"Joe doesn't care who he's related to," Koerner says, referring to several noted artist relatives, including great-grandpa Avard and an uncle who once was curator of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. "He keeps us all grounded."

Paul, too, has learned lessons from Joe as the two work side by side.

"Joe helps me take my own art seriously," Paul says, "To know there is a real beauty in creating, that if you're not following what's in your heart, you're not doing your job."

Joe and Paul's artistic partnership will be on display, along with the work of six other mentor-artist partnerships, Aug. 17 though Sept. 14 at Art Access Gallery, 230 S. 500 West. There will be an artists' reception during the monthly Gallery Stroll, Aug. 17, 6-9 p.m. The program includes artists with disabilities or "other life situations that prevent them from fully participating in the mainstream arts community," says Lubbers.

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