Fai Do Do at the Boatworks

We have a special treat coming up at the Boatworks in May. The BAC is hosting a Cajun Fai Do Do and File Gumbo cooking class on Tuesday, May 15th, beginning at 6:00 pm. Traci Orsi of Belmar's Ragin' Cajun restaurant will host and share some classic cajun recipes. Then everyone enjoys a cajun feast. In addition, there will be live musical entertainment from Rockin' Randy. Traci will also sign copies of her new cookbook, Sittin' Bayou Makes Me Hot! Tickets are $40 for BAC members, $50 for non-members. Spaces for this event are limited, so get your tickets soon. Click on the above flier to enlarge it, or click here for more details and to purchase tickets.

New Music Series at the Boatworks

Yesterday we had the Boatworks full of visitors to check out our annual Juried Art Show, but in coming weeks we expect crowds coming in to see music. Check out the line up above (click to enlarge) of great local musical acts that are scheduled to play the Boatworks in the near future. Details about each will be posted on our main website as each date gets closer. So mark your calendar and look for announcements about each performance. And come early, as seating is limited.

Jersey Shore JAS8 Opening Reception

We had a beautiful spring afternoon for today's opening reception for the 8th Annual Jersey Shore Juried Art Show. Every year this is the Belmar Arts Council's biggest and most competitive show, which always results in a high quality and very diverse exhibition. Today was no exception.

As the crowd started to fill the building, our own Tim McCorry was on hand to provide live entertainment. Before long the building was packed, with perhaps close to 200 visitors coming through over the course of the reception.

This year's annual exhibition includes 71 works, representing such media as painting (oils, acrylics), watercolors, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture (wood, stone), photography, digital graphics, drawing, fabric, mixed media, and even sugar. The show spreads out over all three rooms in the Boatworks.

This year's juror, the distinguished New Jersey painter Gary Erbe, chose winners in five categories, and an additional nine honorable mentions. The winners are shown below.

Best In Show

Paul Bonelli

The Floating World: Wheel Game

hand colored woodcut

First Prize, Painting

Guido Guazzoni

Upper Hudson Valley

oil painting

First Prize, Sculpture & Fine Crafts

Carol Gleason

Fish Sculpture

clay

First Prize, Photography & Graphic Media

Rick Alvarado

Checkmate

graphic arts

First Prize, Mixed Media

Beverly Hertler

Composition

composition batik on silk

Honorable Mention

Donna Arvelo

Be Careful Deer

oil painting

Honorable Mention

Buren Gilpin

Attraction of Opposites

wood

Honorable Mention

Carol Guteri

Untitled II

poster paint

Honorable Mention

Olympia Hostler

Spring

mixed media

Honorable Mention

Pat Hutchinson

A Good Nose

oil painting

Honorable Mention

Bill Ross

Religiosity

charcoal

Honorable Mention

Lizzie Schippert

Bread and Cherries

oil painting

Honorable Mention

Gerrie Vergona

Sweet Peace

Sugar

Honorable Mention

Joan Wallace

Shy Hannah

watercolor

The 8th Annual Jersey Shore Juried Art Show will remain on display at the Boatworks through May 4, 2012. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 1 to 5 pm. Admission is free.

8th Annual Juried Art Show to Open

The 8th Annual Jersey Shore Juried Art Show will open with a reception on Saturday, April 7th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Once again we had a very large number of entries for the limited spots on the walls of the Boatworks, representing a wide variety of artistic media. The reception will include the usual refreshments, live music, and the awarding of prizes in five categories. As always, admission is free.

Mud Mural Spring Update

It's been about 3 months since the last posted update on the BAC Mud Mural, completed last summer. When we last posted it here, a photo of the whole wall showed it still looking very much like it did last August, despite being exposed to the elements and made from nothing but sticks, straw, and clay. We had a fairly mild winter (compared to the last few anyway), and as of this week the wall (shown above) still looks pretty much about the same.

A close up view shows that natural deterioration is progressing, however slowly. That big crack between the B and the A has gotten a little bigger since January, and more mud has worn off the top of the wall, revealing more of the straw that was under it. Still, the wall is largely intact and should still be by this summer, when we may give it a new surface. Next time you are at the Boatworks, such as to view the 8th Annual Jersey Shore Juried Art Show, take a moment to walk across our parking lot and inspect it for yourself.

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.