…………………..This photo was taken at one of the many black tie events that Jac and I, and Donna Karan and her husband Stephen Weiss attended….That’s me at the bottom left…………..EVERYONE loved Stephen! He was a man’s man, and an all around wonderful person. When Steve was around you felt nothing bad could possibility happen…….He had the best infectious smile and always made you feel good………..He met Donna on a blind date…..They married in 1983 after they both got divorced from their spouses…….Steven, first and foremost was a painter and a sculpture. However, he became more and more involved with Donna’s business, and became the co CEO of the Donna Karan Company…….They had a joined family…..Donna having one daughter with her first husband, and Steve having a son and daughter with his first wife………Steve was an artist at heart, and that was his first love…….He did amazing acrylic sculptures. He created these organic shapes in all sizes. Some could fit in your hand, and some were huge. He first made a clay prototype, and then would cut it in slabs from which he could calculate different sizes. Then he would create acrylic slabs in the shape of these clay pieces to the size he wanted. They were glued together with a special process. Then he would sand them until they were SMOOTH and CLEAR like glass…Some he did in color, but most were clear…..During this final process of sanding tiny particles of acrylic dust would fill the air. Steve always wore a mask, and when he moved to a bigger and better studio he had a much better air filtration system………but…….it was too late……..After years of breathing in the dust that was still in the air Steve got lung cancer. It was determined the cause of the cancer was the acrylic dust he inhaled all of those years……….He died on June 9th at the young age of 62…..Who would have guessed that the thing he loved best…..his life’s work….his art…..would in the end kill him………A talented, wonderful man left us all too soon…….He will always be remembered with love.