DC

Installation

My wife finally was able to install an amazing art piece commissioned by a middle school. The principal found Casey at one of our art shows, called her, and asked Casey to come up with something for the school's main office.
It's an amazingly vibrant piece of art. One that will make students smile, inspire them, and make the school a better place to be. Casey created something that will be there for years, and thousands of students will have the opportunity to view it.
I can only imagine Casey as she might have been when she was younger, viewing this same piece of art. She would have smiled, reading the lines and absorbing the colors, thinking to herself "I can do that." She can... and once again I'm stunned to be lucky enough to call myself her husband.

Superkitties

We always knew there was something special about our kitties, and last night they revealed their true identities to us! Here they are, watching out for crime in the neighborhood. Casey and I feel safer already!

The Mets

The Mets lost last night, and anytime a team from New York or New Jersey loses, I think of my wife's family - and specifically Ira, whom I call "Pops." He's a sports nut - so much so that when we visited a few months ago, he was watching a replay of the Jets game he had already seen. A pre-season Jets game.

But, unlike some people I know, there's a lot more to him than sports. He's politically adept, can talk to anyone, at any time, about anything, and he's one of the nicest and most sincere people I've ever met. He tears up watching romantic movies and sometimes says the most outrageous things possible. He's his own guy, and although not everyone around him agrees with him, they all can't help but love him.

We cooked him spaghetti the other night, and here he is, telling us a story at the dinner table.

Simply put, he's a special guy, and 'aint nobody better.

Balance

Grey

Another cup of coffee...

Zach

This is Zach at his first art show in someone's back yard. His photography looked amazing - filled with color, lines, shapes, early morning mists, found beauty, and a general sense of creativity and talent. He still doesn't know what he wants to do with photography, whether it be art shows, band photography, portraits, weddings... but he has the talent to do what he wants. It's a good place to be, though, with all the possibilities open before you.

He says he owes a lot of it to me, but this kind of stuff has to come from inside. Sometimes we just have people to show us the way and light a path we hadn't seen before. Photography isn't something everyone can do, no matter what anyone says. Everyone can snap a picture, but can everyone take a photograph?

Zach can take photographs, and he gets better every time I see his stuff.

A leaf

My wife made me coffee this morning, so I created a new post! This one is a "forgotten" photo from our New Jersey trip. I just recently looked through the folder on my computer and this photo suddenly stood out for me.

Posting

My wife likes when I post new blogs. She said to me "why don't you just post photos - you don't have to write anything!" SO... here is a photo. I love you, Casey!

The Artist

My wife is an artist. It's a statement of fact - not opinion. Sometimes she doubts herself - sometimes she gets down on herself, and sometimes she doesn't know what to make of what it is she does.

I think all artists get that sometimes, simply because being an "artist" is so hard to define.

To me, an artist is someone who passionately faces the world every day, living in the good and the bad that daily life has to offer, and then makes art that describes how that person feels about life.

Casey's art is beautiful - it's positive - it's optimistic. It gathers all the bad we sometimes get and pushes it to the side, focusing on the "good stuff" and making sure we remember what's important. The colors she uses are bright and beautiful - awakening us to the amazing colors present in a sunset - in a tree at fall - in the glow that surrounds a couple in love. Her colors are not artificial -they are vibrant and alive.

The words she uses are inspirational. She reminds us of the power and the capability within each of us. She herself is a living example of what can be done - of talent and emotion coming alive.

Her message is one of hope, of love, of beauty - simply because she is herself all of these things and so much more.

I am sometimes drawn to deep thought - brooding thoughts on what the future might hold. But Casey's art brings me back home, makes me pause, and reminds me that even in the dark, there is beauty all around us... if only we look deep enough.