BAC June Meeting

Tonight the Boatworks hosted the June monthly members meeting.  We always hold them on the first Thursday of the month, and since July's first Thursday happens to be Independence Day, we'll be skipping it that month.  Therefore, we got in a celebration of our nation's birthday tonight with cup cakes and ice cream on these patriotic plates.

The first part of the meeting was BAC business.  Dana discussed our new website, dates for the current show and information about upcoming summer shows, the summer concert series in Pyanoe Plaza, some of the new summer classes, and our plans to continue landscaping our grounds.  Then Beverly Miller took over and discussed some of the BAC interest groups- those ongoing and some that we've held in the past and would be happy to start up again if there are enough interested people.

The last half of the meeting was a presentation about the BAC Photo Group led by group leader Jim Aberle.  Jim told us about the group and what they do, then we saw a DVD presentation (put together by Dana) featuring examples of photographs from members of the group.  The Photo Group meets at the Boatworks on the first Monday of every month, for those who would like to find out more.

The next BAC member meeting will be Thursday August 1st beginning at 7:00 pm.  It will include a presentation by the BAC Creative Writing Group.  Admission is free, as always.

Belmar Arts Online

The BAC has seen a lot of work going on in 2013.  First, we had to repair and rebuild the interior of the Boatworks, following the ravages of Hurricane Sandy.  Then Belmar completed its long in planning changes to the property, providing us with a far superior road and parking area.  More recently we began an effort to fix up the grounds themselves.  (the next phase of planting is expected to continue on June 15th- those interested in helping out should contact the BAC for more information)  But our improvement efforts would not be complete without a major update to our online presence.

We've had a website from our beginnings as an organization, though the earliest ones were relatively primitive.  Of course, back then we didn't have a building, just one major show per year and a few other events, no regular interest groups, and no regular class schedule.  The BAC has grown incredibly in the years since we moved into the Boatworks, and our web presence has evolved at the same time.  In recent years our own John "Hutch" Hutchinson has been singlehandedly running our comprehensive main site, which required extremely frequent updates to keep up with our crowded schedule of exhibitions, classes, and performances.  This spring it was decided to build a whole new website that would include everything important from the old, adding more new functions like the online exhibition entry forms we started using a few months ago, giving it a clean new look, and spreading the responsibility for maintaing it to more people.  At the same time we updated our other online sites, and even created new ones, to unify our look and encompass more of the digital experiences of our members.

The site will be a work in progress, but it's close enough that we decided to launch it yesterday.  The following people were significantly involved in the effort.  Roy Childress was instrumental to designing  the new site and to building the main structure.  The rest of the committee included Dana Cohoon, Joe Villa, Michael Miller, Paul Bonelli, Rebecca Szabo, Sally Behler, and Zach Szabo.  All contributed suggestions to the overall look, organization, functions of the site.  In particular, Michael provided photos and graphics (including the new header at the top of this blog) and helped build some pages, Paul also contributed photos and graphics, and Rebecca and Sally spent countless hours sitting at that computer above transferring content from the old site to the new one, as well as building and updating BAC sites on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

How can you find this fabulous new site?  Simple, it's the same address as the old one, so however you got there, you can still get there, including clicking the link in the right side column on this blog.

Working in the Yard

Quite a bit of work has been done around the Boatworks since we began moving back into the building at the end of December.  The latest improvements were done outside of the building.

Now that our street and parking area have been paved and lined, the next thing we have to deal with is the grounds immediately around the building.  Despite the threat of wet weather, a group of volunteers assembled at the Boatworks this morning to start that process.  Some old plantings were dug up, along with a lot of weeds.  Rocks and sculptures were moved around, and some good general cleaning was done.

By 2 pm our crew was ready to knock off, but some noticeable work had been completed.  Today's helpers included Rebecca and Joe Szabo, Glorianne Parisi, Ingrid Farrell, Art Nelson, Richard and Jane Rappleyea, Pat and John Hutchinson, and Michele Sloboda.

Over on the 7th Avenue side of the building the area in front of the mural was cleaned up and the lettered stepping stones brought to the front of the building.  Several of our concrete "FantaSEA" creatures were relocated to the planted area by the front corner of the building.

The framed bed in front of the large window of the Boatworks is no stranger to flowers and other plants, and a fresh assortment were planted there today.  Our concrete ramp and front walk are part of the brand new construction, and so those potted plants by the curb are also brand new.

Still lots more work to be done.  Eventually we will be doing more with the sandy gravelly areas right in front of the building, as well as on the side of the building by the postcard mural.  Those interested in volunteering to help in the future can look out for announcements on the website or contact the BAC directly.

Art on the Edge 2013 Reception

Despite the on and off rain all day, quite a crowd showed up for the opening reception for this year's edition of the annual Art on the Edge exhibition.  Just about every one of our new parking spots was filled up.

