I don't always realize how productive I have been until I take a moment to pause and gather everything for a shop update. My studio doesn't have much wall space so I can't always see everything at once - it gets shuffled to drawers or shelves. This past week 8 new works from my growing TeaScapes series have been organized, photographed, titled, described, priced and uploaded to my site.
Corresponding with this artwork release is my Give or Save Event which I have periodically run in the past with a lot of success. What is it? In brief - through May 5th, you have the opportunity to purchase my original work and have me either donate 50% to Feeding America or choose to save 50% on my work. You can read more about the event, how to participate and get almost first dibs on the work by subscribing to my list. Currently, only subscribers are accessing the work through April 30th. 
It feels good to release them to the world, and I hope you'll join in for a change to collect new pieces, and possibly GIVE to an organization that is much needed now, before I open it up to the public Friday. Simply enter your email address below. I hope you're staying safe, healthy, and finding some way of reaching peace at this time. My heart goes out to everyone and my hope is that I can support the greater population through my work, and give you something to cherish in your home.
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  I’m in the midst of shifting gears in so many ways - personally, artistically, and the word that keeps coming up for me is SPACE! I’m grateful for the spaces I have, both physical and mentally, but am working on creating more. In my body, my mind, and reconfiguring my physical spaces. This includes my studio. I love it - it’s my own private room with a lockable door, on the 3rd floor of my home, with decent light. Quite a good commute! But, in working in it for over 5 years, it’s feeling stale, cluttered, not painted in a way that’s me and filled with old, but GOOD work. I have storage, but not a ton for the amount of work I have. So most is hung on the walls and I need to start with a blank slate. I'd like to repaint the beige to a bright white, and paint my display wall a dark blue grey. I'd also like to better organize the work that remains, my supplies, and build a new desk area. I'm working towards better flow which will eventually result in new works. What does this mean for you? I'm having a STUDIO SALE! My online shop has been temporarily taken down. So, I'm sure you're asking, how do you participate? SUBSCRIBE TO MY LIST! Subscribers will be notified this Friday with a password to enter the sale and will have through Sunday to shop exclusively. After Sunday, the shop will be offered to all and only remain up for a week. Works, including oils, watercolors, drawings, and prints (excludes my TeaScapes and newer pieces) will be available up to 50% off retail price AND I will be donating 10% of profits to the Mental Health Association of Morris and Essex Counties in NJ. I'll be posting more on Instagram and Facebook about works included in the sale, as well as about the MHA. I hope you'll join in the rare opportunity to add something of mine to your collection. Know that in doing so, I'll be opening up spaces for new work and supporting a very valuable organization.   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.  Jersey Blues, Oil on Cradled Wood, 20" x 10", ©2012 Jennie Traill Schaeffer, available for purchase. Although I have found ways through our modern food system to incorporate blueberries in my diet year-round, I always anticipate Jersey blueberry season. Even growing up in PA on the border of NJ, it was a much-anticipated part of the summer. Back in 2012, while on our annual family vacation to Cape May, my husband and I discovered a local jewel, Beach Plum Farm. We rented bikes, plopped our then 3.5-year old on the back, and rode out to West Cape May in search of local produce. Not only did we enjoy the ride and the food, but were astounded by the beauty of the farm. Upon entering, at the time, was a front garden, planted in an English-style, with herbs, flowers, and smaller vegetables. We were welcomed to follow the rustic seashell path to the back of the farm to tour the rest of the crops and stumbled upon ripening blueberry bushes. Amazingly, this was the first time I had ever seen them in person. The shades of blue got me thinking of my palette and which pigments I would use; surely manganese, a little ultramarine, maybe turquoise, definitely some pthalo. The work above was created upon my return from several photos I took. We've been back to Cape May since, but have had another son in the meantime and haven't had the opportunity to take the bike ride out to the farm. Hopefully we can make it work this August when we take our annual trip, now that the youngest is capable of sitting in a bike seat and the oldest has the endurance to probably bike the distance himself. In the meantime, I'm offering the above piece at a reduced price in honor of the start of Jersey blueberry season, now through Friday only, along with a summer print sale of my works available on Fine Art America. Want a little extra surprise? Subscribe to my newsletter for a special thank you and exclusive offers and insights into what I do . Our local ShopRite is selling flats of Jersey blueberries that I keep hoarding. I used to be able to freeze the extras, but with a family of four, and a 3-year old that could live on them alone, they aren't making it to the freezer. (Great tip: you can pop the blueberries directly in the freezer in the clamshell). Enjoy!  Jersey Blues hanging among my living room gallery style wall. Works are by David Ohlerking, Danny Moyer, and me.  An email came through my inbox recently from a local charity, Oasis, asking for donations to support their moms. With mothers on our mind I thought now is the perfect time to launch a month-long mission to raise awareness about Oasis and donate 15% of profits from my art sales. Oasis is based in nearby Paterson, NJ, a city that exhibits a child poverty rate of 42%, compared to a 16% statewide rate. I've supported them in the past due to their excellent programs and their rating on Charity Navigator, plus 83% of their donations go directly to the women and children they aim to help. I've worked with and donated to other organizations in the past that help moms due to the direct link in helping future generations. By helping moms become self-sufficient, their children benefit directly by a higher quality of life. Moms are important.  All of the art on my web site and anything in my studio qualifies towards my donation (with the exception of a few pieces going out to exhibit this month). A limited selection of works are available for online purchases in my store, and most other available works are in my portfolio. Shipping is available for anything not listed in my store, just contact me with the art of interest and we will determine shipping costs or delivery details. If you're within a 25 mile radius, I'm happy to offer complimentary delivery. Any commissioned works, including my Wedding Cake Portraits, also qualify towards my donation. I would love to aid in Oasis' mission to "change the lives of women and children by breaking the cycle of poverty through compassionate programs designed to feed, clothe, educate and empower women and children in need." Enjoy browsing through my works and I hope you'll find some art to love that will help me lift up a mom in Paterson. A special thanks to my mom, my husband, and my kids as we approach mother's day. I'm grateful for my mom's unconditional love and lessons in becoming a mother, and for my husband in helping me through the ups and downs of motherhood, and to my kids who have taught me a new kind of love and become creative in ways I never thought possible. Happy Mothers Day to my mom, my sister on her first Mother's Day, and to all of the moms out there who work so hard every day to feed, clothe, and love your kids. |
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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