Emerging Patterns Exhibit Opens February 15th

©James Anderson, Driftwood, Limantour Beach, Pt. Reyes, 2009, Digital Photography, 16"x20"

Have you ever stopped to think about all of the patterns in our everyday lives? The Arts Council of the Morris Area's upcoming exhibit, Emerging Patterns, is a visual collection of how 37 artists express their interpretation of those patterns. The exhibit opens on February 15th, with the opening reception on Friday, February 19th, from 5-7:30pm, at the 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor) in Morristown.

Midori Yoshimoto, Gallery Director and Associate Professor of Art History at New Jersey City University who curated the Emerging Patterns exhibit, expressed her thoughts about the theme in her exhibit essay:

Patterns are ubiquitous in our daily life, ranging from woven threads on a luncheon mat to seemingly regular pattern created by raindrops on a windshield. Almost every part of the city and architectural structure consists of grids. Be it a manmade or natural pattern, it exists when we become perceptive. Although we encounter countless patterns every day, we don’t even notice most of them. Only when we pause and take time to appreciate them, do these patterns emerge as comforting rhythms that provide our lives with some kind of structure. At other times, recognizing patterns can be an overwhelming experience; you may feel obsessed or even threatened that your life is controlled by some unknowable force. One way or the other, patterns function as a tool for us to make sense of the complex and unruly world in which we live.

With their keen sensibility, artists have often been on the forefront of the human endeavor to discover patterns in the universe and incorporate them in their visual expressions. The exhibition Emerging Patterns highlights such creative efforts of thirty-seven artists who have been selected by a jury panel from almost four hundred submissions. The artists present a variety of repeated patterns found in daily life or derived from the artists’ imaginations. Their creative works propel viewers to see past surface ornament to consider underlying structures and principles. Perhaps, these artists can guide us to better understand human’s relationship to nature and the universe.

You can meet Midori Yoshimoto, as well as the exhibit artists, at the opening reception on February 19th. Do join us!

Weekend Picks: Art in the Atrium opening, Bickford Theatre, Garden State Folk Festival

by Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation and Communication

L-R: Posing Beauty, recent book by photographer and featured artist Dr. Deborah Willis; Natural Woman, fabric art by Bisa Butler.

This weekend, you can enjoy the free opening reception for WONDERFULLY MADE, the 18th annual exhibit and sale of African American art curated by Art in the Atrium on Friday, January 29th from 5:30-9:30pm at the Atrium Gallery, floors 2-5 of the County Administration & Records Building, 12 Court Street in Morristown. Free food, music and parking…what more could you ask? (free parking is provided in the garage below the building, accessed on Schuyler Place). Can’t make it? Don’t worry. There will also be a Closing Reception on March 18th, from 6-8pm, at the same location.

You might also want to catch a performance of Crossing Delancey, a tale of contemporary romance, complete with a lovingly meddlesome grandmother, a matchmaker, a modern woman and a pickle man at the Bickford Theatre (6 Normandy Heights Rd., Morristown). For more information or tickets, call (973) 971-3706 or visit bickfordtheatre.org.

Then, round out the weekend with the sounds of fiddles, mandolins, guitars and voices as Jersey artists Brian McArdle & Wry Toast, Andy Goessling, Sara Milonovitch and Lindsey Horner take the stage for the Garden State Folk Music Festival on Sunday afternoon at 3pm at the Community Theatre (100 South St., Morristown). Tickets are $15. Call (973) 539-8008 or visit mayoarts.org.

Don’t forget to check the Arts Council of the Morris Area's arts and culture calendar regularly for these and many other listings… just go to morrisarts.org/marquee.htm.

You CAN Get There from Here!

While we are in the process of installing the next exhibit in our 14 Maple Gallery, we are taking a break from our Artist of the Week series which featured artists in the From Here . . . To There exhibit. It was a wonderful exhibit illustrating the interesting ways that artists interpreted the theme, all involving a journey of some sort, whether physical, emotional, educational or even evolutionary.

In keeping with the journey theme, we are today showcasing the Kristin Ace, a talented Morristown woman who will be performing a one woman play that she wrote entitled You CAN Get There from Here. It is built upon many hilarious stories about her mishaps in getting places, and of being lost in the process. Initially about the physical journey, it soon becomes clear that it is the emotional journey that we are witnessing and, in many ways, suggesting the underlying premise that we are never really lost.

