“A Modernistic Memory” is a new conceptual series based on the connectivity of memory attachments as they relate to places of significance in my past.
October 4, 2019 | Categories: 2019, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Uncategorized | Tags: A Modernistic Memory, Digital Art, Elevated Train, SEPTA, West Philadelphia | Leave a comment
“A Modernistic Memory” is a new conceptual series based on the connectivity of memory attachments as they relate to places of significance in my past.
October 4, 2019 | Categories: 2019, Art, Digital Art, Landscapes, Philadelphia, Photography, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: A Modernistic Memory, Cityscapes, Digital Art, Elevated Train, Philadelphia, SEPTA, Surrealism | Leave a comment
Here is a rewind from my trip to New Orleans. An earlier post entitled: A Bridge Never Too Far (A Seeing Through Everything Remix). I thought this digital collage would be perfect for this challenge. A layered fusion of angles and perspective. Hope you enjoy.
November 5, 2012 | Categories: 2012, Art, Child Art, Philadelphia | Tags: Abstract Art, Art, Bridge, Digital Art, Geometric Art, New Orleans, Postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry | 7 Comments
Image
it’s raining outside
– like colors
and things
with shapes
i haven’t seen
June 7, 2012 | Categories: 2010, 2011, 2012, Abstract Art, Art, Child Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Uncategorized | Tags: Abstract Art, Art, Digital Art, Images For Android Phones, Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Water | 6 Comments
The city series….
The forming of an industrial moment in time
The cities where the industrial revolution was founded….
I remember the period in our American history, when the industrial revolution was coming to an end. I was in my mid-twenties and working as a Process Engineer at the DuPont Company. If you were a young person in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s trying to believe in the American dream, a job with the DuPont Company was a great place to start.
Or so I thought. Little to my knowledge, things were about to get very difficult. Life was going to become very hard. The way in which our society ran and governed its social, civil, economic and political spheres were about to change.
The social agenda of the New Deal that sustained the dreams of many families and individuals would slowly be deconstructed until it (with the hopes of some) would be gone forever.
In the mid-seventies, early 1980’s and in 1991 we had economic recessions of various lengths. They were short, but a tell-tale sign of things to come. In 2001 we had another recession. These four recessions were not as severe as the present recession; however, the factors that led to these five occurrences over time are similar; deregulation, the creation of a “false paper economy” and an insidious construct to shift the wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.
And unfortunately it is working.
I was laid off from my job at DuPont after having worked there for four years. Still emerging from the perception that all you had to do was start at an entry level position with a good company; move up the ladder and retire 30 years later. Remember how your parents or grandparents followed this rule and uplifted themselves into the middle-class? It appears that in 2011, that route to the middle-class is long since gone and not returning any time soon. It is a global world now. It is now a have and have not world that is shattering the dreams of many. It is 146 million Americans in the United States living in poverty or near the poverty line. It is a health care system that is dysfunctional and over-wrought with cost. It is an education system that is mostly for profit (remember when the California State Schools were free). It is a manufacturing sector that barely exists. And it is a corrupt body of government that wants to protect the rich, sustained the rich and become rich, at the expense of the poor.
And the attack is calculated and vicious to the core.
But I love America. With all its faults, it still has the potential to be a great nation. But we must learn from our past, and if possible turn back the hand of time just for a moment. And perhaps in that moment we can have a true political and social conversation, wherein we remember what we fought so hard for—a fair and equal society for all.
This post is in support of all those who participate in the Occupy Wall Street protests in America and around the world.
December 16, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Politics, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Conscious Mind, Digtial Art, Dreams, Industrial Revolution, Philadelphia, Photography, Politics, Poverty, Recession, Social Injustice, The City Series | 10 Comments
The city series….
From across the park I see the days end and the last day begin
We remember what we shared—the deep dark place and beautiful heaven.
And to never forget is now the bond that liberates and heals.
It is the recovery we now hold dear
and
the rising sun….
December 12, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Poetry, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Conscious Mind, Digtial Art, Photography, Recovery, Self-Awareness, The City Series | 9 Comments
The city series….
The cyclical life of urban decay
from across the park
i remember
seeing
the place where all this started
the decaying brownstones
and
embracing the thirst that consumes
seeking awareness
in things we knew not of
finding the descent that limits
and subtracts
life
the city was dying…
and we too for years to come
December 8, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Poetry, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Conscious Mind, Digtial Art, Mindfulness, Philadelphia, Photography, Poetry, Recovery, The City Series | 12 Comments
The city series….
Dreams that never breach the walls of sleep….
