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,…

October is upon us and it is the time of the year when I believe we really start to put our heads down to make things happen and focus on our goals. If you are at all like me, your to do list is crazy long and filled with potential frustration. And, in a world…

Special things are undeniable. Whether it is visual art or music, the best work jumps out at you and sticks with you. That’s how I felt about The Cars when I heard their music for the first time. So sad to hear of Ric Ocasek’s passing and I want to share some Monday Thoughts about…

When I set out to learn all I could about contemporary art, I decided that I needed to get to know as many working artists as possible and study not just the work that they made, but also take a closer look into how they approached their lives. I was interested in developing connoisseurship for…

As we move from summer into fall, there are so many things that we all are dealing with today. The world is complicated and noisy…quite often when I talk with people these days, they are overwhelmed and fearful. My natural orientation is to guide people to look through another lens and focus on what they…