Artists on Display
Darren Auck
Darren has always loved comics, cartoons and other pop culture. He started creating comics at five years old and self published comics in high school. After graduating from The Joe Kubert School in 1983 he did a range of professional work including writing and drawing comics, production, graphic design and caricature. Darren worked for Marvel Comics for ten years, serving as a Bullpen letterer, logo artist, writer, artist and Art Director. Joe invited him to teach at The Joe Kubert School in 2000 and he served there as an instructor for nineteen years. Other clients include, Nickelodeon (Ren & Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life comics), DC Comics, the rock band AC/DC and various trading card companies. Darren is currently working on creator owned projects, JERSEY DEVIL VS BIGFOOT, UNCLE SAMSON AND SON and private art commissions.
Mia Baldwin - Wild High Bridge
Moving to High Bridge was unexpected for me, but I immediately fell in love with its wild spaces. High Bridge open spaces feed my insatiable need to connect with nature as well as my passion for using my hands. The Monarch Butterfly’s presence in High Bridge has provided the opportunity to create wildlife habitat and now the opportunity to create art. My GFA piece honoring the iconic Monarch Butterfly will hopefully provide a moment of peace and happiness to all viewers, just as Monarch butterflies have provided my forever racing mind many moments of peace and harmony.
The Bolasci Family
Long time High Bridge residents, the Bolasci family has always been strong supporters of art and creativity in the community. Each of them artists, with their hands in many mediums - from music to jewelry making, photography to makeup arts, pottery to graphic arts - they are almost always creating something. Scott, Cheryn, Layna, Naia, and Serene's art contribution to the grounds is a collaborative work, with symbolic meaning and using repurposed materials.
Eric Bopp with Marty's Reliable Cycle
At Marty's Reliable Cycle, it has been our goal since 1978 to "Save the World with Bikes". It is something Marty was passionate about, and it resonates with our staff to this day. Eric Bopp, the Manager of the new High Bridge location, has been a recreational artist and craftsman as long as he's worked for us, and he is eager to contribute to the beautification of a landmark like the TISCO building.
The Crespo Family
We, the Crespo family, have been residents of High Bridge for 15 years – Eric, Jessica, and the kiddos- Ava (12), Jaxon (9), Jace and Lia (4yr old twins). DiY projects have been a great way to challenge myself and my wife does not hesitate to share a new Pinterest idea to push me. Plus, it is always great to have an excuse to buy a new tool. For the GFA silhouettes, I was excited to have a reason to purchase a cordless router and I was lucky to have spare pieces of plywood to test because I definitely need to practice more. The silhouettes were traced by my daughter and the twins were excited to have dog shaped cut outs.
Carrie Dubiel
When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer I was told that I was going to be on chemo for more than a year along with surgery and 30 zaps of radiation. I was told that neuropathy was almost a definite and that there really wasn’t much that could be done about it. I decided to revisit an old love from my childhood…origami. When you’re in the infusion center plugged into the “draino”, they really have you hostage for a few hours, so I started folding like crazy. Every model became a challenge to see how tiny I could fold it. I believe my tiniest models are made from 1/4” square. These tiny models became my thank you to the nurses for being so kind to me while I sat there most days alone and scared.
I made it through that time almost neuropathy free. I guess you could say I’m like a post-apocalyptic cockroach. I’m extraordinarily extra-ordinary. I’m still here for now, so come see my world (at least as best as I can remember it). It’s actually quite a beautiful place.
Adam Hayes
My artistic practice consists of the distillation of various source material that I find compelling. Working cross-media, I make art in an instinctual fashion. I like to bring an element of play into my practice and make artistic decisions based on gut feelings. I follow these intuitions from one source material to another. Working from images that I find or that have occurred to me in a dream, I pull elements from my sources that are compelling to me and re-produce them stripped down and layered with elements of other sources or mark making. Over the course of the last 17 years, I have been working on different bodies of work that involve the investigation of images that I find to be powerful, mysterious, mythic, or haunting. Looking for a language of significance in images of palaces, cathedrals, portraiture, and fashion imagery. Some of the shapes and elements from previous bodies of work often get carried over in new pieces.
Amanda Henriksen
The Carpenter's Lady is a local business rooted in Lebanon Township, NJ, with a unique journey. My diverse creative background, from knitting to painting, expanded when I met my carpenter husband, igniting a passion for woodworking. I craft captivating pieces using recycled materials with a scroll saw, which demands precision and care. My artistic techniques include fretworking, carefully removing wood for negative space images, and segmentation, assembling cut wood for intricate designs. Despite the challenges of working with temperamental wood, the process is therapeutic and allows complete focus. Nature and animals inspire most of my work, reflecting my deep admiration for their beauty.
Art Hoffman
My name is Art Hoffman, I am 74 years old, I live with my wife Susan in Somerset New Jersey.
I am a retired IT manager and have been doing minor wood projects as a hobby for years.
My daughter, Michelle is one of the craftspeople display on the “Fence”. She told me about the Grounds for Art and I thought that I could be of some help. I enjoyed working on cutting out the silhouettes for the upcoming opening.
