Sunday, April 15, 2007

Sussex County YAM Courthouse Exhibit, Newton, NJ


The 2007 Sussex County YAM Courthouse Exhibit was a huge success. Over 30 teachers submitted 166 beautiful examples of students' drawings, paintings, collages and photographs. The exhibit ran from March 2 until April 4, 2007. Many positive comments were received from lawyers, clerks and the public who use the Courthouse on a daily basis. On April 4 from 5:30 pm - 7 pm, students and their families arrived in throngs to celebrate, view artwork, enjoy refreshments and receive certificates at the artists' reception. The line at the door stretched all the way across the parking lot! Many thanks to Shop-Rite of Newton for their generous donation towards our refreshments and to Linda Hirsch, Arts Coordinator for Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council who co-sponsors this exhibit along with AENJ.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

BURLINGTON COUNTY YAM

The Burlington County YAM was held at the Pemberton Campus of Burlington County College. Artwork was exhibited in a beautiful open space in one of the campus buildings with gorgeous natural light coming in. Each artwork was hung on the wall with a button. This button was a recreation of the artwork and each student was able to take theirs home with them! What a fantastic idea! The kids loved it and were proud of their buttons. Many of them put them on as soon as they got it.
Pat Carper-Brown started the YAM festivities by introducing the art teachers and other important people. The Burlington County Education Association President was there to hand out the certificates and pencils. I was happy to see such an important person there supporting the arts. Sherry Springsteen and Kathleen Cunningham, the Burlington County YAM co-chairs, were also present for the festivities. It was a wonderful day for all!

PASSAIC COUNTY YAM

The Passaic County YAM exhibit was held at the Louis Bay Library in Hawthorne, NJ. The exhibit was well attended and the children had fun playing with their samples from Crayola at the tables. The artwork was amazing and really brightened up the exhibit space. Refreshments were provided and there was even dinner! Kathy Benevento received many donations and deals on the food. There was a table with cold cuts and sandwiches and another table with cookies and other yummy goodies.
Local artists from the community also stopped by the exhibit to lend their support and are looking forward to working with Passaic County students in future endeavors.
The exhibit was a great success thanks to Kathy Benevento & Orville Rose. Kathy mingled with the guests and gave a presentation on Youth Art Month as Orville gave out YAM awards to all of the student artists.

MORRIS COUNTY YAM

What a lovely YAM exhibit! This was the first time that the Morris County YAM show was held at St. Clare's Medical Center in Dover, NJ. The space was amazing! Artwork was showcased on foam boards hanging from the ceilings, on easels, and on displays. In addition to the hospital foyer, the artwork was also exhibited down the main hallway in the windows. It was a spectacular and beautiful setup! I was also inspired by how close the Morris County teachers are- they are like a second family to each other. I also had the chance to meet Linda Pugliese, a former YAM chair who won the Clare Flanagan Award. This year AENJ created a NJ State YAM award in her honor, called the Linda Lora Pugliese YAM Award. She is honored and thrilled to present this award for the first time at our annual conference in October. For more details, go to http://www.aenj.org/LPYAMaward.pdf.
I congratulate Donna Schrader, Morris County YAM Chair, for doing such a fine job and for finding such a wonderful place to exhibit children's artwork in Morris County!