Kristin Ace has a BFA in theater from the University of Rhode Island and has spent many years both studying and acting in regional theatre, off-off Broadway, and in independent films. You can see You CAN Get There from Here on Saturday, February 6th, at 8:00 p.m. at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship (21 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown). Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, and include coffee & dessert after the performance. Call (973) 270-7713 for reservations/information.

Save the Date for Great Conversations!

In these days of text messages, tweets and remote communication, do you ever long for a good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation? If so, here’s an event that you won’t want to miss!

On March 25th, the Arts Council of the Morris Area will again offer “Great Conversations”, a fundraising event that features 25 notable people from our community, each of whom will host a table for an evening of dinner and wonderful conversations.

Among this year’s conversationalists are Lawrence Goldman (CEO, NJPAC); Kathleen DiChiara (President & CEO, Community FoodBank of New Jersey); David Felton (Chef, Ninety Acres at Natirar); Bonnie Monte (Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); Kevin Cummings (CEO & President, Investor Savings Bank); Susan Cole (President, Montclair State University); Philip Scheffler (Executive Editor, "60 Minutes"); Joseph Trunfio (President & CEO, Atlantic Health, President, Morristown Memorial Hospital); and Susan Palma-Nidel (Flutist, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra) – just to name a few! Stay tuned for the complete list of conversationalists!

Great Conversations will be held at the Madison Hotel in Morristown. To make sure that you receive an invitation which will be mailed in February, contact Karin Becker at (973) 285-5115, ext. 14, or kbecker@morrsiarts.org.

We hope to see you there!

Artist of the Week: Ellen Denuto

Today's post features the work of Ellen Denuto, a Denville artist. It is the final "Artist of the Week" post highlighting artists in the Arts Council of the Morris Area's From Here . . . to There exhibit which closes tomorrow, January 10th. Mark your calendar for the opening reception of our new exhibit, Emerging Patterns, on Friday, February 19th, from 5 - 7:30 p.m. at the 14 Maple Gallery. It promises to be a very intriguing exhibit.

©Ellen Denuto, Family Bakery, 2008, photo encaustic, 16"x20"

Artist's statement:

"The series of which this photograph is a part is of places and things I come upon that have been discarded, abandoned or lost. Who has lost them….why have they been left behind? They wait silently for someone to find them to reveal their history. In our quest to move forward in life and technology we blind ourselves to the present and all that is timeless and true.

The overwhelm I feel at the enormous amount of information I am forced to process daily is represented in the encaustic layering I apply these photographic surfaces. The alienation and isolation I feel and see as we ignore or destroy that which makes us human and one with the Universe is expressed in the original photograph.

Removing and altering the surface, including the encaustic layers, represents my attempt to stay connected with my history and authentic self, and what is true. In the removal and alternation process, what clouded my vision is re-discovered as if waiting to lead me home."

Family Bakery is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Weekend Picks: Jazz guitarist Frank Vignola, Simon Gallery opening, and a Slow Food Event

One of the delightful performances that we enjoyed at First Night Morris on New Year’s Eve was jazz guitarist Frank Vignola whose Trio played to a full house of enthusiastic listeners. Identified by Les Paul as one of the “five most admired guitarists” in the world, Vignola has toured and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Queen Latifah, Ringo Starr, Madonna, Mark O’Connor, Bucky Pizzarelli and Les Paul. The New York Times calls Vignola “One of the brightest of the young guitar stars.”

You can hear Frank Vignola perform tonight at the Minstrel Coffeehouse located at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown. Jean Rohe, singing a mix of folk standards, blues, and Brazilian samba, will open for Vignola at 8 p.m. Admission is $7 at the door. Call 973-335-9489, or visit folkproject.org for more information.

You might also want to stop in at the Simon Gallery before heading over to hear Frank Vignola. Tonight’s opening reception features a new exhibit of works by abstract artist Marc Van Cauwenbergh. The reception is from 6–8 p.m. at the Gallery located at 48 Bank Street in Morristown.

To round out your weekend, be sure to check out the Slow Food event on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Cultural Center in Morristown (300 Mendham Road). Bringing together many local farmers and food artisans, you’ll be able to sample and purchase local food in season. You’ll also be able to learn about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and even purchase a CSA share for the spring 2010 growing season. For more information and list of participating farms, foods artisans, & friends, visit www.slowfoodnnj.org.

Enjoy!

