Phil Alain and His Calgary Stampede Blog With Mural Mosaic Day 2 and 3

The first few days have been rather hectic as we get into our groove. The mural has once again been a highlight thus far as it always seems to be at the venue's that showcase it. The big kick off was on Wednesday night with the VIP gala. We worked all day Tuesday and Wednesday to get things set up and it all went off without a hitch. Throughout the dayon Wednesday the documentary about the mura mosaic's continued to be filmed as Sylvie Peltier from Red Letter Film's lead her crew around filming Lewis and the mural's around Calgary. For some that don't know- The Military museum in Clagry houses the beautiful mural "Heroes" and the Town of Cochran mural "Trust" is only 20 minutes out of Calgary.
We ran into one of our new good friend's Michelle Grant who painted in the mural and also has her artwork featured in the incredible art showcase alongside the mural called "The Western Showcase". This is a stunning exhibition of amazing artwork. Also represented in the Western Showcase from the mural were artists like Denis Weber, Kim Penner, Andrew Kiss and Judie Popplewell. Great talent pool within the mural!
Michelle stopped by the mural at one point to start a heated debate with me over -which is better - the ShamWow dude or the guy that sells toilet seats that have fluorescent lights so you can see your bowl clearly when you get home after a late night of "socializing". I stuck with my ShamWow guy and even threw in a few "Snuggy" blanket references so in the end I felt I was the clear debate winner.
Then on Thursday things officially kicked off in the evening for the general public with the sneak peak event. It was a good start and in the end we realized that a lot of people go to the Stampede. We had a good day and its been a while where all three of us have been able to do the shows together. So it was great to have Lewis along. It was also great that Lewis could partake in all the fun that Paul and I regularly experienced in other cities.Like riding crazy train's with hoards of people after events. Not quite the limo service we always dreamed of. I think Lewis still enjoyed it. Or at least we enjoyed watching Lewis in the Stampede Squeeze. See him in the back of the train holding on for dear life?? If you can Zoom in you'll see him mouthing "Help Me!"More tomorrow...

Phil Alain and His Calgary Stampede Blog With Mural Mosaic Day 1

I am now in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Calgary Stampede and am getting set for the first showing of the mural in Canada since September 2008. The mural just arrived from Las Vegas and it was so good to see our baby again. I am sitting at the wonderful apartment style hotel that the Stampede graciously provided for us so we can survive the next 12 days of working 12 hour shifts talking about this world class project. Its a beautiful night as I sit here and type and I am getting excited about putting together the big mural again.

The mural has been featured in the Stampede Media Guide and has been promoted to over 750,000 homes. So we know its going to get some attention here.
Many of the fantastic artists have their personal work in the Western Showcase right near the mural as well so its pretty exciting that we will get to see the artists again too. I forgot my camera so hopefully Paul and Lewis will bring one along so I can post images as we go.

The Calgary Stampede folks have been fantastic!! Donna Andersen has been so excited to bring the mural to the Stampede since we first met her at Spruce Meadows. She was so impressed with what the artists created and has really become a champion for this mural. Reminds me of being in Ohio. Its wonderful when these venues really embrace this incredible collaboration.

I must admit- I am getting excited. The Greatest Outdoor show on Earth is only two days away and we are proud to be featured at it. All the artists should be proud as well. Its going to be a great 10 days. Keep checking here...I'll be posting daily our adventures!

Philly

Three hard days and we have reached a checkpoint in the beginning of our biggest mural project to date. UNITING the UNITED STATES! It all begins with the children of one small community...the youth...then we will reach out to the entire country. This is the invitation to the nation.

We sat in 11 classrooms and worked with 270 students to create a united mural from the free minds and fresh insights of kids ranging from 5 years old to 18 years old. The ideas that came forth and were presented from brush to board was truly inspiring. So inspiring that I think already this mural will rate as one of my favorites.

There is a certain beauty in children. There is this freedom that I wish we all would retain in our minds as we age. The youngest participants in the mural hesitated the least when it came to putting forth their ideas. They weren;t worried about what others would think or whether their idea was good enough. They just painted. As did many of them...but as we worked with higher age groups you could see the level of hesitancy increase.

BUT...this was a team project.

Every piece was important for the collaborative but also was the powerful voice of each participant. As we gathered in the classrooms with the students the energy would build. They began to realize that they were going to create an amazing project with their fellow classmates and other schools from around the city. Their fears, if they had any, suddenly became excitement. As we worked with them on their paintings they gained confidence and they realized that they were just as important as the person next to them in the mural. Every piece was important!

