Business in Ocean Grove

Have made some trips to Ocean Grove in recent days, not just to make art.

Since moving into the Jersey Shore Arts Center I have had some occasions to build furniture.  First it was building furniture for the Studio, which came with a desk and nothing else.  Once we got permission to move into our room, I spent a few months making three large work tables, two large cabinet/shelf units, and a personal storage unit with a palette table.  Nothing fancy (the furniture design students that I share my 3D classroom with can make much nicer looking finished objects), but solid and reliable.

Several years later, Molly put together a grant to do a big community project involving the making of tables.  She had a long history of making carved and painted table tops, for private homes and businesses around Asbury, but putting them up on legs was a skill that eluded her, so she hired me to be the project carpenter.  Being that this was a response to Hurricane Sandy, she wanted tables that could withstand a hurricane, and while my tables aren't fancy, they are very strong.

 Made 15 in the summer and fall of 2013, including the square coffee table and the round drop leaf table shown above.  .

Earlier this year I was approached with a request to return to my table occupation.  Mary, one of my most regular woodcut students lives nearby in Bradley Beach and received a large (over 5 foot long) plastic sink basin.  Right now it rests on an unneeded twin bed, but she'd like to put it to use in her studio and needs a sturdy wooden frame.  She's got to hire someone to do that and decided to throw the work my way.  With winter seemingly gone, it feels like a good time to finally deal with this, so a few days ago I made arrangements to stop by her house and check out both the sink and the space.  Did some sketches.  Once I get the final official plan finished I'll get the wood and hardware and go back to her house to build the thing.  Above are some of the sketches from this week's visit.

My trip to Ocean Grove today was for a completely different reason.  A few days ago I had run into Brendan in the hall and he was talking up an artist professional development series the building has put together.  A chance to learn a few things, to network, and to get a free meal.  And since I had nothing else to do today, I decided to check it out.  Although I work regularly with computers, I generally don't trust social media (today's topic), but I suppose I should learn more of this stuff.  (I've been asked to take over the Belmar Arts Council newsletter next month, since it overlaps with a lot of what I cover for the blog I do for them, plus it's a paying gig)  Lunch was a catered salad bar (good lettuce, chicken and beef, plus dozens of other toppings, dressings, etc, and cookies for dessert.  We met up on the 3rd floor, the regular space for these kinds of events.  After we all had our fill, the talk began, led by someone who has professional experience in this field.  The main takeaway from this was that we should focus our advertising, and there are ways we can aim for specific markets (interests, locations, incomes, etc) to more effectively use our time and money.  Not much time to deal with this stuff right now, but long term it could be helpful.  Also took home a lot of leftovers, so dinner was also covered, and probably some free lunches up at the Studio if I drop by at those times.