Still Standing

It's been just about a year since we took the protective awning off of our freestanding cob wall, our mural of mud.  Considering what it's made of, it's held up remarkably well.  If you compare the above photo to what it looked like a year ago, you see that from a distance it still looks a lot like it did then.  The letters are still readable, and the bamboo stalk design on the sides are still intact.

Up close the effects of time and weather are more apparent.  The top edge has begun to disintegrate.  The straw that was attached to the frame has emerged in many parts of the wall as the clay mixture has gradually washed away.  The surface has cracked, though so far no chunks have fallen out.  There is less of the green "paint" we used to highlight the sculptural elements, but some remains.  You can't tell from these photos, but the center of the wall seems to be leaning back a little bit.

With hurricane season approaching, it would be interesting to see how the wall would hold up through another year of storms, but it looks like we won't get the chance.  The town of Belmar plans to go ahead with their long planned project of repaving the blocks that surround the Boatworks.  It seems that will include some of our parking area, and that means that the mural will eventually have to come down.  We don't have a specific schedule yet for the construction plans, but efforts are expected to start shortly after Labor Day. So if you'd like to see our mud mural one last time before it comes down, plan to come to the Boatworks as soon as you can.

Unite Collaborative Exhibition Reception

Tonight the Boatworks hosted the opening reception for the new Unite exhibition, which features artwork that is the result of the efforts of two or more artists working together.  All artworks involved visual artists, but in many cases a writer was part of the team.  The show includes 39 works, demonstrating such mediums as photography, painting, drawing, sculpture (using such materials as clay, glass, concrete, wire, wood, motors, bronze, and sugar), printmaking, and any mixed combination you can think of.

 It didn't take long for a big crowd to fill the Boatworks.  Double the number of artists for each piece and you potentially double the number of people who attend the reception.  We easily had more than 100 people in attendance over the course of the afternoon.

Keeping the crowd in the back entertained was live music from some old friends of ours, the Belmar Beach Bums Acoustic Collaboration.

As part of the reception we invited people to vote for their favorite works.  The votes were collected in a box and counted at the end of the day. The following piece were chosen:

1st Place

Joan Myers & Marilyn Baldi

Sol Search

Photography

2nd Place

Alberto Franco & Megan Finkelson

Void

Oil, Photography, Poetry

3rd Place (tie)

Dana Cohoon & Geraldine Vergona

Sweet Mountain View

Photography with Sugar Sculpture

3rd Place (tie)

Donna D'Amico & Stella Mrowicki

After the Storm

Mixed Media

The Unite exhibition will remain on display at the Boatworks during regular gallery hours (Wed to Sat, 1 to 5 pm) through September 19, 2012.  Admission is free.

Cat Cosentino at the Boatworks

Last night Cat Cosentino and friends performed at the Boatworks.  The local singer-songwriter brought her music and poetry to an appreciative crowd.  The songs were preceded by poetry readings (see below), actually the songs that were about to be performed by Cat.   She was also accompanied at times by Jerzy Jung, who will be back performing at the Boatworks in October.

photos courtesy of Pat Hutchinson

Steel Rail Blues Tries Again

A few weeks back we welcomed Steel Rail Blues to town to perform a free show at Pyanoe Plaza.  It started off great, but a giant not-so-welcome thunderstorm also came to town about 15 minutes into the show and that was the end of that.  Luckily we were able to reschedule the band to return to Belmar this past Saturday.  The full stage wasn't set up this time, but it looks like all the instruments were there and that's what counts.  That, and having some nice summer weather, which is what we got this time around.

Summer is almost over, but there's still more live music yet to come.  This Friday, August 24th at 8:00 pm the Boatworks will be hosting CAT Cosentino.  Only $8 at the door.  And next Friday, August 31st, the Boatworks will be welcoming back our good friends Thomas Wesley Stern.

photo courtesy of Chris Krebs

Opening Up Facebook

Tonight was the August monthly member meeting at the Belmar Arts Council, back at the Boatworks this month.  After we covered some upcoming business- art shows, classes, groups, music performances- we turned the meeting over to our guest presenter, Connie Gutierrez.  Connie is a Belmar resident and BAC member and was invited to share some of her experience with using Facebook.  With a computer plugged into our projection system, she demonstrated the basics of many processes involved with using Facebook.  She covered how to create an account, showed how users could set permissions on who could view what, how to label and tag photos, and the various types of things that friends can post on your wall.  She also provided some general advice related to security and common pitfalls, and the differences between personal and business accounts.  Handouts were provided for those who were ready to try it at home.

Next month's meeting will also be at the Boatworks on Thursday, September 6th and will feature a presentation from Rob Rielly regarding how to add color to black and white photos.  Meetings are free and open to the public.

