 UPDATE: Due to rain, we are moving to the underpass under the South Orange Train Station! Tomorrow afternoon, weather-dependent, I'll be enjoying a unique opportunity to moderate part of a day-long FREE Life Drawing Marathon in a public park in South Orange, NJ! Artist, Charles Hawthorne, would be pleased. No, the model will not be nude, but I'm pretty excited about the event regardless. The Life Drawing Marathon is part of the South by South Orange Festival which is touted to be the "first of its kind" in New Jersey by Jay Lustig, founder of NJArts.net. From 10 - 4pm in Spiotta Park, three artists (Ed Gunneson, Sarah Petruzielo, and myself), will be guiding a model and visitors in life drawing sessions. I will be moderating from 12:40 - 2:30, should you want to stop by and see me. Spiotta Park is considered the Creative Midway which is free to visitors and will offer a host of other events including: paint ball art, Celebration Singers’ performances, an improv poetry scavenger hunt, a creative collisions open mic sound stage, a ‘zine workshop, Theatre Group Dzieci, buskers and assorted performers, and a group art and architectural project hosted by David Everitt-Carlson of DEC Design and iThinkOutsideMyBox.com. Whoa! This is just the tip of the iceberg. The festival is a "3-day collision of Art, Ideas, Music and Exploration" with too many speakers, artists, and performers to list. You must spend some time exploring the event listing, and really take advantage of the terrific topics and tantalizing timetables. Plus, I just discovered there is childcare available through the Baird and Work & Play (my host for the upcoming Watercolor Workshop I'm teaching)!
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 Strawberry Leaves, watercolor by Jennie Traill Schaeffer Art and camp shouldn't just be for the kids! Take a break this summer and enrich yourself artistically with a workshop designed to allow you to explore the art of painting in watercolor. This is an affordable and accessible medium that you can participate in with little investment and you don’t need a studio at home to create in watercolors. We will begin the workshop with some basics about painting in watercolor and each week build on your skills, eventually exploring ways of including collage and mixed media in your watercolors. The entire workshop will focus on creating art in a watercolor pad (similar to a sketchbook that is portable and easy to store). It's a five week workshop, Exploring the Art of Painting in Watercolor (July 8th - August 5th, Wednesday mornings from 9:30 - 11:30am AND now, Wednesday evenings from 7:30 - 9:30pm) designed to offer you an introduction to the medium and gradually allow you to develop an understanding of its breadth, starting with the basics of painting in one color to incorporating collage into your watercolors. No experience is necessary and on-site babysitting is available! What I love about Work & Play is the setting and space. The photos below show the workroom where the watercolor workshop will be hosted. Can't you just wait to spend time painting in this brightly lit, open and airy room? Congrats to designer, Hanh Truong, for creating a simple, yet inviting room that just begs for creativity. Owner, Deborah Engel, founded Work & Play in 2010 after her own experiences juggling young children, commuting into the city, then freelancing from home and wanting an opportunity for connection with other professionals. Work and Play opened in early 2015. In short it's a membership-driven coworking space that allows for drop in babysitting, caregiver & me classes and birthday party space, and now Adult Camp, located in downtown South Orange. Enrollment will be accepted through July 1st only, since your tuition covers all supplies, plus coffee and healthy snacks! If the timing of this workshop doesn't work for you, but you are interested in the topic, please send me a message or fill out the survey below and if we generate enough interest, I might be able to offer another time or day. Offering these workshops are always a shot in the dark, so the more you tell me, the more I can accommodate you. Hopefully I will get a chance to work on letting you play with watercolors this summer at Work and Play!  Workroom at Work and Play, styled by Hanh Truong  Another view of the workroom styled by Hanh Truong, at Work and Play. Sunday was the well-regarded SOMA Studio Tour held in South Orange and Maplewood, NJ, sponsored by 1978 Arts Center and the Baird, along with many supporters. I exhibited in a beautiful space at JESPY House, a non-profit which aims to house and educate learning and developmentally disabled adults to provide them an opportunity to live independently. As you can see from the photos, the space was stunning, the light terrific, and weather sublime. Well over 100 people came by to check out my work, along with artists, Bill Billec and Liz Demaree. I enjoyed meeting so many new people: chatting with students, sharing stories about my work, and talking about the topics of decluttering and collecting with several guests. Since closing my gallery space in Newton, I've found it very difficult to get my work in front of people, not for lack of opportunity but time with my kids. This gave me the fix I needed! Plus, I'm pleased that I sold my first set of ARTaments to a woman who will be gifting them for Christmas to relatives that cycle together. Another new customer happened upon one of my giclées of an older Appliance Portrait who came over with such a big smile and told me though she was out of space, this made her so happy she had to buy it! I was over the moon. That makes my art-making worthwhile; touching someone in that way. And, I was able to also to sell one of my favorite Appliance Portraits: Chrome Fabricator of Pasta. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and graced me with your compliments and purchases, or stopped by to say hello! Thank you to the South Orange Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the 1978 Maplewood Art Center for providing this remarkable opportunity! I couldn't have done this show with my fractured foot, without the support of several friends and family, including: friends Meghan and Jeremy for schlepping, friends Sonia and Brooke for taking my kids, and, most importantly, thank you to my husband, Lee, who spent time taking care of the kids, lugging boxes and art from the 3rd floor to the car, to JESPY House, and installing the show.  Wedding Cake Portraits, Still Lifes and Linocuts on exhibit at JESPY House.  Kitchen Gods on exhibit at JESPY House.  A Pair of ARTaments, sold to be given to a couple that cycles together!  Best compliment: the buyer said she had no room for this, but it made her so happy she would find room!  Chrome Fabricator of Pasta, sold to a new collector!  Thanks to my hubby for his hanging / installation expertise! |
Jennie Traill SchaefferDeemed the Kitchen God's Artist by NJ Savvy Living for my sainted appliances, I'm now known more for my vibrant, meditational paintings of chairs set surprisingly in landscapes. Since relocating to NC from NJ, mothering my two sons, and caring for our rescue pup, Cider, took the lead. Now, that my Durham home studio is renovated it's open again for virtual art coaching and the resumption of my personal art and commissions. The work I make is inspired by my joy of teaching, exploring nature, and traveling. On The Teaching Artist Blog, I share my approach to teaching and educate my readers about my creative process. Join my VIPs for First DibsWORKSHOPS
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