Gimme Shelter Reception

Tonight we had the opening reception for the Gimme Shelter exhibition, in which all participants were given a house shaped board (or downloadable template) to use as the starting point for an artwork that addressed the theme of home. We ended up with 92 artworks overall in a wide variety of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass, and even digital video. Artworks by adult/professional artists (69 pieces) were displayed all around the perimeter of the front room gallery, as shown above.

Unlike most of our exhibitions, this one also included a special section to display work by students ages 6 through 18. These 22 works were displayed on both sides of racks in the center of the room, above and below.

Plus we ended up with one house on the refreshment table in the back room.

Visitors started pouring through the front door as soon as the reception began, and over the course of the evening we easily reached triple digits in attendance. There was much admiration for the many creative approaches the artists took with both materials and the theme.

As people enjoyed the exhibition, they were entertained by the experimental jazz trio We Used to Cut the Grass (a trio that sometimes included a saw), and had the opportunity to vote for their favorite works in the exhibition.

At 7:30 pm, with 100% of the vote counted, the following prize winners were announced:

1st Place

Erin Gilliam

What's Your Fire?

mixed media

2nd Place

Eric Valosin

Untitled

digital video/acrylic

3rd Place

Elizabetta Roberts

Womb Improvement

mixed media

Student Award

John Clodfelter

The Studio

oil paint

Student Award

Hanifa Abdul Hamid

Untitled

mixed media

Student Award

Rebecca Schwartzstein

Untitled

mixed media

Proceeds from the Gimme Shelter exhibition will benefit the Affordable Housing Alliance and the BAC Housing Help Program. The show remains open during regular gallery hours through March 23, 2012. Admission is free.

Gimme Shelter Coming Soon

Today was the second day of intake for the upcoming Gimme Shelter exhibition. At the end of the day we had about 90 entries dropped off for the show. Participants started with a piece of shaped plywood (or a free paper template available to students) and the mission to make a statement about the meaning of home. After that it was anything goes, and the artists took the opportunity to explore many concepts and materials.

In addition to being a visually exciting and thought provoking show, it is a benefit for the Affordable Housing Alliance and the BAC Housing Help Project. All of the artwork is for sale, and those not sold during the run of the exhibition will be auctioned off at a future event.

The exhibition will open with a reception on Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. The exhibition will remain on display Wednesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 pm, through March 23, 2012. Admission is free.

Special thanks to Ken Pringle and Kathy Ellis for sponsoring this exhibition. The BAC is seeking sponsors for several upcoming exhibitions and events. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor at any level should contact the Belmar Arts Council.

Thomas Wesley Stern plays the Boatworks

Folk/Americana band Thomas Wesley Stern returned to the Boatworks as part of the current BAC Performance Series.

The crowd started streaming in as the band were completing their tuning up. Within a few songs we had a pretty full house, and more were coming in the front door.

Keep an eye on the BAC main website for information about future performance events.

Dr Sketchy Comes to Town

Today we had a new event debut at the Boatworks, Asbury Park's Dr. Sketchy. Part figure drawing workshop, part costume party- close to 40 people showed up to take part in the fun.

Dr. Sketchy brings models with costumes and props to fit a particular theme. This time around it was "Soviet Takeover", thus the flags, bits of military apparel, and an interesting variety of prop weapons, as well as modern pop music with an eastern European feel. The organizers also provided refreshments, notebooks and pencils, and prizes awarded by the models after each round of drawing.

The event lasted about 3 hours. In each of the first two hours we had one of the models taking a variety of 5 and 10 minute poses. During the last hour both models posed together twice for about 20 minutes.

There were some familiar faces in the crowd, working hard with pencil, pastels, charcoal, watercolors, and other materials to rapidly capture a likeness. However, we also had many first time visitors, some of whom were already making plans to come back again.

Dr. Sketchy has plans for more area events, with such themes as vampires and ninjas on the schedule. There was talk of a return to the Boatworks in April. When something becomes official, we'll announce it on the main website.