Music at Noon on Thursdays in Morristown

Last Thursday, I took a break during a busy work day to stop in at the Morristown United Methodist Church’s Music at Noon series, offered each Thursday in January. I was delighted to be entertained by none other than Rio Clemente, affectionately know as “The Bishop of Jazz”. Although I have heard Rio play many times before, each time is a new delight for as Rio admits, he can’t play a piece the same way twice. But isn’t that what lies at the heart of jazz? Rio’s ability to improvise is incredible. Combined with his classical training as a pianist, the result is dynamite.

With three Thursdays left in January, you have three more opportunities to make what might otherwise be an ordinary day into an extraordinary one by stopping in at this midday musical nirvana. This Thursday, Sean Lee, an up and coming violinist, will be playing Brahms. On January 21st, you can hear “Mainstreet Brass (minus two)” in a program of music for horn, trumpet and trombone. The last concert of this year’s series features the Heritage Piano Trio, performing for the 10th consecutive year.

There is a suggested donation of $6 for adults ($5 for seniors and students), with the option of purchasing a light lunch either before or after the concert for only $7 ($6 seniors and students).

Programmed by June Van Thoen, Director of Music Ministries, the Morristown United Methodist Church also has a Saturday evening series of concerts throughout the year. More information is available on their website. The Church is located on the Green in Morristown at 50 Park Place.

Artist of the Week: Amy Becker

Over the past couple of months, our "Artist of the Week" series has been able to showcase a number of the wonderful artists in our From Here . . . to There exhibit. If you haven't had a chance to see the exhibit in person, you only have one more week, as the exhibit closes on January 20th. Please stop by to see not only the exhibit, but also the amazing LEED-certified "green" building that houses the 14 Maple Gallery.

Today, we are pleased to feature Amy Becker, a resident of Madison, and her intriguing photographs.

©Amy Becker, Four Sides, 2007, Photography, 16"x20" framed

Artist's statement:

"Change is a central drama of our lives. Although no one can contemplate every detail of its constant impact, we are immersed in change. Occasionally, we pick and choose episodes or pathways to better grasp its nature. My way is through my photography.

By selecting random human subjects, everyday objects, and ungroomed sites as points of departure, I explore the intersection of change and the individual consciousness. I hope my photographs encourage viewers to see and think in directions they might not have otherwise considered. In that way, the images act to provoke understanding and to connect with dynamics influencing every waking and sleeping moment of our lives."

Four Sides is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Arts Scholarships Available for Graduating High School Seniors

Calling all Morris County high school seniors with artistic talent!

The Arts Council of the Morris Area is offering two scholarship opportunities for graduating Morris County (NJ) seniors who have exhibited artistic excellence in dance, drama, music, or the visual arts and plan to pursue further education in an area related to the arts. The Elaine Ehlers Arts Scholarship, in the amount of $4,500, and the Eugenie Coladarci Arts Scholarship, in the amount of $1,250, were created to recognize artistic excellence and encourage artists of the future.

Past scholarship winners have included pianist Yuqing Meng (Ehlers winner, 2009, left in the picture), now a freshman in a joint program at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory; dancer Edward "Teddy" Tedholm (Coladarci winner, 2009, rigth in the picture), now attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia on full scholarship; visual artist Kaitlyn DeBiasse (Coladarci winner, 2008), a student at Kutztown University, PA; and visual artist Marissa Rich (Ehlers winner, 2008), a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD.

Application information and forms can be downloaded from the Arts Council website. Please note that applications must be postmarked or

delivered to the Arts Council office no later than 5PM on February 26, 2010.

Artist of the Week: Barbara Landes

Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who advocated for the release by the State of New Jersey of 2010 funding to the arts community. As a result of our collective voices, led by ArtPride, we understand that the previously frozen funding is or will be on its way to the many organizations who so richly support our cultural life throughout the State.

Continuing our Tuesday "Artist of the Week" series highlighting New Jersey artists, we are pleased today to feature Barbara Landes.

©Barbara Landes, Flying Colors in an Unknown Space, 2009, multiple printmaking & papermaking techniques, 23"x15"

Artist's statement:

"My works begin as sodden paper pulp in a papermaking studio. I use pulp painting, inserts, blowouts and any other technique I can think of to make the paper a compelling collaborator with the printmaking techniques to come rather than a passive ground for them.

There are no neat borders to keep the viewer at arms' length. The paper competes for open space with distinct and separate printmaking elements. Physically, the works are vulnerable and immediate while their formal, visual impact reaches for universal themes of life in flux where the way may be simple, uncertain or blocked, but can come into perfect clarity for a moment.

