NJ sketchers at Morris Museum

Join us to sketch at Morris Museum

Flames, trains, and automata!

A day of flame working demos, a big model train exhibit, and musical mechanical automation.

NJ artist Paul J. Stankard’s revolutionary approach to flameworking and realistic botanical representations has elevated the humble paperweight to fine art.

As part of the Flame to Flower exhibit the Corning Museum of Glass will be presenting live presentations of glassworking.

The Mega Model Train Exhibit 

The nearly 300-square-foot train set is an ever-changing work of art surrounded by incredibly detailed and whimsical scenes. 

The Guinness Collection of Music and Automata

The 750 piece collection spans a miniature music box that fits into an 18-karat gold ring to the enormous Poppers “Rex” Orchestrion, which plays a whole orchestra of instruments and is powered by a complex pneumatic system that is over 100 years old. 

When: Friday, December 15th

Time: 11:00am

Where: The Morris Museum

6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ 07960

Adults $10

Seniors $8

Plan to use dry materials (you may be able to use watercolor)

Lunch - Bring your food and drink. There is a seating area we can gather in.

There are no fees to participate in the urban sketching event . All drawing skill levels are welcome.

SUNDAY, December 10, 2023: Westchester Sketchers at the Neuberger Museum, SUNY Purchase

 

The Neuberger Museum of Art, located at the heart of SUNY Purchase College, is a vital cultural resource of modern, contemporary, and African art for Westchester County, NY, and beyond.  From the mid-century American and African art that form the collection's core to the presentation of contemporary art, the museum continues the commitment of founding patron Roy R. Neuberger (1903-2010) by championing the art of our time.

Current exhibits include:

Dennis Oppenheim: The Assembly Line

Throughout his long career, Dennis Oppenheim explored a myriad of art practices: conceptual art, land art, body art, performance, and public art. Contemporary to other major American artists who grew out of the minimalist school that emerged in the late sixties, by the 1980s he had begun creating immersive sculptures.

The Assembly Line (with By-Products from a Mechanical Trance) is part of Oppenheim’s “Factory Series,” in which elaborate systems of industrial imagery become metaphors for men­tal activity, giving physical form to creative impulses and other cerebral processes. His work encompasses both the compulsive manufacture of notions and the cathartic alchemy of inspiration when ideas become artwork and transfer the artist’s meaning to another’s mind.

A Special Look: Louis Michel Eilshemius

The largest body of work by a single artist in the Neuberger Museum of Art’s collection is by Louis Michel Eilshemius, who is represented by more than a hundred paintings, watercolors, and drawings.

This exhibit features a focused group of works created by the artist between 1874 and 1909 that reflect his academic training and interest in the longstanding European tradition of landscape painting.  Like many of his predecessors from the nineteenth century, Eilshemius traveled throughout Europe and made several journeys to distant countries.  His works were created both “en plein air,” and in his studio after images from his sketchbook.

From Your Collection: Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Voices

This exhibition showcases the work of fifteen leading artists from across the Americas.   It features a selection of paintings, works on paper, photographs, and sculptures that have been donated to, or purchased by, the Neuberger Museum of Art over the last decade. Many of these works tie to global contemporary debates, while also referencing specific realities through a variety of voices in order to better understand the global nature of the world we live in, and explore the multiple voices at the base of fruitful contemporary debates that challenge it.

DETAILS:

DATE: SUNDAY, December 10, 2023.

Start time: 12:00 Noon
  

LOCATION: Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College https://neuberger.org
State University of New York, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577. Phone: 914-251-6100 

DIRECTIONS: https://www.purchase.edu/admissions/travel-and-transportation/#Directions

PARKING Information:
Museum visitors should park in the West 1 Visitor Parking Lot. From the main entrance to the Purchase College campus, turn left and continue on the West Loop for approximately one mile; the entrance to the West 1 parking lot will be on your right.

Use the pay station located near The Performing Arts Center (located near the ADA-accessible handicap parking spaces) to obtain your parking receipt. Select the duration of your stay and follow the on-screen instructions to obtain your printed receipt. Be sure to place the receipt face up on your vehicle’s dashboard.