Urban decay a place of broken dreams
The dreams that search for the freedom from sleep….
October 16, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Digital Art, Digital Collage, Philadelphia, Photography, Spirituality, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Digital Collage, Digtial Art, Dreams, Philadelphia, Photography, Social Injustice, The City Series | 8 Comments
The city series….
The Door (Recovery Remix 2011)
Transformation: finding new places to find oneself
The door that leads from the city
September 28, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Conscious Mind, Digtial Art, Landscapes, Philadelphia, Photography, Recovery, The City Series | 4 Comments
The city series….
Across the River the City that Sleeps with Dreams….
The city that sleeps with dreams
September 28, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Digtial Art, Dreams, Landscapes, Philadelphia, Photography, The City Series | 6 Comments
The city series….
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility (Recovery Remix 2011)
8 a.m.
tell me the lies
say that you love me
come back to haunt me
for days without end
and nights without rest
the bittersweet siren call
the addict’s sad song
3 a.m.
This post is dedicated to a dear friend, may he rest in peace. It was his kind, centered, and wise words that showed me the way to a better tomorrow.
September 28, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Poetry, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Compassion, Digtial Art, Friendship, Love, Philadelphia, Photography, Recovery, The City Series | Leave a comment
The city series….
The Playground (Recovery Remix 2011)….
Take me away from the place where all this started…this desire.
The playground
September 28, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography, The City Series, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Digtial Art, Landscapes, Philadelphia, Photography, The City Series | 2 Comments
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“Sometimes we turn the pages in the Book of Memories and come to remember the children who dream in future tense”…..
The Highwire Gallery production of The Fun House
workshop began in March 1991 at the Sayre Morris Community Center in West
Philadelphia and concluded with a performance in May. Funded by the PA Council
on the Arts, the goal was to bring together a group of children and introduce
them to the arts. Our focus would be on dance, performance, music and the visual
arts. Another important part of the workshop was for it to be a community
service, which merged different ethnic backgrounds and communities. For the
eleven girls who participated in the workshop, the hope was to inspire personal
challenges and the pursuit of their dreams. Everyone involved, the artists of
Highwire Gallery, the kids, Empress our musical director, Sandra Lynn our choreographer,
and “DADA” (Dancers Against Drug Abuse) met the challenge and worked hard to
make the program a huge success.
How do we encourage our children to dream, a dream that
inspires, enriches and motivates them to reach for the sky, and to touch just one of the millions of snowflakes that
can be found in the realm of possibilities? How do we lead them by the hand,
through the garden of hopes and dreams?
The Kids at Sandy Beach 2011
I think we do it one child at a time, one school at a time, one
project at a time, and as one community. Children love to discover, and be creative.
I strongly believe that the arts will provide them with the tools they will need for exploring their
imagination and giving birth to their dreams.
What do you feel is our children’s greatest need? What resources in our society would you like to see be provided for the well being and growth of our children? Do you believe that the arts, especially at a young age, is a vital tool for encouraging creative thinking and problem solving?
What do you think?
Select the link below for a dream-like journey into a contemporary child’s lullaby.
http://youtu.be/p3HGyXa0mjM
Winter Poem by Nikki Giovanni
once a snowflake fell
on my brow and i loved
it so much and i kissed
it and it was happy and called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
i reached to love them all
and i squeezed them and they became
a spring rain and i stood perfectly
still and was a flower
— Author and poet Nikki Giovanni
From “The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni”
And last but not least in this journey of dreams…a short animation.
http://youtu.be/e-sj8_UvD2A
July 7, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Artist Cooperative, Child Art, Dance, Digital Art, Digital Collage, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, Photography, Uncategorized, Video, Video Art | Tags: 2011, 2nd Street Art Building, Abstract Art, Ambition, Art, Art Exhibition, Aspiration, Children, Compassion, Dance, Digital Collage, Digtial Art, Dreams, Flowers, Found Art, Friendship, Fun House, Highwire Gallery, Love, Painting, Performance Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Poetry, Rap, Video | 11 Comments
http://youtu.be/6Gc0oD7okEk
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / Resolution and Redemption was first conceived as a collaborative project with video artist Walter Smith and fellow artist / singer / actor and friend, Ronald Freeman in 1994. The emotional impetus for the project was the ever increasing urban decay surrounding us in Philadelphia. Through substance abuse, drug warfare, and a rapid deterioration of its infrastructure, we came to see our beloved city in a struggle for survival. The original song, Hunger for Holiness, which accompanied the original video was written and sang by Ronald. The composition sought to give insight to the problems and plight of the urban construct and hope for a better tomorrow. In this remixed version, a dreamlike jazzy trance score replaces the composition to create an otherworldly sense of ambiguity, but again hope.