Michelle Hoffman Ten Eyck -Way of the Butterfly
I am a local, self-taught ceramic artist, who specializes in hand-building work. My designs are whimsical scenes incorporating sweet and dreamy animals and characters, which are then placed on a functional piece of pottery. My work includes a lot of Halloween influences, as I have 3 black cats that inspire me. I hope my work makes you smile!
Susan Haake, Pam LaFevre, Janet Nocar, Peggy Moskway, Ruth Winsor, Lisa Zambito & Maryanne Harvey
Enjoy a collection of painted works following a central theme. Artist and volunteer extra-ordinaire Sue Haake has created an interactive piece in collaboration with other Hunterdon County artists. Lift up a panel to learn more about each work.
Michele Iervolino & Rachel Magee
Sticking with the reduce, reuse and recycle message....an installation of plastic bottle flowers in every spectrum of the rainbow will be installed. these will be able to stand all weather elements and they kind of last forever...or until you take them all down : ) it will be a wonderful contemporary POP of many colors in front of the perfectly weathered SHOP E.
Rachel Magee was also the artist who created our Postcard Maps.
Pia Kristjansen with Metro Paws
With thanks from CB Pet Market and Metro Paws for providing the material, this piece was inspired by the High Bridge Dog Park Community. Meant to change and slowly be taken apart over time, this mural made of doggy bags invites dog owners to take a bag if they find themselves without while passing through the space, or add a bag for the next passerby.
Pia has a background is backstage theatre with a focus on costuming. She considers this piece similar to a giant latch-hook project.
Shannon Leigh
A multidisciplinary artist, with a wide ranging education. My main love is photography, having received my 1st camera at 7, and it’s grown from there. I started painting and drawing as a young child, and was mentored by a dear family friend.
I create art because I have to.
I believe art is for everyone, everyone can make art, and it’s a necessary thing in a world that tries its hardest to crush one’s soul.
Alex Maxwell
Alex Maxwell is a graphic designer and illustrator from High Bridge, New Jersey. He has most recently finished his Master's at Marywood University where he presented his series Coney Island of the Mind:revisited, a series of visual collages and music. He is a co-founder of Good Toy Print Lab, a silkscreen and design studio as well as the local favorite, This Is Your Brain on Trivia.
Cole Norberg
Cole is a freshman at Voorhees High School who has had a passion for art since he was young. He has taken classes both in school and at the Art Academy of Hunterdon. Notable achievements for Cole include participating in the High Bridge Paint Out, having his artwork featured in the Middle School Yearbook, and receiving an art achievement award from the High Bridge PTO. He’s very excited to share his fence line artwork at this event.
Elizabeth Ostendorp
Liz Ostendorp of Ellie Lou Ceramics, graduated with a Bachelor's of Creative Art and Technology from Bloomfield College in 2003 and then immediately began working as an Art Teacher for the Morris School District. She presently teaches Ceramics at Morristown High School while running her own pottery business outside of school hours. Along with teaching and creating, sustainability is another passion of hers, which is partially why she loves ceramics. As a material that lends itself wonderfully to the constructs of death and rebirth, almost any piece can be utilized and transformed into something new. Liz works hard at reducing her carbon footprint from clay production to shipping and makes every effort to reuse boxes and packing materials. Liz creates and sells collections for local shops around North Jersey as well as the Morris Museum, but her main focus surrounds emulating the beauty in nature that we often overlook.
Porch Poetry Collective
Porch Poetry Collective is a Hunterdon County, NJ-based group of poets. The group includes Nico Poko, Danny O'Neill, Spencer Soletto, and Clint Newton.
Dorothy Sabbarese with Hunterdon County Library
Our library fence line artist entry will be a fiber art cascading "fantasy garden", which will be constructed on site through various interactive elements. For example, people can simply attach pre-made leaves and flowers to the base sculpture, or they can get more involved and learn how to create their own elements to attach using simple fiber arts techniques that we will provide on-site instruction for.
Maggie Sullivan - Maggie May Crafts
Maggie is a multimedia artist, crafter & collector. Her love of crochet has grown over the last year and a half into Maggie May Craft. These crochet pieces are designed to make you smile and bring some color into your life. Follow Maggie May Craft on Instagram and reach out with any custom projects or commissions! Hope you enjoy!
Joe Waks
Joe Waks is a Bayonne, New Jersey painter, muralist, and printmaker. His creations underscore his passion for politics and popular culture. Waks has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia. He was a visiting artist at Lafayette College’s Experimental Printmaking Institute and a New Jersey Print and Paper Fellow at Rutgers University’s Brodsky Center. Joe Waks’ works are in the permanent collections of several corporations, museums, and colleges. You can see his large-scale public murals in Jersey City and North Bergen, Hudson County.
Gail Wingler
After the covid days, I found myself searching for something to put my creative mind back in place. I had worked alongside small children, developing their love Art, and missed this time in my life, so much! So, one day I pulled out my acrylic paints and started a new journey into my new world of art! I was obsessed, depressed, and then obsessed once again! This path healed my creative heart and gave me the inspiration, to believe in myself, and taught me to live in the moment and the colors. I am happiest sitting on a floor, surrounded by colors, mediums of all kinds, all types of brushes, art tools, pens, pencils, paper, canvases or anything that I can add color to! I encourage all around me to add color to their life, just for the experiences and adventures it can take you on.