Fall Risk

There is nothing quite like having a "Young Person" give up their set in a waiting room and address you as Sir. That is until the nurse straps a big yellow band across your wrist that states in all capital letters FALL RISK. What a day. Think I'll go back home and curl up with a big glass of prune juice.

Blog Post Number 200: A Small Detail

This work of art has been on continuous display the longest of any of the art works in my house. It's a mosaic created by my father, Samuel Lee Smith.   Really it's a slab of cement reinforced with steel rebar and covered with small shards of stained glass. I think it's titled Beach Towel Bather.  I appreciate the humor  because even though it's shaped to look like a beach towel dangling from two pins it actually weighs a good 30 pounds.

My Dad completed this mosaic art work sometime before he and my Mom finished building their dream house in 1956.  The piece was installed in the front bath and as far as I know has been removed only twice in its lifetime. Once then the bath was repainted and again in 2002 when I remodeled the house and studio.

Of course after the house renovation the mosaic went right back to its original location but I added molly bolts. That should keep it on the wall and withstand any of the small earthquakes we have been getting here.  Though looks like I might need to address the wall paint again.

BFS Blog About To Hit 200 posts

The next BFS Blog posting will be my 200th posting!!!

but first a bit of reminiscing, old photos, and rambling...

I started blogging on December 28, 2007.  It was all about my Yucatan Adventure. Unbelievably, my first time south of the Texas boarder. That trip was visually overwhelming.

For the past 5 years I've rambled on and on about things that comprise a Brad Centric Universe.  A universe focused on looking at art, making artwork and wallowing in new inspirations plus a bunch of other stuff that randomly shows up on my radar.

Often my posts are short series about art projects I'm working on . . .  Aurora 2011, The Privet Sculpture Project, and The SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project.

I've also highlighted topics such as Drawings, Sculptures, and Wall Installations ... revealing some of the ups and downs of making art.

And over the years I've had the opportunity to work with some great art organizations such as Art and Seek, Art Con, Pecha Kucha Dallas, TED/SMU, the Dallas Museum of Art, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Creative Arts Center, and The CADD Bus Tour.

These ventures into public presentations inevitably expose insights to what happens when a quiet artist like me encounters a moment in the spotlight. 

The BFS Blog maybe a Brad Centric Universe but it is also a universe filled with many other wonderful artists.  My blog has given me the opportunity to shine a light on some of them like Debbie Ballard, Mark Birnbaum, Tracy Hicks, and David Bates.

I was talking with a good friend today who asked if I every have problems thinking of things to blog about?  Nope.  Really I wish I could blog 5 times as much as I am.  I have a big bucket of topics that I could easily expound on.  Though not sure everyone could handle so much misuse of english grammar.

The reality is this show is being run by a kinda-scruffy opossum resembling rambling artist who has time management issues and a loving spouse who keeps reminding him how much he needs his beauty sleep.

PBF.05: Fare Thee Well My Sweet Buttercup

Originally I posted my cartoon without an explanation, thinking it pretty clearly illustrates a tongue and accompanying taste buds being left behind on the dock.

I drew it while getting juiced up at the Glow Factory.  My fellow glow worms and technicians all found it worthy of a chuckle. 

Once posted here however, it caused a lot of head scratching, emails about the etiquette of disease, and even lead a few people to drop their subscriptions to the BFS Blog. 

So to clarify and prevent any more cartooned based rumpus, I have prepared the following caption:

"With the ability to taste only kerosene and styrofoam, I have decided to leave my taste buds on dry dock.

To follow further Project Bear Fat developments, and receive other fresh off the key board ramblings delivered direct to your email sign up at www.BradFSmith.blogspot.com.

PBF .04: One Word Says It All

Originally I was going to create a photo montage of all the fantastic dishes, dinners, and desserts that have been devoured in the name of Project Bear Fat. The montage would have been a very LARGE montage. PBF has developed into a kind of moving banquet, a non-stop Thanksgiving feast. Friends and family coming together to enjoy good food and conversations, raising glasses, diving in for second and third helpings. A fridge filled with heat and eat TLC.

Now for the stats: Two weeks of PBF has resulted in 5 additional pounds of bear fat. Granted I feel like I have put on a good 10LBs. But, 5 pounds, when you think about it is pretty damn good. Pants are tight, moving in the right direction without causing my heart to explode. 

With all the ads for diet pills and low calorie snacks, it may sound un-American to say that it would be a real health issue if putting weight on was fast and easy.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the PBF supporters. You are Shadalicious. That is, you have all helped to take something not so pleasant, such as small stinky fish and turn it into something special.

To follow further Project Bear Fat developments, and receive other fresh off the key board ramblings delivered direct to your email sign up at www.BradFSmith.blogspot.com.

Project Bear Fat .03: A Cascade Of Sweat

The Project Bear Fat not only encompasses the consumption of lots of tasty food, it also incorporates various methods of reawakening long dormant muscles, therefore I am now a legitimate member of the Tom Landry Fitness Center.

This week I attended my very first Yoga class. The room was darkly subdued, there were soft mats scattered across the floor, and there was the sound of flutes coming from the CD player. The instructor suggested I remove my shoes and socks, and then quietly escorted me to a mat. I innocently confessed that I have seen pictures of people doing yoga, but had never personally done this sort of thing before.

With a smile she turned to the class and suggested that we take our places and curl up into a ball. I thought to myself, Well now, this is the kind of exercises a bear could do all day.

From there we went into the Downward Dog position, which turned out to be the gate way into a host of agonizing poses that caused fountains of sweat to cascade from every pour of my skin. As I tried not to laugh out loud at the burning pain generated from my overtaxed underutilized muscles, I thought, This is definitely NOT the natural habitat for a bear.

Next week I think I'll switch to jazzercize or perhaps one of the over 65 classes.

To follow further Project Bear Fat developments, and receive other fresh off the key board ramblings delivered direct to your email sign up at www.BradFSmith.blogspot.com.

New Face To An Old Website

I am VERY, VERY, VERY happy to announce the launch of my new website!

www.BradFordSmith.us features my artwork AND it looking really great! There are still some tweaks and blank spots to fill, but it looks so clean and it's so easy to manipulate.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the people that responded to my many inquiries about their websites.


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