Another Salon

Hot on the heels of our 2012 Member's Salon and Exhibition, the Belmar Arts Council announced there would be another salon in town. However this one was to be a little different. First of all, it was not organized by the BAC, but by the Monmouth County Arts Council. Second, it wouldn't be at the Boatworks, but about 3 blocks away at Nicchio Ristorante, on the corner of 10th and Main. Third, this wouldn't be about presenting artworks, but rather a nice opportunity to meet and hang out with fellow art lovers from the area, and discuss whatever art related issues were of interest.

Because the event was held during happy hour in the bar area of a public restaurant, it's impossible to say how many were there specifically for the art event (as opposed to people there just to enjoy food, drink, and atmosphere), but there were many familiar faces in the dense crowd, along with some people with MCAC name tags. In addition, we definitely had some people who were new to one or both groups and came specifically for the event, so it was a good opportunity for them to learn about some of the many art opportunities available right here in Belmar and our local region. Plus, everyone seemed to be having a very good time, so it looks like it was a successful event.

photo courtesy of Pat Hutchinson

JAS7 Judges' Choice Reception

Beginning with the 3rd Annual BAC Juried Art Show in 2007, it has been the custom to award the prize winning artists a whole show of their own. Tonight was the opening for the latest Judge's Choice exhibition, featuring the five winners (Best in Show and four 1st place finishers in their respective categories) from the 2011 show. Artwork filled both the front and back rooms. There were examples of painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media art. As usual we had a large crowd show up to see the exhibition, which was very well received.

At our receptions, the crowds tend to gather in the larger back room, where we had our cafe tables set up, as well as the food provided by the exhibiting artists.

Toward the end of the reception, our new BAC Chairman, Tim McCorry, took some time to discuss some of the upcoming events for spring. There will be another Annual Juried Art Show coming up in April. Even sooner will be our exciting Gimme Shelter exhibition and fundraiser. So far over 70 people have decided to take on the challenge of this project, using the house shaped wood panels as the starting point of an artwork with the theme of home. Work for the show is due in about two weeks, so if you are interested in participating and haven't done so yet, get down to the Boatworks soon and get your house panel.

The JAS7 Judge's Choice show will remain on display at the Boatworks during regular gallery hours through February 24, 2012. Admission is free.

Sprucin' Up

The calendar may say early February, but with this season's mild weather, it seems like the perfect time to do a little spring cleaning. So we put out the call and got more than a dozen volunteers to show up at the Boatworks early this morning and help get the place in shape for tonight's show and other upcoming events.

Joe and Hutch helped repaint the whole stage area black, while others used white paint to touch up walls and trim all around the building. Below, Tom puts the lid on the white paint.

Meanwhile, others helped us bring back a project that goes back the founding days of the BAC. Artistically painted magnetic words that once upon a time were stuck to refrigerator doors on the beach (the legendary "Poemhenge") were sorted to form the original poems (above) and arranged on the steel beam (below) that helps hold up the roof of the Boatworks.

But mostly there was a lot of cleaning going on. The restroom, window sills, counters, tables, etc, all got a good scrubbing. Floors were vacuumed and mopped, made bright and shiny.

At the end of the morning we realized that the whole list of chores was complete, right on schedule. The place looked great, ready for upcoming receptions, classes, and performances. Scheduled events are all listed on the BAC main website.

Belmar Art Party

Tonight the Belmar Tourism Commission put together a "Belmar Art Party" to celebrate the launch of the 2012 Belmar Magazine. The full color magazine includes information about many of the entertainment opportunities in Belmar this year, including all the major festivals. The Belmar Arts Council has a nice 2 page spread, with dates for all of the 2012 shows and a nice piece about our murals all around town.

Mary Brabazon (above center), executive director of the Belmar Tourism Commission welcomed us all to the party, hosted downtown at Brandl, a longtime friend of the BAC. A nice crowd (below) showed up to discuss the magazine and upcoming Belmar activities, while enjoying some very tasty hors d'oeuvres from Brandl's kitchen.

The magazine is available free of charge and should be available soon in locations all over town.

