I haven't had a Blog post in some time now because I have been very busy putting together my series "The American Worker".

The series is about people from all walks of life and how we give so much to our jobs and what it takes to achieve "The American Dream". That can mean anything to us. It can mean earning a lot of money, helping others, or something on a more spiritual level. The series follows about 18 different workers through portraits of them. The portraits are taken at the end of a long hard day, after we have given everything to our job. Some of these workers put in 8-10-12 hours a day, some work more than 1 job and still some give their entire day to their jobs. This is my tribute to them.

Many of these workers also have a story to tell. The story of what they have done to get to where they are today. Some of the stories are harsh, some are not, but their story needs to be told.

If you have a chance to see the series in public, when I have my gallery show on June 14th - 19th, look at each of the workers. Look in their eyes and at their faces. Look at the exhaustion, the frustration, the pain, the contemplation - it's all there for you to see. Although not every worker does a physically labor intensive job, their job may still drain their mental state.

When looking at some of the workers, you may wonder if the job is actually hard at all. Take "The Priest" for example. Some may say "that's not a hard job". Isn't it? A Priest works 24/7. He answers calls day and night not knowing what new tragedy will be on the other end of the call. Think about it.

What I would like to see from this series is when people walk away from it, they look at others in a different way. They now look at that older gentleman working at Walmart or that single mother working at the grocery store and think what they are going through to achieve their version of "The American Dream".

So, if you are in the Western New York area, please make it a point to stop in and see the series. The opening reception is on June 14th at 7PM. 

Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Thanks, Phil