Every year I take around 100 teenage artists from the inner city on cool field trips, and while that’s a blast, sometimes it’s important to have them to the gallery for a day of work and instruction. Pay them well, buy them lunch, then finish by talking about which college they’ll attend. It’s funny how far those little gestures sometimes go.

These two cats, Jadarius and Robert, I expect will do well. We took this shot just before KC, and most of the country, went under lockdown. After that is lifted, I’ll get back to mentoring the kids. Field trip photos below.

In the shots above, on our way to the Flint Hills, we stopped off at Emporia State to check out their glass-blowing program–which is one of the best in the country. It’s managed by the brilliant Patrick Martin, who is giving the demo.

Later we went for a hike with Bebe in the Tallgrass National Preserve. Didn’t let the kids get too close to the bison. You don’t want to be in the way if a stampede blows up.