This package arrived from France today, just as I was thinking of my art mentor Julio who passed many moons ago. Even at the end, when he was making abstract art from images of his own brain tumor, he wore a beret!

My old art father and Jewish mentor in the arts and life, always wore a beret. Just got one from France today in honor of him. I hope I wear it as nobly as he wore his! Great artist, teacher and friend along the way….his family fled from Poland to Argentina back in the day, and he ended up becoming a well known artist/teacher in America. I lived under his roof during my college years in a makeshift art community!

He affirmed my creativity as well as spirituality though they were different than his own. And he taught me that art and faith should live under the same roof! We got along! He was a good spiritual art dad, which i now also aspire to be!

He, a Rabbi’s son and me, a Preacher’s kid. Makes sense in the end that we were brought together (on stage in an improv class originally; and later co-faciliating creative workshops using masks and costumes and movement!).

This one’s for him. Look forward to seeing him in the future above! In the meantime, his sculptures, replete with his teachings, are up and down the east coast down here, and in Argentina, if you ever care to look. Thanks Julio! I’ve been blessed with good art fathers along the way!

Julio was also the one who informed me that at that stage of my life, I had too much balloon and not enough potatoes! I thank him for that, and hope I’ve balanced things out a bit more by now! Maybe i live on a balloon still, but i have many bags of potatoes to keep me grounded! And now a hat to keep my head together and covered! Thanks for clearing a path in the creative forest for me friend! See ya again! Mentors matter! And this one was funny (had that Jewish gift of humor as overcoming!), as I suppose you’d have to be to mentor me!

He also taught me to see art in everything! Still do! Hope this hat reminds me so! This is a rare photo of him without his beret! Maybe it flew off, and i’m getting to wear it today! Maybe we don’t need that kind of head covering in heaven! But it’s useful down here!