Boatworks Improvement Continue

The efforts to continue the rehabilitation and improvements to the Boatworks has continued this week.  The town has completed the pouring of concrete, for both our stage (above) and the slab that will hold our shed (below).  Meanwhile Hutch has been framing out the new stage- walls now, roof to come soon.

Another change is that we have received a whole bunch of pavers.  The pink ones above will be installed by the town as a path that will come around from the front and continue most of the way down that side of the building.  The gray ones below will form an even bigger path, bridging the space between our storage room back door and the shed's new location, and also coming down around the
Boatworks on the side with the postcard mural.  A volunteer group organized by an Eagle Scout nominee will be taking charge of that.

October Member's Meeting

More than 25 members and guests listened to renowned local sculptor Mark Dornan as he described the creation of his sculptures.  Mark set up three of his large bas relief sculptures and and brought many other examples of his work and the materials he uses, for the audience to see and handle.  

Mark's presentation followed a short business meeting in which BelmarArts chairman Dana Cohoon reported that membership was now over 350, a terrific level of growth.  The audience, which included members Pat Hutchinson and Joan Wallace, also got a preview of the Masquerade exhibition, which has been installed in the gallery in preparation for the opening reception on Saturday evening, October 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.  Also on display will be Andrew Dennis's show Swans, Swans, Swans, in the side gallery.

story by Dana Cohoon, photos from Michael Miller, typing by Arrabbiata

A Day in the Life of the Boatworks

The summer crowds may have left town, but things were pretty busy around the Boatworks today.  We had scheduled a day of building and grounds improvements, but some of them couldn't wait until today.  For example, the town continued their plans to remedy the drainage issue on the 7th Avenue side of our building, building the form for what will be the new concrete footing for the stage, as well as providing a surface drain and pipe access.  But when they pour that concrete, they will also give us a new slab (below) to support our shed.  We expected to be preparing that ground today, but suddenly they got it done.

Also on our list of chores for today was to reinstall our large wooden sign post and new sign.  The post had been moved as part of the paving project earlier this year.  Again, the town workers volunteered to put it up a few days ago, saving us that task.

Luckily we still had a few things to do.  Great things were done with our front yard earlier this year, but there were some empty areas.  Room had been left for some trees to be planted, and so some big holes were dug in our rocky ground.  Our volunteer force moved three trees into place and filled the holes back in.  They are the same species as trees planted by the town on this block, so when they sprout leaves next year they should fit in just fine.

A bike rack (above) that has bounced to places all around the Boatworks since we moved in was moved to a new place, away from planted area.  Meanwhile Pat was spraying a new coat of paint on railing that would be reinstalled by the ramp between the front and back galleries, a spot that too many people had tripped on over the years.

Pat also handled the repainting of our front door (above). The purple color was debated, but it is such a recognizable part of the building, we decided to keep it.  However, one new change occurred- a ceramic fish numbers sign for our address was mounted on the wall outside, a bit nicer than the peel and stick numbers we had before.  (below)

Our friend Anthony was also there today, helping out with tree planting, but also with two tasks of personal interest.  He is going to be adding some murals to the building.  The recently cleared area behind our building (above) has revealed a large stretch of flat blank wall, but to make sure it doesn't get obscured again he was digging up some of the large roots underground.  Likely before that big job, he'll be creating a design for the wood area under our front window below, so he put down a coat of primer.

Meanwhile, things were busy inside the building as well.  Today was the second day of intake for the upcoming Masquerade exhibition.  Over the two days we had over 60 submissions for this show of mask themed works.  The show opens with a reception next Saturday.

Running at the same time as the Masquerade show will be an exhibition of the art of Andrew Dennis.  This show will be in the side gallery, with all proceeds going to the BAC.  Above, Dana discusses show plans with Andrew and Sandy Dennis.

All of the above happened between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm today.  The Boatworks is a busy place and will continue to be in the coming weeks.  Make sure to stop by sometime soon and check it out for yourself.

September Member's Meeting

On Thursday, September 5th the BAC held its monthly members meeting.  More than 20 people were in attendance to see a presentation from art historian and curator Barbara Lipton of Atlantic Highlands.

Lipton, shown above, spoke about masks as both cultural statements and works of art.  Masks have served such purposes as spiritual statements, hiding one's identity, and general protection.