The Museum is located on the Southwest side of the Main Campus Plaza.  Please walk up the stairs, near Parking West 1, and continue to walk straight, following the signs to the Neuberger Museum of Art. 

LUNCH: Due to our later start, we will not break for lunch.  Please bring a snack/lunch to have if you get hungry. There are no food options at the Museum Store.  However, there are options on campus.

SHOW and TELL: 3:00 PM. We will share our drawings and tell stories. This is the social part of our day and is not to be missed.

NOTES: 

• Admission is currently FREE for all visitors.
• Stools will be available from the Museum.
• During your visit, please remember these rules for the exhibit areas:
• No food or beverages 
• No flash photography
• No pens or markers (you may use pencils to write/draw)

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman at cathygutterman@verizon.net

Looking for us? 

Call/text: Cathy at (914) 625-0766 or Marianne at (914) 355-6507

SATURDAY: Sketch Outdoors in December?!?!

 

OUTDOORS!

I am astounded.  It looks like it's going to be warm enough to sketch outdoors.  In case you don't consider temperatures in the low 50s to be suitable, we have an indoor plan too.

OUTDOORS

We will be sketching at the southwest corner of central park.  We'll be meeting at the Maine National Monument, which honors the American sailors lost when the Navy vessel, the U.S.S. Maine, exploded in 1898 and sank in Havana harbor in Cuba.  The monument is located at the Merchants' Gate entrance to Central Park, at Columbus Circle.

INDOORS

We will sketch at the monument for a while .  You can decide if you want to stay outdoors and sketch in the park, or if you'd prefer to be indoors at the Warner Center on the other side of Columbus Circle.  There's lots to sketch at the Center -  stores, restaurants, and people rushing about shopping.  The basement has a Whole Foods and a cafeteria.

For outdoor sketchers we are within easy walking distance of an example of each of the three types of bridges found in Central Park - brick, stone or cast iron.  Lots to see and sketch, people walking, kids playing, lovers strolling,  dogs running around, as well as the park's permanent residents, the squirrels and birds.  Central Park is a joy for sketching - every vista pleases the eye.

DETAILS:

WHAT:  We’re sketching ​o​utdoors in the southwest corner of Central Park

WHEN:  We’ll meet at 10:00 AM ​S​ATURDAY, ​December ​9th, 2023- ​a​t the Maine National Monument in Columbus Circle (Eighth Avenue and West 59th Street)

WHERE:  See the map below,

HOW:  

-   By Subway:  

There are two sets of trains you can use:

• ​59th St - Columbus Circle - A, C, B, D, and the #1

By Car:  Parking is difficult 

LUNCH:  12:00 PM  - ​Bring your own, or purchase from local vendors and stores.  My hope is that we can eat together outdoors.  We'll make a plan to meet the indoor people.  (I'm being an optimist. If it's colder than expected we'll all be together drawing in the Warner Center.)

AFTERNOON:  1:00 PM  Back to sketching.

SHOW AND TELL:  3:00 PM  Location to be determined. This is the social part of our day where we will share our sketches, tell stories, and probably talk about art supplies.

NOTE:

-  Bring a stool - it gives you more options.  

​click to enlarge

Can't find us?  

Call or Text Mark - 973-809-9128

There are no fees or attendance taken. 

All drawing skill levels are welcome

​

Wednesday, December 6, 2023: Westchester Sketchers at Cast Hall

Join us as we return to the Institute for Classical  Architecture and Art's Cast Hall

Cast Hall

Long ago, before the Met Museum was the major institution that it is now and could afford the real statures that we now see in the Greek and Roman Galleries, they displayed plaster casts of the original statures.  Once the real statures replaced the plaster casts, the casts went into storage and were largely forgotten. Then the Met donated them to the ICAA, who restored them and put them on display in ... Cast Hall.  

But wait!  That's not all!

