It’s great to have the opportunity to work with organizations that you have known about for years. I remember as a kid watching films of CCC of America. When they called about starting up a working relationship I was ecstatic.

This new documentary series strays a bit from their usual animated films. It’s been great having the opportunity to learn about their new direction and I am excited to see what is next for them.

Make sure to browse around the site, and even enter to win a copy of the documentary series that will be released in the very near future.

Much of the website work coming out of the Likable Art camp lately has been graced by the genius of Bryan Murdaugh and his web development skills, and this project was no exception. Bryan is a solid Catholic family man that can speak enough geek to scare away most trekkies. It’s great to have Bryan on board, and keep an eye out for plenty more websites launching soon.

Watch on YouTube

The Franciscan Youth Outreach approached me before the summer began about doing two videos for this past summer’s Steubenville Conferences. One of these videos was to preface confession at each of the 18 conferences. We worked together on several videos together for 2010′s conferences and received a great response. That being said they wanted to make sure that we had a video that had a completely different concept for this year’s confession video.

I Had a reflection a couple of weeks ago when praying in front of a statue of our Virgin Mother. Staring and praying I noticed the snake at the feet of Mary and had a moment of realization that when we’re entrenched in sin were closer to ever to the feet of the holy family. We’re already in a humble position and all we have to do is stop sipping of the venom and let our eyes look up in humility and awe. The greatest of sinners have the potential to become the greatest of saints.

Fr. Don Calloway is the perfect example of an extreme conversion that has led him all the way from the Japanese mafia to solemn priesthood. His story was one that touched me greatly in high school and when thinking of new ideas for a video his name continued to come up. He graciously agreed to do the project and it was such a blessing to have him share his story. His perspective is unique coming from a background of being familiar with every sin in the book and now sitting on the other side of the confessional, hearing those same sins but being an instrument of Christ’s forgiving each and every person.

Thanks so much to Keith Major for lending his interviewing and cinematography skills and also to Paul Vogrinc for the closing music track.

I love having the opportunity to share the work of Likable Art, but I wanted take a moment to share about some work of some incredible fellow designers. The shirt seen here is something I’ve never seen before, using a QR code on the shirt. About a month back one of the guys from Catholic to the max asked if they could use a pro-life video I made a few years back. I love the creative use of new media, and the visual of the crosses starts to put the reality of abortion into perspective. Grab the shirt here.

For more Catholic T-shirts be sure to check out some friends on the west coast with the PAL Campaign, and Paradox Clothing, or if the East Coast is more your thing check out the threads over at Nally tees.

Watch on YouTube

Next week starts World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. The USCCB contacted Likable Art to put together a video in preparation for their trip of a diverse group of Americans that are heading to Madrid. They are also doing some really cool, new, and interactive ways of helping those who can’t make it to Madrid participate. Check out how to participate at Virtual World Youth Day and their Facebook page.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” – 1 Cor 15:55

Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. I’ve been in awe of the sacrament of confession and the healing graces that come from it. When Alicia, a youth minister from Alabama, was looking for shirts for her upcoming “Restored” retreat, it was exciting to explore God’s mercy through design. The final design ended up simple and subtle yet clear. Sometimes we can end up unrecognizable, riddled with sin. But when we ask for His mercy God restores and makes us who we were supposed to be, our best versions of ourselves.

Such a delight last weekend to take part in John Paul and Melanie’s wedding in Colorado. I had the opportunity to design these wine labels for a gift to their guests. This coming weekend, I’ll be finding my way to Indiana to shoot a wedding film about another beautiful couple. It is so great to be a witness of love and the Sacraments.

Note: In case you were wondering, this was a sweet apricot wine, handcrafted by the bride and groom.

...They say the key to comedy is to not over explain things. Luckily I’m not a comedian, so here I go. This is a sticker I put together for the multi-talented Bob Rice. Bob literally has no sense of smell, I’ve even heard he was going to get a trained dog to do his smelling for him. When he asked me about putting together some funny stickers that joked about this fact, I thought, oh boy it’s got to be a scratch and sniff sticker. If you’re curious what the sticker smells like you can probably just smell your monitor as it has a very similar smell.
…..If you do nothing else today, make sure to check out Bob and his ministry. Bob has inspired my faith life over and over again, and brought me to tears in laughter countless times. Make sure to check out his newly released book, and his 35 day Spiritual workout.

….Brad is a multi-talented seminarian in the diocese of Baton Rouge. As he was wrapping up with his EP in Nashville he contacted me about putting together album art. He had a very specific theme woven throughout the EP and had a vision of corresponding artwork that would give a modern look to ancient truths. His songs spring from the lives of the Saints and the life of the Church. Much inspiration was drawn from old Gregorian chant notations as well as imagery of light and direction. “Ad Orientem” means ‘Facing East’ and we see that reflected throughout the album and the design. On the CD we find a compass that is a bit unusual with East being in the prominent position that North would usually claim. Be sure to check out Brad’s site and get a hold of some of his new music.

….In 2002 I had the opportunity to see John Paul II in Toronto, Canada. Seeing such a loving man with his desire to serve the least, meet people just where they are at, and take them to the cross was inspirational and unforgettable. My respect for the man has only grown as I’ve been able to study his writings, visit his home town, and his grave. Now I am humbled to have the opportunity to work on the new BlessedJP2.com which just launched earlier this week in preparation for the beatification this weekend. Check out the site for resources and to watch the beatification live! This site is the brainchild of NET NY of the wonderful diocese of Brooklyn.

….. I met Kate Deasy in a Denny’s in a hot summer evening in Florida. While the food was far from memorable, the friendship was lasting. Since she has become a close friend to me and my entire family (known around my house as ‘Boston Kate’) Recently Kate was diagnosed with MS and I cannot be more floored by her courage to battle. This weekend Kate along with various friends and family are taking the battle by the handlebars and riding 60 miles along the beautiful Martha’s Vineyard backdrop. If you find yourself having the means to donate to Team Deasy fo’ Sheezy and the cause please do so! Pictured is the team shirts that I had the wonderful opportunity to design.