In "Flying Colors in an Unknown Space," crisp tarnished criss-crossing hovers like a grate above a broad black mark. Below the image gives way to an ethereally lit and deep space behind wavy yellow lines of pulp paint. The entwined orange and blue graphic device links these two places."


Flying Colors in an Unknown Space is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Duo Cantiga saves the day

When the phenomenal young pianist Damon (Yuqing) Meng was unable to perform at First Night, we knew we could call on the accomplished artists of Duo Cantiga, Katherine Harris (Soprano)and Christopher Kenniff (Guitar) who were poised to record a highly varied and exquisite program of lute songs by Dowland (from Elizabethan England), a song cycle by Brahms, several charming folk songs and music by Granados. Superb professionals, they agreed to perform - on very short notice, insuring that First Night audiences would not be disappointed in their quest for fine classical music at the Morristown United Methodist Church at the 7:15 and 8:15 time slots that evening.

To introduce the Duo Cantiga artists, here is a little more background on these two fine performers:

Known for her “magnificently rich, controlled soprano” and hailed as a “promising new talent” (NY Times), Katherine Harris made her Carnegie Hall solo debut in March ’04. A voice professor and a member of Kean University’s Concert Artist Faculty, she performs internationally. In Duo Cantiga, she joins artistic forces with critically acclaimed classical guitarist Christopher Kenniff, whose “lush liquid tone” (Star Ledger) and artistry – in both contemporary and traditional repertoire - have been called “mesmerizing,” “beautifully voiced” and “technically flawless” (Classical New Jersey). Also on Kean’s Concert Artist Faculty, Kenniff performs widely, directs string competitions and a chamber music institute.

We hope you will have the pleasure of hearing them live on New Year's Eve at First Night Morris County!!

Harmonium Soars in Concert

With the blizzard of this past Sunday fresh in our minds, you may not remember what a dreary day it was the Sunday before. Yet inside St. Peter’s Church in Morristown that day, the “weather” was beautifully uplifting.

Harmonium Choral Society, a 100 plus group, presented its "Winter Garden” concert to a full audience, all of whom had braved rain and ice to be there.

The opening works were breathtakingly ethereal, sung a cappella with the chorus member surrounding the audience on all sides joined by a smaller group of voices beautifully wafting down from the choir loft above. And that was only the beginning!

From medieval/renaissance music to more contemporary works, the wonderfully nuanced singing of the chorus was a joy to hear. The depth of the chorus is evident in the many members who provided solo singing throughout the concert. Accolades to both the chorus as well as Anne Matlack, its very talented director.

If you missed Harmonium's concert, you have another chance to hear them next week at First Night Morris, New Jersey's largest family-friendly (alcohol-free) New Year's Eve celebration. With an amazing breadth and depth of preformances, First Night Morris is a not-to-be-missed event! Check out our blog from last week for more details.

Artist of the Week: Donald Myles

Today's "Artist of the Week" post features Donald Myles from Belvidere, New Jersey. Just looking at his photo of California makes us feel warmer on this very chilly day!

©Donald Myles, Bodie, 2008, Photograph, 22"x 28"

Artist's statement:

"Bodie – Ghost Town: Today the mining town of Bodie is possibly the most well preserved and largest original ghost town in California. In 1962 it became a California State Historic Park and as the state words it, Bodie is in a state of “arrested decay”. As the story is told, Bodie was suddenly abandoned with people leaving their belongings, tables still set with dishes, pictures on the walls, etc. and this is how you see the buildings today, inclusive of the car portrayed in the picture."


Bodie is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with world class artists at First Night Morris!

By Dr. Lynn Siebert, Arts Participation Director

L-R: Damon (Yuqing) Meng, piano prodigy; BALAM Balinese Dance Theatre; Aaron Weinstein, jazz violinist.

On New Year’s Eve, 90 events (programmed by the Arts Council of the Morris Area) will be featured in 26 venues around the center of Morristown as part of the 18th annual First Night Morris. This is New Jersey’s largest, family friendly (non-alcoholic) New Year’s Eve celebration of the arts and one of the best bargains found anywhere!. A mere $15* buys admission to ALL events which include something for virtually every age and taste. Two sets of fireworks round out the evening!

