Hoboken Artists Studio Tour 2009

Posted on October 19, 2009 by itees

Sunday, October 18 and it was time to visit as many artists, in their studios, as I could fit into one afternoon. Starting out at the Monroe Center with my friend John Crittenden, a photographer who shows his work in the Jersey City Artists Studio Tour, we waited with others, for the old and slow elevator to arrive and take us up. We like to start at the top and work our way down.

While waiting, I was smelling all the wonderful soaps by a local Jersey City merchant, La Moon. I had purchased some wonderful chocolate mint soaps last holiday season at Hoboken City Hall.

First stop on the 5th floor, is the studio of both Camille Cesari (original jewelry creations, Loveprint Jewelry) and Sissi Siska, fabulous silk painter. Their large studio, divided into two spaces, is just as you come off the elevator. If you’re looking for original designs and that one-of-a-kind type of artwork, these two women have it going on!

Next we walked down to the studio of photographer, Craig Dale, who was taking photographs of visitors if they happened to be wearing a logo. He’s been doing a photography series on this and his work can be seen at, Craig Dale’s The Logo Project. You know I was wearing one of my Frogs Are Green t-shirts and I’ll be awaiting one of the photos.

As we made our way through, studio after studio, floor by floor, here are some of the artists who welcomed us in. Laura Alexander is one of my favorite painters. She has a way of choosing subjects, that just make me stop and stare. They are caught in a moment, and we get to share that moment with her.

Laura Alexander in front of two of her paintings at the Hoboken Artists Studio Tour 2009

McKevin Shaughnessy shows us so many different types of work, from designing the poster for this event (and others), his illustrative and photography work, to designing lighting fixtures. Some of the others are: Robert Policastro, painter; Virginia Rolston Parrott, photographer; Painter and sculptor, Nina Akai; gallery owner, Harry Saylor from Orbit Gallery Space, who had on display a variety of artists, from satire and cartoon styles to 70s poster design; photographers, Jene Youtt and Mary Durante Wehrhahn; and lastly, Hartshorn portrait photography.

Once we had finished at the Monroe Center we parted and went in different directions. I headed downtown to Eureka Gallery on 1st Street, to see the Hob’Art group show. It wasn’t very crowded when I arrived, but seeing much of the food and wine gone, I knew they had had a great gathering earlier. Around the room I saw different types of work, collage, paintings, and photography. Among the works were, Laurel Brooks, Linda Rosendahl, Virginia Parrott, Roslyn Rose, Ibou Ndoye, Willie Baez, Joe Gilmore and Mary Castillo. All of these artists and more can be seen on the Hob’Art co-operative gallery website.

The rain was very slight all day long and it was just a perfect day to be inside experiencing great art and meeting some new artists I’d not met before. I look forward to the studio tour each year and was happy to see some studios open, that had not been open in past years.

To see my photo gallery from yesterday, click here.

Jersey City Heights Artists, a very short tour

Posted on October 5, 2009 by itees

This past weekend was the Jersey City Artists Studio Tour and I previously wrote about the kick off party Friday night and the wonderful gallery hopping walkabout on Saturday (more about that).

On Sunday, I decided to look around my own neighborhood, fondly known as “The Heights” of Jersey City (www.jcheights.com). It’s a little ways from the center of action in Downtown JC, closer to Hoboken, but I was hoping to see some art here. As I walked down Central Avenue, I was admiring the street art project of utility boxes that were decorated by local artists. They range from painted animal prints we all recognize, like Giraffe and Zebra, “Patterns” by Sergio Sandino (www.sergiosandino.com), to a gigantic sunflower called, “It Ain’t Aries” by E. Jan Kounitz (www.ejankounitz.com). Others on the avenue are, “Guilded Chest” by Milosz Koziej, “Untitled” by GJ Lee, (www.neonjelly.net), “Rain, Rain Go Away” by Brendon Carroll, (www.agitatorscollective.com), and “You Say Potato, We Say Po-Tah-To” by Brendon Carroll. (Click here to see my photo gallery)

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As I arrived at Lincoln Street I noticed a huge mural, Jersey City Museum Public Art Program’s “Where will your journey begin” created in 1996. Further down, as I approached Pershing Field, I noticed a few outdoor sculptures.

That was just about it.

Now, I know there are outdoor sculptures and statues in various parks around, but I’ve seen those before and there is also the “Hope Center for Visual & Performing Arts” but I’m talking about local artists opening their studio doors, like they do in Downtown JC.

This area is full of artists, so I’m wondering where are they all? Perhaps their art is in group shows further downtown? If we can put on the “Everything Jersey City Festival” and draw 15-20,000 people to the area, why can’t we participate at a higher level in the Artists Studio Tour, and make a bigger statement about our own community of artists.

Perhaps if we start now, we can be ready for next year.

Jersey City Studio Tour 2009 – Tons of Art, Bits of Rain

Posted on October 4, 2009 by itees

Friday, October 2, 2009 was the kick off of the 19th Annual Jersey City Artists Studio Tour. The party started at Grace Van Vorst Church on Erie Street in Downtown Jersey City. The wine was flowing (Jersey Wine & Spirits), the band was playing, and the crowd was swelling. On the walls were images of assorted mediums, from photography to collage to painting.

On Saturday, despite the rain which was on and off until 3pm, I did the walkabout with a friend. Starting out at Grove Street, we visited about 20-25 different studios, in garages, in spacious condo’s and some were group shows in gallery spaces. The Morgan Industrial Center, featured street artists, but because of the rain, some of the art was inside (I expect today it’ll be outside in the sunshine). The 8th annual, Vital Voices Group Show at the Lex Leonard Gallery was one of the stops. I’m a big fan of John Crittenden‘s photography (ShowMeYourFaces.com), and Miguel Cardenas’s 3D animated multimedia displays. Also at this location was Vincent Minervini (vincentminervini.com)

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Here are some of the artists we went to see: Andrew Blaize Bovasso (bovasso.blogspot.com), Jonathan Wolf, Marco Beria (marcoberia.com), Beth Achenbach (eye4onestudios.com), Arthur Bruso & Raymond E. Mingst (Curious Matter, curiousmatter.blogspot.com), Pamela Mijal (True Story – designing between the lines), Nancy S. Lucas-Miller, Lynda D’Amico (lyndadamico.com), Tatsuro Nishimura Photography (tatsuronishimura.com), Robert Kogge (neoimages.com), Robert Koch Sculpture (robertkochstudios.com), Philip Nickolas (philipnickolas.com), Jamie Patterson, Peter Delman (peterdelman.com), and Peg McCreary (pegmccreary.com).

It’s a wonderful experience when artists open their studio doors and it’s a good thing that it’s a two day event, because it would be impossible to see everything in one day. Today I’ll be out there for more.

Here’s a link to see the photos I snapped up yesterday.