ARTS MATTERS

Last weeks for Atrium exhibit

2011-01-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

Little more than a week remains to see the Fall/Winter 2010 Exhibit at the Atrium Gallery, which ends January 12th.

Yuri Yurov's digital print, Nostradamus, with model

There are turtles with civilizations on their backs, faces emerging from cosmic swirls, riotously lavish colors of flowers, raku pottery and soaring banners of silk. See all this and more at the Fall/Winter 2010 Exhibit which showcases 260 works of art by 25 artists. including the 19 year retrospective of mysterious and intense works by Yuri Yurov (5th floor), the vibrant colors of Greg Egan's Garden Series watercolors (4th floor), the rich variety of works by 19 artists of the Myhelan Artist Network (3rd floor), the subtle pastels of Pam Gosner and the geometric works in gouache, ink and marker on paper by emerging artist Christine Wagner (2nd floor). And, in those soaring atrium stairwells, don't miss the kinetc "Open O" mobiles of John Tetz and the dramatic multi-story silk banner piece by Phyllis Boudreaux.

Phyllis Boudreaux's dramatic silk banner work, The Falling Up

The exhibit is free and open to the public....available to view Mondays-Fridays from 8am to 5pm. Free catalogues are located in the elevator lobby on each floor of the exhibit and most of the works are available for sale (think unique post-holiday gifts!).

And be sure to return in late January for Art in the Atrium's 19th Annual African American art exhibit which opens on January 28, 2011!

By Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation and Communications

A 3D crossword puzzle: Programming First Night

2010-12-21T07:07:00.000-08:00

Every year at this time I sigh with relief as the final proofreading is done and the program for First Night Morris County goes to print. With over 80 events in 21 venues in Morristown, it is always a challenge to program the right mix of performances that will entertain, educate, delight, stimulate and make this New Year's Eve celebration of the arts a truly memorable experience for as wide an audience as possible.

Taikoza - Japanese drum/flute/dance troupe

Balancing yearly favorites with the need to keep the event "fresh," 2/3 of this year's program showcases brand new performers and acts. Each is matched as carefully as possible with an appropriate venue...factoring in acoustics; need for a piano, stage or sprung floor; seating capacity; accessibility; and sound equipment. The more variety in the offerings, the broader the appeal. Additional challenges come with selecting performers, negotiating rates, handling contracts and related documentation with the overriding goal of providing top quality programming for every taste: the serious, the fun-loving, the young, the mature, those eager for new experiences and those comfortable with tradition. Oh yes, did I mention that, in these lean times, all of the programming must be accomplished within very tight budget constraints?

Red Hawk Native American dancer

So, I've dubbed it my annual 3D crossword puzzle. But how exciting and gratifying when the pieces finally fall into place. As Kevin Coughlin (of www.MorristownGreen.com) put it: "Where else can you enjoy a 'master of the erhu'? or pet a live skink? or hear folk songs in Klingon?(Wang Guowei of Music from China; Rizzo's Reptiles and Carla Ulbrich, respectively). Music lovers can sample blues, bluegrass and brass, baroque and the British Invasion - and that's just the letter B. There will be choral and classical, and more drums than you can shake a stick at (Richard Reiter's Drumming Circle, Taikoza, Hip Pickles Drum Band). Circus acts, magicians, Native American dancers - the list is dizzying."U:\My Documents\FIRST NIGHT\First Night Dec. 10\Start planning now for First Night Morris–the talent roster is deep! Morristown Green.mht

Hip Pickles championship drum band

As a devotee of world cultures, I also try to share that experience with First Night audiences. True to that goal, this year's First Night includes performances of music or dance from Africa, the Andes, the Balkans, the Caribbean, China, Japan and Ireland.

A storyteller, The Harlem Wizards, jazz guitar great Frank Vignola, Rio Clemente's jazz piano mastery, Mark Twain readings, jazz fiddling phenom Aaron Weinstein, a meeting with "George Gershwin" (a.k.a. Dennis Kobray), giant puppet theatre, a poetry slam, symphonic music and many more unique and special acts (along with two sets of fireworks!) round out the First Night offerings.

The work is substantial but the rewards come when I hear First Night audiences excited and happy with their experience or when I get a call from a top flight First Night artist who loved performing here that evening and wants to return. Now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and that people come out in the thousands to enjoy the evening. Then, maybe I can relax a little...that is, until I start thinking about next year's program!

Be sure to visit www.firstnightmorris.com where you can purchase tickets, check the program, volunteer, etc. Tickets are also on sale at the Community Theatre/Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, 100 South Street, Morristown.

By Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation and Communications

Monmouth Visits Morris

2010-12-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

Last week we invited the Monmouth County Arts Council to spend a day with us at our offices in Morristown. It was a day well spent with time to compare notes, share programming advice and talk about our similarities and differences. We have so much to learn by sharing our stories, building on each other's best practices...and learning from each other's challenges. Hats off to everyone at the Monmouth Arts Council, thanks for taking the time to visit - we admire your work and loved spending the day getting to know you better.

By Barbara Reuther, Director of Arts in Education

The Morristown CraftMarket

2010-10-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

We were proud to partner with the Morristown CraftMarket and the Interfaith Food Pantry for an exhibition of fine crafts and folk art at the Morristown Armory over the weekend. 0ver 140 artists and craftspeople from 25 states displayed extraordinary, one-of-a-kind works in jewelry, ceramics, glass, leather, wood, metal, wearable fiber, and more.

We were pleased to see so many New Jersey artists participating in this year's event and enjoyed getting to meet them and view their work. Monmouth County artist Jill Hurrant's exquisite jewlery featured fine handcrafted work in 22 carat gold accented with fresh water pearls and diamonds.

Monika Stebbins an award winning millener from Madison, New Jersey delighted everyone with her capricious and imaginative hats - one of a kind creations made from a wide variety of materials.

Morristown artist Ann Light exhibited an extraordinary array of colorful masks carved from gourds. "Carefully coaxing faces from the hard, dry surface requires careful and gentle strokes of the woodburner and engraving tool. The masks are leather-dyed, waxed and polished, sewn with artificial sinew and embellished with natural materials such as dried pods, raffia, bamboo, palm inflorescence, seagrass, pine needles, and philodendron sheaths."

This annual event is run by the Kiwanis Club of Randolph Township and literally thousands of volunteer hours are put into the planning and management of the CraftMarket. All net proceeds of the show benefit local charities.