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / A Self Portrait of Resolution and Redemption
June 15, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Digital Art, Music, Philadelphia, Uncategorized, Video | Tags: 2011, Art, Conscious Mind, Digtial Art, Mindfulness, Music, Philadelphia, Photography, Ronald Freeman, Social Injustice, Substance Abuse, Urban Decay, Video, Walter Smith | 7 Comments
The Whipping Machine Acid Flex Dance Remix 1989 / 2010
http://youtu.be/rvSKJjCkVx0 Youtube video
In continuing the Post Canvas and Paint series, I am presenting a video piece entitled The Whipping Machine Acid Flex Dance Remix 1989 / 2010. It is a video art abstraction created as a video segment of The Whipping Machine, a multi-media performance of modern dance theatre performed at The Painted Bride Art Center in June of 1989 in Philadelphia. Utilizing the Amiga 1000 computer and multi-layering soft and hardware effects, I explore the pulsating ambient rhythm of marbled abstraction. In this segment the video represents the mesmerizing intoxication and manipulation by the industrial complex on the masses. Today I am posting this piece as a reflection of our current political and economic struggles.
Stay informed and stand up to tyranny and deception.
June 1, 2011 | Categories: 2010, 2011, Art, Digital Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: 1989, 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Art Exhibition, Dance, Digital Collage, Digtial Art, Installation, Music, Painted Bride Art Center, Performance, Philadelphia, Photography, The Whipping Machine, Theatre, Video | 1 Comment
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When searching for meaning in a catalogue of artistic events,
does one art form influence another?
Looking back through my history of art exhibits, shows, and performances,
I wonder how these events have influenced my art to date. In pondering this rather profound question, I
also must ask how the art of others have influenced my work as well. Can I be,
as well as my art, a product of both a historical and contemporary mindset of various
artistic disciplines? Does art from such masters as Salvador Dali, or Matisse
in painting, or Rodin in sculpture, or performance and visual art from my peers
Lili White, Constance Kocs, or Paul Curci respectively, and the post-modern dance / avant-garde operas of Pina Bausch compel
the creative spark as well as say a musical performance by jazz artist John
Coltrane or minimalist Steve Reich?
As an artist, I’ve always thought it was extremely important
to be both creative and observant. Art
flows through the eyes of the artist, into the interpreting mind, through the reflective
soul and back into world.
I began drawing and painting at an early age while listening
to “Soul” music from such artists as The Temptations, Sam and Dave, Diana Ross and
Marvin Gaye. But in 1970 at age 14 while
browsing through my older cousins’ record collection, I came across two visually
stunning album covers. They were Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies and Miles Davis’
Kind of Blue. I had never heard of these musicians, but the combination of the on
stage black background and their psychedelic shirts full of abstract color led
me to investigate. The music was incredible. It was provocative, edgy, exploratory,
and new. Here is a perfect example of how visual stimulation of one kind led to
the discovery of something completely new in the form of sound and improvisational
composition.
Yes, with our imagination, one art form can influence the
discovery of another and how it is translated into a new vision.
Over the years, as I moved from painting to digital art, I continued
to maintain a traditional approach to my art while simultaneously embracing and
supplementing it with all things contemporary. I would like to think that my
digital art can and does incorporate the movement of dance in its lines, the conceptualization
of operatic design in its production, the intricate sound and improvisation of minimalism,
and jazz in its syncopated patterns. And color…lots of color, insight, intuition,
and emotion—full of warmth, that when observed closely can be found in the arts
of old and new.
What do you think? As an artist, musician, poet, dancer,
patron, blogger, or lover of creativity, does one form of art influence
another?
For me it is interesting that as I explore this new
expression called blogging, my subliminal intent is to somehow have art
influence how I blog and the tool of blogging become part of the process of
creating art.
In the meantime enjoy the slide show: In the Reflective
Mirror / Various Artistic Influences 04: searching for moments of meaning in a
catalogue of events.
