Birds are nesting, wisteria leafing, violets blooming. The garden is awash with new shades of green and purple. And here sits the carving bench with curls of cedar adding their fragrance to the air. This is the time I have waited for. This is the time to CREATE.
Branching out this year, I am studying with Master Carver William Cowan. Bill is known for his wonderful decorative wildfowl sculptures and has recently opened a shop in New Egypt, NJ where he is teaching several classes a week. I have been working on an Eastern Bluebird and battling my own resistance to detail work, learning to stone and burn a carving. I remind myself that I wanted to learn how to use "machines". It's a new experience and after awhile I find that I like the way my carving is developing. One more week of painting and it will be mounted on a fine piece of driftwood and ready for display.
The Batsto Village decoy show on May 17th - rain, wind and COLD! This is a reincarnation of an old show that I'm told was always good. And from all accounts so far it looks like it will be a good one next year when the weather cooperates.
My tole painting class at the Jersey Shore Folklife Center @ Tuckerton Seaport was held in May. What a fun group of women gathered to spend the day "pouncing" and stenciling and learning that they CAN paint and have fun too! Look for pictures of their table runners on the site.
June brought an opportunity to teach new techniques to a group of youth carvers at the Jersey Shore Folklife Center who usually study with Malcolm Robinson. They did an outstanding job! The Black-Bellied Plovers they created, along with mine and Malcolm's will be incorporated into a "rig" to be auctioned off at the 10th Year Celebration of the Tuckerton Seaport on July 25.
Unfortunately, my class at the Ocean County YMCA was cancelled due to lack of enrollment. We'll try again in July.
Two demonstrations at events in NJ & PA in June: Mount Holly All American Festival on June 13 at Millrace Shops and Wooden Boat Festival at Independence Seaport Musuem, Philadelphia on June 20. Both demos are sponsored by Tuckerton Seaport/Jersey Shore Folklife Center.
Inspiration abounds this time of year at the Jersey Shore. Follow your footsteps through the sand....
...... Nancee Jo
Welcome
The Painted Parrot Gallery and Art Studio features the works of several New Jersey wildlife artists and decoy carvers.
The gallery's mission is to promote traditional and contemporary works of art via the internet and regional art and decoy shows (stage one) and to eventually "migrate" to a permanent location in Central/Southern New Jersey (stage two).
The gallery and studio will serve as a gathering place. Workshops and seminars will be coordinated through the studio for traditional and non-traditional arts. Open studio time will eventually become a part of the daily operations, with the studio open to the public for interactive demonstrations. Collaborations between artists will be encouraged and quarterly public shows are envisioned. Historic and contemporary subjects will be discussed in presentations, forums, and literature produced by the gallery.
While still in the internet phase, presentations will be done offsite and produced for viewing by the public via computer. All materials are copyrighted. For information on usage for educational purposes or to schedule a live presentation or workshop, please contact us by phone (732) 779-1364 or email Birdlady@paintedparrotnj.com.
THE GALLERY IS ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES
If you are a New Jersey carver and would like to display your work in the gallery, or if you are interested in decoys and have any questions or comments, please email Birdlady@paintedparrotnj.com