By Barbara Reuther - Director of Arts in Education

Poetry Heaven

2010-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

For a few days in early October, the 7th -10th, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and surrounding venues in Newark, New Jersey will be transformed into the country’s largest poetry festival. With 4 poet laureates joining more than 30 other distinguished poets from around the world, the Geraldine R.Dodge Poetry Festival provides a unique opportunity for poetry lovers and poetry ”likers” to deepen their experience of poetry. In addition to readings by poets such as Galway Kinnell, Billy Collins, Kay Ryan, Rita Dove, Mark Strand, Amiri Baraka, Martin Espada and Bob Hicok, there will also be poet-led “conversations” exploring the different aspects of poetry and the life of a poet. Rounding out the experience will be events that feature internationally known musicians and storytellers.

A few years ago, I attended this festival with my teenage son. He was reluctant to go – I bargained, he relented, off we went. Arriving mid-morning, we split up and attended different readings and conversations throughout the day and then circled back at the end for the Poetry Sampler on the main stage. I was amazed that at the end of this long day, he was eager to hear more poetry and that we were both so thoroughly enjoying some of the same works. We returned home that evening with few new books of poetry, some great shared memories and a sense of having participated in something rare and beautiful.

I copied down and saved the Festival introduction from that program as a reminder of that day. Here is part of it:

"And pleasure is what I hope you find, wherever you turn, as you begin to relax into the sea of words and images that will wash over you here. Leave all ordinary ideas of control back on the shore. Enjoy the constantly changing array of emotions and thoughts you encounter. Trust this ocean to support you as you float and paddle among friends. Trust it to support you as you drift among the enchanting and oddly familiar scenes below the surface. We have tried to do everything we could so that you might find swimming to be as natural as breathing. It feels good to be home."
Jim Haba

Making meaningful connections lies at the heart of creativity and The Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival excels at this! Don’t miss it!
By Barbara Reuther - Director of Arts in Education

From Banners to Geometry/ the Fall-Winter 2010 Atrium Gallery Exhibit

2010-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Phyllis Boudreaux's - The Falling Up

So what to do on a Thursday evening in September? Why not start your evening on September 30th (from 6-8pm) with the Arts Council of the Morris Area at the free opening reception of the Fall/Winter Exhibit at the Atrium Gallery, Morris County Administration & Records Building, Floors 2-5, 12 Court Street, Morristown.

Christine Wagner's #21

Long banners of golden silk float in the multi-story stairwell and draw the eye to the four levels of the Fall/Winter Exhibit at the Atrium. The exhibit offers a dramatic range of styles - from the enigmatic, intense paintings/photos and pottery of Russian artist Yuri Yurov (5th floor) to the subtle shades and organic lines of Greg Egan’s botanical watercolors (4th floor).The Myhelan Artist Network showcases the visions of multiple artists (3rd floor) while the unusual patterns of Pam Gosner’s pastels share the 2nd floor with the bold geometrics of emerging artist Christine Wagner.

We hope you’ll come, meet and talk with the artists and savor the art. With light refreshments (at the Cafeteria, 4th floor) and free parking (in the garage below the building – entrance on Schuyler Place), how can you miss?! We hope to see you there!!

By Lynn L. Siebert, Ph.D. - Director of Arts Participation and Communications

National Arts In Education Week

2010-09-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

Something to Celebrate! On July 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating the second week of September as “Arts in Education Week.” The resolution (H.Con.Res. 275) was proposed and introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier from California.

The resolution states: Arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.

The resolution further states that arts education enables students to develop;

critical thinking and problem solving skills,
imagination and creativity,
discipline,
alternative ways to communicate and express ideas,
and cross-cultural understanding, which supports academic success across the curriculum as well as personal growth outside the classroom

We wholeheartedly agree and that's why Arts in Education has been a core area of the Arts Council's work for over 30 years. While assisting area schools with cultural arts programming and artist residencies, we're privleged to witness first hand the powerful difference the arts make, in the lives of individual students, teachers and school communities. We are celebrating the new resolution (and school year) with an Artist Residency Roundtable on September 20th and invite you to join us if you'd like to meet our teaching artists or learn more about the programs we offer.

By Barbara Reuther, Director of Arts In Education

Moving Forward

2010-09-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

All too often in the non-for-profit world, the ability to access the latest technology tools, much less use them effectively for operational and marketing purposes, is sorely lacking. Too little time…too little knowledge…too few resources. For the Arts Council of the Morris Area, that has certainly been the case. Until now!

Since the beginning of the year, the Arts Council staff has been working with Sue Nyoni of Conscious Technology to both migrate our dysfunctional database to a new platform, as well as to create a new website. While we knew that it would be a lot to take on at once, we also knew that we could no longer afford to delay what has been sorely needed for a while. What we also did not know is that doing both at the same time was the perfect opportunity to integrate both so that they could “talk” to one another!

For someone like me who is not technology-oriented, the fact that a database and website could speak to one another is nothing short of magical. With new visions in my head of all that is possible, I began to chomp at the bit, as they say, to have both up and running PDQ.

Enter Sue Nyoni, with her experience, expertise and calm assurance that everything was possible. Under her guidance and with a well-thought out process, we are now almost ready to migrate our database to a much more user-friendly platform. We are now going live with a new website. Yes, it is only an interim site while we continue to work on our permanent site. But in the meantime, it will allow us to see what we like, what works, and to get feedback. Needless to say, we’re very excited!

So check out our new website. Let us know what you think. And keep checking back as we continue to refine the site with your feedback.

Whimsy Exhibit Opens

2010-09-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Summer’s over. Time to reinvigorate our Blog focused on

art and culture in Morris County!

