A T-SHIRT WITH A STORY AND A MISSION

I DESIGNED THE FIRST ITERATION OF THIS SHIRT A FEW YEARS BACK FOR A SHOW THAT SOME FRIENDS AND I STARTED IN COLORADO. THE SHOW, WHICH STILL RUNS ANNUALLY, IS CALLED MURMURATION. IT PAIRS LIVE MUSICIANS WITH DANCERS OF ALL STYLES AS A WAY TO UNITE AND CELEBRATE COLORADO’S ARTISTIC COMMUNITY. CREATING A PIECE FOR MURMURATION REQUIRES HARD WORK, COLLABORATION AND COMPROMISE; THE MUSICIANS AND DANCERS MUST WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SOMETHING COHESIVE BUT STILL REPRESENTATIVE OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL AESTHETIC. THE RESULTING SHOW IS AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF THE POWER OF COMMUNITY AND THE BEAUTY WE CREATE WHEN WE POOL OUR TALENTS TOGETHER. THIS IS WHAT INSPIRED THE FRED ROGERS QUOTE YOU’LL FIND ON THE BACK OF THE SHIRT:

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet. How important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”

ON THIS NEW VERSION OF THE SHIRT I’VE INCLUDED A SMALL, ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER. THIS IS AN ODE TO MY FATHER. GROWING UP, HE WOULD FILL OUR SMALL APARTMENT WITH HIS ART. THE ABSTRACT FACES AND FIGURES HE DREAMT UP WOULD GREET ME EACH DAY AND REMIND ME THAT FREE, CREATIVE EXPRESSION IS NOT ONLY OKAY, BUT EXTREMELY VALUABLE. ALONGSIDE THE ILLUSTRATION IS THE PHRASE “ONDO SEGI”, WHICH MEANS “GO WELL”, AND IS A COMMON SENDOFF IN THE BASQUE REGION OF SPAIN WHERE I WAS BORN. THIS IS AN ODE TO MY MOTHER, WHO MADE SURE THAT I WAS RAISED WITH A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE BASQUE CULTURE. HER TEACHINGS GAVE ME PERSPECTIVE, SHOWED ME THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPATHY AND TAUGHT ME TO CELEBRATE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. 

PHILANTHROPY, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT HAVE ALWAYS PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN MY LIFE. BOTH OF MY PARENTS WORKED IN NON-PROFITS WHOS MISSIONS WERE TO GIVE BACK TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, AND I SPENT MUCH OF MY TIME GROWING UP, IN COLLEGE, AND STILL TODAY PARTICIPATING IN AND ORGANIZING COMMUNITY FOCUSED EVENTS THAT OFTEN HAVE A PHILANTHROPIC MISSION OR GOAL. THIS SHIRT IS WITHOUT A DOUBT A MEANS BY WHICH TO KEEP DOING THAT IN A TACTILE WAY. FOR EVERY SHIRT PURCHASED ONE DOLLAR WILL BE SET ASIDE TO LATER HELP GIVE BACK TO A DANCE COMMUNITY SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD. WHEN IT COMES TO DANCE A LITTLE BIT GOES A LONG WAY, WHETHER ITS A NEW SOUND SYSTEM, THE MEANS TO BRING OUT AN INTERNATIONAL TEACHER, A SCHOLARSHIP FOR A STUDENT WHO OTHER WISE COULDN'T ATTEND AN EVENT, OR SIMPLY A WAY TO FIX UP A STUDIO THAT MAY NEED SOME HELP. I WANT THE MESSAGE OF THIS SHIRT TO NOT ONLY RESONATE IN A VISUAL WAY WHEN PEOPLE SEE YOU WEARING IT, BUT ALSO IN AN INTRINSIC WAY. WHEN YOU PURCHASE THIS SHIRT YOU ARE PAYING IT FORWARD AND SENDING YOUR GRATITUDE AND THANKS TO THOSE PEOPLE "YOU MAY NEVER EVEN DREAM OF".

AS I CONTINUE TO TRAVEL AND WORK WITH ARTISTIC COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD, I AM REMINDED EACH DAY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ME GET HERE: THE COLORADO COMMUNITY WHO TRAINED WITH ME, PUSHED ME AND BELIEVED IN ME; MY FATHER WHO TAUGHT ME THE VALUE OF ART AND NOT TO TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY; MY MOTHER WHO BROADENED MY WORLD VIEW; AND, LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, YOU. YOU, WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, INSPIRE AND WELCOME ME INTO YOUR WORLDS. TO ALL OF YOU, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY: “THANK YOU”.