Mingle and Jingle in Belmar

The sky was sunny today, and the grass is still green.  No snow, since the temperature was near 70 degrees.  Still, Alan was dressed for the occasion to help us get into that holiday spirit.  Time for Mingle and Jingle at the Boatworks.

The refreshment table, now that felt a little more like the holidays.  Lots of red and green, even the tortilla chips were dressed for the season.

 We had the cafe tables all set up in the back and the crowd quickly gathered.  We estimate that nearly 90 people came through to enjoy food and drink, the company of fellow artists, door prizes, art on the walls from those who had applied for the summer Solo shows...

... plus live music from Cheryl Parker and friends, a mix of jazz and holiday standards.

In addition, the Winter Solstice Artisan Market was open for the usual Sunday hours and an interesting mix of items were being sold.  The band had to run off to another gig, which helped draw things to a close.  At the end of the day it still felt more like summer than winter, but everyone was having a good time.

Wine Tote Workshop

Today Master Basket weaver Mary May was back in Belmar to once again offer a workshop in how to make a classic style of NJ Pinelands basket.

The design today was for a wine tote, a tall basket with a central handle that can hold a bottle or two of wine.  Workshop students attached the oak handle to the basket base, and then used basket reeds to gradually build up the sides.

Above, workshop instructor Mary May assists a student with an early stage of the project.  Below, her next workshop will cover how to make the 7" Scandinavian Snowflake shown here.

The Snowflake workshop will be on December 12, 2015.  Cost will be $10 for members, $15 for non-members.  There is also a $15 materials fee, which covers all the materials used in the project.  More information can be found on the class page on our main website.

Winter Solstice Artisan Market

The 2015 Winter Solstice Artisan Market and Fine Arts Sale at the Boatworks is open for business.  Close to 30 artists are participating in the event this year.

From the photos you can see that this year's artist made products include such things as ceramics, clothing, jewelry, cards, artworks, soaps, baskets, holiday decorations, and much more.

The Market and Sale are open through December 19th, with a special schedule of Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 pm. We are participating in Small Business Saturday on November 28th, with a special one day deal- 10% off any purchase of more than $100.  Skip the mall and get some interesting gifts for the people on your list (including yourself).  Admission is free.

Dark of Night Reception

Although the work has been up on the walls for a few weeks, tonight was the official reception for our current Dark of Night exhibition, which occupies the back room gallery.

We are estimating that around 60 people came through this evening to see this collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photos, and sculptures with macabre themes.

As part of the season, instead of the usual refreshment table, we had a trick or treat table-  containers with candy bars, cookies, and other small portions of treats.  You could eat them there, or fill a bag to take home, or both.

This exhibition, along with the Art of Recovery on display in the front room gallery, is open to the public through November 6, 2015.  Admission is free.

New Shows for Fall 2015

The Boatworks currently has two new exhibitions on display.  The front room gallery has Art of Recovery, featuring artwork from the members at the Shore House in Long Branch.  More information about the program and the show can be found at the BelmarArts site.

Then continue on to the back room gallery to see Dark of Night, a spooky themed show in time for the Halloween season.

Both shows are currently on display, and there will be a reception on October 10, 2015 from 5 to 7 pm.  The exhibitions continue through November 6th during regular gallery hours.  As always, admission is free.

San Gennaro Festival

Around 11 a.m. this morning an invasion force moved south through Belmar.  No need to panic, it was the San Gennaro parade, which began the festivities today.  The crowd, accompanied by their own music, started at St Rose church, just blocks from the Boatworks, and proceeded to the area reserved for the festival, a section of Main Street south of 10th Avenue.

The festival area of Main was lined with booths.  Lots of food naturally, but also information, services, etc.  A lot of businesses were setting up impromptu sidewalk sales.

And being Belmar, art was also a presence.  Right on the first block were a lot of familiar faces, starting with the BelmarArts booth.   We are promoting a lot of autumn activities- next week's Dark of Night group show, the Chili Cook Off, fall classes.

And we had recruited some local artists to set up displays of their work.

The Belmar San Gennaro Festival continues tomorrow, Sunday September 20th, from 11 to 5.  Come check it out, have some zeppole, see some art, and visit the BelmarArts booth.

2015 Mural Project part 2

Painting a mural at a train station that is in use can be tricky.  Last year we did one on the main platform, but not completely.  We tried an approach used by a professional muralist, painting the image on segments of "parachute cloth" back in the Boatworks, then attaching them to the wood walls in a process similar to putting up wallpaper.  This year we are going with another contemporary variation, painting the art on plywood, and attaching that to the building walls. Either way the majority of the image painting was done in our building and not out on the platform used by people traveling into and out of town.

As with last year, once the painted pieces were installed on the wall, there was still a need to fill the spaces in between, so we had volunteers there today painting those gaps and adding additional layers of color where needed.

This is essentially a continuation of last year's train station mural project, so the funding comes from the same source- ArtHelps and the Belmar Business Partnership.

Above and below are photos from the end of the day's painting.  The image has really started to come together.  Take a southbound train through Belmar and you can see it for yourself.

additional photos provided by Pat Hutchinson

2015 Mural Project

Another year, another mural project from BelmarArts.  Last spring we had a major one over at the town train station, an 80 foot long depiction of the town and surrounding area, on the part of the station building that faces the tracks.  On the platform on the other side of the tracks is a small structure, which several years ago was decorated with abstract paintings produced by our abstract painting group.  However, recently it was decided to update it with something more elaborate.  Submissions were invited and the above design was chosen.

Last year's successful mural started as paper design, which was blown up and reproduced as black line drawing, each space given a number to turn it into a giant paint by number project.  For that one the designs and the paintings were done on a very durable cloth, but this time around it would be done directly on wood, some of which was cut to unusual shapes.  Containers of the various colors of paint were prepared.  Like last year, the painting would be done inside the Boatworks, protecting it from potential weather problems.

Things started up in the morning. with the brightly colored palette standing out against the gray of the primed plywood.

Like last year's mural, this was a community project, open to interested artists of all ages.  Not surprisingly, we had all ages represented in today's mural volunteers.  About 50 people contributed to today's painting efforts.

The scheduled end of today's event was 3:00 pm, and by then all the pieces of wood had at least a first coat of all the chosen colors.

A few days later these painted panels were transported a few blocks over to the train station and installed.  This small building seems to have once served as a waiting room, and those "windows" were actually display cases.

Now the building has two very important functions.  First it supports the roof that provides shelter against sun and rain for people waiting on the southbound side of the tracks.  Second, it holds this new mural, featuring a pair of mermaids who respectively protect the ocean and lakes of Belmar.

The above photo shows the state of the mural in this early stage.  The plan is to connect all these pieces with more drawn and painted images, completing the planned design, as well as to add more art to the other sides of the building.

photos courtesy of Pat Hutchinson.