It is truly grace in motion to watch the installation of an art exhibit. Then, again, it’s part magic too to see the way that works of art seem to find their perfect place in a gallery.Two weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, I watched guest curator Mary Kate O’Hare and Arts Council Board member Dick Eger work to find that perfect place for each of the works in the upcoming Whimsy exhibit that opens this Friday in the Gallery at 14 Maple. Writing about the exhibit in her curator’s essay, Ms. O’Hare talks about the “whimsy” theme:

Brainstorm by Riccardo Berlingeri

“The twenty-nine artists in this exhibition bring to life different elements of whimsy. Works range from abstractions to figurative subjects produced in a wide variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture and mixed media. Almost as if by magic several of the artists reconstruct everyday objects into something unexpected, such as Katie Truk’s transformation of pantyhose into a layered web suggesting mouths open in song or Riccardo Berlingeri’s reworking of newspapers into an explosively sinuous sculpture. Some of the works can be worn (wearable whimsy), like Kathryn Keller’s Itsy Bitsy Spiders bracelet cuff embossed with images of spindly spiders or Won Ju Seo’s lyrical jeogori entitled Memories. Jennifer DeAngelis makes us look afresh at the life contained within letters and numbers with her Strands Font. The whimsy of nature is captured by Jim DelGiudice in Bird Logic, a photograph that presents bird foot prints imprinted in snow; we are struck by their sudden disappearance at the edge of the ground suggesting the moment when the unseen bird took flight. Don Myles’ photograph Flying Rocks expresses a sense of joyfulness in the stones seeming defiance of gravity, just as the sheets in Ken Ross’ Sheet (Minor Alterations) seem to mysteriously levitate above the earth. Many of the works in this exhibition express a waggish sense of humor, such as the abstract form of Jim Fuess’ Snake Contemplating its Navel, an effect recognized when we realize that a snake of course does not actually have a navel. The humor of Betty McGeehan’s Politics comes out of the unexpected combination of a toilet tank and a megaphone wittily made out of copper.

Politics by Betty McGeehan

The works in this exhibition embody expressions of joy, humor and fancy. Together they help us see and connect to the inherent whimsy within our world.”

Come and join us for the opening this Friday, the 10th, from 5:30-7:30pm at the Gallery located at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown.

Join the Buzz for Great Conversations

2010-03-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone is talking about

the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s

On March 25th, 2010, the Arts Council of the Morris Area will host its unique benefit, GREAT CONVERSATIONS, starting with a 6pm reception and 7:30pm dinner at the Madison Hotel, 1 Convent Rd., Morristown.

Be sure to join us for an unforgettable evening, dining with with any one of 29 exceptional individuals, a veritable Who’s Who in the world of the arts, education, medicine, sports, food, business and the environment. Our hosts include:

- Stephan Briganti (President & CEO, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.)
- Susan Cole, PhD (President, Montclair State University)
- Kevin Cummings (President & CEO, Investors Savings Bank)
- Kathleen DiChiara (President & CEO, Community FoodBank of New Jersey)
- Suzzanne Douglas (Actor, Singer)
- Gregory J. Egan (Owner, Gallery MacEgan & Artist)
- David C. Felton (Executive Chef, Ninety Acres at Natirar)
- The Right Reverend Giles P. Hayes, OSB (Abbot, St. Mary's Abbey & President, Delbarton School)
- Lawrence P. Goldman (President & CEO, New Jersey Performing Arts Center)
- Joseph P. Goryeb (Founder, Champion Mortgage)
- Peter Keller (Owner, The Madison Hotel)
- Alison Larena (Executive Director, The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts)
- Honorable Kenneth MacKenzie (New Jersey Superior Court Judge, retired)
- Bonnie Monte (Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey)
- Robert E. Mulcahy III (Former Director, Rutgers University Athletic Department)
- Susan Palma-Nidel (Flutist, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra)
- Grant V.S. Parr, MD (Board Certified Thoracic Surgeon and Physician-in-Chief of the Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute; Chair Emeritus, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Morristown Memorial Hospital)
- James Quirk (National Football League Umpire, retired)
- Philip Scheffler (Journalist, Executive Editor of 60 Minutes, retired)
- James R. Shine (Former FBI agent, involved in post 9/11 air surveillance)
- Valerie Sinclair (New Jersey Food Critic)
- Don Jay Smith (Executive Director, New Jersey Hall of Fame)
- Eric Stiles (Chief Operating Officer & Vice President, Conservation & Stewardship, New Jersey Audubon)
- Joseph A. Trunfio, PhD (President & CEO, Atlantic Health)
- Marc Van Cauwenbergh (Abstract Artist)
- Richard Vezza (Publisher, The Star-Ledger)
- John C. Weber (Chief Creative Officer/Principal, J. Weber Design, LLC)
- Nina Mitchell Wells, Esq. (Former Secretary of State of New Jersey)
- Edward J. Yaw, EdD (President, County College of Morris)

Leave behind the electronic media and savor the art of live conversation, meet some extraordinary individuals and help a truly worthy organization to give back to its community. Our event is generously sponsored by Atlantic Health, with additional support from The Madison Hotel.

For more information and for tickets, please contact Karin Becker at the Arts Council at (973) 285-5115, ext.14, kbecker@morrisarts.org or visit our website.

Emerging Patterns Exhibit Opens February 15th

2010-02-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

©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

2010-01-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-19T06:50:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

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.

Artist of the Week: Carla Falb

2009-11-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

Today's "Artist of the Week" post features Carla Falb who uses roller coasters as the subject of many of her works.

Carla Falb, Stratosphere, 2005, Charcoal, 27"x39"

Artist's statement:

"Roller coasters are a distinctive product of our American culture, reflecting our desire for ecstatic experiences, as well as symbolizing the energy and complexity of our lives.

Endless movement – continuous patterns and pulsations of energy make up our universe. From the interaction of subatomic particles, the beating of our hearts pumping blood through our circulatory systems, the speed of traffic on our highways, the endless/ever-changing information on the Internet, and the rotation of our planet in space – nothing is static!

I am also fascinated by the physical structure of roller coasters. From a distance, the rides appear as automated skeletons rising up from the earth -- a hybrid of organic and mechanized forms. The colossal scale of the serpentine tracks and lattice supports resemble a cartoon/pop-culture version of a cathedral under construction.

Philosophically, my work combines the Modernist ideal of form following function, i.e. roller coasters are visually fascinating structures even though they are simply built as a means to transport passengers as they are propelled through space; with the Post-Modernist absurdity of the controlled-fear catharsis inherent in thrill rides.

Ever changing images flash by, simulating the experience of traveling the full length of a roller coaster in a single instant. Being hurled through space, repeating tracks and fragmented structures flash by creating visual rhythms. A journey that mimics the cyclical nature of time – you might as well just sit back, hold tight, and enjoy the ride while it lasts."

Stratosphere 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.

Artist of the Week: Ann Calandro

2009-11-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

Today's post features Ann Calandro from Fleminton, New Jersey as our "Artist of the Week".

©Ann Calandro, View from My Window, 2007, Mixed media collage, 20"x16"

Artist's statement:

"My mixed media collages incorporate paper, ink, pencil, paint, chalk, material, and photographs that I take. Like Henri Rousseau who set out to reproduce the world photographically and ended up creating a world of enchantment, I mix the real and the imaginary so that viewers can step into their own enchanted reality—from here to there. Other influences include Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Charles Sheeler, and the novelist Alice Hoffman."

