We have a handful of WAA artists that will be joining us for the event to exhibit their work and do live painting, but we can certainly use more. Let’s show the surrounding communities that the Westfield Art Association truly supports the arts. We are looking to have a strong presence at this event. Ple
Recap: The Sketchbook Project
Our first Art In The Park event was a resounding success!
Along with our friends in the Roselle Art Association, we hosted the Sketchbook Project on Saturday in Warinanco Park. Despite an overcast day with a little light rain, we welcomed over 200 visitors to our tents to view a worldwide selection of artists’ sketchbooks. The one constant among the visitors, who ranged in age from 3 to 90 years and included local artists, students, families and community leaders, was the big smile on each and every face.
This free event was fully funded by a public grant from the Borough of Roselle and enjoyed the sponsorship of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Office of Parks & Recreation. Special guests who attended the event on Saturday were Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalsky, Nicole DeAugustine from the Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, and General Assembly member Jamel Holley, who addressed the happy crowd. We were also pleased to offer free, blank artist sketchbooks to each child in attendance, a gift made possible by the generosity of the Freeholders and Dick Blick Art Materials.
Also among Saturday’s attendees was the founder of the Sketchbook Project, Steven Peterman. This event was special for the Project as well, for although they have travelled to nearly every state in the country since 2006, our event marked their first-ever visit to New Jersey. After such a long wait, Steven was thrilled by the impressive size and enthusiasm of the NJ crowd.
This event has been a long time in the making, so its success is a great joy, especially to WAA board member and Education Outreach Coordinator Laura Brown. Upon joining our leadership board last year, Laura immediately announced her goal of finding a way to host the Sketchbook Project here in New Jersey. Many moths of meetings, emails and paperwork later, we have made her vision come true. The real benefactors of her vision and hard work are all of the people, young and old, who came out to the park on Saturday to be inspired.
With the success of this event, we are looking ahead to our next Art In The Park event. In the meantime, please enjoy these photographs from last Saturday.
New WAA Member Exhibit at Limani in Westfield
The new WAA member exhibit has been hung and is ready to view. Please stop by Limani Seafood Grill in Westfield to see artwork by various WAA members. Thank you to Maxine King and Virginia Puskar for curating and coordinating this exhibition. It’s a good one!
You can check out more about Limani Seafood Grill by clicking here.
WAA Brings 4,500 International Artist Sketchbooks to Union County on September 12
The Westfield Art Association (WAA), in collaboration with the Roselle Art Association, will be bringing the Sketchbook Project Mobile Library to Union County on September 12, 2015, offering the opportunity for the community to explore 4,500 sketchbooks by artists from across the world. This event is funded by a generous grant from the Borough of Roselle.