Saturday, April 28, 2018

Belmar Art Walk 2018


One tradition that we have in Belmar is the annual Art Walk.  Artists of all kinds set up in and out of buildings, up and down Main Street, showing all passersby what they can do.  And pedestrians all around town are invited to walk around and check out these arts.  Today was one of those days.  As luck would have it, it was a pretty nice day to walk around.  Talk of rain was revised to not arrive until possibly late at night.  We did not have as large a crowd of either artists or viewers as we sometime have had in the past, but still it seemed to be a pretty good and productive day.


One of the places one could pick up a list of artist locations and a basic map was at our headquarters, the Boatworks.   Inside on our stage we had performances by 40 Winx, playing old favorites.


With the current JAS 14 exhibition up all around her, in the front room gallery Terry demonstrated embroidery.  Seems to be a simple, but meticulous process.  Still, she seemed open to the possibility of a workshop or class series on the topic, so if you have a strong desire to learn it, talk to the office and maybe someday it will happen.


Meanwhile our side parking lot was closed off, which turned out to be to allow a community mosaic mural project to happen.  A supply of tile and glass was being cut into small pieces so that they could be used to make a large mosaic.  Visitors were invited to participate, and I was told that the sailboat images in the foreground area were done by community participants.


Moving up Main Street into Pyanoe Plaza there was some activity going on.  Live music, and tents and tables set up.  This included some art workshops by our Young Rembrandts artists.

 


As usual, there were some artists set up at tables in front of various businesses.  Above, Brittany Kopf shows paintings and prints, and below, authors Dee Anderson and Louise Rempe talked up their books (and sold some, too) to people who made it as far as 10th Avenue.



The furthest north that this blogger reached was just past 6th Avenue, where Donna Mechura was displaying and selling glass art, enjoying the sun and nice weather.  Across the road, the municipal building seemed to be under siege from a bunch of skateboarders, who seemed to be doing more harm to themselves than the building, but I gave them a wide berth and came back around to the Boatworks.  


The art walk was scheduled to end.  Progress and been made on the mosaic mural, though not quite finished yet.  I was told that it was expected to be part of the outdoor sculpture garden/labyrinth in progress, so stop by in the future and you may see it.  Meanwhile it was brought back indoors, where it was accompanied by many artists and art walkers, who came by for a little reception we had going on- more live music, refreshments, etc.

Like I said, a pretty good day.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

JAS14 Opens in Belmar



Tonight was the award reception for the 14th Annual Juried Art Show at BelmarArts.  The show opened to the public last week, but tonight was the party.  The exhibition was juried by Josephine Barriero, and curated by Dorie Dahlberg.  It includes 60 works by 49 artists, a typical mix of paintings, drawings, photographs, ceramics, and sculpture.  It fills both the front and back galleries of the Boatworks.









It's much easier to see the work in the show when the reception is not going on, but as one artist told me last week, it's more exciting when the crowd is there.  We are estimating more than 90 visitors, in addition to employees and board members present.







Prizes for the exhibition were announce around 6:00 pm.   Our juror awarded nine pieces in total.  Here are the award winning pieces:
First Place
Seabrook
oil
Mary Kliauga




Second Place
Pink Hibiscus
photograph
Vince Matulewich



Third Place
51 %
acrylic
Patti Kaufman



Achievement Award
Clothes Lines
mixed media
Donna D'Amico




Achievement Award
Fish II
fibers
Beverly Hertler



Achievement Award
On Stand Down
photograph
Frank Parisi




Honorable Mention
Peep Show: La Leche de Madre #1
assemblage
Louise Krasniewicz



Honorable Mention
Out For A Walk
watercolor
Beth De Martino



Honorable Mention
The Woodworker
watercolor
Michael Scherfen

The 14th Annual Juried Art Show will remain on display at the Boatworks during regular gallery hours through Thursday, May 3, 2018.  Admission is free.