View from My Window 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.

Last Weekend to Pick "The Grapes of Wrath"

2009-11-12T08:13:00.000-08:00

Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments."- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 14

I remember reading John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath in high school. It was a book that made a lasting impression with a powerful ending that has longed stayed with me. Even that memory, however, could not prepare me for the spellbinding and gripping performance of the novel, adapted as a play, that I recently saw performed at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Steinbeck's story, published in 1939, is set during the Great Depression. It is about the Joad family, driven by drought and economic hardship from the land that they had long farmed to seek what they thought would be a new life of opportunity in California. Told simply yet powerfully, it is a story of the human spirit in the face of untold hardship. I left the theatre thinking about how challenging our times are today and how versions of Steinbeck’s story are quietly and sadly lived by so many around us every day - workers on farms, in factories and in offices whose lives rise and fall with the tides of the economy.

We love our public heroes like “Sully” Sullenberger who accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of landing a jet in the Hudson River. They give us a way to collectively celebrate the notion of rising above adversity, of snatching victory out of the mouth of defeat. But what of those who labor each day in a quiet, perhaps poignant, way to rise about adversity in their own lives? The Grapes of Wrath reminds me that we all live heroic lives in our own way.

This is the last weekend to see The Grapes of Wrath which I highly recommend. Even the set is extraordinary, complete with telephone poles, a car in which the family makes its journey, and water in several incarnations, both real and powerfully symbolic.

What a thing of beauty it is to be able to be drawn so totally into a story, as I was, to experience sadness to the point of tears, and futility that physically settles deeply into your soul. The Grapes of Wrath is to be seen and experienced.

Artist of the Week: Laura Cuevas

2009-11-09T08:24:00.001-08:00

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

©Laura Cuevas, Monk Running Late, 2007, Digital SLR, 13"x9"

Artist's statement:

"I work in three basic mediums: DSLR, or digital photograph, mixed-media on canvas, and mixed-media on paper. I hold no particular allegiance to one. They all have their place and I use them interchangeably. It is the process, the journey, and the voyage of discovery that I like, and it really doesn’t matter what tools I use to get there so long as the journey allows me to grow and learn.

This image was captured, purely by chance, on a trip I took to China almost two years ago. The man is a young Buddhist monk scurrying to catch up with his fellow monks after he realized that he had allowed himself to get distracted by a bird he was watching in a tree. I, on the other, had been watching him from across the square. His bright saffron robe was striking. What was interesting to me was his posture. The young man bolted quickly to catch up to the others and, not wanting to be too conspicuous, restrained from making gross gestures. He tensed his body closely together as he quickly dashed back, always looking down and never once raising his head to see where he was going."

Monk Running Late 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.

Thinking About Art in a New Way

2009-11-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

Recently I had the opportunity to join a group of senior art majors from a local college on a trip to Dia:Beacon. Located in a picturesque setting along the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, Dia:Beacon is a museum devoted entirely to Minimalist, Conceptual and some Pop art. Visiting the museum was an experience for all of us, young and not-so-young, to have our perceptions about art expanded, shaken and turned upside down. Just as importantly, the experience engaged us in a thought-provoking discussion about “what is art”.

Our journey through the museum began with an up-close viewing of Michael Heizer’s North, East, South, West. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking of sculpture as a three dimensional work that you view at eye level or above. However, Heizer’s fabulous “earthwork” consists of four steel-lined pits set twenty feet into the ground. Lying on the floor and peering over the edge into the work, I realized that my notion of sculpture was being turned inside out, literally, as I contemplated the idea of negative space.

For the next four hours, we viewed art installations of fluorescent tubes

(Dan Flavin), crushed car parts (John Chamberlain), words on a wall (Lawrence Weiner), a stone megalith 15’ 8’tall (Michael Heizer), large outlines of empty space in string (Fred Sandback), broken glass strategically piled on the floor (Robert Smithson), works of white oils on white paper (Robert Ryman), and more. Richard Serra's huge metal installations that you entered and sometimes wound around in a serpentine path to the center were breathtaking, a creation of art to be emotionally experienced.

Dia:Beacon is an amazing space. Located in a 300,000-square-foot historic printing factory, the enormity of the space is one of its greatest assets, allowing it to both accommodate sizeable works with ease as well as create physical space between the works. As I quickly realized, that physical space is critical in giving the visitor emotional space to take in the breadth and depth of the collection without sensory overload, although emotional overload is inevitable.

Toward the end of the visit, we stopped in the gallery where Andy Warhol’s Shadows was installed. It is a massive work of 72 canvases mounted end to end on all four sides of a 7,000 square foot room. Sitting in overstuffed couches surrounded by powerful work, the students and I were initially at a loss for words. How could an artist even conceive of such an enormous work, much less execute it? And why so many panels? How was each different from the other? Why were two panels only in shades of black and white?

Many unanswered questions, but that underlies the beauty of art which is about experiencing it on many different levels, each person in their own way.

If you have never been to Dia:Beacon before, it is a must see. I assure you, you will never think about art in the same way again.

Artist of the Week: JC Lenochan

2009-11-03T04:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to "Artist of the Week", a new blog post each Tuesday that will highlight a New Jersey artist currently featured in the Arts Council of the Morris Area's juried art exhibit, From Here . . . To There. This week's feature artist is JC Lenochan.

© JC Lenochan, Sidewalk University, 2009, chalk on acrylic, 56” x 48”

Artist's statement:

My work is a collision of thoughts and conversation initiating a dialogue of the dichotomies that persists in our shared reality. I use found photos of current events, historical achievement, admiration, and sacrifice as well as personal photographs to recreate these documents for interpretation. These personal initiatives and international issues investigate the psychological impact of the preponderance of western media while juxtaposing images of emotion, exile, terrorism or exploitation, territory and occupation for purposes of disrupting normal patterns of thought. The relation between land and culture reflects “from here to there.”

Sidewalk University is currently on display at the 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.

