AKA my “accountability” circle

Yes, I have a more than full-time job running a nonprofit. Yes, I have a family to manage (on my own) with two amazing sons. Yes, I have a love relationship to maintain. Yes, I make art. And yes, I decided to add the formation of a new gallery collective in my hometown of Lambertville, NJ. What made me think that this would be a good idea knowing that my plates are spinning out of control atop their poles?

You know, sometimes you just feel compelled to do more. I’m happiest when my art takes a front seat, so I’m just filling up the bench seat of my boat station wagon and doing the mom arm in hopes that we all end up at that picnic by the ocean in one piece.

But more than that, since Visual Stream is a collective venture, it provides me with a built-in group of folks to be “in it” with. And I need that. I need group accountability and a community to work for. Each of us brings a different perspective and set of strengths to the project. We are bigger than the sum of our parts. I’m excited to make this venture successful, not just for me and my happiness, but for all of us who have so much to share.

Bruce Lindsay and I have spent the last few years supporting and encouraging each other in the development of our art. As partners in life, we share a love for the arts and for sculpture in particular. Bruce’s sculpture is elegant and well-made. Having been trained as a foundry-man and having worked with many well-known and emerging artists, he has a keen eye and attention to detail that I have rarely seen. His knack for seeing interest and beauty in objects and forms is apparent in his sculpture as he recombines forms or focuses on one particular aspect, but showing it to us in a new way. In the last few years he has also started experimenting with 3D printing and pushing the results of that technology into an artistic realm. Bruce lives and has his sculpture studio in Trenton. There, he not only makes his own work, but his business is to assist other artists in the production of sculpture. Together and individually we have invested a lot of time into the Trenton arts community. Our next big project will be to facilitate a community arts project called the “Trenton Art Puzzle” that has been funded by the #I Am Trenton Foundation! More on that another time…

Alia Bensliman also has ties to Trenton as it was at Artworks that she says she first met many of the local artists who she now calls friends. She has shown her fine detailed drawings in several exhibitions and has also sold her recycled paper jewelry at Trenton venues including Ellarslie, the Punk Rock Flea Market, and more. I met Alia when she submitted artwork to a juried show at the West Windsor Arts Center. She was encouraged to apply by some Trenton friends, and I’m so glad she did and that we met. She is a kindred spirit and I admire the depth and care she puts into everything she does.

Kathleen (Kat) Hurley Liao and I met also in Trenton – I can’t even remember where anymore because since then our lives have intersected in many ways. On any given (or every given) Saturday afternoon you will find Kat in her element at the Candlelight Lounge, soaking in the live jazz from great musicians and inspiring Kat with their intricate sounds. Kat is the type of artist who you sometimes wonder if she is a time-traveler coming from another decade, either forward or back. Her work is classic and experimental and she has a relationship with each one. They “talk” to her and you can tell it’s a love affair.

Howard Michaels I met when he had a solo show at Trenton Social, a rite of passage for artists in the Trenton “renaissance”. His work was colorful and playful, and so was he. As a retired school teacher, Howard has that kind of enthusiasm and curiosity that is infectious. One of my favorite works of his at the gallery right now is “Funky Tut”. If you get the chance, you should ask him to tell you the story…

So as you can see, all of us have connections to another river town, Trenton. As the Delaware connects the two, so do we, flowing back and forth in our visual stream.

The soft opening of Visual Stream Gallery Collective will be Saturday April 28, 2018 during Shad Fest from 4 – 7 pm at 7 N. Main St, Lambertville, NJ.

Buckle up!