Before long the Boatworks was packed with people eager to see the over 70 works in this always unusual show.  Lots of the usual painting, drawing, photography, prints, and sculpture, plus Art on the Edge always brings a larger amount of mixed media and collage based work than most of our shows; we even have some scotch tape and ripped paper.  People moved around the building all day, but as usual the crowd formed in the back room where the tables, refreshments, and entertainment could be found.

The entertainment for the day was Dr Void and the Death Machines.  They had the house rocking up until the end of the evening.

The following pieces were chosen for prizes by this year's jurors, Jenn Hampton, Jill Ricci, and Sarah Potter from Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park:

Best in Show

Bill Ross

The Lizard King

Charcoal

First Prize

Richard Rappleyea

She-Winged

Photography

Second Prize

Christopher Fitzgerald

1985

Multimedia

Third Prize

Andrew Dennis

Smile Please

Watercolor

Fourth Prize

Amy Puccio

No Strings Attached

wood mosaic sculpture

The Art on the Edge exhibition will reman on display in the Boatworks during regular gallery hours (Wednesday to Saturday 1 to 5 pm) through June 14th, 2013.  Admission is free.

Ice Cream and Murals

Tonight the Boatworks hosted the May monthly members meeting for the Belmar Arts Council.  In honor of the recently warming weather, we had an ice cream social, with everyone in attendance being offered vanilla and/or chocolate, along with various toppings.  After that, drawings for door prizes.

And as if that wasn't enough, the meeting featured our own Pat Hutchinson doing a presentation about the barrier mural project that the BAC launched over the winter, even as we were not able to make use of the Boatworks.  We decided that the concrete barriers placed on all the streets up near the ocean front to divert traffic from the repair and construction zones were a great opportunity to create a new series of murals.  Pat's presentation showed many examples of the resulting murals, all painted by volunteers in and outside of the BAC.  Many examples of these barrier murals can be seen earlier on this blog.  Since then much of Ocean Avenue has opened up, and the barriers have been put to new uses in other parts of town, but many of the murals are still intact and we have reason to believe that this project is far from done.  Perhaps we'll have an update soon on where these paintings can be seen .

Belmar Art Walk 2013

Today was Belmar's annual Art Walk event.  Local artists were set up in and around businesses up and down Main Street, and that included a bunch of people from the BAC.  Our members were displaying visual art, music, and the written word.  For the occasion we had the Boatworks open all day, and we had visitors throughout the day, including quite a few first time visitors.  The beautiful spring weather didn't hurt.  The official end of the day was live music at the Boatworks from our Jam Band.

A New Place to Paint

When you combine a huge gathering of paint cans and the Belmar Arts Council, usually that means there's a mural in progress.  Not quite the case here.  Yes, some of us have been involved in a big painting project, but in this case it's the sets for a play.  Pat Hutchinson, who has been a big part of our mural projects, agreed to be part of the effort to decorate the sets for the upcoming production of Spamalot at the Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan.  For the past three weeks, she and some other volunteer BAC artists (including Bonnie Smith, Ralph McGeehan, Paul Bonelli, and Jim Aberle) have been lending their painting talents to create the backgrounds and scenery for much of the play.

One if the first things we worked on was a scary and expensive looking forest, painted on large pieces of burlap.  A basic line drawing was created, and a grid was used to transfer it to two very large L shaped pieces, one for each side of the stage.  A sketch done with markers for the left side forest can be seen above.  Below, our painters have started to block in some simple colors.

In subsequent days, colors were added in the background, and layered color was used to indicate patterns of leaves and other natural features.  Similar methods were later used to create a large piece that will hang between the two side L's

Those weren't the only trees painted.  Above, Ralph paints two stylized freestanding wood trees, first with green paint last week, then today adding snow to the tops of the branches.  Below, Pat works on a bit of scenery that will show the effects of a particularly nasty creature encountered by the play's hero.  Our people were responsible for painting many other smaller freestanding pieces that will be on stage.

Another really big project was producing stone wall backdrops.  Lucky for us, the stone was painted on cardboard backed with wood frames, because some of these sections are 20 feet tall.  Once dried, these were carried to the stage and permanently attached to the main set.  Above, Ralph and Jim are shown adding highlights to the "tops" of the stones.  Below, more stone drawn and painted by Pat and Paul, on what had been raw wood just hours earlier, surrounded by the chaos of other construction, lighting tests, and a fog machine.

A wider shot, showing more of this large construction, which includes hidden stairways, and panels that unfold to change the settings.  There are a lot more things that were painted over the past 3 weeks, both from the BAC artists and from other volunteers, but we want to save a few surprises for those going to see the show, which opens this coming Friday.