2009-10-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Call for Artists

Exhibit Title: “Emerging Patterns”
Location: Arts Council of the Morris Area’s Gallery at 14 Maple (Morristown, NJ)
Exhibition Dates: February 15, 2010 – August 11, 2010

The Arts Council of the Morris Area is seeking submissions in any medium that evoke the theme of “Emerging Patterns” for a juried group exhibit curated by Midori Yoshimoto, Gallery Director at New Jersey City University. The exhibit will be displayed at the Gallery at 14 Maple, a space in the atrium and common areas of the office building located at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown, N.J., home to both the Arts Council of the Morris Area and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

ELIGIBILITY: The show is open to all artists working in any medium who live or work in New Jersey. There is a limit of 5 submissions per artist. All accepted work must be professionally presented and ready for installation or hanging (by wire or D-rings). Work must be available for the entire length of the exhibit. Artists may be required to supply pedestals for 3D work.

For more information, including submission requirements and a downloadable submission form, please see the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s website, www.morrisarts.org. Questions? Call Karin Becker at (973) 285-5115, x14.

Arts Community Coping

2009-10-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t seen Laura Aden Packer’s recent post on the Dodge Foundation blog, it is definitely worth reading. In it, she reports the findings from a survey of arts organizations on how they are faring in this difficult economy. Conducted by ArtPride, New Jersey’s arts advocacy organization, the findings show that “It’s not easy being a nonprofit arts organization in New Jersey” according to Ms. Packer. The majority of organizations surveyed experienced a significant decrease in funding from the public as well as the private sector, with individual support down 46%. Programming was affected (either eliminated or decreased) as was staffing, with many positions eliminated and/or reduced in either hours or compensation.

These findings are certainly consistent with what we have seen in our local arts community. However, what I have also seen is the amazing creativity of our organizations in coping during these financially challenging times. For some, it has provided the impetus to revisit their programming in order to connect more closely to their missions. For others, it has meant reaching out to develop collaborative partnerships. For all, it is stretching our fewer dollars to the maximum, finding creative ways to carry out our missions with limited funding.

In addition to the guidance and support of their boards, I also know how much the staffs of our local organizations have been the backbone of survival, giving of their time (and sometimes personal resources) over and above what they are compensated for, in order to ensure that their organizations remain vibrant. It is a tribute to the passion of the arts community and its seminal belief that the arts are at the very core of our humanness and are what soothe, heal and inspire – in good times and in bad.

Board Retreat Unleashes Creative Energies

2009-10-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

What an amazing Board of Trustees retreat we had this past Saturday!

In keeping with our retreat theme of “Telling the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s Story”, we had invited two teaching artists to join us – Paula Davidoff, storyteller, and Ron McBee, percussionist. As Paula reminded the Board at the outset, storytellers and drummers have been an integral part of “Council” meetings since the beginning of time. With stories and sound woven throughout the half day retreat facilitated by Mark Lorenz, everyone’s creative energies were unleashed, resulting in incredible brainstorming sessions.

At the end, Paula and Ron invited the Board to use the powerful words and phrases they had generated in the morning sessions, and that reflected their passion about the arts and the Arts Council, in a creative thematic wrap-up. Here’s how one group expressed their passion:

Art Connects

Art is freedom.
It elevates, engages, and enriches.
Where is your most interesting place to live?
Is it vision or reality?
Would you like both?

Art is the glue.
It fills the void.
How do you connect to community?
How do you connect to life?
What brings joy, balance and hope to life?

Art connects.

Colonial Symphony Opens its Season on Saturday

2009-10-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

When making your plans for the weekend, you might want to include the Colonial Symphony’s first concert of the season on Saturday night, October 24th, at Drew University in Madison. In a very interesting program conducted by Music Director Paul Hostetter, the world premiere of Harold Meltzer’s Buste is paired with Felix Mendelssohn’s Fourth “Italian” Symphony and his Violin Concerto featuring concertmaster Jorge Avila as the soloist.

Harold Meltzer, Colonial Symphony’s composer in residence, is a Pulitzer Prize runner-up and a Prix de Rome winner. According to Mr. Meltzer, “Buste is one of a series of revelatory late portraits recently housed in a remarkable Picasso exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery in New York. Staring at you from within the frames are old cavaliers, curiously framed, remade from the imaginations of Velasquez or Rembrandt. They conjure up transfigured or imaginary songs and dances from Spain hundreds of years ago. In Buste I try to do the same.”

All of this wonderful music is being performed at the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University. If you are not familiar with the Center, it is a wonderfully intimate and lushly warm performing space in which music seems to float on the air. Said Maestro Hostetter: “Performing orchestral music in this hall is like draping the sound of priceless instruments in the softest velvet and letting it surround you as a listener. Given the beauty and creativity in each work presented [in Saturday’s concert], I believe that it is the ideal location to hear these works in the closest form to which they were imagined by both of these great composers.”

The concert begins at 8 p.m. with a pre-concert talk, “The Magic of Mendelssohn”, by Maestro Hostetter offered at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the Drew University box office at (973) 408-5600.

New Atrium Gallery Opening

2009-10-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

There was something exciting about being able to attend the opening of not one, but two, new art exhibits last Friday night. At the Simon Gallery, the work of Chris Metze, an abstract painter whose work while small in size is powerful in content, was unveiled. The MacEgan Gallery is showcasing photographs by Alexis Hale Egan, a young woman whose work exhibits a poise and maturity well beyond her 26 years.

If you missed those gallery openings, there is another art exhibit opening tomorrow night, October 22nd, at the Atrium Gallery located in the Morris County Administration and Records Building in Morristown. Curated by the Arts Council of the Morris Area, the Atrium show features 267 works by 50 artists including:

The Latin American Art Group (artists from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, Spain)
Photographer George Aronson
Botanical artist Mindy Lighthipe
Painter Charlie Newman
Artist Gianluca Bianchino
Participants in the Hope House Art Program
Members of the Drew Art Association
Members of the Jewelers Studio Guild

The opening is a wonderful opportunity to meet the artists and to hear about their work. If you go, free parking is available during the reception in the garage beneath the County Administration building (entrance on Schuyler Place off of Washington Street). The exhibit will remain on display during business hours (M-F, 9am-5pm) until January 7, 2010.

Let us know your comments on the exhibit.

Morris County Freeholders Proclaim Arts and Humanities Week

2009-10-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

This week, October 17th – 24th, has been officially designated by the Morris County Freeholder Board as Arts and Humanities Week in Morris County.

In a Proclamation presented to and accepted by the Arts Council of the Morris Area on behalf of the arts and humanities community, the Freeholders recognized that the arts and humanities “play an important and unique role in our lives…embody much of the accumulated wisdom, intellect and imagination of humankind … [and] add beauty and balance to our lives.”

