Original 8×10 Birchwood
Don Clawleone
The boss of the family. He doesn’t scuttle — he conducts business sideways.
America’s 250th • Freedom • Liberation
Created to Spread the Freedom World War II Gave Us
The Freedom Crab Project is fine art with a mission: to carry the spirit of freedom and liberation forward, inspired by the men and women of the World War II generation who helped save the world from tyranny, fascism, occupation, and oppression.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, these crabs are meant to crawl all over the world — claiming territory for freedom wherever they land. This anniversary is the kickoff, not the finish line.
They are tough, scrappy, bright, and fun — but underneath the humor is gratitude. Freedom made the art possible. The crab carries the message.
250 Years of
American
Freedom
American
Freedom
The Kickoff of a Forever Project
The Freedom Crab Project begins at America’s 250th Anniversary, but it is not a one-time launch. It is the beginning of a forever project.
Frank Giovingo has been painting crabs for over 17 years. This is nothing new to the artist. What is new is the focus: putting the art to work and giving the crab a real purpose — to carry the message of freedom, patriotism, creativity, and human connection into the world.
As long as Frank is alive, he will keep painting crabs. Crabs. Crabs. Crabs. The network is meant to grow and build over time, one painting, one wall, one room, one story, and one place on the map at a time.
This project is Frank’s dedication and honor to freedom — from here to the hills beyond the sea. Let these crabs crawl the globe. Let them claim territory for freedom wherever they land.
This is fine art with a purpose. Each crab is painted to illuminate the wall it lives on. In the right light, it is as bright as its environment — if not brighter. It owns the room.
The Freedom Crab Project is also meant to outlive one moment in time. It starts with Frank Giovingo, but the spirit of the project can be passed on to future artists who believe that art can carry a message and that freedom makes creativity possible.
Frank Giovingo intends to pass the torch of painting crabs to a future artist, so the project never ends and the message of freedom gained from World War II lives forever.
Art Built to Travel
Every Freedom Crab is rugged and waterproof by design. It is fine art for the wall, but it is also built to travel, crawl, get photographed, and claim territory for freedom.
Hang It
Fine Art That Owns the Room
Hang it at home, at the camp, in the office, or anywhere freedom deserves a little attitude. The glossy epoxy finish makes the color glow like a lens and gives the crab real presence in the room.
Claim It
Rugged. Waterproof. Ready.
Take it to the beach, the boat, the dock, the mountains, the backyard, or even diving. Let it crawl where the other crabs crawl — even toward the bottom of the sea — then send the picture back so the territory can be marked.
This is the project: art on wheels, art in a suitcase, art on a boat, art near the water, art with a story. Your Freedom Crab can hang on your wall and still travel with you when adventure calls. If it gets scratched over time, send it back and we will refurbish it for free. We are in it to win it.
Claim Territory. Grow the Map.
Each crab has its own name, story, and travel record. The crab becomes known. The owner stays private.
When your crab travels, send us the picture and the place. We will keep track of the map and the territory claimed. The public story belongs to the crab — not the person who owns it.
Example Traveler
Captain Clawumbus
Captain Clawumbus started in New Orleans, claimed a porch in River Ridge, survived a beach trip in Destin, and is now trying to become the first Freedom Crab photographed underwater with the real crabs.
How It Works
The Crab Gets the Credit
We can list the crab name, the city, the landmark, the water, the beach, or the country. The owner does not need to be named. The crab carries the flag, the story, and the territory.
Let’s grow together. Every new place on the map makes the project bigger. One crab, one photo, one claimed territory at a time.
250th Anniversary • WWII-Inspired Freedom Art
Freedom Crab Project
Fine art crab paintings by Frank Giovingo — created to spread the freedom and liberation protected by the World War II generation.
These are not flat souvenir panels. Each Freedom Crab is painted on a strong 8x10 cradled birchwood painting panel — a boxed wood support with real depth, clean edges, and a durable body — then sealed under a clear waterproof epoxy finish that cures into a hard, glasslike lens over the color. It is fine art for your wall and a rugged waterproof crab built to travel: beach, boat, camp, suitcase, backyard, or diving adventure. Take it to claim territory, even down where the other crabs crawl. Send the picture back and help grow the Freedom Crab map. This project is built to grow over time.
8×10 birchwood, oil paint, and a glossy epoxy finish that locks the color in like a lens.
Fine Art, Built to Travel
Every Freedom Crab is an original painting by Frank Giovingo, created with the patience and layering of the Old Master technique — then sealed to be rugged, waterproof, luminous, and ready for the road.
This is a real 8x10 cradled birchwood panel, not a loose piece of wood and not a thin craft board. The cradled construction gives the painting a boxed, gallery-style body with strength, depth, and presence. Hang it on your wall as fine art — and if you want to, take it with you. The crab was built to travel.
The epoxy surface dries clear and glossy, like a protective glass lens poured over the painting. It locks the color in, deepens the shadows, brightens the highlights, and gives the crab a wet luminous glow. It is waterproof and rugged enough for beaches, boats, camps, road trips, and photo missions. Bring it diving if you want. Let it claim the territory.
The promise: it is fine art with a rugged body — glossy, waterproof, durable, luminous, and ready to crawl wherever freedom lives. If it gets scratched over time, send it back to us and we will refurbish it for free.
The Idea, Plain and Simple
A Freedom Crab is not just a painting. It is a small traveling character with a name, a story, and a place in a growing record.
1. Contact Us Email gustothelab@gmail.com and tell us you are interested in getting a Freedom Crab.
2. See What Is Available We will show you the crabs currently available, including their names, stories, finish, and personality.
3. Find the Right Crab We will help match you with the crab that feels right for your wall, camp, office, suitcase, or next adventure.