Members Salon 2012

Tonight the BAC held its latest Salon event. We do these about once a year or so- members are invited to place a work of their choice in a show, and instead of a standard reception, each exhibiting artist is given a few minutes to present the work to the crowd and take questions. We have a very diverse group of visual artists, and so there is much information to share about technique, materials, and approaches to art. The show in the front room gallery has 38 artworks on display, a mix of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, prints, and ceramics. Tonight, 26 of the exhibiting artists were present for the Salon, including a few new members. If you weren't there tonight, you still have a few weeks to check out the show, which will remain on display (along with a bonus 25 artworks in the back room from the same artists) during regular gallery hours through January 27, 2012. Admission is free.

Two Big Shows for Early 2012

The art just never stops at the Boatworks. The BAC has a full slate of shows scheduled for 2012, many opportunities for artists to exhibit their work. The first one coming up is the annual Members' Salon exhibition. Members were invited to submit a piece or two to be installed in our gallery spaces. One from each artist (about 3 dozen people submitted artwork) will hang in the front room, and any artists who contributed a second piece will have it hang in the back room. The show opens this Thursday, January 12th at 7 pm. After a brief monthly member meeting, we will hold the Salon event, in which artists in the front room may present their works and take questions and comments about them from all those in attendance. Above is a photo from last year's Salon, and more images can be seen here. The Members' Salon exhibition remains on display through January 27th during regular gallery hours.

The next opportunity for BAC members and other community artists of all levels of experience is Gimme Shelter, an art exhibit that will benefit the Affordable Housing Alliance and the BAC Housing Help Project. For their entry fee, participants will receive an 8.5" x 12.5" lauan wood panel in the shape of a house (as on the above card) to use in the creation of their artwork. These wood panels can be picked up at the Boatworks during open gallery hours. Intake of the finished entries for the show will be on February 24 and 25, 2012, so don't wait too long to get your "canvas" and get started. Full details and rules for the show can be found on the BAC main website.

Mud Mural Update 2012

A whole bunch of BAC members and community volunteers put time in this past summer on the creation of a freestanding mural made mostly of bamboo, straw, and mud. We finished it last July, with the understanding that eventually the elements would break it down. That eventually hasn't come nearly as fast as we expected. About a month after completion, it was hit with a double whammy- the biggest earthquake east of the Rockies in more than a century, and Hurricane Irene. Other than losing a little of the green paint on the surface, no visible damage. Over the 4 months since then, Belmar has seen plenty of rainstorms and coastal winds, and outside temperatures have ranged from highs in the 90's to single digit wind chills. Yet the wall is still in very good shape. These photos were taken today. From a distance (above), it looks pretty much the same as it did last summer.

These details show some of the weather effects so far. Most of the green paint that once covered the large leaf shapes (above) on the right side has worn off, though the incised contour lines are still visible. On the left side of the mural, more of the straw layer is visible than could be seen over the summer, and there is a significant surface crack (below) forming between the B and the A.

Despite these changes, it doesn't look like our mud wall is in any danger of crumbling in the near future. To follow the status of our mural, check the blog for the occasional update, or just stop by the Boatworks during daylight hours and see it for yourself.

Sweets For the Eye

Today the Boatworks was host to a demonstration of the creation of edible sugar-based flowers. Artist Gerrie Vergona developed an interest in the creation of decorative flowers made from gum paste, a completely malleable mix of sugar and various gums. The beautiful results can be an attractive addition to a cake or worthy of display on their own. A group gathered (above) to watch Gerrie go over some of the process used to create a rose. Shown below are previously made parts for a poinsettia and the tools of the trade.

Gerrie showed everyone the basic procedure. She started by working some premixed gum paste with vegetable shortening and her hands to make it more pliable, then rolled it flat and cut out some small circles with a cutter. She then used a tool to smooth and expand the edges, so that the edges more resembled an actual flower petal.

The newly formed petal was placed in a silicone mold and pressed, so as to add vein textures to the petals.

Completed petals were carefully attached to a wire (the only non-edible part of the flower) using gum glue, and molded to resemble the structure of a rose's interior petals.

She also showed us how to color the flower, using a brush and some powdered dry food coloring. The finished examples that she had on display looked as beautiful as any that you'd see on a cake competition show.

Those in attendance had an interest in creating cake decorations and had varying degrees of experience, so they really appreciated getting some tips on these advanced techniques. Gerrie Vergona is exploring the possibility of teaching a series of hands on workshops at the BAC in the future. Details will appear on the main website when the classes are scheduled.