Art in Nature Show Opens to Triumphant Reception: Discover Art Ecstasy in Garden State And on the Web! Shop Now.

Angels That You Need, Zeet Peabody

What better way to celebrate Earth Day 2015 than to visit the Art in Nature show at the AJ Dillion Gallery?
The month-long exhibition of art inspired by Nature is a glorious way to mark the significant
nexus of art and the natural world.  From the pretty beauty of botanical art and illustration to the powerful paintings of storm fury to the edibles of Ecuador by Bek Millhouse, the glamour of the Manolo Valdes at NYBG rendered by photographer James Murray  or the mysterious beauty of Kokedama garden art created by EunYoung, Silver Flower -- or fashion by Marissa Erickson Fashion or dreamy tree paintings by Jessica Wohlers -- and happy botanical art as soon by a Beatrix Potter Zeet Peabody, along with so many others including a Picasso-like Ed Fendley Profiles | Facebook, Leona Tenebruso-Shultes spectacular art, Michelle Lombard, and Mike Quon and his collages along with the powerful paintings of Dawn DiCicco . 
And I adore the performance art of Chanel Sampson Plant Killer  

I wanted the visitors and guests to be enchanted from the first moment they got to the Gallery. 

I sketched out my “Into the Woods” dream concept design.  

Then, working with Jessie Wohlers, artist and stylist (among her many talents) - we visited the floral district in Gotham to secure our materials.  All the elements soon came together: bold wisteria vines, twinkling lights, glass orbs to hang on the trees filled with lights, colorful butterflies, silk ombre shaded gauzy material that would serve as the grass, and lots and lots of pink rose petals to scatter on the “grass.”  We also got some plants and big sea shells - the Gallery is just a block in from the bay, after all -- yet another nod to Nature.

We got the vellum paper for Jessie to paint up the ethereal tree branches - to be suspended or floating fro the wisteria tree branches.  Those branches were molded in shape by Jessie’s body force!  Talk about girl power!  

Soon, after a bit of clean up

Jessie, prepping for the Art in Nature window displays

the artful pieces of the window display and the art on the walls was coming together.  

EunYoung & her popular Kokedama art

With her Kokedama Moss Art in tow from New York, EunYoung created her moss composition. Jessie was getting flirty with the charcoal and vellum to make the window art complete.

Fashion Art, Marissa Erickson

Photographic art3 - James Murray's photography & as seen in Manolo Valdes book of NYBG sculpture in the Garden 

Meanwhile, I was doing a bit of everything and still trying to get all the art in -- (it’s a little like herding cats…)  

Jessie Wohlers putting the finishing touches on her Art in Nature submission

I also wanted to get our elected officials in the loop - and did manage to secure congratulatory letters from Congressman Frank Pallone and Fair Haven Councilwoman Aimee Humphreys - which Frank read at the opening reception and have since proudly posted on the wall.  Thank you!

Emily and Frank were seemingly everywhere, getting bios up on the site, getting the art prices and names suitable for hanging. 

Frank: pre-show hanging art

Music set up time 

The day of the opening was beautiful.  But there was still much to do.  We weren’t nervous per se about attendance at the gala reception; at the same time, one couldn’t ignore it was Passover and the day before Easter.  The party plans proceeded unabated.

I worked up till 30 minutes before opening!  

My brother, the Grammy-Nominated musician, James Popik and one of his most popular chanteuse, Jen Starr, were already setting up for their jazzy-song filled music when I had to race home to get ready.

By the time I returned, the Gallery was glittering.  And not just from the Into the Woods display windows!  There were sooo many people milling about, enjoying the wine and cheese, each other on a lovely spring evening -- and most of all: the Art. The glorious, compelling, provocative art -- all of it inspired by nature.  

One of my favorite references with regard to art is that of the Stendhal Syndrome. This "condition" is said to characterize viewers who experience a dizzy and rapid heart beat when particularly beautiful or large amount of art is seen in a single place.  Coined in Florence, Italy by the French author Stendhal (why does all that sound so matter-of-course?!) When he visited the Basilica of Santa Croce, where Niccolò Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Galileo Galilei are buried, he saw Giotto's frescoes for the first time and was overcome with emotion. He wrote:

I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty... I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations... Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves.' Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling.

See how art -- especially art of immense beauty in the natural world - can affect us?

Nature touches each of us in her own way -- and the artist’s eye sees things and interprets the natural world in such beguiling and powerful vision.  

The artists were there, keen for the opportunity to share their spirit with the eager and interested guests.  After all, artists usually work solo most of the time -- so all this party exuberance is most welcome.

Artist, Zeet Peabody, Fan, & his charming art

Artist, Kira Yustak

Photography artist, Rachel Watkinson

As owner of AJ Dillon Gallery, Frank welcomed the guests and read the electeds letter of congratulations.  I sincerely thanked Frank, Emily, my Mother, husband Bill, my extended family in attendance -- and especially the artists.  

Captured on video by my dear friend, Wendy, here are my opening-reception remarks.

The evening was a success. The AJ Dillon Gallery is THE place to be. 

