ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Progress
I am Lou
My name is
Howard “Skip” Way
January 7, 2015-
 |
| Julie's Roses (Apalachicola by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings) |
Many artists say that the most challenging aspect of their work is finding inspiration. Their drive is not only to create, but to create something meaningful. These challenges are significant for anyone to face, but they are made even more difficult for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite this challenge, Howard “Skip” Way has found the inspiration to create thousands of artworks while he battles this terrible disease.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Skip was always fascinated with California's native flora and landscapes. As a young man, Skip worked a variety of jobs, including helping to manage his father's warehousing/distribution consulting business in the Washington D.C. area. Soon after returning to San Francisco, California, he worked for 18 years as a paralegal and notary focused in estate planning. He was an avid hiker and amateur nature photographer/collagist and sometime poet. All of that changed when he started experiencing his first ALS symptoms in 2002 (slurred speech and weakness in his left leg which caused him to fall repeatedly-- several of these falls resulted in serious injuries). Later he started experiencing severe, painful cramping in his legs. A period of gradual disability ensued, during which he continued to work while having many diagnostic tests (MRIs, EMGs, brain scans, etc.) as his neurologist tried to diagnose him.
“Being a baseball fan, I knew about Lou Gehrig and the progressive terminal disease named for him. At first, my neurologist gave me a working diagnosis of primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) because I continued to pass electromyography (EMG) tests. In 2004, I finally failed an EMG, so the diagnosis was changed to ALS."
 |
| Zinnia Rovers (White Freightliner by Gillian Welch with Mike McKinley 9/4/01) |
Skip retired from the law practice shortly after receiving this new diagnosis. Just a week after retiring, his symptoms progressed significantly and he required hospitalization. It became apparent that he could no longer live in his two-story walk-up apartment, so he moved in with his brother, attorney Larry Way, in Half Moon Bay where he lived for four years. On Labor Day, 2008, he broke his leg after a bad fall and needed to move into a skilled nursing facility to recover. When the cast came off after 11 weeks, he found that he could no longer stand on his own. It was determined that he would need to stay at the nursing center, and he has resided there ever since.
“In 2005, my sister, Andrea, who works as a fine artist, had turned me on to the program called MS Paint, and I started doing digital drawings with it,” Skip said. “In January 2009, I started making videos of my drawings set to music. In 2011, my sister sent me some flower photos she took on a Hawaiian vacation. I started messing around with them and soon started doing ‘flower riffs’ videos. Andrea has kept me supplied with flower photos for me to work with. A primary technique I use in my flower riffs is to double up images to create an often unexpected new image. I do a series of doubling on the riffs on the original photo, sometimes creating over 50 collages/riffs. I often excerpt out part of an image and create a new art work.”
In the past six years, Skip has created over 30,000 drawings and over 400 flower collage videos of his artwork. A lover of music spanning from folk to flamenco, Skip incorporates his favorite songs into the making of his flower riffs.
 |
| Sail Away Ladies (music by Mozaik) |
“I have always loved sharing music that I like and often made music tapes for good friends,” Skip said. “I also went to many live music shows both alone and with friends. My videos proved to be an ideal way to share my art and the music that I like.”
The background songs set the mood for the composition and color of Skip’s art, which now primarily consist of riffs on flower photos by his sister and other friends. His love of nature is evident in his work. Before ALS took away his ability to walk, Skip loved hiking and taking photos on Mt. Tamalpais and at the Point Reyes National Seashore. The Four Corners area between Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah was a favorite spot of his to photograph nature scenes.
Skip’s care manager of seven years, Kim Venezia of The ALS Association Golden West Chapter, is continuously astounded by the Never Give Up spirit apparent in his artwork.
“Skip introduced me to his work and I was immediately struck by the colors he chose to emphasize the content as well as his tenacity to pursue his passion regardless of how difficult living with ALS had become. I am so glad that folks will get to see his work and hopeful that the inspiration he pulls from within will be recognized and embodied by those who read his story and view his creations. It sure has been so for me.”
Skip’s digital art has also been turned into unique jewelry pieces by his cousin, Denise Harrison of Sterling Echoes. He utilizes striking color palettes to create complex patterns that are then resized and etched into metal to create original sterling silver jewelry. A portion of the proceeds from his designs then go on to benefit The ALS Association.
 |
 |
| Skip's digital art is used as inspiration for Sterling Echoes Jewelry |
|
“Living with ALS is a challenge, to say the least,
especially when you have been confined to a bed 24/7 for six years,” Skip said. “In
a way, I am lucky that my variant of ALS is relatively slow progressing. Social
media, primarily Facebook and YouTube where I post my art, has helped me to
make new friends and connect with old friends and my many cousins. I treat my
art as a job, and creating and sharing it gives me a purpose and keeps my mind
active. Creating the art is also fun and helps distract me from the challenges
of living with ALS.”