You don’t need to travel to Bali, Scotland, Russia, Ireland or India since First Night will be bringing dance and music from those countries right to Morristown. You can travel back in time to hear music of different ages or experience the fun of interactive theatre, magic, music, puppetry, science, circus and children’s tales with a host of performers geared to family audiences. A wide assortment of classical music options, from phenomenal soloists to choral, orchestral and chamber music will fill the air that night. And, the club scene will also be well represented with master performers of Dixieland, Swing, funk, zydeco, blues, bluegrass, acoustic folk, rock and classic jazz. Those with eclectic tastes will enjoy electro-acoustic oboe music, theatrical horror stories, The Mask Messenger, or a basketball duo from The Harlem Wizards. A Teen Coffeehouse, middle school mask exhibit, double feature films, two visual arts exhibits and double fireworks displays round out the evening’s offerings.

For the full program and background details on each act, visit www.firstnightmorris.com. All events are indoors (except fireworks) and free shuttles assist guests in getting from venue to venue.

*The $15 price is for buttons purchased by Dec. 15 at the Community Theatre/Mayo Center for the Performing Arts. From Dec. 16-30, prices to to $20 per button, available at multiple outlets throughout the county or online at www.firstnightmorris.com; family packets of 4 for $60; On Dec. 31, all buttons are $25.


L-R: Bells of India, South Indian classical dance; Frank Vignola, jazz guitar virtuoso; The Blaire Reinhard Band.


L-R: Beaucoup Blue (father/son blues duo); Sadecky’s Puppets/Castlemania.

Artist of the Week: Doug Depice

In continuing our "Artist of the Week" series, this week's featured artist is Doug Depice from Secaucus, New Jersey.

©Doug Depice, Train Trestle, 2006, Paint on paperboard, 8 1/2" x 11"

©Doug Depice, Highway in the Meadowlands, 2006, Paint on paperboard, 8 1/2"x 11"

Artist's statement:

"These paintings on paperboard represent a part of the 1,100 studies of the meadowlands that I have created since June 2005, titled "The Sacred Earth: The Art of the Meadowlands." I have tried to express various aspects of the meadowlands as visual metaphors for seeing nature as mysterious (where thousands of ecosystems co-exist in an unending process of life and death), endangered (used for industry, railroad yards, and waste disposal), and chaotic (where randomness creates new order)."

Train Trestle and Highway in the Meadowlands and are part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

State's Funding Freeze Creates a Crisis for Arts Organizations

By now you area likely aware that the State has frozen the release of contractually committed funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts to hundreds of the State’s arts organizations, including the Arts Council of the Morris Area. The result is a dire financial emergency for many of the State’s arts organizations, some of whom are facing the potential shuttering of their doors.

How can this be when the Arts in New Jersey:

-- Generate more than $1.2 billion each year in economic activity for the State
-- Provide more than 77,000 jobs
-- Generate more than $41 million in State tax revenue

It’s time to remind our state legislators of just how important the Arts are to our economic well-being. Please take a moment and go to the ArtPride website and click on the “Action Alert” button to send a message to your legislators encouraging them to unfreeze this critically important State funding stream. Every message counts!

Artist of the Week: George Garbeck

Continuing our Tuesday "Artist of the Week" series highlighting New Jersey artists, we are pleased today to feature George Garbeck.

©George Garbeck, Inner City, 2009, Digital photographic manipulation, 18"x 24"

Artist's statement:

"It is an incredibly exciting time to be a photographer. The ‘digital’ revolution has created an environment where I can, as an artist-photographer control the technical aspects of my craft with heretofore unknown precision. At the same time I have unprecedented creative freedom to blend photography with other 2-dimensional visual disciplines such as painting and drawing.

Unlike many artists, I don’t concentrate on a single subject or theme, but rather try to communicate, with camera and computer, that which I can only hint at with words: my love for the visual experience. I endeavor to capture moments from my own experience that have been more substance than shadow; instants timeless and random, where routine existence seems to give way to a heightened sensibility.

Visual catalysts that trigger these moments of transcendent clarity occur without warning, in the play of sunlight on a mundane object, the texture of peeling paint on an old building, in a striking natural vista, or in the fleeting and enigmatic look on a stranger’s face. I hope that through viewing the totality of my work a certain thematic beauty or truth will emerge and resonate on some level with the observer."


Inner City is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.

Weekend Pick: A Trip to the Riverdale Art Center

If you’re looking for an outing this weekend, I encourage you to stop by the Riverdale Art Center, located just off Exit 53 of Interstate 287 in Riverdale, NJ. Open less than a month, this new art center has already made an impact, encouraging some to predict an arts renaissance in the community.

