STREET LIFE

Fred is a self-taught artist who made art his vocation after his diagnosis of ALS (a.k.a. MND), a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease, with no known cause or cure, characterized by the rapid, progressive death of motor neurons, nerve cells that feed all the voluntary muscles in the body.

Fred has started a project to get a photo of his art in every country in the world, an idea that stemmed from the increased isolation his progressive disease brought on. After the reality that he would never work again and would forever be confined to a wheelchair with a steady loss of muscle control, he decided to seize the strength he still had to create art, initially using adaptations to draw with pastels and carve linoleum prints - like "Butterfly Yellow" here ("I did this by strapping a chisel to my hand -my gripping ability gone - and using the movement of my shoulder and torso to manipulate the chisel"). Soon this became impossible and he then turned to drawing on the computer by moving the mouse wedged between his hands and using lateral pressure for control. By this method he created over 60 images. Fred's art has been featured on television, national tours and national and local publications in the United States.

If you would like to help Fred with his "World Art for ALS Awareness" project he'd love to hear from you. E-mail him at: seaweed@gis.net

FRED'S PROJECT

Fred's current project is to take his art to as many countries as possible, it only needs two things, TIME and LITTLE EFFORT. Here's how it works:

1. Email Fred
2. Fred will send you a JPEG copy of his artwork
3. Print it
4. Go OUTSIDE and photograph his art.
5. Send him back the photo together with the description of the place where the picture was taken.

To date, his art has reached 32 countries, if you have friends or relatives from different parts of the globe who might want to take part or if you're interested to join in send him an email : seaweed@gis.net

Contributors: Sassy Lawyer, Yvette