Scene Around: Celebrating Cooper Ley, Art & Giving

It was a day of celebration, gratitude, art, music, love and paying it all forward.

Saturday was that day. It was the day of another pop-up art show, featuring the work of RFH 2011 grad Tom “Cooper” Ley, hosted by his sister, Adrienne (Addie, Ads), also an RFH grad. The reason? The idea was conceived by Adrienne last year after her brother passed away.

To honor him and celebrate his birthday, she decided to host a pop-up art show at Wild Air Beerworks in Asbury Park, to feature prints of Cooper’s work, celebrate him on/around his March 10 birthday, and sell the prints to benefit charity. This was the third of those events. And there will be more. The March event is now earmarked to celebrate Cooper’s birthday. And it was celebrated — with balloons, cupcakes (masterfully crafted featuring Cooper’s artwork by Crust and Crumble) and love.

The original pop-up art show idea has evolved into a tradition, now benefitting I Heart SF Skate, something Adrienne felt was near to her skateboarding, pianist, artist brother’s heart. And, she and friends and family know it to have been an awfully big heart.

The love of that big heart was felt throughout Saturday’s event. Take a look … (Click on one photo in the gallery under the featured photo to enlarge and scroll.)