2014 BelmarArts Officers and Trustees Announced

BelmarArts announces the officers for 2014.

Alexandra Martin (Belmar) and John "Hutch" Hutchinson (Belmar) - Co-Chairs

Beverly Miller (Avon) - Vice Chair

James Aberle (Manasquan) - Secretary

Luis B. Pulido (Belmar) - Treasurer

Officers will serve 2-year terms. 

Re-elected as Trustees for another 3-year term are Barbara Griffin (Wall), Steve Lacko (Belmar),

Beverly Miller (Avon) and Luis B. Pulido (Belmar).  

Trustees continuing are James Aberle (Manasquan), Patricia Hutchinson (Belmar), Chris Krebs (Wall), Alexandra Martin (Belmar), Christina Sanes (Manasquan), Joseph Villa (Port Monmouth), Tom Volker (Belmar), Joan Wallace (Manasquan), Jennifer Nicolay (Belmar), Geraldine Vergona (Point Pleasant Beach), and Dana Cohoon (Neptune).

Elected to the Chairman's Advisory Committee is Margaret McChesney (Spring Lake Heights).  She joins members Matt Doherty, chairman, (Belmar), Frank Sementa (Belmar) and Tracie Orsi (Belmar).

Wearable Usable Functional 2013

Tonight the Boatworks hosted the opening of the 2013 edition of Wearable Usable Functional.  This annual exhibition and sale fills our front room with a wide variety of fine handmade craft items.  No need to wait for Black Friday- WUF is here right now.

The inventory includes an assortment of jewelry, ceramics, fabric based items, home accessories, and potential stocking stuffers.

The Boatworks quickly filled with art lovers, looking to get out of the cold, and to find some unique creative items, whether to use a holiday gifts or to keep for themselves.

Meanwhile, our back gallery is filled with framed fine art from our members.

A lot of the crowd drifted to the back, to enjoy the art, the company of friends, refreshments, and live music from some of our more musical members.  The new stage still needs some specialized work, but it was finished enough to use for the first time.

The Wearable Usable Functional show will remain on display through January 2, 2014.  The Boatworks will be open extended hours for the duration of this exhibition, our regular gallery hours of Wednesday to Saturday 1 to 5 (except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day), plus Sundays from 1 to 5 as well.  In addition, we'll be open on Friday, December 6th (the night of Belmar's Tree Lighting) until 7:00 pm.  Admission is free.

The Boatworks, Inside and Out

Just before a slowdown in our schedule at the Boatworks things were very busy.  On Friday November 8th work was able to continue on the stage rebuilding project.  A window was put in and exterior siding was installed.

Meanwhile inside the Boatworks we had art coming and going.  The various artworks that had made up both the Masquerade show and Swans Swans Swans were taken down from the walls and picked up by the artists.  At the same time, new fine art and crafts were arriving, to be part of our annual Wearable Usable Functional show.  By Saturday afternoon we had enough stuff to fill a room.

On Sunday our own Neil Scheck volunteered to straighten up some of the debris left behind by the construction crew.   With that, the outside of our new stage was finished.  There are still a few things to be taken care of with the interior stage construction, but we are hopeful that we will be hosting shows there within a few weeks.

Things will be kind of quiet around the Boatworks over the next few weeks, with just a few classes on the schedule and the gallery closed.  But the fun starts up again on Saturday November 23rd with the opening reception for Wearable Usable Functional from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.  The show remains up through January 3, 2014 during regular gallery hours (minus a few holidays here and there).  Admission is free.

photos courtesy of Dana Cohoon

November BAC Member's Meeting

Kathleen Larkin was the guest speaker at the November member's meeting this past Thursday at the Boatworks.   She described how she went from being a retired Toms River art teacher to owning a successful antique/gift shop and gallery in New York's Adirondack Mountain region.  She interspersed her story with readings from her book Through These Doors:  The Story of a Small Business in the Adirondacks.  Those present were able to enjoy such seasonal treats as apple cider doughnuts and pumpkin cake, along with apple cider and coffee.

The guest speaker at our next member meeting will be Ocean Grove resident and big band singer Cheryl Parker.  The subject of her presentation will be the big band era, and the evening will include a sing-along and get together in the spirit of the holiday.  It will be Thursday, December 5th beginning at 7:00 pm, and is free to all members.

photos and description courtesy of Dana Cohoon

Swans Swans Swans

We currently have two exhibitions on display at the Boatworks- our Masquerade show and a smaller show in our side gallery featuring the work of well know Sea Girt artist Andy Dennis.  This past October 20th we held a special reception for this show of paintings featuring, you guessed it, swans.  Even one on the cake.

Friends and family of Andy and wife Sandy Dennis were invited, along with the trustees and patron members of the Belmar Arts Council.

Local musician Keith Calmes provided acoustic guitar music during the reception.

The music and cake are long gone, but you still have a few days left to see the exhibition.  The show, along with Masquerade, closes this Friday, November 8th to make room for the next exhibition.  All the work in Swans Swans Swans is for sale, with 100% of the money going to the BAC, but you may come see the show for free during our open gallery hours.

photos courtesy of Dana Cohoon

Belmar Now, Broadway Later

Although the stage at the Boatworks has been absent since early in the summer (work continues next week we hope),  the building is still seeing the occasional musical performance.  Today we saw the beginning of what may eventually be a Broadway show.  Musician and composer Tim McCorry, a longtime BAC member and our founding Chairman, chose our headquarters for the premier performance of the songs from Coyote, the Musical.  Tim's show, a love story set against the background of the dangerous world of human smuggling across the border, has been a work in progress for a while now, and it may be years before it will be ready for a full stage production.  However, an appreciative audience got to hear him perform all the songs written so far, accompanying himself on piano.  Between songs he provided a synopsis of the show's story at those points.

Following the last song, Tim answered questions from the audience (about 25 people were in attendance) and provided insight into what goes into the creation of a musical with aspirations of reaching the biggest of all stages.  Based on the response from today, it has not been a wasted effort.  Much more information about the show can be found at CoyotetheMusical.com.

additional photos provided by Dana Cohoon