Junebug Festival Strengthens Student & Teacher Bond

Every Friday in the month of June, the township of Metuchen hosts an arts and crafts festival. The streets remain open to traffic, yet the sidewalks are filled with vendors of all different types. The store owners take part and accept artwork into their storefront windows and a wonderful camaraderie between visitor, retail proprietors and artists takes place. What makes this festival unusual is that instead of just being scheduled as a one weekend festival, as most festivals are, the Junebug Festival has been stretched out to take place every Friday night for the whole month. Vendors and artists have four Friday night shots to sell their wares to local patrons and this gives them a chance to really make their artwork known to the residents, as the fair often draws repeat visitors. What better thing could there be than to take the family for a Friday night stroll through a wonderful festival-like atmosphere all during the month of June? The vendors come in from everywhere, so it's quite a mix of mediums and visual stimuli to experience. It's also yet another opportunity for duCret students to hone their marketing skills, while in the presence of some of their mentors and teachers; some of whom have been taking part in the festival for years. For instance, Lauren Rabinowitz, a duCret web instructor has been managing the Junebug Festival web info for years. Ed Wetzel, a duCret instructor, artist and a Metuchen resident, has been helping the students with managing and marketing their spaces. Eva Sienkiewicz, duCret's ceramics instructor has also taken part, managing a jewelry table as well. This year, duCret graduates and mid-year students Zoltan Sisko, DaMille King, Rae Cauley, Samantha Abate, Elizabeth Jones, Megan Cocho, and Oliver Haran worked together in support of one another and managed several more sidewalk tables. For those interested in the art field, whether as a career or a hobby, duCret is currently running a series of Summer Art Workshops for Adults, including a Summer Art Camp for Kids and Teens. Photo above provided by Zoltan Sisko.

duCret Instructor Celebrates 20th Award Win

It's not a common avenue to pursue a career in mixed-media collage to begin with, yet one duCret Instructor, Kat Block has managed to carve out a very special niche in the art world with her Bonsai-themed mixed-media collage series pieces. This season, she accepted her 20th award from The Milburn-Short Hills Art Center, who featured her work in their June Art Show, which was recently held at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Kat received the 'Award of Merit' at the Opening Reception. Her work will remain on display at the Mayo Art Center until July 16th, 2012.

About The Work - Kat's primary inspiration is nature and her pieces are complex, mixed media collages that integrate various papers, watercolors, photography, and graphite. She unifies these disparate elements by painstakingly arranging them, often using small fragments of patterns to tie them together. Literally hundreds of pieces of paper will slowly come together to become one unified image upon completion. They are mounted on canvas and varnished repeatedly with a UV protective varnish. Although rich in color, design and pattern, the finished collages remain luminous and serene. They manage to look completely effortless and yet are unimaginably complex in the same viewing. Every time one studies them, there is something new to notice. Her excitement and intensity is evident in her work. She is constantly challenging herself to discover a new and unexpected way to communicate her vision. Quoting her, 'Art is my sanctuary. Art is my enthusiasm. Art is my immune system. I live to share my visual response to this world.' And the mesmerizing works produced are a clear reflection of Kat's reason for being. While she has exibited in countless group and solo exhibitions throughout NJ, her artwork can also currently be viewed at Swain's Galleries, Plainfield NJ. In addition to creating these unusual collages and teaching at duCret school of Art, Kat is also the published illustrator of a children's book, "Little Mouse" and has designed posters for the Union County Jazzfests. She has taught workshops throughout the region and has juried several art shows. Additionally, her work was featured in the 2010 release, "Remember Me", starring Pierce Brosnan and Robert Pattinson.

Kat will be teaching a summer workshop at duCret School of Art called, Torn Paper Collage. Learn how to block out the composition and use layered forms to create specific detailed shapes. The workshop will run on Thursday, August 2, from 9am - 12pm. Call 908-757-7171 to register.



Painting Workshops on Monhegan Island to Begin

Island artist and workshop coordinator Jerry Cable has been painting on Monhegan Island for more than a decade. He will share his knowledge as a professional artist for more than twenty-five years and his insights of the island.  His island studio will be the gathering place for evening discussions and workshop critiques. Topics will include marketing and promotion for professional artists and a look at the island art colony past and present as well as visits to other island studios.

Jerry draws inspiration from the American Impressionists, specifically artists of the New Hope school in Bucks County, PA, and the Old Lyme Academy, in Old Lyme, CT. Jerry's work was recently published in the book "Artists of the River Towns", written by the late Doris Brandes of New Hope, PA. As the Artist-in-Residence for Hunterdon County Town & Country Living Magazine, his paintings were featured exclusively on the covers. Many of his works will also be found in private and public collections across the United States and in Canada. Since 1995 he has shown his work in more than Sixty juried and non-juried exhibitions including The Philadelphia Sketch CLub, and The National Art Club of New York City. His paintings have been featured in fifteen solo exhibitions in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, and Maine. These accomplishments have continued to define Jerry Cable's talent as a leader in the establishment of a new Delaware Valley school of artists.Jerry serves on the Board of duCret School of Art, located in Plainfield NJ.

Lessons for Monhegan Painters - Class will begin with an explanation of direct painting and the plein-air strategy including materials and set up.  A demonstration the first day to show the painter a way to accomplish a painting within a short period of time.  Composition, drawing, blocking in, artistic perspective, value, color, and brushstroke techniques will be described and reinforced throughout the workshop. There are four spots left in the workshop. Click here to register.

Dates:  July 23-27
Tuition:  $550
Levels:  Beginner - Advanced
Medium:  Plein Air Oil

REGISTER FOR SUMMER ART at duCRET

Every June the duCret School of Art releases its catalog for the SUMMER ADULT ART PROGRAM, where many workshops begin just after the July 4th holiday. Over 30 workshops and classes ranging from one  day workshops to  six  week class series in the visual art field include: portrait and figure drawing, jewelry making, ceramics, oil, pastel, acrylic, water color painting, collage, framing and matting, grafiti, urban & modern art, interior design intro, graphic design, web layout, mixing paint from scratch, the business of art bootcamp and more! Teens 16+ to seniors are encouraged to partake in workshops and summer events, including Open Studios.

SUMMER ADULT ART PROGRAM CATALOG

CHILDREN & TEEN ART CAMP BROCHURE

SUMMER OPEN STUDIO SCHEDULE

Registrants can walk in betwen 9am - 4pm, Monday - Friday, mail in registration forms (found in catalog/brochures) with workshop fees to: duCret School of Art, 1030 Central Ave., Plainfield NJ 07060 or call in registration at 908-757-7171.