Discovering Peto's World

This evening the Boatworks hosted the BAC's monthly member meeting.  After the usual business, we had a special presentation about the artist John F. Peto.  The artist lived and studied painting in Philadelphia in the late 19th century, becoming a master of the trompe l'oeil style of still life painting,  and a part of the established Philadelphia artist community.  After a few years of enjoying vacations in Island Heights, he decided to permanently relocate there, building a house/studio for himself and his family.  He remained there until his death in 1907.  That house, which had remained in his family for over a century, has recently been restored and opened as a museum devoted to the life and work of Peto.  Harry Bower, a trustee from the museum, talked about the process of restoring the house and about the kinds of things they continue to learn as part of their restoration process.  Then we saw a video presentation about the artist, his life, his contemporaries, and his work.

Jersey Shore Juried Art Show 2013

Spring is still taking its time getting to the Jersey Shore, but at least we had a clear day for our 9th Annual Jersey Shore Juried Art Show.  Plus a bonus- the major paving project that has kept our grounds in a muddy turmoil for the past few weeks has been completed enough that we had dozens of paved parking spaces available for visitors to the show.

The Jersey Shore Juried Art Show is the longest tradition we have at the BAC, even predating our time in the Boatworks.  It's also our most popular show every year in both submissions and attendance.  Hundreds of people came through the building during the two hours of the reception.

For the first time since last fall we had all three galleries available for the exhibition, space needed to display the 89 artworks chosen by juror Kay Stables of Goldsmith's College, University of London.

Before presenting the prizes to the artists chosen by the juror for awards, we had a bit of leftover business from last year.  Our last show before Hurricane Sandy was Art for Autism, still on the walls when the storm arrived.  The exhibition not only provided a location to exhibit work created by participants in last year's Beach Bash event, but was a fund raiser for the Belmar First Aid Squad, thus that giant check shown above.

After that, exhibition chair Pat Hutchinson announced the six winner from this year's show:

Best in Show

Gary Dates

iPad App

archival inkjet print

First Prize for Painting

Sheilagh Casey

Memory Vessel

Acrylic on Canvas

First Prize for Sculpture and Fine Crafts

Lauren Bellero

No Beginning; No End

Clay

First Prize for Drawing and Graphic Arts

Ellen Scharfenberg

Remembrance of Summer

Pastel

First Prize for Mixed Media

Robert Varcoe

Hangin' at Hojo's

Mixed Media

First Prize for Photography

Joe Villa

Back Room

Photograph

Besides the honors and ribbons, the six award winners will share a whole exhibition just for themselves early next year.

This exhibition was sponsored by the following trustees of the Belmar Arts Council: Dana Cohoon, Barbara Griffin, Pat Hutchinson, Alexandra Martin, Tracie Orsi, Christina Sanes, Tom Volker, and Joan and Ira Wallace.

The 2013 Jersey Shore Juried Art Show will be on display at the Boatworks through May 3, 2013.  Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 1 to 5 pm.  Admission is free.

JAS9 Participants Announced

On Wednesday morning, the list of chosen artworks for this year's Jersey Shore Annual Juried Art Show was announced on our main website.  The juror chose 87 pieces, a mix of paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and fine craft items.  Winners in the categories will be announced at the opening reception on March 23rd.

Having chosen 87 pieces, a number a bit larger than that were rejected from the show and should be picked up as soon as possible.  Artists should arrange to pick up their pieces on Thursday March 14th between 1 and 5 pm, and Friday March 15th between 1 and 7 pm.  A small fee will be charged per day after that for unclaimed work, so try to get there by Friday.

If you have not been to the Boatworks since dropping off your work by this past weekend, you may be in for a bit of surprise.  The street and parking lot reconstruction that has been going on for the past month or so kicked into high gear this week.  Our block is a wide swath of mud and construction vehicles right now, leaving very little parking near our building and a convoluted path to our front door.  We are told that this will all be finished well before our opening reception on March 23rd.  You can still get to the building for the next few days, but you should allow yourself a little extra time to find parking and wear shoes suitable for walking across the dirt and mud.

JAS9 Comes In

The show of award winners from last year's JAS8 just came down yesterday, and moments later, the artworks for the JAS9 started arriving.  That continued for a few hours this morning and afternoon.  With this show, the BAC has added an innovation- artists can preregister and prepay online before arriving at the Boatworks.  And many had done that this weekend.  They still had to show up to bring the actual artworks, but they got to skip the first table and maybe some steps at the second.  For those who still wanted to go the traditional way, we had that option; we had a couple of computers set up so that our volunteers could enter the information directly into the computer, rather than write it on paper first and have to copy it later.  This system doesn't automatically count the number of pieces that came in, but our estimates were that we had at least 200 works dropped off over the two days.

Early next week our juror, Kay Stables of Goldsmith's College, University of London, will select the work that will appear in the show, as well as the award winners in six categories.  The list of works chosen for the exhibition will appear on the BAC main website starting some time this Wednesday, March 13, 2013.  Artist should pick up the rejected works between 1 and 5 pm on Wednesday and Thursday, and 1 and 7 pm on Friday, March 15th.  The show officially opens with a reception from 5 to 7 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013.