The classes ended and we took the paintings back to the hotel. We painted and updated the class lists. Documented all the panels and started piecing the mural together to see where we were at. It was a long day but a good one. A really good one.

From what we saw today and what we experienced while we were doing the classes...I am going to sleep well tonight knowing that something really good is going to happen. Something really special...yes....I can't wait...

The second day in Utah went really well. Just as crazy busy as the first but felt more like routine. We started with junior high class, sandwiched two elementary classes in and then finished with a high school art class. The high school class was a great finish to the day as they really got into their paintings.
Actually all the kids immersed themselves into their paintings.But it was funny when the kindergarten kids heard the lunch bell...suddenly painting was second on their mind and food dominated their thoughts.

We have one more day tomorrow and then back on the plane home.
We are going to hopefully have a chance to go off into the mountains tomorrow evening and see some of the beauty of the Salt Lake region.

Day 2 in Utah and the first day with the students. Pretty intense day. Up at 6:30 a.m. and quick breakfast then off to the first school.
We were a little late but the kids were happy to see us. Lewis right away got the ball rolling and the all were thrilled. Paint was flying and the mural was on its way. We had two hours (well...actually about an hour and a half after set up and clean up) to have the kids paint a panel into the mural. They were pulling it off though and so was Lewis with his great way with the kids.
This is definitely where Lewis shines. He is a master with the kids. I can only watch and be the cheerleader. Well...I guess I bring the kids more paint and joke around with them too. I add my little tips here and there too but truth is Lewis is a buzz saw and its best to just keep them smiling until Lewis gets around to each and everyone of them. Which he does!!

We did four classes today each 2 hours long with a half hour sprint from one school to the next in between. Literally we would run out of the school and drive feverishly to the next school and set up again and get the kids painting asap. We ended at 6 p.m.....with a big sigh.

COOL THING though is that we had FOX news waiting for us in the second class of the day. A very large man by the name Big Budha (apparently seems to be a "morning show legend" on TV around here) was waiting to do an interview. Quickly he realized we were foreigner's when we showed a complete cluelessness as to who he was. Lewis in his charming way of always mixing names up called him Big Baba (meaning Ukrainian Grandma back where we are from ). He certainly didn't look like a Ukrainian women. In fact he looked more like a dangerous James Bond character who would remove his hat and throw it at you and it would slice your head off in an instant...especially if you call him Big Babba instead of Big Budha. It was good for a laugh as he corrected Lewis a couple of times.

Although its a long day it still went pretty smoothly and we have two more of these days to go. and we start earlier tomorrow. So once again...good night from Utah. More tomorrow....

So we landed today in Salt Lake City Utah. The beginning of one of our biggest mural projects yet. Hard to believe what we are starting here. On Monday we are beginning creating a mural with 11 schools in South Jordan City to lead into the giant mural that will unite all the United States. We will be up at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow and working all day lone with four schools tomorrow as a kick off to the mural.

To create these murals with children as young as 5 years old all the way to high school is incredibly rewarding. The unveiling of the mural is quite breathtaking. Not so much for the actual mural but for how each student feels just how important they truly are to the big picture. Really warms your heart.

Needless to say there is alot going on. On top of all that we are still touring the Horse Gift www.muralmosaic.com and we are beginning lining up the artists for the west coast mural KUNAMOKST!

So tonight I will have to get me some sleep as tomorrow its into th fire with students all day long. But what a day it will be!!

Pictures and more writing tomorrow. But sleep first.

Peace ;-)

AHA! So here we go with the murals of Unity!!
I am busy preparing for a very exciting summer. We are feverishly working away preparing for two BIG showing of the HORSE GIFT at the GREATEST OUTDOOR SHOW ON EARTH the Calgary Stampede!! and the Northwest Originals Art Exhibit as part of the Edmonton Alberta Capital EX (formerly Klondike Days).

Yes Alberta gets a double dose of the beautiful world renowned mural!!


We are also in discussion with a new documentary that could be created based on the West coast mural that we are abouto begin.

If you have not ben paying attention - Lewis Lavoie has been busy weekly creating an incredible mural. Its called the KING of KINGS! I will put the link here but if it does not work in my blog just copy and paste it and go to this site. http://www.muralmosaic.com/King.html It is very cool and you can watch an amazing mural come to life. The mural will be made up of leaders from around the world since the beginning of time. If you have a suggestion for a leader email it to Lewis through the website.

This is his most recent King in the mural -Go to the link above and check it out and see if you canguess what the big picture is going to be!!