Led by Patti Watson, its founder and a dynamic woman with a big vision, the Riverdale Art Center’s beautifully crafted mission statement is “to cultivate a supportive environment for art to flourish by encouraging the human spirit to soar through self-expression.” That self-expression is evident in the exhibit of delightfully diverse art work now on view at the Art Center. The exhibit includes ceramics, paintings, sculpture, photography and mixed media displayed in brightly lit gallery space throughout the two-story 1818 Victorian house that is home to the Art Center.

Yet gallery space to showcase local artists is just one of the four prongs of the Art Center’s model, which also includes educational art classes and seminars, community outreach to those with special needs, and studio space for artists. In fact, the Art Center has already leased a portion of an old Riverdale factory that it has renovated for shared artist space, open 24/7 to its group of artists.

The Riverdale Arts Center, located at 2 Newark-Pompton Turnpike in Riverdale, is open to the public every Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. When you see the outdoor sculptures on the lawn, you’ll know that you’re there!

To make your outing complete, Patti Watson suggests stopping in at the Union Avenue Deli at 126 Union Avenue in Bloomingdale, just a mile away from the Art Center, for a “wonderful lunch and terrific baked goods (dangerously so!)”.

Community Children's Museum Celebrates Five Years

Congratulations to the Community Children’s Museum which last week celebrated its fifth anniversary with an open house! Located in the heart of Dover and easily accessible by train, the Children’s Museum has carved out a niche as an interactive center where kids - aged ten and younger - can explore, create and have fun with their families in a learning environment. All of its exhibits are specifically created to be touched, not just looked at, in a way that engages children’s natural curiosity.

At the open house last week, I was once again struck by the Museum’s amazing exhibits. Since I (like many others!) wanted to be an astronaut when I was young, I was particularly attracted to the exhibit of John Glenn’s space capsule where kids can actually climb into and experience what it is like to be an astronaut, complete with an interactive “dashboard”. Another one of my favorites is Van Gogh’s bedroom that replicates one of the artist’s paintings and encourages kids to explore their creativity (complete with mini easels) while learning about Van Gogh. Other exhibits allow kids to explore how electricity is conducted, exposes them to world cultures, and provides a stage (complete with a curtain, lighting and costumes) to use their imagination while watching themselves on a television monitor.

The Children’s Museum is located at 77 East Blackwell Street in Dover and is open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., including Friday and Saturday of this coming weekend. The Children’s Museum is particularly great at opening during school holidays and will be open each day the week of December 26th – January 3rd (excluding December 31st). With the cost of admission at only $5, this is a great family-friendly way to spend an afternoon!

Artist of the Week: Alexandra Pacula

Today's "Artist of the Week" post features Alexandra Pacula from North Haledon, New Jersey.

©Alexandra Pacula, Innate Velocity, 2009, Oil on canvas, 30" x 40"

Artist's statement:

"My work investigates a world of visual intoxication and captures moments of enchantment which are associated with urban nightlife. I am fascinated by the ambiance of the city at night and its seductive qualities. The breathtaking turbulence of speeding vehicles and hasty pedestrians evoke feelings of wonder and disorientation. The vibrant lights become a magical landscape with enticing opportunities and promises of fulfillment.

In our seemingly content society there is a struggle to achieve greater levels of enjoyment. We explore various environments and activities in search of pleasure. Extravagant lights of night environments seduce us to participate in curious events, enticing us to experience new forms of satisfaction.

In my oil paintings I aim to capture various atmospheres that occur in such environments. Through observation and documentation I assemble images which become visual tools for my paintings. I concentrate on how the mind perceives and evaluates surroundings while under the influence of a social climate.

I recreate the feeling of dizziness and confusion by letting the paint blur and allowing shapes to dissolve. I suggest motion in order to slow down the scene and capture the fleeting moments which tend to be forgotten. By interpreting lights in graphic or painterly ways, I create a sense of space, alluding to a hallucinogenic experience. I intensify the sense of motion with the use of quick vigorous lines and sharp perspectives. I want the viewer’s eye to travel within my composition and experience a familiar exhilarating event of an actual nightly excursion."


Innate Velocity is a part of the From Here . . . To There exhibit currently on display at the Arts Council of the Morris Area's 14 Maple Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue (3rd floor), Morristown, New Jersey. Gallery hours are M-Th, 10 a.m - 4 p.m.; F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Inquires regarding the purchase of this work may be directed to Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, x 15, or adodd@morrisarts.org.