Betty White turned 98 last week!  Who doesn’t love her?  When asked about her keys to aging, Betty said: “I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside”.  Betty and I are genuine optimists…not head in the sand people, but people who tend to look…

I had an aha moment last week. While traveling to our schools to view our student exhibitions, I took time to pop into our classrooms to observe. Something really cool and organic is developing that I need to share. While I am convinced that we have built the most fun and compelling art program for…

Health. Happiness. Hope. Okay, that’s three things, but around the holidays I am allowed to bundle a few items into one package 🙂 I want to share a bit of my recipe for the holiday season and the new year. We all move so fast all year, but now is the time to slow down…

The image above demonstrates one of the most important things that we do at One River School. We recently hosted a Girl Scout group at our location in Allendale, New Jersey. They got to make an art project that celebrated the incredible work of Kara Walker, who is among the most compelling living artists today….

The past week, the art fairs took place in Miami and the sensation of “the yellow banana” stole the headlines at Art Basel. I want to tell you about “the other side of the yellow banana”. Yes, there is a world of contrived art and social dynamics that in my opinion distort the reality that…

It is so amazing to watch the joy on students faces when they are clearly satisfied with their creative outcomes. Whether it is an experienced adult or a developing young artist, the joy when they share their work is the reward I get when I think about the value of One River. It reinforces why…

In the summer of 1982, I was certain that I saw one of the great concerts of all time. The Talking Heads played at the legendary Forest Hills Tennis Stadium and I had a summer job working security for the concert. I was 21 years old and a music fanatic with one semester of college…

One of the things I am most proud of at One River School is our Pink Art Project. Each October our teen students make an original work of art that honors women who have dealt with breast cancer. It is a time when we get to teach art through the lens of life and as…

Every week I share some “Monday Thoughts” to try to add context around what we do at One River but to also pique your interest in the importance of investing time in things that are not considered “work”. The term “hobby” is defined as an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure and…

A few weeks ago, I read a report that said that New Jersey was the first state in the country to provide some type of art education for all students. Having raised a family in northeast, NJ after growing up “one river east of here” in NYC, I found myself proud of my adopted state,…