Of course its TAX time right now!!! ARRRGGGGGGGGGHHHH ...so everyone is miserable and stressed. But once we get past this we can all get happy again. I have to get going as lots to do and a sunny day ahead!! Keep on Rockin in the free world :-)

April 14th...hmmm....I guess thats almost 4 months since the last blog. I guess its time to get back at it.
To start the blogging year off (in April haha) I want to emphasize one thing to anyone who cares to listen. The people in your life will matter more to you in the end then any money or material possession you can gather up. Don't worry so much about what you can selfishly obtain. Give as much as you can of yourself to others. Your gift of yourself can change someones life including yours... and in the end you will always feel fulfilled.
Don't put work ahead of your children, loved ones, family, friends. Take the time to look around at the ones you love and the ones that love you. Reach high as you pursue your careers and shoot for your dreams BUT always maintain your foundation around you. Balance is key. You may reach great heights but if in the process you lose your foundation of friends and family you will fall and fall hard.
I just spent the most amazing week with my family. My Dad just underwent major heart surgery so I travelled to the coast to spend time with him, my mom, my sister, her husband and their three adorable children. Then my brother also jumped on a plane and joined us. It was a time in my life where I had so much on the go at home but I needed to do this. I needed to take this break. My Mom and Dad gave me life and have always been there for me whenever I needed the support. Not to mention my brother and sister have always done so as well. So for all of us to come together in a time where my Dad needed us all was powerful and a good reminder of what really matters. I am going home on Wednesday with a full heart and a stronger foundation. I know I am lucky to have such a great foundation. As my life carries on I will continue to build my dreams but will always remember....my rock starts with my beliefs... with my family.... my friends. Whatever my efforts lead me to, in the end, I will always know I have someone to turn to and to share in the joy of my success or lean on in the sorrow and I will do the same for them. Take your millions....I'll take the love.

Now...with my new energy I am coming home to begin more tour dates of the mural The Horse Gift! We are honored to be showing the mural at the Calgary Stampede - in Calgary Alberta Canada and at the Capital Ex in Edmonton, Alberta Canada in July. It is quite exciting.

Also- in two weeks Lewis Lavoie and I head down to Utah to begin creating our next mural "The Freedom Mural". We begin with a smaller version of the mural which we will be creating with 253 students from grade 1- 12. Then the massive mural will begin in the fall.

We are also starting the mural "Kunomotsk". This mural is a Canadian West Coast Mural. We are creating this with artists from all along the west coast of Canada. Robert Bateman has agreed to join us once again and we are thrilled!!

I jump on a plane tomorrow a.m. from Vancouver and head home. The new adventures begin and the new stories begin. I will do my best to write daily and there will be lots to write about.

I'm back baby...I'm back ;-)

I am useless at writing Christmas cards but yet I like to write so I guess I will do my best to summarize 08 in my blog today and wish everyone a Merry Christmas at the same time.

Its been an amazing year. 2008...what a wild ride!!

I turned 40 this year on January 8th and decided to try something new. I wanted to make a difference in some way this year so I began a series of 8 events leading to 08/08/08- the day of the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics. It was a great project and was so rewarding in so many ways. Throughout the year I created shows that brought artists and musicians together for events all designed to bring unity. By the end of the year I had worked with over 75 different musicians, artists, dancers....and not to mention had a great art contest with submissions from artists from all around the world.

The spring of 2008 also gave birth to the beginnings of the mural Le Cadeau Du Cheval- The Horse Gift and my 12th annual Night of Artists festival. The NOA Festival was one of the best ever and had some amazing moment and lots of great images to treasure.Combined with the 8 events it was a busy time but a wonderful time too. I also released my 5th edition of NOA magazine. Everything was really well received and the spring was rockin' with good times and lots of excitement.

In the spring I had to make some tough decisions as well. After three years of hard work I had to make the difficult choice to step away from the Guitar Woman project. I had worked hundreds of hours helping create shows across the country, lining up media coverage, designing logos, posters, arranging photo shoots, video coverage for documentary usage, helping align web design and helping contact women for interviews. Unfortunately new directions pushed me on to different projects.
As the summer neared the 8 shows continued to gain momentum and once again I was immersed in fun times doing the Taste of Edmonton, Capital Ex and even the Artwalk. I had a wonderful year with my own personal artwork which was amazing because I barely had time to do any. The summer was very busy assembling the last few pieces of the mural The Horse Gift. Trying to locate artists, find paintings that hadn't been returned and lining up venues for the mural to be toured to once it was completed was a non stop adventure.

Also during the summer we lined up two more major mural projects for 2009!! So we are very excited about the future!

