First Annual Student Show

1st Annual Student Exhibit

June 12th - 28th

TraillWorks Gallery
135 Spring Street
Newton, NJ 07860

OPENING RECEPTION -

Friday, June 12th, 6 - 8pm

I've invited my students who have been with me since I moved to Spring Street to exhibit their finest works. My students are continually astounding me with their ideas, innovation, and talent. Join me in celebrating all that they've learned.

New Year's Acceptance

" . . . a global cousin to the Whitney Biennial show of American Art . . ."
Dan Bischoff, Star Ledger

Photo of Main Gallery, from www.njcva.org. Visual Arts Center of New Jersey. 1/6/08.

Christmas week I was working in the studio feeling overwhelmed by juggling both my business and my baby, when I received a glorious phone call from an intern at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey telling me that I have been preliminarily selected for inclusion in its renowned International Juried Show. Historically speaking, amazing things have happened for me in the midst of frustration.

Adelina Vlas, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art juried the show. The center will do a final jurying process on the 30th from the actual work. I was in the show in 2006, and the intern reminded me that generally if you are in the preliminary round, your work will be included. The final jurying is to safeguard against misrepresented work.

I hope to see you at the opening reception on Friday, February 13th, 6 - 8pm. Two of my paintings from 2008 will be in the show, pending the final jurying.

Newark Open Doors '08

It is so important to network with other artists and arts organizations; you never know what may come up. I've developed and maintained a relationship with Peters Valley since my residency in January through both the store / gallery and the director. About a month ago, Jimmy Clark invited me to exhibit artwork with Peters Valley's display in Newark's Open Doors going on this weekend.

At the time he asked me I couldn't quite commit as I had a lot of artwork in flux and was preparing for a show. Though, after a recent exhibit I had two large paintings that couldn't be incorporated in my current gallery setup and I realized the Newark Show would be the perfect venue, as well as a great opportunity.

Here's the info if you're going to be in and around Newark this weekend:

Newark Open Doors '08 October 24th - 26th

Peters Valley will be at 482 Washington St. (during DD)
Friday: 5pm–10pm, Saturday: 4pm–6pm
Sunday: 12 noon–6pm

You can spend the entire weekend touring galleries and temporary exhibition spaces in Newark. The Newark Arts Council has put together a phenomenal site dedicated to the event. For detailed information about Open Doors '08 visit the Newark Arts Council web site.

Another 2nd Saturday

Firefly, 18" x 18" x 9", Found Objects, photo courtesy Joanna West

I know it's been a long time since I've written, but between teaching twelve hours a week, finishing commissions, following up with customers, daily operations, and being pregnant I just haven't gotten to blog. I haven't forgotten about you.

This coming Saturday, October 11th, is historic Newton's 4th Second Saturday event. A full day is planned including the first annual Old Mine Road Folklife Festival starting at 10am and Spring Street's Autumn Open House running from 5 - 8pm. Main Street Newton will transform into a pedestrian marketplace with live music, vendors and a farmers market, as well as Spring Street business participation and local artists work on display.

As part of the day, TraillWorks will host the work of another local artist, Joanna West. Joanna's interest in antiques have brought her to rebirth old objects or junk in new and delightful ways. Illuminations will feature four of Joanna's assembled found object lamps, interspersed around my artwork.

Meet the artist: Joanna West
Where: TraillWorks
When: October 11th
Time: 5 - 8pm

Meet the Artists this Saturday

TraillWorks Window featuring Tony Lordi's Steam Heat installation, photo courtesy of Tony Lordi.

Join me in welcoming my friend and artist, Tony Lordi, to TraillWorks:

Saturday, September 13th
5 - 8pm

Part of 2nd Saturday's Tour of Art on Spring Street,
a Main Street Newton, Inc. event.

Take the Tour of Art
meet and see the work of 19 artists at participating merchants on Spring Street
click below on the map, copy and paste it into a Word document, print and follow
or pick one up at a participating merchant


Listen to Plum Run
A NJ band that blends bluegrass, folk, country music with a contemporary sound
Playing live and free in front of the Newton Fire Museum
5- 8pm

Photos from Grand Opening

Thank you to everyone who joined in celebrating my grand opening. The entire weekend was a big success with over 60 people attending on Saturday evening for a private party. Despite the boiling temperatures, a great crowd came out to see the new space.

Dog Days of Summer

It's a little early for the dog days of summer, but with temps we had in New Jersey over the weekend, it may have been August. During this utterly oppressive heat this past weekend, I held my grand opening, part of which was devoted to drawing live pets.

Based on the reaction people had to my invitation and announcement of free pet portraits, I thought I would have 25 dogs lined up at my door Sunday morning.

Kalee, 18" x 24", Graphite on Paper, © 2008 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

However, I'll chalk up the smaller turnout of only 3 dogs to the blistering temperatures. It did turn out to be a great time; I drew three dogs, two together. Each pet owner was gracious enough to help keep their dogs focused and calm, with the help of a few treats I had on hand.

Porter and Amber, 18" x 24", Graphite on Paper, © 2008 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

I would definitely do this again and hope for a cooler day. Thanks to Kalee, Porter and Amber for their genteel behavior and smashing looks!

