40th Anniversary PCNJ Members Exhibition

Here on the Jersey Shore we are a bit sensitive on the topic of hurricanes, having been through two of them the past two years, with last year's one of the worst in history.  So naturally we all noted with mild concern that hurricane season officially began a week ago, and we started paying attention when the first named storm of the season (Andrea) popped up just a few days later.  This one started in the gulf, cut up into Florida and up over the Carolinas.  Only a tropical storm, and all storms from sea lose power over land.  Plus hurricanes and tropical storms are fed by warm ocean water, and this time of year the water is still a bit chilly in New Jersey.  Its track took it out to see over the Delmarva, but even a near miss from a lesser storm brings a ton of rain, which resulted in a bit of local flooding last night, but no real damage around our area.  

However I still had reason to be concerned.  The central part of the state is miles of hills and valleys, carrying many rivers and tributaries, and it doesn't take much rain to create flooding.  Expectation for that part of the state were 4" to 6" for yesterday afternoon, evening, and overnight, and the Printmaking Center of New Jersey sits right in the middle of all that.  So when I got up this morning I didn't know if today's planned reception would happen.  Checked the traffic channel on cable and there was only one reported road closing in that area, not affecting my route.  Tried calling, but no one had arrived yet to open up.  No e-mails announcing a postponement (geography of that area being what it is, we have gotten them under certain circumstances), so I decided to go ahead and drive up there.  Got there just at noon, the scheduled start time for the event, and even was able to grab a spot on the main paved parking lot.

The first hour was the Annual Member Meeting, a discussion of finances and business.  Reports say that business is good- programs are successful and bringing in even more revenue than projected.  There were presentations about some upcoming events and programs, as well as long range plans.  Then  it was time for the reception.  This is our 40th Anniversary Members show, containing 60 works from 45 members, plus 3 pieces from juror Eileen Foti.  The last show I was in at this location was the 36th Annual Member show in 2011.  If you feel that math makes no sense, you're right, but after some thought I figured it out.  For most of our history we had an annual show, number to match the number of years that the organization existed.  However, a few times in my years there we didn't have an annual members show, but the numbering system was continued from whatever the previous one had been, so by 2011 PCNJ had existed for 38 years, but had only 36 member shows.  I was rejected from last year's (37th) and the current show's designation of 40th is not about the number of these shows we've had, but reflecting the anniversary of the founding of the organization.  

The 63 pieces were spread out over the main gallery and the library gallery.  Of those, there were 11 pieces of relief printing, wood and linoleum, and these were often hung near each other.  The top photo shows a corner with my two hand colored woodcuts, and two nice black and white linocuts from Lizz deSimone.  The photo below shows the opposite wall.  The two stacked prints on the far left are woodcuts from Mark Estes, who took a class from me at PCNJ many years ago.  The pair of woodcuts to the far right are from Bob Craig, who I believe also took one of my classes years ago.

As usual, a lot of activity ends up taking place in the studio, where we had set up the pot luck food.  Plenty of stuff to pick from, so everyone got their fill and munched and snacked through the afternoon. We had a good crowd overall, so we always had plenty of people upstairs with the art and downstairs with the food.

Had a chance to talk to many friends and acquaintances that I hadn't seen for at least a couple of years, which I enjoyed.  A lot of people singled out my house print as a favorite- its unusual shape really stands out.

The show remains on display during regular gallery hours through August 10, 2013.  Admission is free.  See the main website for more details.