Last my wife and I took our two youngest kids to the Kalamazoo Art Hop, an evening where all the galleries open up for a city-wide night of art and culture. We only took in two exhibits, but they were great:

"The Art of Dr. Suess: A Retrospective and National Touring Exhibition," an exhibit celebrating the 100th birthday of Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, one of my all-time favorite creative geniuses. The exhibit contains prints and paintings ranging from his early advertising work to original illustrations for his children's books to fine-art serigraphs. The work was as magical as you would imagine. My favorite was a series of simple portraits of these wacky imaginary animals done in loose watercolor. This is a traveling exhibit, so if it comes anywhere near, you should see it.


Self-Portrait As A Young Man Shaving
Hand-pulled serigraph on canvas
Image size: 12x16
Limited Edition of 850 with 55 proofs


Cat From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks
Hand-pulled Serigraph On Archival Panel
Image Size 24x44 Inches
Limited Edition of 850

"Art from the Heart" is a showing that I'm very close to. My mom is an art therapist that works with cancer patients, (many of whom are children). For the past several years, she and my father have curated an exhibit featuring artwork from cancer patients, their family members and health care professionals that work with cancer. Some of the artists are no longer here, some have loved one that aren't. Many aren't what most would define as "artists". The work ranges through all mediums.

Through projects like this that my mom and dad work on, I've gotten a unique view of how art effects people. There is an amazing healing power that comes from the creative process, especially from people that haven't ever really tried anything artistic. Camp Catch-A-Rainbow is a summer camp for kids with cancer and lukemia. My mom's workshops are always full as these kids express every emotion though the process to creating beautiful art.