Ashley Danowski's Footblog

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 18 Jun 2008 14:32

Probably going to US open.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 18 Jun 2008 15:00

Very sweet, see you there.

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 27 Jun 2008 11:49

It's confirmed. I am going to US open. I'm very happy about that.

I just came back from wal-mart where I purchased some great shred gear.

Work is kickin my ass but I've managed to play a lot recently. Now with the comp like 2 weeks away, I've told myself I have to play every day. (or as close to it as I can)

I'm a little worried about the routine, but I'm just gonna go out there and do my best. I'm more looking forward to hanging out with David and everyone. It's going to be a blast and a nice change from working all the time.

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 28 Jun 2008 17:42

Dont'cha hate when you have a bunch of energy right before you want to go to bed?

pips · Post by **pips** » 28 Jun 2008 18:49

Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was HOT like me? Haha...yeah...I don't think I got much sleep before my drive to Florida last year. Waaaay too excited to sleep.

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 15 Jul 2008 12:30

Back from the US Open. Most of my pics on facebook.

Well, I've made it a point to attend more footbag tournaments. I was thinking about going to the US Open, but I didn't really wanna shell out a ton of cash to go. I was really happy when David invited me to stay with him for free. That cut the cost of it and I decided to go, and I'm really glad I did.

highlights:

My veggie quesadillas
Much needed Q and T with DC.
Getting to know Caro better, (I wish we did doubles routine, I know we would have won!) and seeing her great routine.
Meeting a few new shreditas.
Seeing the beautiful city of Portland. (water temple is amazing)
Competing ( my 1st routine

)
Hanging out with Zach J

I wish I did better in my routine for myself. I just get nervous, but I am happy I had that experience and can't wait to do another one.

The results were:
2nd in routines
1st big trick (blurrywhirl)
1st shred 30
Neither Caro or me hit any of our combos for sick 3, lol, so we tied for 3rd.

I'm missing a lot i know. It was a really nice vacation from my life in lakeland. Definitely needed that.

Worst part- flying to and fro.

Next tournie- NYJ

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 15 Jul 2008 12:54

Some fav pics out of the bunch:

Moxie · Post by **Moxie** » 15 Jul 2008 13:23

ashleyd wrote:Next tournie- NYJ

There's no getting out of it now...

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 16 Jul 2008 15:21

Congrads on your sick trick! It was so awesome to finally meet you (since I have heard about you a bunch) and I hope we get the chance to play again soon. And maybe I will make some more pancakes just for you

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 16 Jul 2008 15:42

They were SOOO GOOOD.

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 30 Oct 2008 15:19

DAMN it has been a while.
Well my life has been a little busy but i am about to get back into kicking again. I haven't had ryhme or reason to kick the past couple months. Something today said that i should at least play once a week though. Its healthy exercise doing something I like, and i want to stay apart of the footbag community.

So I really have no desire anymore to beat Tina or win worlds. Which im ok with because i know i cant practice enough to do that. I was promoted to an assistant bakery manager and i work 50hrs a week. Basically im doing what i love (making baked goods/ breads/ cake decorating) and im perfectly happy with that. Im making killer money and im good at it. I do have a desire to play footbag but not a lot anymore to be perfectly honest. I have a desire to be the best at my job. Unfourtunatly I dont have time for both because on top of 50hrs a week I go to school 3 of those nights. and after that I have no energy to play. SO. I'll do my best.

But really this new job is good. Its super stressful, because im responsible for my entire department and associates. And i work for a grocery store that prizes themselves on looking looking perfect and being the best so the standards are really high. its not like a wal mart bakery at all.

so nyj is up in the air. if i do go it will be for 2 days. originally i wanted to be there for more but now the situation has changed.

oh and back to the school topic. i have a really great teacher, and i dont know why he teaches at pcc but his name is Vilas Tonape

QuantumBalance · Post by **QuantumBalance** » 02 Nov 2008 05:59

PCC Professor: Art, Teaching Are Natural
Vilas Tonape to demonstrate portrait painting in gallery on Friday
By DONNA KELLY
SPECIAL TO THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 3:47 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 6:50 a.m.
WINTER HAVEN |

Ask Vilas Tonape about painting and he is likely to discuss anatomy, grammar or geometry before canvas and paints.

