Everyone pitched in and helped one another. It was a unique artistic gathering and one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever seen.

So much division is going on right now.  A strong common thread that links me and the client’s I work with has become increasingly evident to me.  These thoughts are very much connected to the work I did with the wedding and is something I think we can all relate too . . .  namely, the shared experiences of LOVE . . . right!

We are all affected and surrounded by the relationships in our lives. Those relationships create common emotions and experiences, be they friends or family.

I did a quick sketch that was used for a cover invitation announcing the arrival of Jen &  Shy’s first born – baby boy!!!  It wasn’t much, just a quick little sketch, but made for a lasting precious moment. These moments are those we can all relate to.  With family and client relationships, often my smallest efforts have meant the most.

Another very strong observation I had when thinking about the shared common passions Shy and I have in common is – that of helping others.

Around this same time as the wedding, I was finishing up a faux finishing design project in a 7,500 sq. ft. luxury home in Granada Hills, CA. On my completion in showcasing the home, I was able to combine a fundraiser organized by Shy’s wife Jennifer, that focused on raising money to mentor young girls and also inner city youth.  The program mentored and instilled positive affirmations through a summer camp retreat. We all brought a widely diverse group together for a common cause. It was awesome and beautiful, and certainly rippled through all of our lives, including the youth it benefited.

ZO ART CONVERGENCE

SPONSORS, CONTRIBUTORS, and ARTISTS
in all Creative Disciplines.

Photo: Party With A Purpose collage. Shy Carter bottom right. What a cool afternoon! There’s nothing better than having fun and helping people at the same time.

The realities of living through a global pandemic, are causing most to stayclose to home. Small gatherings abound and so many businesses have simply had to stop. We’re all communicating more on social media, and talking more on our phones, rather than the quick texts we once relied on since we were so pressed for time.

It was just such a case recently, while I was doing a custom blue finish on a bedroom wall. Shy and I were catching up by phone and found that we were both working while social distancing, etc.  He was finishing up his new release in Nashville and I was working on a project in Hermosa Beach.  I showed him some of the project and commented that it would be a dope look on his new release and it was just that – an instant ripple reality!

Ericco Studio – Hermosa Beach Project

Here’s a photo of one of the walls I was working on.

Though this unique transitional time, I’ve realized how inter-connected and inter-affected we really are.

What happens to one populated group will have a ripple effect . . . which may come sooner or later to other groups, but it will have an effect. I can only do my part, and believe that enhancing the surroundings of others through creativity has a distinct effect all its own.  Art always creates a ripple because it is creation; and bringing imagination into reality is a force.

Many are still feeling the impact of being quarantined.  Everyone needs a little escape from that.

I found the song Shy did with Kane Brown recently did just that for me.  Shy and Kane, both from bi-racial parents, found commonality in their backgrounds, which resulted in a new song released under the Warner Bros. label.  Check it out above. It so strongly speaks to the times we’re living in.

We all enter our zone by doing what we love. Shy Carter’s zone is doing what he does best . . . Entertaining!