Artist Barbra (Love the Flower!) & AH Councilman, Peter Doyle

Aimee & Michael Humphreys

James & Jen, artful musicians perform at Art in Nature reception 

When finally, I had to break away after the event -- even though there were plenty of folks still browsing the gallery -- as my guests had headed up to the Wine Bar next door.  But not before tiptoeing out into the display cases to adjust a twinkling light!

Me, Jim/musician & brother, Mother

A big thank you to everyone who helped make the event one for the record books.  To the Dillon Gallery family, artist Michelle Lombard who - like a trooper -- volunteered to take the the Art in Nature postcards to Sickles Market so their bazillions of customers could learn about the exhibit.  No stranger to all things natural, organic, artful, and community-oriented, Sickles is a go-to place for local food and garden plants.  Tori Sickles was kind enough to allow us to bring over the cards.  Jenny from First Avenue Florist allowed me to run in and whisk away a potted plant in time for the opening party.  What can I say?  It takes a village.

Budding Botanists

And speaking of community support, our new best friend is Laurie Brekke.  How my garden path never crossed this GoSprouts dynamo I’ll never know. (Plus now, all the “You’ve been flocked” Pink Flamingo mystery is revealed!)  

Laurie helped me reach the area’s parents to tell them about the Saturday “Budding Botanist” potting up program at the Gallery.  At the Free, hands-on, fun session, I show the children how to pot up some radish seeds -- just in time for a swell Mother’s Day gift.  We give them the soil, seeds, and Garden Pendant pots, I designed and created.  The kids love it.  

Frank has a table and little kid-sized chairs all set for them. 

And I brought some kid-sized tools, too.

Thanks Laurie.  And it’s fun Tweeting from my @GardenGlamour with Laurie, er, @PussBoots

The Gallery

One of the best services the AJ Dillon Gallery can now offer its artists is the ability to reach a vast, unlimited audience.  It wasn’t easy to get the technology to cooperate - but it is “not the boss of us” - so together, Emily and I had our way with the “Shop Now” feature on the AJ Dillon Facebook page and on the site under the AJ Dillon Web Store tab  While not every piece is in the store yet -- we’re getting there…

I so strongly support artists and their vision and craft.  Every artist and every piece of work has a story… I think those stories amplify their work.  Who doesn’t love to walk around a gallery or museum or your home and not only describe the beauty of the art there, but also how it was the artist toiled at making the piece.  The art can look infinitely different, always.  It’s what make the art enduring -- endlessly fascinating, and compelling.  An artist cannot help expressing themselves.  They’ll go without food (the starving artist label comes from truth), defy all odds to create - to work and fuel the fire within…

The fact that we can work with them to identify a greater audience who can discover their work is the best reward.  

Please visit the AJ Dillon Web Store. Share with your friends and family.  Support the arts.  And buy art.  You deserve it.

Budding Botanists: FREE Art in Nature Classes for Children at AJ Dillon Gallery, Saturday Series - 10am

Calling all Budding Botanists!

The AJ Dillon Gallery of Fine Art (AJDillon.com) is hosting a series of four (4) Saturday Master Classes designed for the Budding Botanists in the Two River  area.  

Children, their parents, and caregivers, are invited for a FREE hour-long workshop, at 10:00 am:

Saturday, April 11 --  Potting Up!  Come prepared to dig in the soil and plant seeds (happy start to a Mother’s Day gift)

Saturday, April 18 -- Photography in the Garden!  Come with camera and/or SmartPhone

Saturday, April 25 -- Painting the Garden!  

Saturday, May 2 -- Kodedama -- How to make a moss ball garden display

All materials will be supplied by AJ Dillon Gallery.  Please RSVP to Emily: ContactUs@ajdillon.com or Leeann/Duchess Designs: leeann@duchess-designs.com 

Art in Nature opening Reception, April 4th, 6-8 pm AJ Dillon Gallery for Food, Drink, Art

Art in Nature, graphic by Tom Sebazco

It was a snowy, Sunday evening in January and I had just gotten to the loft to write when a dear, long-time garden design client, Joe, called and asked if I could stop down to his new office’s next door neighbor: the AJ Dillon Gallery Fine Art.

Sure thing.   I didn’t have a clue what it was all about-- but no matter.  If Joe asked – I’m there.

After Joe made the introduction to Frank Leahy, gallery owner and an accomplished painter in his own right, I found out what was in store.  I was surprised – and delighted – and honored - to be invited to curate an April garden-themed show!

Of course I love all things garden.  I am a garden designer, I worked at NYBG and BBG, and belong to countless horticulture and garden professional organizations, attend myriad garden and plant lectures and garden tours, (just got back from an Ecuadorean garden design work project); and I write about gardens…

Given April is a kind of sweet, spring gateway to the green, growing season here.  I was all in…

Soon, the snowy winter scene outside gave way to swirling blossoms, fragrant flowers, and green foliage.  In my head, that is. 

Still, as I thought about what the show could be, I wanted it to be more than “just” pretty flowers.  I wanted to grab people; reorient their house & garden “look book” ideas of what a garden is. 

