2nd Annual Studio Resident Show

One of the projects I have been working on recently is my first show since having a piece of my brain removed.  This is a show at the Jersey Shore Arts Center, where I have had my Studio for about 15 years now.  They are calling this the 2nd Annual Jersey Shore Art Center Resident Art Exhibition, which seems odd to me as they haven't had one of these for a few years.  (I was in that last one, back in 2018)  Nichole had mentioned this idea to me a few months ago, and I was all for it then, and now.  A few things have changed since then, like I think originally there wasn't going to be a reception (fear of Covid probably), but now there is one, or maybe two, since there is an opening and a closing.  And in the last email, there were only 6 residents committed to being in the show, but now there seem to be 12 involved.  More is a good thing, as it means more people are likely to show up to see it over the length of the show. 

Knowing this was coming, I have devoted some time here and there to preparing for it.  I don't like to show work in a location where I have shown it before, so I spent time going through my records (a computer helps with this a lot) seeing what I have shown in that building in other shows.  Most of my artwork is in storage, but anything that was framed is here, either because I was storing it here, or because it was brought here when my apartment was emptied.  Things already framed are easier, saving me trouble and effort, so I went through all the unboxed stuff I had, partly for this show, and partly to see what I had.  Although I could submit as many as five pieces, I decided to go with three, one brand new never before exhibited piece. and two older framed ones.  The new one required recutting the mat that had been inside that frame and mounting the new print, but that was all.  I wanted to salvage the old hanging wires from things at that building (rules about historical locations limit where hooks can be placed, so we will probably have to use the system they have) but I could only find two (others may be in storage), so I put on what I could, but I may have to buy some more if I can find it somewhere.  It doesn't help that most of the area art supply stores have closed, a combination of pandemic and business issues.   

And there have been some emails back and forth between me and Nichole over this, lots of questions, some still unanswered.  However, at their request, today I sent more information about the size of my frames, titles of works and other necessary things.  My plan is to drop off another form there tomorrow, but the pieces won't be installed until the 2nd week of February, so I'll keep those at home for now.  Above you can see the three pieces going into the show.  Trance, the black and white piece, goes back to 1996, the first piece I completed after moving back home to New Jersey.  Besides being a nice print, it holds significance for me as proof I could make art without being part of a college program.  The other older work is from 2010, and a part of my Floating World series, combining ukiyo-e Japanese woodcut and New Jersey boardwalks.  (You can find it on this blog by searching for "After Sunset", which was the name of the show I first had it in.  It won an award there, too.)  I had shown some other boardwalk prints at JSAC, but not this one, so it was just a matter of switching some frames.   The third piece will be my most recent piece, done this past year in my space and after my surgery.  The title cards they will have us make don't list dates, but if they did, there would be 25 years between the oldest print and the newest print I have in this show.

I could give more information, but it will be a few weeks before it even gets hung.  What I will say now is the opening reception is on February 18th, and the show will stay on the walls through the end of April.  And if I see Nichole tomorrow, I'll ask her why we went 4 years between annual shows.