VILAS TONAPE, professor of Art at Polk Community College, displays some of his own work at the college's Fine Arts Gallery on the Winter Haven campus this week.

"If you can draw a box, you can draw a face," Tonape said, intense eyes searching for understanding in his listeners. "You have to decipher these shapes on a face or a vase or a tree."

Tonape, 39, an award-winning artist who recently joined the faculty at Polk Community College, has a passion for art that is equaled by a desire to teach others to paint. Like the shock of azure blue or scarlet that emphasize the humanity in his portraits, his dry sense of humor creates an unexpected twinkle in his deep brown eyes.

"These are not hands. One box, two box, three box - there's your hand right there," he said with a wry smile as he looks at a finger in a nearby portrait hanging in an exhibit of his work at Polk Community College.

He makes it sound as easy as one, two, three.

"Most instructors won't correct and say a knuckle bone is wrong because they don't know," he mused, illustrating a need for both instructors and their students to be schooled in anatomy.

Several pieces in the exhibit were created with teaching in mind - sketched beside a face one might find a series of shapes done in pencil where he was demonstrating how to make a nose or mouth or eye.

Tonape will demonstrate his portrait painting skills to culminate his one-man exhibit from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Fine Arts Gallery at the Winter Haven campus of Polk Community College.

A natural born artist whose talent was nurtured and skills honed at the Sir J.J. School of Art at the University of Bombay in his native India, Tonape didn't intend to become a teacher of art.

But after graduation he was offered a fellowship teaching art at the university and he discovered that teaching, too, came naturally to him.

"I just liked it," he said, simply. "I started enjoying being with students so much. When you start seeing growth in a student, it's like a million-dollar reward."

He was offered a full scholarship to Texas Christian University, where he served as a teaching assistant and offered classes to art teachers while he completed his Masters of Fine Arts in painting.

"Education is very important to me," Tonape said.

While in Texas, he developed an art program designed to guide art teachers to a higher level so they can better inspire their students.

He has plans to start a similar program through Polk Community College.

But don't expect any textbooks - he doesn't use them.

He orally explains a project and then he shows the students how to do it in a live demonstration.

"How can you explain the nose is like a box unless you show them?" he said with amusement.

He said students have had mixed reactions to his methods, which are intense, precise and serious.

He started the semester with approximately 90 students. Now he is down to 75 or so.

But those who remain sing his praises, from those who have been painting for years to those who began this semester.

"He takes into account who has painted before and who hasn't," said Deanna Burger, who is new to painting. "He teaches you little things and all of a sudden, it just clicks."

Tonape's excitement about Burger's progress is evident. He has her pull out her first painting and then her most recent endeavor.

"Look at the difference," he said, obviously impressed with her improvement.

But he's not a pushover.

Sophomore Elizabeth Firth describes him as passionate and enthusiastic but bluntly honest.

"He's very up-front. He will tell you it's not good. He will tell you if you're going in the right direction," she said as she worked on her self-portrait in front of a mirror. "I've learned a lot this term."

Both students mentioned his availability to students and were delighted when Tonape offered to open his studio on Saturdays so they could practice.

Art Professor Gary Baker has been teaching all kinds of art and humanities classes at the college for 31 years. He believes Tonape brings something different, new and exciting to the department.

"As an artist, he has a fantastic ability to paint. His paintings aren't just academically wonderful, but they express a sense of the soul coming through - an unexpected quality gives it life," he said. "There's something bright and colorful shining through."

Baker said, that while PCC has always been a strong painting school, Tonape is making it even more so.

"We're going to have a bit of a Renaissance happening here in Polk County," Baker said. "Vilas is taking us in another direction."

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 05 Nov 2008 20:00

grrr...

ashleyd · Post by **ashleyd** » 10 Nov 2008 19:56

zeroman13 · Post by **zeroman13** » 10 Nov 2008 20:04

Pastel still life?

Very nice!!

I really like the intensity of the ribbon!