This was not to be only an idealized botanical art and illustration or Hudson River School version of nature and art.  After all, the Two River area is still healing from Superstorm Sandy, so I was hoping nature in all its fury and power could be rendered in artful displays, too. 

Then there’s the big climate change elephant in the room that art is uniquely prepared to illuminate.  Art can make us see and – viscerally feel - what’s been disorienting our weather, oceans, seasons, and growing seasons…

  

I embrace the idea that nature and gardens are art – and further – that nature inspires all artists. 

I thought the show would enrich the Gallery, visitors, art enthusiasts and the artist community  - especially if we ambitiously pursued a full constellation of artful genres – from sculpture to ceramics to painting and photography to fashion to Kokedama, to performance art and music. 

Let’s joyfully explore the galaxy of art and artists inspired by nature. 

After dreaming a bit – not only the kind of show we’d present, but also the title of the show came to me: Art in Nature.  It’s everywhere if we just have the vision to see it.

I worked up a plan for Frank to review and approve how we could make this happen. 

I really, really wanted to give the artists a forum and a showcase to not only display their art, but also to allow them a way to sell their work.  And not just to the bricks and mortar Gallery but also to reach a larger audience.  I had just recently discovered the “Shop Now” option on Facebook.   I suggested we could sell the art to the vast audience beyond the Gallery’s walls.  Facebook’s Shop Now feature makes it all rather easy.

On the other hand, getting all the art submitted -- not so much! 

Artists are like racehorses.  A pure breed whose personalities and temperament are very much individual -- thoroughbred traits breed exceptional, rare breeds.  I love them.

After a mix of coaxing, cajoling, a kind of maternal soothing and encouragement – me and Emily Potts, the AJ Dillon Gallery manager and talented photographer I’ve had the privilege to work with on the show  - found we had an abundance of artful treasure: the painting, photography and ceramics and performance art started to cover almost every inch of the Gallery.  It was coming in from North Carolina and New York and the Garden State.  It is all stunning.

And soon, the Garden State’s elected officials were weighing in too.

Congressman Frank Pallone sent a very supportive letter that we will read tonight at the opening Reception and will then post in the Gallery.  Thank you,  Congressman Frank Pallone. 

Friend and newly-elected Fair Haven Councilwoman Aimee Humphreys dropped off a wonderful letter, too. Thank you, Aimee. 

And Aimee has also submitted some of her beloved parent’s artwork for display in the show: her mother’s orchid painting and her father’s succulent photograph.  Years ago, her father did portraits of me and Bill and my parents.  I treasure the images… so special. 

Governor Christie’s office started off in simpatico but when I called to inquire about the letter or attendance, was told he needs six to eight months notice!  Must be all that out of state travel coordination ^:^

I returned home from Ecuador garden design work to snow last week – but hope is eternal.  And today is glorious sunshine.   

Spring is surely here!

Windows are the eyes of the Gallery

As part of show’s outreach – I wanted the Gallery’s display windows to reflect the magic and mystery of nature that was soon to be within.

Working with realism artist, Jessica Wohlers (my esteemed niece, too) we worked up a design concept:  tree branches – as a “shadow art” foundation – an “Into the Woods” seduction, if you will, adorned with twinkling lights, butterflies, glass globes – and Frank’s inimitable art. 

We visited Gotham’s Floral District where I get my client’s garden-themed styling elements for container and display compositions.  Well, most of the floral art world does too – as does Jessie, for her commercial photo and video styling.

Within two shopping days we were able to carefully select the elements to fulfill the window tableau design.

Jessie twisted, turned, and contorted the wisteria branches to bend to her will!  She had them up in the windows – arching along the front.  She flirted with the glissine paper to render the dimensional tree shadow art hanging from the branches.  After trial and error and organic channeling: ethereal success!

EunYoung Sebazco brought her otherworldly Kokedama, moss art.  I will write more about this art and she will conduct a children’s Master Class at the Gallery in April.  You can also read more at her blog: Green in the Box  

Horticultural Artist, EunYoung Sebazco & her Kokedama Moss Art, AJ Dillon Gallery

Art in Nature graphic

Frank had Emily print more of the invitation postcard (went through a lot of them – hope that’s a good sign.)

In designing the look of the ad/invitation, I wanted a Fibonacci-inspired graphic.  Fibonacci images are so significant to art and design. I found an image on the web and thought we could incorporate a collage-like series of images to represent the show’s variety of The Art in Nature show’s genres.

I was able to get NY artist, Tom Sebazco to render the concept – brilliantly.  Look closely at the Nautilus –swirl of a garden and you will see sculpture, music, ceramics, painting, film and photography…

All in brilliant colors with blossoms and flowers swirling about.  How about that vision?!

Thank you to Tori Sickles, Sickles Market for sharing the graphic on their Facebook page.

Reception

My brother James Popik is playing his jazz music, along with singer, Jen.  There will be food and drink and family and friends, and nature and art! 

We will be video taping the event, too.  

Racing down to the Gallery now for a walk-through and a few tweaks. 

See you later.