New Painting

I know, it's been awhile since I painted during my month-long residency in January. After returning home in February I've spent two months playing catch up, renting a new studio space and renovating it, and finding time in between to enter a juried show with a new painting, apply to a gallery, redesign all of my marketing materials and complete some commissioned works. Whew!

So, here's the work titled, Kitchen Altarpiece, finished on Tuesday and one of three entries into the Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council's, Annual Skylands Juried Show. Last year I wasn't selected, the year before I won two awards. I'll let you know in mid-April the results of the jury process.

Kitchen Altarpiece (Triptych), 35" x 16 1/8", Oil on Panel, © Jennie Traill Schaeffer, 2008

I generated the idea for this work while at Peters Valley and had three panels which initially were going to be devoted to separate works, when I realized one of the panels was wider than the rest. Instead I thought to combine them in a triptych (three panels to make one painting), originally used widely in the creation of altarpieces in Europe. Continuing my iconization of kitchen wares I used a similar format to represent a grouping of tools from the 1940s.

jennie@traillworks.com
www.traillworks.com

Exhibit at Wine Boutique

George's Wine Boutique & Spirits Gallery is a classy, upscale, unstuffy shop in Branchville, NJ that features hard to find wines from smaller vintners, gourmet cheeses and other stuff. Owners, George and Frances Delgado, inaugurated a rotating exhibit of local artists with my paintings and the photos of Agnes Rizzo. George is a certified sommelier and a nationally recognized spirits expert with an approachable personality; Frances is a terrific host and baker.


The exhibit opened on March 15th in conjunction with a wine tasting. A great crowd attended to taste wines, sample cheeses, and buy art.


The exhibit is a great opportunity because of their clientele and the natural pairing of their products and my artwork. What I discovered however is that most of the people who attended were there for Agnes and could not decipher the difference between my paintings and her photos. Ultimately, although I think our work does work together because of similar themes, I don't think I would exhibit again with a photographer.


The exhibit will be up indefinitely until I move into my studio. So if you're in the area, stop by George's. You're certainly going to enjoy the experience and the spirits.

jennie@traillworks.com
www.traillworks.com

Meet the Artists

If you spent the month of January following my experience at Peters Valley Craft Center for an artist residency, now is your chance to see my work and that of the other artists in person. An exhibit has been curated to show a sampling of work by 50 artists who participated in the program over the past three years. It poses to be a stunning show with a variety of fine crafts and art.

Details:
Opening Reception - Saturday, March 29th, 4 - 7pm
Peters Valley Gallery
Kuhn Road & County Route 615
Layton, NJ
Directions

If you're thinking, why would I want to drive all the way out to Layton, NJ? Well, in addition to walking around Peters Valley, you can spend the afternoon walking around the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, have lunch or dinner at the Walpack Inn, or visit Millbrook Village.

Hope to see you on Saturday.

jennie@traillworks.com
www.traillworks.com

Opening this Saturday

Join me on Saturday from 4 - 7pm at the SCA&HC Gallery, 137 Spring Street in Newton, NJ for an opening reception previewing the work I created while at my residency in January. I am one of three featured artists exhibiting in conjunction with a members' small works show:

• Kathy Morawski - Equine / Collage Artist

Jolly Joker II by Kathy Morawski

• Jimmy Clark - Potter / Director of Peters Valley Craft Center

Work by Jimmy Clark

Come early, stay late. . . If you're in Newton for the afternoon there's plenty of terrific shopping. After the show stay in Newton for dinner. There are plenty of highly rated restaurants to dine in.

Shop -

• Radiant Essentials - gift boutique
• Maxwell and Molly's Closet - pet boutique
• Charm - home decor, antiques and gifts
• Eaton's Antiques - antique dealer (may not be open due to his move to a larger storefront)
  
• Chocolaterie - European chocolate shoppe
  
• Cheddar Alley - domestic and international cheeses and gourmet food stuff
• Yarn Loft - designer yarn goods and supplies
• Gallery on the Green - exhibiting the art of J. Geoffrey Leckie

Dine - I've eaten at each of these restaurants and recommend all

• JC's Grill House - Certified Angus Beef, Fresh Seafood, Bar
• Andre's- Wine Boutique and Restaurant
  
• Krave - Modern American Cuisine
• Narin Thai -- 11 Main Street (no web site) -- one block from gallery

Parking is pretty easy in Newton --

• 2 - hour free parking on Spring Street until 6pm
• Park on the surrounding streets for a quarter an hour / 2 hours until 6pm
• Park in public parking lots
  

jennie@traillworks.com

http://www.traillworks.com

Web Site Updated

OPENING Saturday, March 1st | 4 - 7pm
I'm a FEATURED ARTIST - SCA&HC Gallery . . .

Go to the Current Events Page on traillworks.com to find out more.

My web site has not been updated for months and most of the site I still cannot update because I am web design deficient. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm working on a site design for my wedding cake portraits, or should I say my designer (Chaves Design) is working on it. So that has become a priority right now and due to my move to a studio space I will not be able to afford to update TraillWorks.com immediately.

But, in the meantime I've updated the events page (an only text page that I can update myself) with three exhibits opening in March. So go to Current Events on my site and find out where you can see all of my new work from my Peters Valley residency.

jennie@traillworks.com
http://www.traillworks.com