Health Resources In Action and the Boston Collaborative For Food and Fitness hired James F. Kraus/Art Guy Studios to work with their Youth Action Board (YAB). The teens were the client. The job was designing a logo for their Go4resh food initiative being introduced in Boston Public Schools. We met and they were given a brief presentation on ‘branding”. We brainstormed and the teens came up with the concept. Click here to see the logo we all developed. A pleasure working with you and nice work YAB!

I have recently been hired to work part-time in a mentor/leadership role under the auspices of The Boston 100K Artscience Innovation Prize.  I will work with select high school teens from around the city of Boston giving them opportunities to “learn through passionate development of breakthrough ideas in the arts and design, at the frontier of scientific knowledge.” The program was developed by Harvard professor, scientist and writer, David Edwards. The program is managed and housed by The Cloud Foundation. I am very excited to begin working with this “first in the nation” international  program. I look forward to inspiring both the teens, and myself. My thanks to Joanne Kaliontzis for making me aware of this great opportunity. I AM NOW BLOGGING ABOUT THIS!!

I have just returned from one week in Belle Haven, VA. I chaperoned and co-lead a group of 20 wonderful teens to glean the potato fields of the Delmarva peninsula. I took 4 teens from the St. Stephens after-school program in Boston where I volunteer. We joined 14 teens from St Anne’s in the Fields in Lincoln, MA. We worked with the Society of St. Andrew and their Harvest of Hope at Camp Occohannock in VA. We all picked over 20,000 lbs of potatoes to feed the hungry. One day we helped various community service programs in the area. In small groups we played games that taught us about the balance of economic power in the world, hunger issues, the plight of the world’s poor, migrant workers that pick our food and the invisible children of Africa. Did you know that 1 of 6 in the world live with chronic hunger? Ask yourself, now, are going to be part of the problem or the solution? What are you doing to help the world and not merely consuming? You are not what you own! Please listen to this and find a way to help. You will feel full.

I recently finished a project dealing with the dangers of second hand smoke. The campaign focuses on the dangers to children. The assignment was from Health Resources In Action (formerly The Medical Foundation). HRIA is a Boston non-profit dedicated to promoting public health and advancing medical research. Art Guy Studios created icons and a coloring page for their campaign. You can download the coloring page for your kids here. The page has fun critters engaged in healthy activities that wouldn’t be so fun while smoking or with smoke wafting about. As an ex-smoker (I quit 22 years ago),  I was happy to promote HRIA’s initiative. Have fun coloring and staying smoke-free!

The new schedules for the Titus Sparrow Park Summer Programs are now completed. Art Guy Studios/James F. Kraus has done the graphics for the card (with the schedule) and concert banner. Grab a pdf of the card with the events list and schedule here. The park is located in the South End of Boston and the events are for kids every Wednesday morning and concerts in the evening for all. We are featuring an eclectic blend of roots, bluegrass, world and jazz music. The concerts start at 6:30 pm. Bring a blanket, a picnic basket and watch the sunset as the music fills our lovely park.

The Southwest Corridor Conservancy hired Art Guy Studios to design and illustrate a card showing the three rules for curbing your dog. I am also on the board of the Titus Sparrow Park, in the South End of Boston, and like The Conservancy we are all experiencing a lack of regard for the rules of curbing and picking up one’s dog’s movements. Do you know the rules? Check out the card I did and see if you know the proper way to curb your pet for the health of the children, plants, grass and gardens of the South End and its parks.

Once again, I am coaching the South End Red Sox of the South End Baseball league. This marks my third year coaching the team that consists of 6-9 year olds. Stay tuned and look for the SE Red Sox page on this blog. It will have all the news and stats about the team. Please come out for the opening day parade and ceremonies on May the 2nd, 2009. It begins at 9:30 AM and then we start the season. The SE Red Sox are generously sponsored by Gibson Sotheby’s real estate.

February 5, 2009, I attended a lecture with Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Columbia. As Mayor, Peñalosa made great changes in urban living for Bogota’s citizens, pedestrians, cyclists, the handicapped and the poor. A sharp, eloquent, inspirational, and humorous speaker, Peñalosa spoke of the need to rid cities of cars. He showed the car is ant-community, creates class splits, lowers self-worth, is bad for children and health. The lecture was supported by Livable Streets, Walk Boston and Bikes Not Bombs. Click here to see a past interview with Mr. Peñalosa. Photo: William Fernando Martinez for AP.

My friends Fritz Klaetke, of the design firm, Visual Dialogue, and Susan Battista, of marketing firm Topic 101, had their corner townhouse and offices approvingly tagged by propaganda artist Shepard Fairey, of Obey. Today, February 6, 2009, Fairey is honored with a one-man-show at the Boston ICA. Known, of course, for his iconic Obama HOPE image his opening has received some controversy about image appropriation. UPDATE: Due to vandals, “neighborly” disgust, tourists and “collectors” this artwork was destroyed. Click here to see the art being reapplied. To see a video of the kids from my group at the after-school program I volunteer with  view and discuss the artwork, Click here.

Monday was a Sunday. Sunday River that is! I was beside myself, as you can see, to be back on a snowboard and riding the Chondola. Me and my friends Brad and Andrew hit the slopes and it was perfect conditions. Helps when they just got 14″ of powder. Brad made a fun-as-hell video of us up on the slopes. Warren Miller, watch out!