Learn Woodblock Printing in Belmar

Since last fall, the Belmar Arts Council has been offering classes in Woodblock Printing.  The course is taught by longtime BAC member Paul Bonelli, whose award winning woodcut prints have been seen many times on the walls of the Boatworks.  The artist brings his years of teaching experience and decades of woodcutting experience to the class, which covers the basics of relief printmaking.  It's an ancient process that requires only a table and a few simple cutting and printing tools to produce boldly graphic art.

 After an introductory discussion of the many possibilities offered by the medium of woodcut, the participants are given wood and tools and start working on cutting designs into the block.

Once cutting is finished, the blocks are ready to be printed.  The class provides instruction in preparing the relief ink and using brayers to apply it to the wood block.

While woodcuts can be printed on a press, we do it the old fashioned way- hand printing with wooden spoons and other inexpensive easy-to-find implements.

 Below are some prints from the participants, all first time woodcutters, of the class session that just finished last week.

The class had such a good time learning about woodcutting and making prints that they want to continue, so we have scheduled a new four week session to begin in early August.  Beginners are welcome to join the group.  The class will meet on Tuesday nights from 7 to 9 pm, on August 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th.  The price is $120 for members, $150 for non-members, and includes wood, basic print paper, water based ink in a variety of colors, and use of cutting and printing tools during class.  Participants will learn safe and effective use of tools and basic printing techniques.  Advice will be provided as to the best way to convert individual artistic vision into a woodcut print, but as seen above, each artist bring his or her own subject and visual style to the resulting print.  No specific assignments- everyone works at their own pace.  Everyone who has taken the class has finished at least one print in the four weeks, and most have done more.

For more information about the class, to sign up, or to contact the instructor with any questions, go to the Woodblock Printing page in the Classes/Workshops section of the BAC main website.  Can't be part of it this time?  Keep an eye on the website for information about an autumn session.

Animal Spirits Opening Reception

Today the Boatworks hosted the opening reception for the Belmar Arts Council's new Animal Spirits exhibition, sponsored by the generosity of Carol Stillwell and Maryann Larkin.  Besides the art show, this is also a benefit for the Associated Humane Society of Tinton Falls, which will receive a portion of the proceeds from the show.

 When people first arrived, many were drawn to the tent canopy set up outside by the Humane Society.  They had brought a variety of adoptable animals with them, along with information about the organization.

Above, a crate full of cats for potential owners to pick up and meet.  Below, some of the many dogs who were brought to Belmar for the occasion.  At least one application for adoption was turned in during the reception.

The other attraction, the artwork, filled all three rooms inside, all of it inspired by animals.  We ended up with 72 pieces submitted, a typical mix of paintings, drawings, photos, prints, sculptures, and ceramics.

As always, the back room becomes a popular spot for people to hang out during the reception, which was very well attended.

For this occasion, Hutch brought out his money grabbing machine, which took in cash donations for the Humane Society.

Another part of the reception was a raffle and people's choice vote for best artwork.  The door prize was an original framed artwork by our own Bonnie Smith, which is reproduced on our sign at the top of this post.  (reproductions were also available for sale)  People could vote for their favorite three works, and the top 5 received awards.

1st Prize

Blue Grass

Pat Griffin

2nd Prize

Casey

Terry Grewen

3rd Prize

Pick Me

Jean Malizia

Honorable Mention

Two Cats on a Rug

Carolyn Tisher Bartlett

Honorable Mention

Champ

Jeanine Nagrod

The Animal Spirits exhibition remains on display through August 17, 2012.  Gallery hours are Wed to Sat, 1 to 5 pm.  Admission is free.

Back To The Grind

Old timers in the BAC (anyone who's been around more than 6 years or so) may remember that before we had the Boatworks to be our all purpose headquarters, we held our monthly member meetings in a coffee house on Main Street in Belmar.  That place is long gone, and the Boatworks is doing just fine, but our July member meeting revisited those roots in a way, held at Turnstile Coffee Roasters on route 71.  After the business part of the meeting, we turned things over to our guest speaker, sculptor David Robert Cellitti.  He brought some friends (see above) as part of his talk.  Cellitti has an extensive background in sculpture, and for many years specialized in working with wax, producing work for museums and special effects related pieces for the film industry.

We had a very nice crowd present for his fascinating presentation.  He provided a lot of technical information related to the process and materials involved in the traditional wax sculpting methods he was trained in.  He also shared many interesting behind the scenes stories of some of the famous films he worked on and how his talents were used in them.

Those who came to the presentation got a close up look at examples of the kinds of 3D objects he has produced over the years.

Look for information about future meetings and guest speakers on the BAC main website.