With this proclamation, Morris County joins the country in recognizing October as National Arts & Humanities Month, an annual nationwide celebration that celebrates culture and that was recognized this year by an official Presidential Proclamation.

Equally as important, the Freeholder Proclamation recognized that these important communities “contribute greatly to a strong and healthy economic climate by stimulating economic activity and creating jobs.” In fact, recent statistics indicate that New Jersey’s not-for-profit arts industry generates more than $2 billion each year in economic activity for the State of New Jersey through direct and patron related spending, including more than $41 million in state tax revenues (Source: ArtPride New Jersey).

In the Morris County area alone, there are more than 2,000 arts-related businesses which employ more than 10,000 people. Representatives of a number of those organizations attended the Freeholder meeting last Wednesday to celebrate the Arts & Humanities Week Proclamation.

Join the Arts Council of the Morris Area in celebrating our local cultural gems!

MG Music Fest to Rock Morristown

2009-10-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Here’s an event that you won’t want to miss: the first MG (that’s Morristown Green) Music Fest. It will be held this Saturday, the 10th, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the top of Morristown’s DeHart Street parking garage. What an incredibly creative venue – adjacent to a bank of solar panels with an incredible view of Morristown! And, with the ability to move down to a protected level in the event of rain, the event is literally rain or shine.

Add to that that many of Morristown’s top bands and solo artists will performing, including the Blaire Reinhard Band, The Community, Emily Eddey, Jon Zlock, Charlie and the Vanilla Faces, Steevan Mars, Boys Night Out and Universal Rebel. Some of you may remember Universal Rebel from the MG Film Festival held in August on the lawn of St. Peter’s Church in Morristown. Knowing how much fun that event was (see our post Shooting Stars in Our Midst), we know that this festival promises to be to be a rocking event and yet another opportunity for the community to enjoy the arts outdoors in a fabulous setting.

Said Kevin Coughlin, chief inspiration behind this event as well as the Film Festival: “The first two MG Film Festivals were so much fun, we figured it was high time for an MG Music Fest. We couldn't have pulled this off without the help of Universal Rebel, a terrific band that really believes in a credo of love, unity and community. They've been wanting to do something like this for a long time and our ideas just dovetailed nicely. We're thrilled that so many terrific bands and artists are performing and hope that everyone will come out for a day of great sunshine and music!"

Run, don't walk, over to this wonderful family-friendly event. Admission is free! Proceeds from a 50-50 raffle to be held that day will benefit the Collinsville Child Care Center, a Morristown preschool for children from low-income families.

Thanks, Kevin, for giving us yet another wonderful way to connect our community through the arts!

Who Does She Think She is?

2009-10-02T13:10:00.002-07:00

by Kadie Dempsey, Arts in Community Director

On Monday night, October 5th, the Arts Council of the Morris Area, in collaboration with the College of Saint Elizabeth, will present a free screening of the film Who Does She think She Is?

The evening will begin at 5:15 with a light supper with film showing to begin at 6:15. Following the film there will be a panel discussion with three New Jersey women artists. The event will take place at The Annunciation Center on the campus of The College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, NJ.

This award winning documentary film about five women artists and their unique challenges is a must see for anyone who can identify with the challenges of following their dreams.

I grew up with an Irish Grandmother whose mantra to me was “Who do you think you are, somebody?” This was usually said after I expressed a desire to do something that she felt was going to make me feel good about myself in one way or another. I always loved plays and would create small theatrical productions on Sunday afternoons when my aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings would gather at our house for large family dinners. While the adults talked in the kitchen or living room, I would be in another part of the house creating a stage curtain from an old army blanket and giving out assignments to my sisters and cousins - “You’re the donkey; you’re the angel; you’re the shepherd.” Of course, I was always the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In fourth grade I won first place in a poetry contest. I was sure I would grow up to be a famous poet or an actress. Every time I would start feeling “special,” my grandmother could not resist speaking in her thick Irish brogue, “Who do you think you are, somebody?”

When I found this film on the Internet, I could not believe my eyes! It was a movie that might address my grandmother's disturbing message that still rings in my ears after forty years. After seeing the film’s trailer and learning more about it, I realized that the film is not just about women artists, it is about all of us who struggle with inner voices that continue to speak to us well into our adult lives.

To know your gifts is a gift itself, but to pursue dreams and innate talents without hesitation is a present you give yourself in spite of challenges, voices and doubts. Sometimes you will not have the support of those you love as you begin to follow your dream, but as you will see in this film, it is possible at any age to become the person you know you were meant to be. My favorite quote by Marianne Williamson (quoted in part) sums it up:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens
us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel
insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It's not just in
some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated
from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

If my grandmother were alive to ask me that old question today, I’d answer by taking her to see this film.

New Exhibit at the 14 Maple Avenue Gallery

2009-09-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the opening reception earlier this month, we wanted to share some pictures from the new exhibit at the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s 14 Maple Avenue Gallery. Titled From Here . . . . . To There, the exhibit is about a sense of movement, be it physical, emotional, psychological, or even biological.

The theme is evident in the works that relate to or imply the physical journey:

Clockwise: ©Donald Myles Bodie 2008; ©Daryl-Ann Saunders Departures 2003; ©Alexandra Pacula Innate Velocity 2009

Even Carla Falb’s charcoal of the roller coaster on top of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas and Laura Cuevas’ charming photo of a hurrying monk incorporate the concept of movement:

The emotional journey is exemplified by Gianluca Bianchino’s collage in which he processes his journey as an immigrant in this country:

JC Lenochan’s powerful work, Sidewalk University, speaks for itself as does George Garbeck’s Inner City:

A charming work entitled Will the Real Adam Please Stand Up addresses the evolutionary journey:

The complete exhibit catalogue can be view on the Arts Council’s website.

The gallery is located on the 3rd floor at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown and is open to the public during gallery hours: Monday-Thursday, 10-4; Friday, 10-1. Closed Saturdays and Sundays. For information on the purchase of any work, please call Anne Dodd at (973) 285-5115, ext. 15.

Getting Your "Art Fix"

2009-09-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

We’re happy to report that the opening of Gallery Macegan on Friday evening was a resounding success (see our last blog, New Gallery Opens its Doors!). In fact, it was the subject of an interesting article in The Sunday Star Ledger. In that article, Harry Simon, owner of the Simon Gallery (another commercial art gallery in Morristown), was quoted as saying “Morristown can sustain a dozen art galleries…The best thing that could happen to Morristown are more art galleries”. We couldn’t agree more.

