Four Years in Ocean Grove

Just a few days ago was the 4th anniversary of the deal to move Studio Arrabbiata to the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove. On that day after New Year's Day in 2006 I met Molly for lunch and she presented her plan for us to join forces to create a useful workspace for both of us, as well as become a center of printmaking for the Shore region. Today we had another lunch, but it served a few other purposes.

Molly and I decided to exchange some of our experience and knowledge to help each other with some arts related tasks. These would require her computer and the internet, so we decided to meet at a coffee shop in town in the morning. First was a discussion of the art history class that I have been assigned for this coming semester. I have covered the material before in other situations, but this is the first time that I'll be teaching the class at one of my current schools, while Molly has taught that class many times. So she pulled up her most recent syllabus, examples of an exam, study guides, her notes, etc. Not the whole semester's worth, just enough for me to see what kinds of things she does with her class. I won't be following her exact system, but I may adopt some of her ideas.

After that we got onto the internet and I showed her how to set up a blog of her own. Her previous website hasn't been functional for a few years, and people have been urging her to get some kind of web presence and this seemed a quick, easy, and inexpensive solution. In our limited time we got as far as setting up a basic blog and going over a few basics of posting and editing. It may be a while before she has it fully set up, but she should be able to take it from here.

Then with the work done, it was time for another tradition, our annual studio staff Christmas party. Our teaching schedule, the snowstorms, and various family obligations prevented us from doing it in December, but pizza and beer are always in season. We went around the corner to the Squan Tavern, split a large pie with sausage and peppers, and toasted to our four years in the coolest print studio in New Jersey.