The building that houses the ICAA, The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, is an artifact by itself,  with a Lock Museum, a multi-level library with a stained glass ceiling, beautiful hallways, railings and an incredible sculpture of an arm (you have to see it for yourself).  When you get tired of drawing the statures walk into the hallway and sketch this building that is a true hidden gem of NYC. 

DATE:  WEDNESDAY December 6, 2023

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION:  The INSTITUTE FOR CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE and ART 

                       The MECHANICS AND TRADESMAN BUILDING

                        20 West 44th Street, NYC

TRANSPORTATION: B, D, F, M to 42nd Street/Bryant Park Station or 7 to 5th Ave Station. 

                    

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Cathy Gutterman at cathygutterman@verizon.net 
• Looking for us? Call Cathy at 914-625-0766 or Marianne at 914-355-6507. 
• Water and bathrooms are available 
• Bring your lunch or purchase it from the local food outlets
• You can work in wet media

Weekday Sketchers Celebrate the Season

Tis the Season! Let's Get Started!

The holiday season is magical in New York City.  So much to do and see it's hard to know where to begin.  The Weekend Sketchers have sketched the big tree at Rockefeller center this week, so now it's time to  capture the rest of the city's celebration.

This week on December 7th, the Weekday Sketchers will visit the Museum of the City of New York to sketch the NYC specific gingerbread houses.  Then we will travel to Bay Ridge Brooklyn on December 14th to sketch the Over-the-Top Christmas lights.  We will finish  December on the 20th at the Museum of Natural History to sketch the wonderful Origami Tree and see the special exhibits with 20 guest passes compliments of Muriel Applebaum.

Christmas week is up to you. Sketch your own decoration for whichever holiday you are celebrating. Sketch your meals, sketch your kids opening presents, sketch your loved ones sitting around your table!

Endless possibiltles!

But Wait!  The season's not over.....first week in January the magnificent tree at the Met Museum is still up for us to sketch.  

Watch for announcements for all of these activities on the Blog and Facebook. Also check the new calendar on the blog site for all th sketch information each month.  

Let's get started.  The  Museum of the City of New York has put up a show created by fellow New Yorkers highlighting their efforts in Gingerbread!  For more information and to watch a short video about these artists, click here: https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/gingerbread-nyc-great-borough-bake-0

DATE: THURSDAY DECEMBER 7, 2023

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF New York

                        1220 FIFTH AVE AT 103RD STREET

TRANSPORTATION: 6 TRAIN TO 103 St. Walk 3 blocks west to Fifth Ave,  2 ir 3 train to 110th Street.  Walk one block east to 5th Ave then south to the museum

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us?  Call or text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• There is an entrance fee of $20 for adults and $16 for Seniors HOWEVER, the AAM card is accepted You can also use many other NYC specific discount cards ( Library discounts, city passes, etc) 
• You can use a stool
• Be prepared to work in dry materials
• Water, bathrooms and limited food service is available on site
• Please be aware that some of the dates for sketching over the next few weeks will be on Thursdays as well as Wednesdays. Please make sure to check each week's announcements. 

SATURDAY: Sketch Rockefeller Center

Saturday, ​December 2, 2023

There is probably no better place in all of NYC to feel the Holiday mood than Rockefeller Center.  The ice skaters, the tree, all the lights and the holiday store windows at Saks, it’s all there in a two block radius.  Best of all there is a warm, dry indoors, an underground city, that surrounds the area.  It's filled with stores and restaurants.

Our meeting spot is a little tricky to describe but it’ll be easy to find.  As you look across the skating rink at the tree you will notice windows​ down at the level of the skaters.  These windows have a view of the rink and the skaters, it’s below street level.   To get there go into 30 Rock (30 Rockefeller Center) and go down one flight.   Try to get as close to the tree ​on the left side as you look out - that’s where we’ll meet.   ​(See photo below so you know what to expect.​)

We will be in the Rockefeller Center area for the day sketching the tourists, the stores, the lights and the holiday mood.​  We will eat lunch together and have our Show and Tell using the chairs and tables they provide and our own stools.