You can view Skip’s art videos on his YouTube Channel.
 |
| Thru The Morning, Thru The Night (Plant & Krauss Live) |
I am Lou
My name is
Howard “Skip” Way
January 7, 2015-
|
| Julie's Roses (Apalachicola by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings) |
Many artists say that the most challenging aspect of their work is finding inspiration. Their drive is not only to create, but to create something meaningful. These challenges are significant for anyone to face, but they are made even more difficult for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite this challenge, Howard “Skip” Way has found the inspiration to create thousands of artworks while he battles this terrible disease.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Skip was always fascinated with California's native flora and landscapes. As a young man, Skip worked a variety of jobs, including helping to manage his father's warehousing/distribution consulting business in the Washington D.C. area. Soon after returning to San Francisco, California, he worked for 18 years as a paralegal and notary focused in estate planning. He was an avid hiker and amateur nature photographer/collagist and sometime poet. All of that changed when he started experiencing his first ALS symptoms in 2002 (slurred speech and weakness in his left leg which caused him to fall repeatedly-- several of these falls resulted in serious injuries). Later he started experiencing severe, painful cramping in his legs. A period of gradual disability ensued, during which he continued to work while having many diagnostic tests (MRIs, EMGs, brain scans, etc.) as his neurologist tried to diagnose him.
“Being a baseball fan, I knew about Lou Gehrig and the progressive terminal disease named for him. At first, my neurologist gave me a working diagnosis of primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) because I continued to pass electromyography (EMG) tests. In 2004, I finally failed an EMG, so the diagnosis was changed to ALS."
|
| Zinnia Rovers (White Freightliner by Gillian Welch with Mike McKinley 9/4/01) |
Skip retired from the law practice shortly after receiving this new diagnosis. Just a week after retiring, his symptoms progressed significantly and he required hospitalization. It became apparent that he could no longer live in his two-story walk-up apartment, so he moved in with his brother, attorney Larry Way, in Half Moon Bay where he lived for four years. On Labor Day, 2008, he broke his leg after a bad fall and needed to move into a skilled nursing facility to recover. When the cast came off after 11 weeks, he found that he could no longer stand on his own. It was determined that he would need to stay at the nursing center, and he has resided there ever since.
“In 2005, my sister, Andrea, who works as a fine artist, had turned me on to the program called MS Paint, and I started doing digital drawings with it,” Skip said. “In January 2009, I started making videos of my drawings set to music. In 2011, my sister sent me some flower photos she took on a Hawaiian vacation. I started messing around with them and soon started doing ‘flower riffs’ videos. Andrea has kept me supplied with flower photos for me to work with. A primary technique I use in my flower riffs is to double up images to create an often unexpected new image. I do a series of doubling on the riffs on the original photo, sometimes creating over 50 collages/riffs. I often excerpt out part of an image and create a new art work.”
In the past six years, Skip has created over 30,000 drawings and over 400 flower collage videos of his artwork. A lover of music spanning from folk to flamenco, Skip incorporates his favorite songs into the making of his flower riffs.
|
| Sail Away Ladies (music by Mozaik) |
“I have always loved sharing music that I like and often made music tapes for good friends,” Skip said. “I also went to many live music shows both alone and with friends. My videos proved to be an ideal way to share my art and the music that I like.”
The background songs set the mood for the composition and color of Skip’s art, which now primarily consist of riffs on flower photos by his sister and other friends. His love of nature is evident in his work. Before ALS took away his ability to walk, Skip loved hiking and taking photos on Mt. Tamalpais and at the Point Reyes National Seashore. The Four Corners area between Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah was a favorite spot of his to photograph nature scenes.
Skip’s care manager of seven years, Kim Venezia of The ALS Association Golden West Chapter, is continuously astounded by the Never Give Up spirit apparent in his artwork.
“Skip introduced me to his work and I was immediately struck by the colors he chose to emphasize the content as well as his tenacity to pursue his passion regardless of how difficult living with ALS had become. I am so glad that folks will get to see his work and hopeful that the inspiration he pulls from within will be recognized and embodied by those who read his story and view his creations. It sure has been so for me.”
Skip’s digital art has also been turned into unique jewelry pieces by his cousin, Denise Harrison of Sterling Echoes. He utilizes striking color palettes to create complex patterns that are then resized and etched into metal to create original sterling silver jewelry. A portion of the proceeds from his designs then go on to benefit The ALS Association.
|
|
| Skip's digital art is used as inspiration for Sterling Echoes Jewelry |
|
“Living with ALS is a challenge, to say the least,
especially when you have been confined to a bed 24/7 for six years,” Skip said. “In
a way, I am lucky that my variant of ALS is relatively slow progressing. Social
media, primarily Facebook and YouTube where I post my art, has helped me to
make new friends and connect with old friends and my many cousins. I treat my
art as a job, and creating and sharing it gives me a purpose and keeps my mind
active. Creating the art is also fun and helps distract me from the challenges
of living with ALS.”
You can view Skip’s art videos on his YouTube Channel.
|
| Thru The Morning, Thru The Night (Plant & Krauss Live) |