Masks such as these which were on display, provided by our guest speaker,  would be as at home in a modern art show as a historical museum.

Which leads us to the topic of our next art exhibition at the Boatworks, a show called Masquerade.  The show's theme is masks, both literal and anything relating to the idea of masquerade.  Show director Margaret McChesney, shown below, encouraged those in attendance to be inspired by the mask presentation to create something for the exhibition.  While masks as objects are welcome, this is an all media show open to any form of art that references the mask and exploring the mystery of the mask.

The art intake for the Masquerade show will be September 27th and 28th, but online registration is available right now.  Registration and more information about the show can be found on the show's page on the BAC website.

photos courtesy Dana Cohoon

Painter's Work Exhibition is Open

Tonight was the opening reception for the new Painter's Work exhibition at the Boatworks.  The beginning was slow, our corner of Belmar surprisingly empty of cars for a summer Saturday at 5, but obviously they started to find their way there.  Above and below are photos of people gathered in the front room gallery to hear the list of award winners, and below that, our typical back room crowd.

Besides the exhibition of almost 40 painting related artworks, today we also had something special in our side gallery, proposals for the Belmar Train Station mural project.  Eventually we had 11 designs submitted.  Viewers were encouraged to vote for favorite designs, results which would be considered by the committee that will eventually choose one to decorate our local train station.

Our juror, Susana Anastasia, selected 12 artworks for awards- a first place and honorable mention in each of 6 categories.  Below are the prize winning works:

First Place, Watercolor

Beverly Golembeski

Old Salt

First Place, Collage

Laraine Centineo

Meditation/Psalm 19:14

First Place, Pastel

Jean Malizia

Summer Pastimes

First Place, Oil

Lizzi Schippert

Pond, Autumn

First Place, Mixed Media

Andree Sweek/Herz

Woodland Music

First Place, Acrylic

Sven Widen

Still Life

Honorable Mention, Watercolor

Robert Stetz

Driving Her Bananas

Honorable Mention, Collage

Laurie DiStasio

Blue Serenity

Honorable Mention, Pastel

Tzelan Guh

Reflection Morning

Honorable Mention, Oil

Gerrie Vergona

Crystal and Cherries

Honorable Mention, Mixed Media

Maxine King

Inedible Fruit

Honorable Mention, Acrylic

Sandy Taylor

Ochreland

The Painters' Works exhibition will remain on display in the Boatworks through September 27, 2013.  Admission is free.

Learn Self Publishing in Belmar

Tonight was the first meeting of a new class being offered through the Belmar Arts Council.  Published author and longtime BAC member Merry Brennan is hosting a series of workshops covering many of the steps involved in self publishing.  Each week a new topic will be addressed, any of which may be interesting to potential authors, such as improving your manuscript, attention getting covers, publishing format concerns, finding a publisher, and promotion.

The workshops will be every Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, through September 17th.  People can sign up for classes individually or the whole series.  Sessions are $25 each for members, $35 for non members.  Details about the individual topics are available on the main website.

BAC August Meeting

Tonight the Belmar Arts Council held its monthly member meeting.  Past chair Joe Villa was our host tonight, and provided updates as to the current and upcoming shows, the summer concert series, ongoing classes, our stage reconstruction process, the train station mural, and invited us to make suggestions for our 10th anniversary in 2014.  Beverly Miller discussed the ongoing groups that meet at the Boatworks.

Then Cindy Dunn, coordinator of the BAC Writer's Group, gave us a little background on the group and introduced four of the writers, who each gave a brief reading from one or more of their published works.

Merry Brennan read an excerpt from her recent book Peace Pilgrim, copies of which were also available for sale.  Merry also told us about her upcoming workshop series where she will teach about self publishing.  Information will be on the main website soon.

Next we heard from Freda Karpf, who read from her prose poem, The Wild Blue.

Above, Louise Rempe reads a short Belmar themed piece called The Beautiful Sea, while below, Irene Maran shares a piece called Anger Management.

The BAC Writer's Group meets the fourth Thursday of every month, from 7 to 9 pm and is open and free to all members.  More information is available on the main website.   Next month's member's meeting, September 5th, will feature art historian Barbara Lipton speaking about Eskimo masks, a way of introducing our upcoming Masquerade Art Show in October.