We are back to $5500 between the razoo and paypal. wahoo!  Thank you for transferring your pledges, and if you are having any snags, please let me know. I want it to be easy! (easier than getting permits)
http://www.razoo.com/story/Livingseasculpture

http://colleenflanigan.com/index2.htm

My energy is still high and hopeful for a July or August installation. Thank you for your emotional and financial contributions and belief in me, this project and the vision. If you are short on time: check out the photos at the bottom!!

I'm just back from TEDxMonterey "Sea Change" last Friday in California.  It was a dream of a "job" to be invited to be the licensee and help create the event with Eva Gudbergsdottir, Bob Cole, and Colleen Ann Beye at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, MIIS. (will do best to use as many acronyms in this as possible, since I know they really like them at MIIS). www.tedxmonterey.org   It was live-streamed in 7 languages!

From scientists to economists, dancers, to educators, seafood to subsistence fishermen, it was all oceans.  I was invited to speak: "Coral Restoration-Mutual Symbiosis in the Anthropocene" was my topic (thanks, Eric Berlow, for Anthropocene) and to have Trash Tara (latest alter ego in progress) be an interactive exhibit in the Innovation Lounge. No, I did not curate myself into the show! but was grateful to be asked and to invite some unique presenters and loungers: Sustainable Now Technologies http://www.sustainablenowtechnologies.com/#/home

and theBlu.com

Inspired by the Oceans, theBlu is a socially-connected, global interactive screensaver. Each time you participate, your interactions and connections impact the flow of life in theBlu and everyone's experience of it.

TheBlu is created and curated Academy Award-winning leaders and world-class artists and developers - we call them Makers. Each time you purchase beautiful species and habitats to add to the globally-connected Ocean, you support oceanic conservation."

On May 4th theBlu launches in Times Square. Please come if you can!

I will be in NY for an art opening May 3: http://www.triagallerynyc.com/upcoming.htm

and will help theBlu with their launch..
Amphitrite will be on the scene...

Those of you who made it to TEDx, thank you and happy to see you there! Everyone else, happy to share with you that the coral refuge is still on track.

Paraphrasing Lynne Cox, swimmer of the English Channel and other cold vast waters, the path (straight) may look like 5 hours, but it is 12 hours after you have to snake around and navigate the currents, tides, and wildlife.  that is why it is a challenge and why people dream big dreams. not because they are easy. Yes, i am talking to myself here.

here is a photo of Alyssum Pohl and I at the event.  She was my creative cohort in the Trash Tara exhibit where we displayed the costume in-progress and asked people to help make her catch-all out of plastic holders and fish nets. A way to collect trash and transform our negative guilt or denial about our garbage into something more positive and pro-active.

catch-all on the wall (in-progress)

all photos by Alyssum Pohl http://on.fb.me/JJHwbu

what a steep finale! thank you all for giving your time and money to realize this coral refuge! Some of you have expressed interest in transfering your donation to another location so you can still be a part of the installation of the Living Sea Sculpture. 

2 easy options:

http://colleenflanigan.com/index2.htm  there is a donate button on the top right that takes you to paypal for the Living Sea Sculpture

http://www.razoo.com/story/Livingseasculpture  I set up a razoo account through this non-profit donation site. There is no deadline, no rewards, (I can even donate to myself!)...If you happened to go to TED and received a $100 gift card in the gift bag, you can use it for this if you like.

About the rewards, please message me with any questions.

my immediate reflection:  I am too tired and amazed by the whole experience to be disappointed.  I am happy that I took the risk to do another kickstarter with forethought, but not analysis paralysis.  Things could have held me back -timing, wondering too hard about the goal. It was worth the "failing" to "succeed" in getting to know more people interested and invested in seeing this through to become a Living Sea Sculpture.   If you could have seen me tonight pull over to try and crash a Ford private party I stumbled upon to announce the project.. Turns out it was next door to Icebreaker, sponsors of TED, and even though the store was closed, Dustin with his full beard came to the door, pulled up the project on his computer, and emailed the owner to see what she might do to help with 4 hours to go.  There was even a TED Fellows directory from the recent 2012 Long Beach conference on his desk.  The whole day was like a fluid letting go and hoping for a miracle and making skeletons for stop-motion puppets. (stream of consciousness it was~)

With such a wide gap to bridge yesterday ($29,000!), I started to call and email more people. Everyone was ready to help, "I'm glad you reached out."  Kindness:)  By today, it was more like popcorn, watching pledges. I was moved by the energy upwelling after a slow start for this kickstarter. 

In this late hour, it feels quite fabulous to have done two kickstarters in 2 years and to have had such uniquely poignant moments during each intense trial.  The stress makes the memories stick and heightens the lessons, I think for me, anyway. 

So I Thank you again! I will keep you posted on the papers in Mexico. 

sweet dreams, Colleen 

4 days to raise $31,000. Thank you all for jumping in to support this effort! 

I'm so grateful for the outreach and positive responses from people.  The TED team posted this yesterday. Karen Eng, the author, really took care: http://blog.ted.com/2012/03/09/sculpting-coral-gardens-fellows-friday-with-colleen-flanigan/

And I started this TED conversation (thank you, Nafissa): http://www.ted.com/conversations/9872/reviving_corals_how_can_yo.html

If you feel the spirit- nothing to lose!!- Here are some things you can do while the sands shimmy down the hourglass:
First, call that person who is just waiting to install a coral reef!  You know the one who keeps saying, "I have $30,000 earmarked for a coral reef and am in a quandary!" They need your help NOW.

after that, please consider some of these actions:
share the project with your voice, Facebook, tweet, email: http://kck.st/zSzTb7
if you tweet: please hashtag:  #livingseasculpt

"like" the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingSeaSculpture
follow the twitter feed: @livingseasculpt

invite people directly to donate as little as $1 and as much as they are able. If they are new to kickstarter, you can explain that unless we meet our goal, no money will be exchanged.  They are making a tax-deductible pledge at this time.
$35,000 must be pledged by the final hour of March 14th 11:22 PM PST (Mar 15, 2:22 EST). If we raise the $35,000, then their donation will be deposited. And there are a lot of creative rewards offered for the donation. http://kck.st/zSzTb7

Send a press release. Write a blog post. Send an email to those who have passion for this cause and will keep the energy building. share this: http://blog.ted.com/2012/03/09/sculpting-coral-gardens-fellows-friday-with-colleen-flanigan/

Come to the tango fundraiser in Portland (poster below). I'll give my 4 minute TED U Talk. tango lesson at 7:30.  Invite your Portland, OR friends. (that happened last night. Thank you to those of you who attended, if not, we wish you were there:)

When I began this project last year, I had never tried to raise funds on this scale before. It has been a huge journey for me to design, direct, and coordinate all facets of this international project. 

Why is it urgent?  Until the sculpture is in the water, it is rusting on land and not serving the corals and local economy, or reaching the world through the documentary that we are making.

Thanks to so many generous kickstarter backers and private donors past and present, I look forward to announcing that we reached our goal and will be installing this year!!!

Please join these final days of outreach and funding.  I am looking into grants and other means of support, yet I have to say, kickstarter has made this possible so far and I am GRATEFUL! 

Thank you for listening and doing what you can to bring this colorful marine ecosystem to life and standing with me for this synergistic ocean restoration.

my very best,
Colleen aka Amphitrite