An irony that always strikes me is the occasional cultural myopia of our society. We seem to admire and seek other and ancient civilizations and travel to far points on the globe to experience their art and architecture, often to the exclusion of the art, music and cultural offerings in our own neighborhoods. A community that supports galleries (and museums!) recognizes art and the appreciation of beauty as a human need much like food, water and shelter. We should re-examine the exquisite 32,000 year-old cave paintings in France to remind us of the primal need for art in our lives. What survives most from past civilizations is the art, architecture, literature and music that they leave behind. I suspect that will be true of our own. The Arts Council of the Morris Area's health care plan for the community pledges to correct our "art myopia" and bring a new focus on the unique enjoyment that the arts bring into our lives.

In an amazing community project, the Arts Council of the Morris Area last year brought more than 1,000 people of all ages and backgrounds together over a period of several months to paint panels for an incredible 35’ x 35’ outdoor mural that was permanently installed at the Morristown Neighborhood House. Each individual, from age 6 to 90, was able to get in touch with their own personal artistic need for expression and basked both in the pure satisfaction that their painting gave them as well their sense of being part of a larger creative process.

You, too, can sample that enjoyment of the creative process just by carving a bit of time to visit one of our community’s art galleries and museums. This selfish pleasure will get you back in touch with your genetic predisposition for an "art fix"!

New Art Gallery Opens its Doors!

2009-09-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

It’s always exciting when a new art exhibit opens. But when that also coincides with the opening of a new art gallery, the stars have aligned! Welcome, Gallery Macegan!

In addition to the Simon Gallery, the Atrium Galley (at the County Administration Building) and the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s own 14 Maple Avenue Gallery, Morristown can now boast a new exhibit space – Gallery Macegan located at 12 Community Place. You won’t want to miss its grand opening this evening, September 25th, from 6–8 p.m.! Stop by and chat with gallery owners Greg Egan and his niece, Alexis Hale Egan. Greg is a painter whose watercolors are filled with the amazingly delicate yet vibrant use of color. Alexis is a talented photographer whose own exhibit of photos from a year-long stay in Guatemala will be exhibited at the gallery beginning on October 16th.

Recognizing the depth of incredible artistic talent in our area, Greg and Alexis intend to showcase a new exhibit every three weeks and have, in fact, already booked exhibits through the spring. The opening

show, “Portraits and Florals”, exhibits some of Greg’s recent watercolors and includes a garden series in addition to a number of portraits. Although he has a BA in Fine Arts, Greg painted only part time while pursuing a 30-year career in alternative energy research. Having left that career, Greg is now able to devote more of his time to painting, in addition to opening Gallery Macegan which is his newest business venture. As Greg says, opening the gallery was “something that I just had to do.”

And why Morristown? With long-time roots in Morristown, Greg wanted to build a sustainable venue for the introduction of new and vital art into the community, a way to connect the community through art. We look forward to visiting Greg’s inviting gallery for a long time to come!

Gallery hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10-6; Thursday, 10-8; Sunday, 12-5. Closed Mondays.

What's in a Name?

2009-09-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Julia Child (see Art in the Kitchen), we made wonderful little cakes called “Financiers”. Now what would you expect from a name like that? Something rich? Maybe bursting with power? Perhaps a sense of fullness? Making a lasting impression?

Worthy of Wall Street, Financiers are all of that and more. From the Gourmet cookbook, the recipe for Financiers nevertheless conjures up Julia Child with the use of lots of butter – “brown butter’, or beurre noisette, to be precise, a clarified butter cooked until the milk solids have turned brown.

Financiers are sophisticated little tea cakes made from ground almonds whose flavor is intensified by the deep nuttiness of the beurre noisette. It is said that the traditional Financiers are baked in rectangular molds that resemble bars of gold.

While making the Financiers again reminded me what an art cooking is, stopping in to a new bakery in Morristown underscored that even more. If you haven’t yet discovered The Artist Baker at 14-16 Cattano Street, it is a must-see destination! A small shop that opens onto a beautiful little courtyard, just stepping inside brings to mind the lovely bakeries of Europe.

Each sweet savory of the bakery was more beautiful than the next - from the luscious cupcakes, to the mouth-watering pies, and spilling over into the cookies and pastries, all made on the premises and baked daily. The best part, however, is that each morsel was as pleasing to the palate as it was to the eyes.

Interestingly, Andrea Lekberg, the The Artist Baker pastry chef, earned her first degree at the Art Institute of Chicago where as an art student her major was painting and textiles. She subsequently went on to culinary school, as she says, “to master a new kind of art – dessert”. As the name of her bakery implies, and as her wonderful edible works of art evidence, Andrea is indeed both and artist and a baker.

Ah, the fine art of baking!

"Life Could Be a Dream" (Doo-Wop Alert!)

2009-09-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

"Oh, life could be a dream (sh-boom)

If I could take you up in paradise up above (sh-boom)

If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love

Life could be a dream, sweetheart

(Hello, hello again, sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again)"

If you're from my generation, these lyrics of The Chords' 1954 chart-topper bring back a flood of memories. Even if you're from a younger generation, surely you've seen the musical Grease so that you, too, know some of the great music from that era. Songs like In the Still of the Night, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Blue Moon, Surfer Girl, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, and Earth Angel dominated the pop charts back then. Personally, I loved the Beach Boys. Years later, I went to one of their concerts at the PNC Arts Center, then called the Garden State Arts Center. Having only been able to get lawn seats, I stood in the rain for several hours just to be able to sing along to the old songs that I knew so well .. . Good Vibrations, In My Room, Help Me Rhonda, Surfin' USA, The Sloop John B, to name a few. It was magical. Even now, just writing the names of those songs brings a HUGE smile to my face!

You now have a chance to join me in reliving memories, or to make new ones, on September 23rd when The Alley Cats appear in concert for an evening of Doo-Wop favorites for the whole family at the Community Theatre in Morristown. The Alley Cats, America’s premiere Doo-Wop group, will perform a hip, funny, high-energy show featuring classic hits from the 50's and 60's. With tight harmonies, universal humor, and unbelievable a cappella energy, The Alley Cats have performed at the White House, sung for Disney, and regularly open for Jay Leno in Las Vegas. Check them out backstage, scatting with Conan O'Brien and performing Duke of Earl!

The Alley Cats concert is a benefit for the Arts Council of the Morris Area with proceeds helping to fund arts residencies in Morris area schools. Tickets are on sale now at http://www.mayoarts.org/ or the Box Office (973) 539-8008. Reasonably priced at $30 ($15 for children 17 and under), tickets are sure to sell out quickly!

