“My mural, Won’t You be My Neighbor, was an incredible experience. Spanning over the course of many months, in both cold and warm weather, I spent many hours at the wall on the side of HLS bringing my characters to life. This was the first mural I’d ever attempted at this size, so I learned a lot as I went along. The entire mural was painted with one paintbrush, a time-devouring mistake I will never make again. The most amazing takeaways from my experience painting this mural was the warmth with which the community embraced me. At times this was presented as an offering from a passerby of a warm cup of hot chocolate. Other times it was simply a visit by a neighborhood family—I would ask the kids to help me paint and they would proudly add a little something to the mural. One time it was when I was invited, covered in paint and filthy, into Shakti Yoga & Living Arts for a once in a lifetime meditation session with a traveling Buddhist monk. All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and has changed my path in art.” — Brian McGowan

“The art community in SOMA is strong and always has been. Each year, we have Maplewood and South Orange seniors win awards in the Essex County Contest, and I am so pleased that the competition could continue under COVID. The range of subjects and artistic styles was better than ever, and some of our most talented seniors were able to participate. Well done everybody! — Cathy Rowe, Coordinator, SOMA Two Towns for All Ages

“My paintings and murals are inspired by the endless beauty that exists amidst the chaos of daily life. To exemplify this spectrum, I utilize a mixture of collage, abstraction and portraiture. Aside from these juxtapositions the population density and corresponding sensory overload of the NY/NJ metropolitan area provides plenty to ingest and process. Therefore, introspection is a factor. I approach every project as a boundless opportunity to learn and grow.”

— Lawrence Ciarallo

“I work from my own long exposure photographs. I’m fascinated by the distortions and compressed, simplified forms that appear in these blurred images, almost as if painting with the camera. These photos inform my paintings; I use the abstracted images to encourage my own ever-evolving freedom with the paint.” — Jay Pingree

“I am generally obsessed with repeating patterns, and was excited to be able to combine this with my adoration for our two towns. Also, I’m always interested in doodles and simple drawings of all sorts.”—Shauna Cagan

“My recent paintings explore the theme of memory and the sensory experiences conveyed during a memory. They are fictitious still lifes that depict obscure photorealistic vintage objects representing past sights, sounds, music, patterns, textures, and even smells from my life.” Moss Freedman

When Michael found out about the Mural project on Springfield Ave, he felt right away that it was a wonderful opportunity to make more art on the largest scale he had worked so far and to design a public mural with a positive message behind it, something that everyone can enjoy and admire. At that time, Michael and Viktorija had been residents of Maplewood for only a short time, but they already felt the need to give back to the community for such a wonderful place to raise their daughter, who is now 6, and this was a perfect way to say “Thank you”.

“Advancements and developments in science, technology, advertising and art, as well as in other technical and cultural realms, doubtlessly alter world view. Perception, knowledge and understanding evolve as new elements are introduced into the scheme of what is known. My work investigates the construction of visual knowledge and inquires into the ways vision, perception and recognition change.”
— Roberta Melzl