 With Katrina Berg (left) and Lucy Boland (right) I fled my home for a quick weekend respite away to Greenville and Spartanburg, SC upon hearing that my IG artist mother pal, Katrina Berg, told me she was travelling to South Carolina from Utah. She was going to be in Greenville for the weekend, and once I made plans to make it happen, realized I would be just 40 minutes away from another artist mother, Lucy Boland, who I met at an artist retreat last year.
Greenville is just about 3.5 hours from Durham; not a quick trip, but given Katrina's distance from me, I wanted to make this happen. Planning this 48 hours was not for the faint of heart - my husband took over logistics with my two sons - with two different sporting obligations, an overnight stay for one of them, help from another family with an overnight, and I coordinated dog boarding. It worked! I was gone from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon - full of conversation, art, good food, and enjoying the beautiful weather in South Carolina. This is proving longer than I intended, so read on for PART 1: Greenville. PART 2: Spartanburg is to follow. Sign up for my Newsletter so you don't miss it's publication. And, there are deeper reasons for needing a getaway - you can find out all about it in my last email here.
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 Finnigan, 12" x 12", Oil on Wood Panel, ©2022, Jennie Traill Schaeffer This past February I participated in a virtual artist residency supported through the Artist Mother Network. It was a month full of creativity, productivity and getting me out of old habits and into new. While, not everything stuck, I found the experience and work is giving birth to new ideas just now.
Later in the year, the Artist Mother Network, host of the Artist Mother Podcast, merged with the Thrive Artists Network, giving birth to the Thrive Together Network, which I have been a member of since they formed. Building on the February residency idea, the new network put forth the idea of a September Virtual Residency. Part fear of missing out, and part needing a kick in the butt while going through many health challenges, I decided to participate. What I neglected to consider is the whirlwind of September, due to the first month of school and both of my boys participating in baseball for the first time together, and my ongoing health challenges. I energetically pushed forward and created a plan with Thrive's guidance and some ideas from other artists on the network.  It's been over four years now since I've had the pleasure of showing my work with my mom's jewelry. When I operated TraillWorks as a gallery in Newton, NJ, I had a permanent collection of her work on exhibit and the pleasure of selling many pieces to a great number of clients. We both have had many changes since then, and when a childhood friend and former neighbor from Easton, PA, contacted me about having a show at her hometown library, I jumped at the opportunity to invite my mom to join me. Mother Daughter will feature a collection of pieces by both of us, all completed in the past few years. My Red Carpet Icons, apron paintings, giclées, note cards, and a selection of small new watercolors, including prints of my blueberry painting, "June's Pearls," will be available. My mom will be including several pieces influenced by the colors and textures of trees. Her recent jewelry is created using sterling silver, precious metal clay, torched copper, along with beads and stone. References to leaves and branches, along with blue, green, and brown colors of nature, dominate the work. Of particular interest is the ginkgo leaf, due to it's symbol of survival, along with its intriguing fanlike shape. A little bit about my mom: she was born in Allentown, PA and began making jewelry in high school with James P. Musselman. Her love of jewelry making developed then and grew during an intensive course she took in Mexico, after completing college at the University of Toledo where she earned a BA in art education. Her uncle (my great-uncle "Fred") was a painter and owned a hotel in Taxco, known for its silver mining and crafting of jewelry. Upon returning she took a job teaching art in Scotch Plains, NJ, and began making jewelry which she mainly sold to her colleagues. After marrying my father, they moved to PA to raise me, at which point she halted her jewelry making. It wasn't until I opened up my gallery in 2008 that she began taking classes and crafting jewelry again. If you can't make it to the exhibit, but are interested in seeing the works, please email me and I'll share what I can. You can also follow me on instagram to see snippets of the show. EXHIBIT DETAILS: MOTHER DAUGHTER: Jewelry by Martha Traill Schaeffer and Paintings by Jennie Traill Schaeffer. Hosted by the Oceanic Free Library, located in Rumson, NJ. Exhibit runs for the Month of October. Tonight marks the first of five art exhibits and opportunities to see and purchase my work this month. This show features nine works that focus on food gelato, aprons, appliances, and vintage cars. You can preview the work and purchase from out of the area, here. Any shipping charges will be determined after purchase. Additionally, it's an opportunity for me to help Save the Children, an organization that is actively supporting children in 120 countries including the U.S. have a healthy start to life and have the opportunity to learn and have care when disaster strikes. Given the many recent disasters here and around the world, as well as the growing refugee crisis, I wanted to give back through my work. Throughout the month of September, I'm donating 20% of my profits of art sales from The Maplewood Grille, the Maplewood Art Walk and any direct art sales through my studio / web site. If you're in the New Jersey area, please join me from 6 - 9pm at The Maplewood Grille, 144 Maplewood Ave., Maplewood. If you can't make it tonight, check out my other upcoming shows on my exhibit page.   Her Ladyship, collage by Jill Allyn Stafford, of Sacramento, CA Today is the final day to stop by the Twitter Art Exhibit in NYC. I was fortunate to squeeze in a trip to the opening reception before leaving for vacation to London last month. By the time I arrived, several of the works had been sold and removed from the wall, but many gems remained. Proceeds from the exhibit are going to support Foster Pride, an organization in NYC that supports teen girls in foster care to learn entrepreneurial and design skills. While I hadn't intended to purchase anything, I couldn't pass up the opportunity once I was there and saw the amazing assortment of work, all for $35 / piece, and know that it was going to a good cause. The piece above, Her Ladyship, by California artist, Jill Allyn Stafford, I recalled seeing in one of the many posts leading up to the exhibit; it caught my attention when I scanned the show. After many walk-throughs, I decided I had to purchase it. There are definite links between some the imagery, the color palette, and subject matter to my own work, but done in a different medium. The composition and quality of the piece stuck with me. The second piece, London, by Sophie Severn of England, was an early souvenir of my trip to London the next day and a great opportunity to collect someone's work from over the pond. My husband and I headed there on vacation alone, without the kids. I was encouraged by my friend, and my gut, that this would make for a great preview and memory of what turned out to be a remarkable trip. Thank you Sophie and Jill for the opportunity to purchase your work and add it to my own collection of art.  London, acrylic by Sophie Severn, of Leicester, England If you're in the NYC area today, stop by the exhibit located at Trygvie Lie Gallery at the Norwegian Seaman's Church at 317 E. 52nd Street. The gallery is open until 6pm this evening for purchases. My work is seen below, circled in red. At the time of leaving the exhibit, it was still available. I'm not sure if it is as of today. Any works not sold are staying in the hands of Foster Pride and may be sold in the future for their fundraising purposes. If you did purchase my work, At Rest, write me a note and let me know! I'd love to know where it has gone.  In front of my own postcard, At Rest, during the opening reception.  At Rest, watercolor by Jennie Traill Schaeffer, possibly still available. |
Jennie Traill SchaefferSometimes called the Kitchen God's Artist, I'm balancing mothering two energetic sons, our new pup, Cider, while making and teaching art. TraillWorks is the apron under which I create and teach. My own art develops mostly in my home studio, but is often spurred through my teaching, and travels. I just relocated to Durham, NC, from West Orange, NJ, so my studio is in renovation right now. Join my VIPs for First DibsArchives
April 2023
Want to read more from the past? Click here to read archived blog posts from my previous blog on Blogger.
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