Special Events "Painted Alive" Gallery Opens, World's First Bodypainting Gallery Saturday, April 29th 2006 Madelyn and I drove down to New Orleans with my brother Gregg and his wife Lucyna to attend the grand opening of our friend Craig Tracy's most ambitious project yet - the opening of an art gallery in a most prestigious section of Royal Street in the French Quarter. Craig won the top honors at the World Bodypainting Festival in Seeboden, Austria for his airbrush talents in 2004-2005, and has built a body of fine art bodypainting work that has gathered acclaim internationally. We were amongst those exhibiting in the new gallery and also painted several models live for the opening night's festivities alongside Fillipo Ioco, another noted bodypainter now living in Los Angeles, CA. It was very well attended and generated a lot of excitement and awareness for this new, emerging art form. News of the opening was carried though national news outlets around the country. We had a great time with Craig, Kayce, Fillipo, and the incomparable Marrus and Jay. Plus it was amazing to see New Orleans again a year after our participation in the "The Flesh Art Show" (another bodypainting event), this time post-hurricane Katrina. We toured some of the devastated areas in the lower ninth ward and were truly humbled and moved in compassion for these people who still have so far yet to go to restore their lives and their city.