artists | Jenn Hall

Jersey’s Best: Artist’s papercraft scenes evoke the wilderness of the imagination

January 9, 2020 by jennhallwrites

There is a quiet that descends in winter and brings nature into sharp focus. Wind-rustled branches throw shadows. Snow crunches as a trotting deer makes footfalls just beyond view. The world seems just a bit more ethereal. Gazing upon a papercut shadow box from Casey Lynch feels like that. Her images, gathered under the moniker Squirrel Tacos, are surreal yet grounded in a textured ecosystem where animals play out their own narratives. Consider “The Secret Meeting.” It is high winter, […]

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Jersey’s Best: Made in Jersey – Connection to the sea inspires artist’s nautical creations

May 9, 2019 by jennhallwrites

We tend to see barrier islands as constant — stationary across bridges — and beckoning the swimsuit-clad masses come summertime. Yet, as with certain creative souls, the nature of a barrier island is to drift. Turn back the clock 20,000 years, and the Barnegat Peninsula on which Lavallette sits lived farther out at sea, near the continental shelf, said jewelry artist, metalsmith and former environmental scientist Jen O’Reilly. “As sea levels rise through melting glaciers, a barrier island’s nature is to retreat […]

Categories: artists, on the water • Tags: oysters

Jersey’s Best: Through an artist’s looking-glass menagerie

February 28, 2019 by jennhallwrites

When sharing anecdotes, Paul J. Stankard, 75, tends to find sweetness in things. “This is a sweet story…” he’ll begin with a smile. It’s an interesting quality in a master artist who has spent a lifetime bending glass to his will using fire. Stankard is recognized as the father of the modern glass paperweight, celebrated from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Louvre. His glasswork — self-contained botanical worlds — have a time-stopping quality. For the artist, they’re a […]

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Inside Jersey: The Inspiration / Made in Jersey – Arnge Designs

May 16, 2018 by jennhallwrites

When one’s mind is tuned to color and lines, all the world is a muse. Such is the case for art director-turned-pattern master Mike Dawson, who finds inspiration everywhere — from the industrial designs of Christopher Dresser to the vibrant hues of ’60s-era “Star Trek” episodes. “When I was a kid, it was ‘Lost in Space,’ ‘Space: 1999’ and all of those really bold, graphic TV shows,” Dawson says. “It was all mod and futurism on TV. That’s what I was […]

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Inside Jersey: The Inspiration / Made in Jersey – Sara Setzer Feltworks

April 3, 2018 by jennhallwrites

Felting is an art steeped in history. Look back a millennium, and you find the link: women transforming wool into warmth using enduring techniques. This connection inspires fiber artist Sara Setzer, 35. “Fiber arts are a deeply rooted women’s craft,” she says. “The fact that you can take a single hair from an animal and turn it into a fabric that’s super-strong just by using water and soap and some elbow grease … there’s something magical in there.” Read more… […]

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Jenn Hall

Writer. Wanderer. Always hungry. IACP / AFJ / Eddy winner. 2019 Best American Food Writing Notable.

Category Archives: artists

Jersey’s Best: Artist’s papercraft scenes evoke the wilderness of the imagination

Jersey’s Best: Made in Jersey – Connection to the sea inspires artist’s nautical creations

Jersey’s Best: Through an artist’s looking-glass menagerie

Inside Jersey: The Inspiration / Made in Jersey – Arnge Designs

Inside Jersey: The Inspiration / Made in Jersey – Sara Setzer Feltworks