Frank has never considered himself very political. But he feels that this year is different, and that it's important that North Dakotans who care about their country and world stand up and be counted on February 5th.
After he met our North Dakota campaign staff back in December, Frank started looking at Barack more closely, and thought about connecting his art with the campaign. He spent hours looking at photos of Barack, and realized that a straight-up portrait couldn't do the Senator justice; as Sen. Obama himself has said many times, this campaign isn't about him; it's about all of us. And it's that sense of unity, of our movement for change, that Frank wanted to convey in his painting.
Frank unveiled the piece at our Iowa Caucus Night party in Fargo on January 3rd. We were all absolutely amazed. An ink rendering of Senator Obama greeting a crowd in Iowa, on a canvass covered with old dictionary pages. At the bottom, Frank painted "n: heart.", referring to a dictionary definition. A closeup of the piece is above. It's stunning.
And here are the attendees of our Fargo Iowa Caucus night party, with the painting:
Frank is planning to keep making paintings of Senator Obama, and plans to donate part of the proceeds from his sales to support the campaign!! If interested in contacting Frank, find him on myspace as El Perdido. If interested in joining the Obama campaign in ND, call us at 701-297-5167!
In case there was any question or doubt, let it be known: Jamestown, NoDak is FIRED UP for Barack!
Thursday night, we had our first ever Obama organizing meeting in Jamestown, as part of our statewide "Fired Up Thursday" night of action. The turnout of 17 people was fantastic, for a night when the temperature was below zero, and blowing snow made driving hazardous.
The Jamestown College for Obama group is off to a strong start, now an officially-chartered student organization!! They're planning to table outside the cafeteria several days a week, and are also working with the College Dems to arrange a van to shuttle students to and from the caucus location. But the most amazing thing about Jamestown College Students for Obama is their ambition to make a huge difference in the caucus this year.
In 2004, only 137 people caucused in the entire city of Jamestown (District 12), according to Dean, the District chair. And according to voter records, only 6 of them were under age 35. Natasha and Jessica, two leaders of the Jamestown College group, have set a goal of turning out 300 students from JC at the caucus--a full third of the student body, and more than twice the turnout for the whole city from 2004. And they're motivated to make it happen!
At the end of the meeting, Jessica summed it all up, channelling her favorite words of inspiration from Barack himself, "Yes, we can!"
If you're from North Dakota, check out ND.BarackObama.com to find out how you can get involved locally and help Barack win here.
Welcome to the North Dakota for Obama online headquarters!
Our campaign is fired up and ready to go across the Peace Garden State! Three weeks out from caucus day, we have offices open and staff on the ground in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck, and active grassroots groups starting up across the state!
Over the next 20 days, our blog will be bringing you regular updates on our organizing activities, introduce you to our staff and activists, and more info on the North Dakota caucus and how you can make ND Obama territory on February 5th!
Today, we’re kicking off the final 20 days before Super Tuesday with "Fired Up Thursday!" We’ll be having grassroots volunteer phonebanks today in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot (first time phonebank in the Magic City!), and organizing meetings / caucus trainings in Valley City and Jamestown. For more information or to sign up, click on the links below:
Bismarck: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/4vbgx
Fargo: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/4vbg5
Grand Forks: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/4vbg7
Jamestown: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/4vblr
Minot: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/4vblv
Valley City: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/4vblt
Look forward to seeing you tonight!!
Matt WeinsteinND Caucus DirectorObama for America