On a personal note I had a great year hanging out with my great friend Jennifer who I traveled to Vegas, Vancouver and Calgary to name a few. We both had started new projects and her support for what I was doing made things that much more enjoyable and she also had great success with her business. It was fun to watch the growth of both our projects.

MY BROTHER ALSO GOT MARRIED!! How exciting was that! He married a wonderful beautiful gal and also welcomed two new children into his life. Then to end the year off he announced that they will be having a child of their own in June of 2009! EXCITING... I love the fact I will have a little one to hang out with here in Edmonton. I miss my sister and her kids dearly and of course miss seeing my folks as well. They all live on the coast so the time I get to share with them is limited.

Sadly on another personal note I lost my best friend in the world. My little friend Roscoe died suddenly. He was the best dog I could ever have imagined. I still miss him today. Probably will for a long while.

Once the fall hit the excitement really began. The mural The Horse Gift was unveiled at Spruce Meadows in Calgary Alberta Canada. It was an instant international hit. The mural was featured in international magazines such as Cowboys and Indians, Western Horseman and Horse Illustrated and so many bigger newspapers and smaller local features in various publications.

Also we were featured on various TV Programs. Cowboy Country TV did a great feature on the mural. Also CITY TV did a segment called Celebrity Chefs where Lewis and I actually cooked while talking about the murals. Good for a laugh :-). Not to mention we worked with William Shatner, spent time with world renowned horse whisperer John Lyons, and were part of a private concert with Corb Lund.

We also did live radio broadcasts in various cities around North America. Two shows were over an hour long and were a lot of fun to do just talking about the murals.Can you believe the website www.muralmosaic.com http://www.muralmosaic.com ha shad over 20 million visits in one year??? WHOA!!!

As the fall progressed I toured with Paul Lavoie and the always entertaining Len Kozak with the mural to Calgary,Alberta- Las Vegas, Nevada -and Columbus Ohio. Lots of travel time but fun at the same time. The only thing that was missing was having Lewis Lavoie along with us as of course- he is the one that brings the murals to life. We hopefully represented him as well as all the other artists in a way that they would be proud.

As the year finishes off I sit here by my new little fireplace in minus 30 degree celcius weather in the house I have lived in for 20 years and prepare to head off to visit my family for Christmas. How blessed I am to have the incredible family I have around me again for this year. Truth is...all the other stuff I talk about is just icing on the cake. All that really matters in my life is my family and friends and the rest is my recreation. But in that recreation I have extended my family and friends.


2008 brought so many new people into my life and it has been truly an astounding year. The artists that helped with the murals and the Night of Artists shows, the musicians who believed in me and performed at all my events, the fans of the shows and the people that put everything together for me when i needed a good team...wow....what a year.
To all those that take the time to read what i write- thank you. I hope to have many more great stories in 2009. Maybe I'll take up ballroom dancing while I develop my guitar skills and work on a new series of charcoal drawings. Maybe I'll write a book on top of my annual magazine...Maybe I'll have that surgery on my shoulder I have been avoiding for 10 years.

Maybe I will just live my life day by day and treasure every moment that comes my way. Yep...thats what I will do. So for now...this is me and this is my year. Life is good...eat it up!!

Leaving Las Vegas

I honestly have to say that I am ready to get out of here. The only thing that makes me want to stay right now is the fact that I am going back home to the ultimate deep freeze ...-30 celsius from what I hear.

The mural was definitely a hit here. Too bad the people who were running the show here in Vegas didn't have a bit more vision with how to set it up as far as a good location goes as it could have been so much better. The crowds that came to see the mural were all in awe which makes it all worthwhile...always does. It was great meeting SUE KROLL, TOM DORR, PAT LAMBRECHT HOULD, DONNA RIDGWAY and a plethora of fans of KAT MOORE. I don;t think you artists know how much we look forward to meeting you. It truly puts more spirit into us when we meet the team personally that helped create this masterpiece that is loved by so many.


So we went through our typical crazy tear down 24 hours. The show on Saturday was quite slow by the afternoon so we began tearing down by 4:30 p.m.. We worked our butts off and had it all taken down by 10p.m. and then went for a nice dinner. But we couldn't relax yet. The next morning we had to get up bright and early and head back to the venue to make sure our mural shipping all was set. In the process we had to chat to all the robot businesses of Las Vegas who, from what I can gather, can not make any decisions without consulting some sort of rule book for any small requests. Enough to drive you crazy as all you want to deal with is someone who is a person with their own mind to make decisions. I guess that's where law suit mania has probably changed the world as people live in fear of the what ifs.

So when all was said and done we had survived the ordeal of las vegas and could chill out for an afternoon. So what better way to do that then too look at the fake recreations of world landmarks and appreciate the amazing detail put into the work by the local union workers in copying the masterpiece architectural structures of Europe.