4. Ask About Custom Sizes The classic Freedom Crabs are 8x10 cradled birchwood originals, but artist Frank Giovingo can paint other sizes by request.
2. Take It SomewherePorch, camp, beach, bar, battlefield, backyard, or suitcase adventure.
3. Send the PictureLet the crab claim territory with a photo and short story.
4. Build the MapEvery claimed place becomes part of the Freedom Crab trail.
Freedom, Art & Territory
The effort is possible because of freedom. Art is the expression. The crab is the messenger.
A Freedom Crab is meant to encapsulate that spirit in a tough, funny, luminous little character. It carries New Orleans attitude, Sicilian grit, and gratitude for the World War II generation that helped save us from tyranny, fascism, occupation, and oppression. Its playful mission is simple: crawl into the world, own the room, and claim a little territory for freedom wherever it lands.
Inspired by the Generation That Freed the World
The Freedom Crab Project is inspired by the men and women of World War II — especially those who gave their lives so the rest of us could live free.
That generation helped save the world from tyranny, fascism, occupation, and oppression. They carried the burden so future generations could inherit liberty, creativity, and the right to express themselves.
These crabs are our small, joyful way of carrying that message forward. We want them to crawl all over the world — into homes, camps, offices, museums, beaches, battlefields, cities, and landmarks — spreading the spirit of freedom and liberation wherever they go.
The crab is tough, scrappy, funny, and bright. It carries gratitude for those who fought before us, and it claims a little territory for freedom every place it lands.
Availability & Custom Sizes
The 8x10 cradled birchwood originals are the classic Freedom Crabs — the ones built to travel, glow, and crawl into the world.
Email us at gustothelab@gmail.com and we will let you know what is currently available. We can send photos, names, short stories, and details so you can choose the crab that feels right for you.
Frank Giovingo can also paint larger or custom sizes by request. The 8x10 Freedom Crab is the signature format, but the artist is not limited to one size. If you want something special for a wall, camp, office, collection, or gift, contact us and we will talk through what can be created.
Sample Crabs
These are sample crabs. They show the spirit of the project. When you claim a crab, it is yours — unique, named, storied, and ready to crawl.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Lakeview Lorenzo
Claims he protects the lakefront, but mostly he watches the ice chest and judges the seasoning.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Bayou Benny
Left New Orleans once and complained the whole time nobody knew how to boil anything.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Magazine Street Marlo
Looks polished, talks tough, and still asks his aunt where the good gravy is.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Gentilly Giuseppe
Keeps saying he knows a guy. Nobody knows what guy, but somehow things get handled.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Pontchartrain Paulie
Wants to see the world, but first he needs a snack, a ride, and probably a nap.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Vieux Carré Vito
Says every corner is his corner, especially if there’s brass music and red beans nearby.
Original 8×10 Birchwood
Neutral Ground Nicky
Refuses to pick a side unless one side has better crawfish.
Why Freedom Crab?
I volunteer at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, where I witness the miracle of the survivors and the history that must not be forgotten.
Freedom Crab is my way of carrying that torch forward through art. The paintings are fun, but the purpose is serious: preserve memory, celebrate freedom, and let creativity become a small vehicle for something larger.
Freedom is not free. History matters. Art can keep the story alive.
New Orleans, Sicilian Backbone, and a Traveling Spirit
This project is as New Orleans as gumbo, a streetcar ride, and a Sunday afternoon under an oak tree — with a little Sicilian backbone from artist Contact Us
The goal is to let these crabs crawl all over the world: backyards, bars, beaches, museums, porches, parade routes, the Grand Canyon, the pyramids, and one day Normandy Beach.
My real dream is simple — get one Freedom Crab onto the beaches of Normandy. Everywhere else it crawls is lagniappe.
Claimed Territory
Once a crab is claimed, it belongs to the person who claims it. What we post publicly is claimed territory: the place, the picture, and the short story of where the crab crawled.
First Claimed Territory
River Ridge, Louisiana
ZIP Code: 70123
The first Freedom Crab has claimed River Ridge, Louisiana — the place where this project was born. Others will follow shortly.
Built Tough Like the Crab Itself
Original Art
Each piece is an original hand-painted 8×10 crab painting on cradled birchwood. It is fine art first — but it is not fragile. It is rugged, waterproof, and built like the crab itself: tough enough for walls, camps, water, road trips, diving photos, and real adventures.
Waterproof & Refurbishable
The epoxy finish dries hard, glossy, waterproof, and protective. It glows wherever it goes, like a clear lens over the color. If the adventure leaves scratches over time, send it back and we will refurbish it for free.
Certificate, Provenance, and NFT Record
Each Freedom Crab can have a matching identity record: name, story, image, certificate ID, owner history, and digital proof of authenticity.
The NFT is not the soul of the project. The soul is the painting and the story. The digital record simply helps prove that the story belongs to the real crab.
Countdown to July 4, 2026
The project points toward the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
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What This Site Is Trying To Do
This site is intentionally simple: understand the idea quickly, meet the sample crabs, see the first claimed territory, then decide whether you want your own rugged waterproof Freedom Crab to hang, travel, photograph, and pass into the story.
The project is not only about collecting art. It is about carrying a message, making memories, claiming territory, and giving people a small reason to go somewhere and bring back a story.
Get Your Own Freedom Crab
Kindly inquire about getting your own Freedom Crab — a small original painting with a name, a story, and a mission to crawl.
Once you claim it, it is yours. Hang it on your wall, take it somewhere, bring it near the water, take it diving, photograph it, and let it claim territory. Sometimes a little crab in your suitcase is all the excuse you need to finally take the trip.