis HS into Sheridan Park, past Cudahy HS into Warnimont Park, and make our way past the Seven Bridges area in Grant Park before we turn around and run that route in reverse order. I expect this race to take me about 2 hours 15 minutes to run, faster if I'm having a good day and the weather cooperates. If you want to see me at several spots along the course, you'll have plenty of time to drive between viewing areas. Wish me luck!