Ramblings of a Bird Nerd

Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain...

Posted by scissortailed , Thursday, May 13, 2010 12:32 AM

As you know, May 10th was quite the day here in Norman, Oklahoma, as well as the rest of the state. But  things become more real for me when I learned a friend lost their home.

Late on May 10th, I received an email confirming what I already suspected was true: Michael and Debby Kaspari lost their home to a tornado that spawned in south eastern Norman.  Michael is a community ecologist and Presidential Professor in the Zoology Department at the University of Oklahoma (where I did my Masters work) and Debby is an extraordinarily talented artist, specializing in tropical sketch work and illustrations.

Debby's studio was in the house's loft, where she could look out over their property while blogging or composing artwork. All of her artist's tools -- paper, watercolors, pastels, and pencils -- as well as original artwork and sketchbooks, were blown away in an EF-2 tornado, as they huddled in the storm shelter with their kitty, Gizmo.
Realizing the significance of her loss is what hit me the hardest as I tried to contemplate the severity of damage they likely endured.

To show her how much we appreciate her art, and that we know how important it is to her, I have organized a studio rebuilding campaign with Norman residents, artist and non-artist friends of mine from Louisville Kentucky, and anyone else around the world wanting to show support. 

Debby mostly draws and sketches, and here is a list of some supplies she uses in her work:

• Favorite paper: Rives BFK. Other favorite papers include Fabriano Ingres toned paper, Arches cold press 140 lb, and Somerset paper
  
• Favorite sketchbook: Moleskine notebooks
• Favorite pencil: Kohinoor's Triograph 6B
• Pastels (not sure what brand of pastel -- I'm assuming chalk pastels, but maybe she uses both oil and chalk)
• Watercolor (not sure of brand)
• Pen and Ink (These are generally black etchings... maybe with Pigma Micron pens? I think I have seen them laying around the house.)
• Acrylic paint

For those interested in sending art supplies or monetary donations directly to Norman, you may do so by mailing them to the following address:


Debby Kaspari
c/o Rosemary Knapp
535 S Flood Ave.
Norman, OK 73069


For those interested in donating financially, email me directly at dkasparistudiofund (at) gmail (dot) com for more information.

Any new information about the fundraiser I will post either here or on my Facebook events page.
Thank you for any love and support shown to these amazing people!


Update:
Earlier today (May 12), Debby and Mike were at the house searching through the rubble. They were fortunate to find her banjo and Mike's guitar intact, as well as some artwork. Hopefully there'll be some more good news in the future.

Beware. The sky is falling.

Posted by scissortailed , Tuesday, May 11, 2010 6:21 PM

When the Storm Prediction Center here in Norman issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Tornado Watch for most of Oklahoma May 10th, they weren't joking. Emergency managers are still assessing damage, while meteorologists weed through storm reports to better understand the outbreak and it's severity.

When the watch was issued, there were very few storms in the Oklahoma/Kansas area. Those that formed, developed fast and roared E to NE at speeds of 50+ mph. Vortex 2 parked near Perry, OK early to decide where to go.

Around 5:30 pm I saw a tornado form basically over my head in Norman and it rapidly intensified as it plowed east towards Seminole, where it demolished the house (at 0:58 of this News9 broadcast) of a Zoology faculty member and friend. Had the storms formed just a tad further west, University of Oklahoma’s campus would likely have been hit (where I was).



A second storm formed in the wake of the Cleveland County storm (shown in the labeled image). Again, had the dryline been further west, my house (30 minutes south of campus) may have been hit by that second storm Instead, the southern storm hit east of me in Purcell proper (the city I live outside of) and continued east to hit Tecumseh pretty hard.

We are not out of the clear today. There is was a mesoscale discussion for western and central Oklahoma earlier discussing the potential for more strong to severe storms this afternoon, and now a tornado watch has been issued. Hopefully the cap will hold.