So bring your Little Deuce Coupe on over to the Community Theatre on September 23rd for what promises to be a fun night for all!

Shakespeare Alfresco

2009-08-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

On a balmy, beautiful evening several weeks ago (one of the few nights that it wasn’t raining!), I had the wonderful experience of attending a performance of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's The Tempest on the outdoor stage at the College of Saint Elizabeth campus. Thanks to the efforts of a dear friend, we picnicked beforehand, feasting on delicious home baked chicken and a wonderful pasta salad, all washed down with some great wine.

Good friends aside, the highlight of the evening was really the performance itself. I did not need to know the intricacies of the play to be able to appreciate the amazing skill of the actors performing alfresco. Nor did the incredibly creative set go unnoticed, for it was an impressive example of a simple, yet inventive, design that allowed for the transition between scenes with very little changes to the set.

Alas, the play’s run has now ended, but I will be looking forward to next summer’s play alfresco (with picnic, of course!). Meanwhile,The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s regular season continues with the current production of Noises Off, which ends this weekend, and Hamlet, which begins its run on September 9th. Both plays are part of the company’s 2009 season of “Fantastic Voyages”. How wonderful to be able to enjoy quality theatre right here in our own backyard!

Young Women Finding Their Voice

2009-08-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Just a week ago, I had the privilege of attending the culminating event of one of the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s programs, Girls Surviving, an intense six week program for girls ages 14 – 17. These girls met during the summer to write about the challenges faced by young women in our community. Using drama as a framework, they crafted their writing into a script that they then performed for an audience.

The concept is simple, yet the reality is a much deeper experience for both the girls and the audience. While perhaps not obvious for the participants, the program’s goal is to create a safe space for the girls to be able to share experiences and talk about issues in their lives in a way that not only builds communication skills, but also increases self-confidence and self-esteem. The impact of the program was evident in the powerful presentation that I was grateful to have been able to witness.

I was especially touched by the performance of one of the young women that I had also seen in the culminating event in June of a sister program, Telling Our Stories. This time, instead of being hunched over speaking in a low, almost indecipherable voice, she stood up tall and spoke in a clear voice, delivering her lines with conviction. In just two months, she had transformed into a more confident young woman able to express deeper feelings. She had truly become an actress, but even more, through the power of the art of drama, she had found her voice.

Thank you to teaching artists Paula Davidoff and Carolyn Hunt for creating and facilitating such enriching programs for our young people.

Art in the Kitchen

2009-08-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

What a joy it was to recently see the film "Julie & Julia". Yes, it is a must-see movie. And, yes, Meryl Steep was fabulous in bringing to life Julia Child’s unique and quirky personality, bursting with joie de vivre. Amy Adams was also teriffic as a contemporary Julia Child wanna-be. I especially loved her venture into blogging about her cooking experiences as it mirrors my feelings about this new technology of sharing thoughts with an unknown audience who may or may not be reading the blog.

But the movie’s eye opener for me is encapsulated in the beguiling title of Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The art of cooking?! Hmmm. That would make Julia Child an artist. And it would imply that every one of us whose kitchen experiences rise above the ordinary and mundane is also an artist.

One dictionary definition of “art” is “the creation of beautiful or thought-provoking works”. Another is the “skill acquired by experience, study, or observation.” We so often think of artists as those visible in music, the visual arts, theatre and dance. The Arts Council of the Morris Area also regularly works with artists in the lesser recognized arts of storytelling, mime, circus arts and mask making, to name a few. But what of applying the definition of “art” to cooking, or gardening, or even the written word?

We too often think of art as foreign to our lives, as something that only “artists” create. But if, as I posited in my last blog, we look at art in the broader sense - as a creative expression taking tangible form - the reality is that every one of us is an artist in our own way. We may not be making our living through an art form, or even calling ourselves artists. But that doesn’t mean that our urge to find an outlet for our creativity is any less a form of art than Pablo Picasso’s paintings, or Martha Graham’s dances, or Bruce Springsteen’s music.

Thanks, Julia, for reminding us that we are all artists and that art is everywhere – even in the kitchen! Bon appetit!

Shooting Stars in our Midst

2009-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Attending the second annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival last night made me reflect on the incredible wealth of artistic talent and opportunities for sharing that talent right here in Morris County. The Festival was a grassroots gathering showing “home-brewed” films outdoors on the side of a building with the crowd bringing their own chairs and blankets to set out on the lawn at St. Peter’s Church. There was good music beforehand by Universal Rebel, a great local band, as the crowd mingled about, meeting friends and catching up with others. I remember as a kid that we’d do just the same thing with a couple of neighbors during the summer, showing homemade movies on white sheets hung from the clothesline.

Yet this was a much larger community than my small neighborhood growing up. For me, last night was all about art serving as a vehicle to bring the community together. And so the inspiration for this blog was born. Our mission at the Arts Council is to “bring the arts to the center of community life”. One way to do that is by being the presenter of arts programming, which the Arts Council is. But another way, and another important aspect of our mission, is by being an advocate for the arts, especially in Morris County. The purpose of this blog is to do just that.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that last night was the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, an amazing annual show of shooting stars (although clouds obscured last night’s show). It made me think of the countless number of “shooting stars” in our midst who are creating or involved with art each day. Sometimes that creative expression is for private viewing; sometimes it’s for public viewing. But in each case, it is always a creative expression of an inner urging to give form to an idea. I love that that expression is so evident throughout our community.

Last night’s Festival showed fifteen “home-brewed” movies, all on the theme of “Hope”. The winners were “Growtown Motown”, a documentary about a former junkyard in Morristown transformed into a community garden (3rd place); “Wishful Thinking”, showcasing Morristown’s Blaire Reinhard Band with a cinematographically creative video (2nd place); and “March On”, the animated story of two brothers who stuck together through thick and thin, created by two incoming Morristown High School freshmen (1st place). Think of it, two young women, creating a film in one week (as they later admitted), and captivating an audience!

Of course, the films rounding out the Festival added to the inspiring and uplifting evening. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that one of those films was a documentary by two Farleigh Dickinson University grads on the Arts Council’s stunning outdoor mural entitled “Building Bridges” at the Morristown Neighborhood House.

The real winner last night, though, was the community that attended the event. Kudos to Kevin Coughlin, editor of MorristownGreen.com, for organizing the Festival and to those organizations who sponsored it!