Spring Open House at Manufacturers Village was an art lover’s paradise.
Over the weekend of April 26 and 27, more than 50 artists had their studios open to the public.
Visitors had the chance to meet artists, view their work, and purchase original pieces from the artists in their unique loft spaces in Manufacturers Village on Glenwood Avenue in East Orange.
Among the artists was Donna Conklin who works exclusively in concrete. Her “work in progress” is an untitled sculptured piece meant to be a spine. Her public sculptures can be found in Wildflower Sculpture Park and the Turtleback Zoo.
Jill Hellman is a mixed media artist who is inspired by abstract impressionists and people doing interesting things.
“Don’t start with a plan,” she said. “Let it unfold.”
Hellman’s mixed-media paintings have been shown and collected nationally and internationally since 2015.
Jennifer Malone of Maplewood has been creating oil paintings for the past 15 years.
I’m inspired by moments I want to remember,” she said.
She’s been an avid art lover since high school.
Leslie Goldman, of South Orange, is an artist and the owner of Wild Cherry Art. She likes to paint oysters, cherries, and cocktails.
“Celebrating good stuff,” she said. “Focus on things that bring us joy and bring us together.” Goldman graduated with a bachelor of fine arts from Parsons School of Design.
She’s painted dozens of murals for Betsey Johnson, worked for multiple prestigious design firms, and held art director positions at major publishing houses.
She’s also won several awards for excellence in graphic design and illustration.
Kate Dodd, of Orange, said she’s trying to show new things. Her current work is commentating on the aftermath of the presidential election. Her piece
“Hanging by a Thread” is a two-sided map, with many different versions of the United States hanging together.
Liz Murphy is a professionally trained abstract artist who was born and raised in Surrey, England.
After a cancer scare and a divorce, she realized she lost a sense of who she was.
“I gave myself permission to play,” she said. “I’ve illustrated books, but I never painted just for me.”
Now Murphy teaches art all over the world—and students also come from all over the world to see her. As a full-time painter living in Montclair, she mentors people and teaches online courses.
Leah Davis is a self-taught clothing designer.
“I don’t want to wear the same thing as everyone else,” she said. “I make my own.”
Shayna Miller of Morris County creates paintings with protrusion.
“What could be inside?” she asked. “A bird or a volcano? A lot of science fiction references come up. Maybe the painting is suspicious of us. Maybe they are a little bit threatening.”
Miller received her master of fine arts in studio art from Hunter College last year, and her bachelor of arts from Drew University in 2019, where she majored in art and art history with minors in comparative religion and medieval studies. She was awarded the Stanley Prescott Hooper Memorial Prize in 2019 for promise and integrity in studio art.
Tom Nussbaum, of East Orange, is known for a variety of work including sculptures, site-specific installations, drawings, paper cuts, prints, children’s books, animations, and functional design objects.
His sculpture and works on paper have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States. He has completed more than 40 site-specific commissions located in a variety of public settings including public plazas, train stations, schools, hospitals, and environmental centers. He will be directing a mural painting on the PSE&G building in Orange on Jeff Street in the near future.
Nussbaum has been making art for 50 years. “My work changed a lot over the years,” he said. Not wanting to label his art, he said, “Art is for seeing. Best to look at, not to describe.”
To learn more about Manufacturer’s Village Artists, visit: https://www.
manufacturersvillageartists.com/.
Artists get a chance to show off added by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta on
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