So- today we will have to hang out for the day and wait for our flight tonight - late- and finally be home by 3 a.m.. Apparently its supposed to start snowing tonight in Las vegas. I guess thats our warm up (or cool down process) for heading home. Hope we don;t get snowed in!

On that note...Viva Las Vegas. We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun...but the farewell is sweet and the next mural destination will be announced soon. Now its time to head home for friends...family and a beautiful Christmas.

Here is one last shot of the mural...

LAST DAY!! Yes!! Glad its done...
It was good but home is always better. Friday had a couple of surprises. One was really cool one was not so cool. The not so cool part was we discovered that through the beauty of unions in las Vegas the cost of shipping the mural 40 yards across the parking lot of a fork lift is the same price as putting the mural on a truck and shipping it across the country. How is that possible you ask?? Thats what we asked too. Could you imagine our surprise and disappointment?? Not sure where they get their rates from for their efforts but whatever...thats "the man stickin" it to us. It felt like we were literally thrown to the dogs....or dino's
But I called Lewis back at home and he said "Phil-when you get home we'll have some apple pie and turkey and none of those bad union guys will matter anymore"...so that put a smile on my face again.

The cool news was Jewel was in the neigbourhood and not only came by the mural but was on stage next to the mural doing a show. Paul wasn;t around so we missed a photo op around the mural but it was a quick look so that might have been tough anyways. The interesting thing is that she is also on the cover of the Cowboys and Indians magazine that the mural is featured in so she can always go home and read about the mural. Much like I have done :-).The crowds were really good today and the new touch screen we have to highlight all the artists work in front of the mural is wonderful. Now all the onlookers can actually go into the website and actually read all the artists comments while they look at the mural and see who painted each square!! Its great!!

2 days left of the actual show. Whew...
Thought I'd post an image today with some trivia....These Pink FLAMINGO's are not what you would normally discover in Las Vegas. These FLAMINGO's are very pretty birds. FLAMINGO's some times stand on one leg. These FLAMINGO's can be seen in our hotel. Can you guess what hotel we are staying at?? It starts with an "F"...good luck!!

The mural had some good crowds today. The people fom the Calgary Stampede came by today and gave the mural RAVE reviews! The lady representing the Western Showcase and her husband wnt as far as to say "This is by far the highlight of the show". The Calgary Stampede is looking at bringing the mural to thier huge event as a feature in the western Showcase. That would be a great show in our back yard!

So before we left the venue I kissed the lucky elk and then went off to meet Paul and Lewis' sister and brother inlaw who came to Vegas for a visit. We decided to go out for Brazilian food at Pampas! Great idea!!! I Highly recommend it if you are a meat lover. They bring you meat on skewers of all sorts and you choose what you want to eat and pull it off the skewers as they come around to your table. Paul here is getting some Ham and Pineapple!Then we took a nice group shot of us full on Brazilian...
Today we should know about Baltimore and the next stop on the tour. I am hoping to post that right away. Keep looking here and more will be announced soon!!

ARRGGGGGHH!! I just wrote a long blog and then my computer crashed so you readers are going to get jipped now as I don;t have time to write another. The show was kinda slow yesterday but we had a cute family come by holding in their hands the Horse illustrated Magazine with the mural in it and three little girls with eyes wide as saucers staring at the mural like they had just seen Santa Claus! The mother indicated that the girls have loved horses since the day they were born and this mural is like a dream to them. The children- probably 6-7 and 8 years old literally were bouncing in their shoes and smiling from ear to ear. This makes it all worthwile to see that kind of reaction. Thre more show days to go.....

We are gearing up for a busy weekend as the big finale of the mural and the NFR happens Thursday- Saturday. Many people have been asking exactly where the mural is. It is located in the Las Vegas Convention Centre at the back corner to the right when you walk into the building. We are showcased directly beside Flint Rasmussen rodeo performer who hosts a talk show daily.

We are getting set to take a break for Christmas (which will be nice) but before we leave here we are hoping to announce the next show destination of the mural. We are just waiting for the official confirmation which should be announced soon. Its wonderful how more and more venues are contacting us asking to host the mural.

Last night Paul and I finally took in a show and chilled a bit. Then to celebrate after the fact Paul sat down and dominated the black jack tables and made almost 10 dollars. awesome...totally awesome. Paul was awarded golden beads for his black jack success from the dealer ...golden plastic beads.

Its non stop big winners here thats for sure. Only 4 more days to go and we are looking forward to the big weekend. here we go.....