- Towards the Reflection of Art, Digital Artist,
Walter Smith
- 19 American Artists, Highwire Gallery, Berkgerk,
Deventer 1990
- Constance Kocs, Highwire Artist
- Meredith Monk: 1987 Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn
Academy of Music
- Dance at BAM: Next Wave Festival , Digital Remix
2011 Walter Smith
- Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, Gebirge: 1984 Next Wave Festival,
Brooklyn Academy of Music
- Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, Arien: 1984 Next Wave Festival,
Brooklyn Academy of Music
- Philadelphia Artists Cooperative (Highwire
Gallery) founded 1987
- Sometimes in the Waking the Reality is More
Pressing than the Dream, review, City Paper,
2000
- Pina Bausch, Steve Reich, Next Wave Festival,
Brooklyn Academy of Music
- Statements After the Arrest Under the Immorality
Act, Wilma Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa
- Louvre, Paris, France 1990
- Lili White, Highwire Artist
- Paul Curci, Highwire Artist, City Paper
Publisher, Philadelphia, Pa
- Steve Reich, minimalist composer
- Miles Davis, jazz composer
- Dance at BAM: Next Wave Festival , Digital Remix
2011 Walter Smith
- The Birth
of the Poet: 1985 Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, photo
Beatriz Schiller, Digital Remix 2011, Walter
Smith
- Billie Holiday & Dechen Shak-Dagsay
- Stigmata, (Michael Davenport & George
Wolstenholme) electronic music composers
- Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker,
jazz composers
- Post Canvas and Paint Series 10.14.2010.8:07.a.m.
Digital Artist, Walter Smith
May 14, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Artist Cooperative, Digital Art, Digital Collage, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, Photography | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Art Exhibition, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Charlie Parker, Constance Kocs, Digital Collage, Digtial Art, Found Art, Highwire Gallery, John Coltrane, Landscapes, Lili White, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Mindfulness, Modern Dance, Next Wave Festival, Opera, Painting, Paul Curci, Performance Art, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Artist Cooperative, Photography, Pina Bausch, Steve Reich, Video | 6 Comments
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What do you expect from art? How does art feel when it is
found? Where do you find art? Can art be here but not there? Is art on the
street? Why is art beautiful? Is art beautiful only when seen? Does art answer philosophical
questions? Does your child make art knowingly? Is art around the corner from
where you live? Do you dine near art? Is art inside your home, but not on your
wall? Can art be lost? Does art have longevity and sustainability? Is art your
religion? Is point A to point B art? Is art in an industrial park or in a
trailer park or in the park? Is art mobile? Is art agile? Is art sensitive unto
itself? Is art fragile? Does art have emotions? Is art dead?
What is modern art? What is post-modern art? What is
impressionism? What is expressionism? What is conceptualism? Is art abstract?
Is art figurative? Is art delineated by isms? Is art an analog tape loop? Is
art a digital sequence? Is art a light reflected? Is art a moment in time? Is
art a movement in contrast? Is art a reality unknown? Can art be more than it appears? Is
art a collection of artists? Is art a contract? Can art be voided, misplaced or
oppressed? Does art need to be more? Does art save the day? Can art save when it
has failed? Will art survive when it is destroyed? Does art breathe? Will art breathe
in us? Is art under water, in the sky, in a mother’s womb, or found bathed in silence?
Does art give birth? Is art alive?
What do you think? Why ask questions about art?
In the meantime enjoy the slide show: In the Reflective
Mirror / Various Artistic Influences.
- The Whipping Machine, Collective Enterprises
Productions 1989, Painted Bride Art Center
- The Whipping Machine, Michael Davenport, Walter
Smith, Van Grimes 1989
- The Whipping Machine, Painted Bride Art Center, 1989
Philadelphia Pa.
- Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music
- Molissa Fenley and Dancers, Geologic Moments: Next
Wave Festival 1986, original photo Marcus Leatherdale, digital remix Walter
Smith
- Critics Pick, Solo Exhibition, Computer Art, Villanova Art Gallery 2001, Walter Smith & First Friday,
Walter Smith, Robert Wulbrecht, Marita Fitzpatrick
- 2 Men 4 Walls 1 Month, Highwire Gallery 1991,
Walter Smith & Mark Stolte
- Eiko & Koma’s New Moon Stories: Next Wave
Festival 1986, original photo Marcus Leatherdale, digital remix Walter Smith
- Commodore Amiga Computer, Genesis of Computer Art 1985
- Michael Clark and Company: Next Wave Festival
1986, original photo Marcus Leatherdale
- Ash Ra Tempel, The Gatherings Concert Series, St Mary’s Church,
University of Pa.
- Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker: Next Wave Festival
1986, Brooklyn Academy of Music 1986
- Scenes from CIVIL warS, Act v – the Rome
section, by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass, original photo Peter Simon, digital
remix Walter Smith
- Steve Roach, Ambient Music, & Relache, Philadelphia Ensemble for Contemporary
Music, 1987
- John Cage: Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy
of Music 1986, photo Peter Hujar
- Life and Stolen Innocence, Walter Smith, Highwire
Gallery 1992, Philadelphia Pa
- Philip Glass: Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn
Academy of Music 1986, original photo Lynn Davis, digital remix Walter Smith
- Robert Wilson: Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn
Academy of Music 1986, original photo Peter Hujar, digital remix Walter Smith
- Impossible Theater Social Amnesia: Next Wave
Festival 1986, original photo by Erik Kvalsvik, digital remix Walter Smith
- Merce Cunningham’s Summerspace with scenery and costumes by Robert
Rauschenberg, original photo by Jack Mitchell, digital remix Walter Smith
- Post Canvas and Paint Series 10.13.2010.6:48.a.m.
Digital Artist, Walter Smith
April 28, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Artist Cooperative, Digital Art, Digital Collage, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Abstract Art, Art, Art Exhibition, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dance, Digital Collage, Digtial Art, Found Art, John Cage, Landscapes, Merce Cunningham, Michael Clark, Nature, New York City, Next Wave Festival, Opera, Painted Bride Art Center, Painting, Philadelphia, Philip Glass, Photography, Relache, Robert Wilson, The Gatherings Concert Series, Theater | 2 Comments
Dionanna Lady McFadden-Smith
In Celebration of a Life Deeply Loved 01
A Rose
A long slender Rose represents my life
The Rose is sensitive, elegant, delicate…
But Vicious
Harsh to the touch
Manipulating…Deceiving
She makes you want to touch but
You may not touch
Sharp thorns protect her
The Rose is peace, love, beauty
Her red petals speak of love,
Passion, deep down feelings
The Rose needs care
Lots of care
Water, water…constantly
Soil…Rich soil nurtures her mind
Makes her beautiful
The ground is her home
Hard, solid, tough
Nature is her world
By
Lady McFadden
February 10th 1992
March 17, 2011 | Categories: 2011, Art, Philadelphia, Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Art, Compassion, Daughter, Dionanna McFadden, February 25 1978, Flowers, Friendship, Greater Bibleway Temple, Lady, Love, March 7 2011, Mindfulness, Mother, Nature, Philadelphia, Poetry, Rose, Spirituality, Sunrise, Sunset, Water | 3 Comments
Found art exhibit from the "Island" on the Delaware River
It has been an interesting past few days. Via Facebook, I have been able to start reconnecting with members of Highwire Gallery. In the late 1980’s a group of artists joined together to create the Philadelphia Artists Cooperative which later became Highwire Gallery Inc. An innovative and cutting edge group of artists began finding unique places to exhibit their work in downtown Philadelphia. Some shows were in abandoned lumber yards and cathedrals, market places like the Reading Terminal, and various galleries, historical locales and even a found art exhibit on an island on the Delaware River. During this period, a bond among the artists, and a direction for the cooperative was formed. A permanent locale was founded in 1990 at the 2nd Street Art Building. The 2nd Street Art Building was a distinct hub of creativity with its housing of four galleries in Old City Philadelphia. Throughout the years and to this day Highwire, with its ever-changing host of artists, remains a vibrant and fresh creative force in Philadelphia.
I hope through this blog to connect with my fellow Highwire artists and invite them to talk about our experience together and their own creative pursuits since leaving the group. I am also interested in the thoughts and ideas of the artists that have sustained and promoted the co-op to this present day. As time evolves, it remains vitally important that our connection to our past is remembered, and that the ideas of those who hold the future of Highwire past through us all. In doing so we bring together as one, the words, vision, and thoughts that sustain us and the legacy of the Philadelphia Artist Cooperative.
December 29, 2010 | Categories: 2010, Art, Artist Cooperative, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia | Tags: Art, Bridge, Delaware River, Found Art, Highwire Gallery, Installation, Island, Landscapes, Painting, Petty Island, Video, Water | 3 Comments
a beautiful young lady pooh
This weekend has been very fruitful in many different ways. My daughter, Lady gave birth to a baby girl on Christmas day. What a beautiful thing on this sacred day. Shawn and Lady have decided to name her Ming Carter Ellis McFadden. I also found myself exploring new ground here on my blog. Discovering a great showcase theme for the blog and importing my own image for its background: elements from the piece entitled “The Mind in Conscious Meditation.” I will continue to edit the blog page until I incorporate all the components needed to create a beautiful and functional blog page.
December 27, 2010 | Categories: 2010, Philadelphia, Photography | Tags: 2010, Art, Christmas Day, Granddaughter, Ming Carter Ellis Mcfadden | 2 Comments