Scene Around: Cooper Ley’s Gift of Art Given by His Sister

All she wants for Christmas is for people to remember her brother — to gift his gift.

Of course, in facing a first holiday without him, if it were truly up to RFH grad Adrienne Ley O’Connell, she’d rather have that brother, Tom “Cooper” Ley, back. But, since she can’t have that sparkly, neatly wrapped present of her brother’s physical presence, she’s chosen to gift herself with the ethereally messy sharing of his art.

In following her Cooper-inspired Earthly journey, Adrienne is making sure he’s remembered and offering a little help and connection to those lost, as he once was, along the way.

In her eyes, and very unbeknownst to Cooper, his artistic vision is a found gift to see through his soul. Getting even the smallest sign or message from him through his art could help so many, she believes. And so she’s been told.

So, this sister has been gifted a mission to make the world a bit of a better place, seeing it through Cooper’s insightful crystal blue eyes.

Unwrapped and raw are his gifts — penned, watercolored pieces of Cooper’s heart. And sister Adrienne, Ads or Addie, as she is known, is giving Cooper’s gift aptly through pop-up art shows. The second was last Friday at Pulp in Asbury Park. Cooper was there last year, only a month before his death. Who knew he’d be gone after Christmas? No one.

“My brother, Cooper, was and is the most talented person I know — in art, music, athletics (skateboarding). Yet, he was so humble and had such a deep sound infectious personality. He was truly an inspiration, although he never truly thought so himself. I feel honored to be able to show him off as the incredible human he was.”
Adrienne Ley O’Connell

And show him off, she did, 11 months after his death, in spirit, for art’s sake. She displayed his work at Pulp, selling prints of 13 pieces on that lucky Friday the 13th — another sign from Cooper, no doubt.

Proceeds, as before, went to Jersey Shore Rescue Mission. The first show, at Wild Air Beerworks, she said, earned $2,500 for the cause. This one was smaller and more last-minute, bringing in $400 to help rescue those at Jersey Shore, a community embraced Cooper when he needed the outreach.

As for Adrienne … She’s set for another pop-up show at Wild Air for Cooper’s birthday in March. Call it a birthday gift.

Adrienne’s gift from Cooper was unwrapped a long time ago — when she became his big sister. It keeps giving as she shares it with others, learning their stories, their love of Cooper, their links to him, their enrichment for having known him, their luck for having been introduced to him through his work.

“Being able to meet people who new him and hear the amazing stories they have about him is the ultimate gift for me — him always being described as ‘a special person,’ Adrienne said. “I hope he’s seeing all the people he impacted throughout his life and how much he meant to so many.”

Gift gifted, Coop. She got what she wanted for Christmas this year. So did many others.

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