Gallery Crawls, September-October 2015, New Jersey

Hamilton, NJ:

Let’s All Go to Grounds For Sculpture!!!

On Tuesday, Oct. 20 Bill and I experienced a real treat:  a personal tour of current exhibits and the sculpture gardens at Grounds For Sculpture, given by friend, artist and Executive Director Gary Garrido Schneider.

Our first stop was a tour of some of the indoor exhibits including massive wall hangings by artist Robert Lobe.  My favorite was ” Appalachian Forest, 2010″ a hammered aluminum and oil on linen wall hanging incorporating a large format photographic image done by his wife, Kathleen Gillje.

 

Appalachian Forest, 2010 Hammered aluminum and oil on linen Robert Lobe and Kathleen Gilje

The next 2 rooms were devoted to site specific wall/floor sculptures Force of Nature, Shiro by Jae Ko.  Using the very simple material of plain rolled paper, the artist created sensuous static pendulous forms on the walls, spilling onto the floor that evoked in my spirit a sense peaceful fluid movement.   I particularly enjoyed the shadows and sense of depth created by her graceful and deliberate placement of bulges in the rolls of paper as she stacked them one on top the other to create the sculptures.

Wall hanging by Jae Ko, “Forces of Nature, Shiro” exhibit, East Gallery, Grounds for Sculpture

Wall hanging by Jae Ko, “Forces of Nature, Shiro” exhibit, East Gallery, Grounds for Sculpture

 

Gary and Bill in front of one of Jae Ko’s “Forces of Nature- Shiro” sculptures, East Gallery, Grounds for Sculpture. Sorry it’s so over exposed!

 

Gary then took us on a walking tour of the gardens and grounds.  We saw some amazing installations.  The grounds host some amazing trees and other flora, sculptures in and of themselves, but their juxtaposition with the massive sculptures alternated between breathtaking and delightful.

It was very hard to choose a favorite.  Perhaps the highlight of the day was being treated to a fabulous lunch next to the rustic fireplace in the dining room of Rats Restaurant nestled beside a pond decorated with landscaping reminiscent of Claude Monet’s town Giverny.

The crystal clear, crisp fall weather was the perfect day to view this amazing place and it was a thrill to be taken around by and to spend time with Gary.

Augusta, NJ:

The last weekend of September was the perfect time to check out the 45^th Annual Fine Craft Fair benefitting Peters Valley Craft Center, held at the Sussex County Fair Grounds. This had been on my bucket list for a long time and it did not disappoint. I got to see some very high-level quality craft items and meet some wonderful artists as well as get a jump on Christmas shopping for friends and myself.

In particular I enjoyed a glass blowing demonstration given from the Glass Routes traveling furnace truck (as well as purchasing 4 of their very well priced clear glass tumblers fresh from the furnace,) raku works by Linda Garrabrandt and Peter Syak, who was had his travel kiln fired up at his booth, and a visit with fellow potter and MAM instructor Carla Horowitz who had organized the impressive NJ Potters Guild booth.

Lastly, I picked up two amazing pieces from the ArtBags booth- a black and grey cowhide bag that can convert to a purse, shoulder bag or backpack for me (that traveled completely flat in my suitcase to Denver and looked great around town) and a really cool looking neoprene purse that unzippers completely flat for traveling for a friend. I found all items at this booth very creative, useful and fun.

Sorry but I don’t have any images from this wonderful event.  To be honest I was too busy flitting from booth to booth to remember to whip out my camera AND, alot of craft fair booth proprietors frown on having their items photographed for the understandable reason that many people do this to duplicate their hard work.  I hope you will click on the links I’ve provided to see some amazing wares.