Sat. April 24 & Sun. April 25

Steve Morse is a friend and former colleague of mine at the Boston Globe. We've done time in the trenches; we knocked back a few at bars. It's fair to say we've both had good times and bad and Steve suffered through the death of his wife Nell some years back. And their only son Nick Morse, has autism. But Nick's an artist and his show is up part the Cambridge Arts Council's Open Studios in North Cambridge on Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25, from noon to 6 p.m. each day. (Cambridge has two other Open Studios for other parts of the city the following two weekends.) Nick will be part of a        communal site featuring four artists (three painters and one sculptor) showing at the Ice Cream Factory Lofts. I asked Steve to send some jpgs of Nick's art - one of which you see here - and it's pretty darn cool. Noah Maltsberger, who works at Zuzu, considered Nick's art and said it was very upbeat and a nice change. (Some of Zuzu's art exhibitions are on the punkier, darker side of things.

Steve e-mailed: "Nick is my only child -- he's now 21 -- and he has been diagnosed as being 'on the autistic spectrum,' which is a heavy burden to carry these days. But the beauty of Nick is that he has never let it stop him. He has discovered an ability to paint only in the last few years, but has displayed a striking originality. He does abstracts, often with bright colors. He had a show up at ZuZu ealier this year, the title of which was  "The Magic of Color.'' Nick is an original -- and he will surprise people before he's through. He has had a tough life -- he was born with mild cerebral palsy and his mother died of diabetes when he was 12 -- but he has found stability and balance at the Cardinal Cushing School in Hanover. He has been tutored there by art teacher Randy Wiskow, a 25-year veteran who curated Nick's show and has been the key catalyst in boosting Nick's confidence and self-expression. Nick has had many struggles in his life -- he's also been diagnosed with A.D.H.D. P.D.D., O.C.D and just about anything else a shrink can throw at him, but his innocence and his unique artistic vision will be apparent to anyone who sees this, Nick has had an extraordinary journey and has touched many, many people along the way.''

93 Harvey St., Cambridge