"Conversations on a Bus" Gallery Opening

We have so much to talk about in regards to last night! Yet again, we had a wonderful, artistically driven, exciting, inspiring and friend-making evening, here in the midwest. Our new pals, that were briefly introduced in the Insta-Grammy blog post last week, Jameson and Heather Hooton, invited us to the opening of their photography project "Conversations on a Bus" in which they collaborated with local poet extraordinaire Sarah McKinstry-Brown and Omaha Creative Institute. It was held at the RNG Gallery just over the river in Council Bluffs. We excitedly accepted their invitation, dolled Poppy up in pigtails and one of her aunty's dresses that Grandma Rita passed down to her and we headed out to the opening. Before we get to pictures of the event, I think a little back story is important.

Jameson and Heather are married photographers in Omaha, NE. From the short time we've known them, we've found them very warm and inviting. Upon seeing their work, we became immediate and enthusiastic supporters of their craft. They met in college and they both majored in music (Heather plays the violin! Which makes Christopher super happy, obviously) but after getting married, they discovered their love for photography and now here they are years later. Their latest project (besides everything else they're doing, busy bodies!) is the aptly titled photo essay "Conversations on a Bus" where they literally rode the busses around Omaha, started conversations with people, recorded those conversations, with permission, and then took a candid photograph of the person. It sounds simple enough, but last night at the opening, while reading the conversations and looking at the big black and white photos, I literally found myself in tears. Their project took people you see every single day, but, that we only acknowledge briefly, as furniture in our own little worlds. Just props that give our own stage some depth. Jameson and Heather took those props and turned them back into people and reminded us that the woman next to you on the bus lost her job three months ago and loves her grandchildren more than anything in this world and couldn't believe her eyes the first time she saw a snow storm. That the man with the big smile served in Pearl Harbor and he loves photography above all things and when he retires he's going to pull out that camera his mother gave him when he was 12 and let it capture the things he finds most beautiful in this world. And thanks to last night's event, Chris and I discovered how much we like our over-the-river neighborhood, Council Bluffs. It has the sweetest little main street with old brick-stone buildings, fun restaurants, galleries and other shops. We'll be back to explore soon! Anyway, I'll stop rambling. If you want to know more about the project just click HERE and HERE. If you want to hear the podcast that features this project, produced by The Crux, click HERE

Now, some photos from last night. Enjoy!

Poppy congratulating Jameson and Heather.

Daddy and Poppy.

It was a great turnout. The Hootons have a lot of loving supporters.

As usual, Poppy was a hit. She was making friends left and right. We received many compliments
on her sweet temperament and enthusiasm. We are so proud to be her parents.

The bridge in Council Bluffs is an art form in and of itself! This photo doesn't do it much justice, though.