​DETAILS

What:   We will be sketching Rockefeller Center (30 Rockefeller Center, between W. 49-50th Streets / Avenue of the Americas and Fifth Avenue)

Where:   We’re meeting by the window that looks out at the skating rink  This is one flight down from street level.  (see photo)

​Looking out at the skaters

When:  Meet at ​Saturday, ​December 2, 2023 - 10 AM.  Sleeping late?  Come anyway - we’ll be there the whole day. 

How:

-   By Subway:  

• 5th Ave and 53rd St. - E, M train

• Lexington Ave and 51 St - 4, 6 train

• 47-50 Sts - Rockefeller Cntr - E, D, F, and M trains

• 49 St - N, R, W trains

Lunch:  12:​00 PM .  Bring your own or rely on the numerous vendors and stores in the area   Our lunch location will be by the tables near the windows overlooking the skating rink

Afternoon:  1:​00 PM  Back to sketching

Show and Tell:  3:00 PM - We’ll find a likely spot (possibly where we had lunch) to share our work, tell stories and talk about what artists talk about.

NOTE:

-     Bring a stool, it gives you more options.  

Can't find us?  

Call or Text Mark - 973-809-9128

There are no fees or attendance taken. 

All drawing skill levels are welcome

​

THURSDAY, November 30, 2023: Westchester Sketchers at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers

 

The Hudson River Museum is a preeminent cultural institution in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area.  Situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York, the HRM’s mission is to engage, inspire, and connect diverse communities through the power of the arts, sciences, and history.

Current exhibitions include:

Kindred Worlds: The Collection of Priscila and Alvin Hudgins

Drawn from the private collection of Priscila and Alvin Hudgins III, Kindred Worlds reveals the couple’s deep and enduring devotion to the arts—not solely as a mode of creative expression but also as an intimate form of world-making. Includes artistic expressions from Derrick Adams, Jordan Casteel, David Hammons, Naudine Pierre, Bony Ramírez, and more talents.

Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art

From Julie Buffalohead and Kiki Smith to Walton Ford and James Prosek, the artists in this exhibition represent another stage in the evolution of animal art.

It Takes Two: Unexpected Pairings

The power of an artwork is often amplified when in dialogue or debate with another. This exhibit explores the resonances and dissonances that arise when unrelated objects are set side by side.

Optional: 

Gilded Age Glenview: Historic House Tour at 1 PM  

Travel back in time to the Gilded Age! Enjoy a 45-minute guided tour of historic Glenview’s six fully restored period rooms decorated for the holidays. Advance tickets are strongly encouraged.

DETAILS: 

DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 2023

LOCATION: Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Ave. Yonkers, NY (914) 963-4550

DIRECTIONS: https://www.hrm.org/plan-your-visit/

From NYC: Take the Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line local train to Glenwood Station. Walk 1 block east on Glenwood Avenue, and then turn left onto Ravine Avenue. At the end of Ravine Avenue, enter Trevor Park. Follow the path to the main entrance of the Museum.

START TIME: 12:00 PM (Opening time)

LUNCH: Since the Museum opens at Noon, we won’t have a scheduled time for lunch.  Please bring your own lunch/snack, or purchase something from the Museum Shop.

SHOW and TELL: 2:30 PM A classroom has been reserved for us from 2:30-5 PM. This is the social portion of our day when we will share our drawings, techniques, and stories. It is a time not to be missed.

NOTES:

• Admission: $13 for Adults, $9 for Seniors. Free for members. Tickets are available for purchase online or at (914) 963-4550 during business hours. Tickets are non-refundable.  Reservations are accepted by credit card only.
• Museum passes to the HRM are available at the Greenburgh Public Library and other Westchester libraries with your library card.
• Tickets for Glenview tours and planetarium shows are an additional purchase and are not included in general admission.  Adults +$7 each; Seniors +$6 each.
• Stools will be available for our use.
•  DRY MATERIALS ONLY (in the Galleries). Wet materials may be used in the classroom.

Please RSVP to Cathy (cathygutterman@verizon.net).

Looking for us? Call/text: Cathy at (914) 625-0766  or Marianne at (914) 355-6507

There are no fees. All drawing skill levels are welcome.