Mercer County Senior Art Show

The Mercer County Office of Aging is so active in our area that we sometimes take their efforts for granted. Their programs range from Jersey Fresh farm vouchers to the senior nutrition programs, meals on wheels, and so many others it would take my whole blog to list them all. But my absolute most favorite is the annual senior art contest.

Here are some quick notes.

New Jersey's 21 counties hold individual art shows and each reflects their regional personalities and regulations. Some even charge for entries but permit more than one piece of art per artist. The county winners go to the New Jersey Senior Art Show in September. This program is a wonderful expression and acknowlegement of our seniors and their abilities.

This year the Mercer County version of the competition is held at Meadow Lakes in East Windsor. This beautiful venue has generous display area and their hospitality makes the entire show a real treat.

Notes for this year's competition:

Please pre-register your art and mail your entry form to the Mercer County Office on Aging, 640 South Broad Street, PO Box 8068, Trenton, NJ 08611. If you need a form, please call 609-989-6661 and they will get one out immediately so you do not miss the July 20 deadline for entries. This is to give the Office of Aging and Mercer Division of Cultural and Heritage personnel an idea of the number of persons in the show and how their work will be hung and displayed.

Bring your art work, (one per senior citizen over 60), to 300 Meadow Lakes, East Windsor on July 25 from 9:00am to 2:00pm. The reception will be held on August 5 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. All works not going on to the State Show must be retrieved after the reception at 3:30 pm.

This year the competition is split into professional and non-professional categories. A professional is someone who has sold artwork through commercial channels, exhibited in a professional gallery, or holds or has held a professional membership in a guild or organization. Everyone else is considered non-professional.

All works must be original,not previously entered in the county show and must be completed within the past three years. Digging under your bed for old watercolors does not meet the rules...heck that was when you were not as experienced anyway...right? The feeling is that this work truly must represent our seniors and their ablities as they are today.

Categories are:

Acrylic, Craft (no kits or molds) and does include stained glass, Computer generated imagery using a graphics program such as Photoshop and Illustrator,etc. but no scanned images, Drawing with ink or pencil and markers,Mixed Media which combines two or more media, oil painting, Pastel and charcoal,etc.,Photography using a film based, digital or pinhole camera in either black and white or color, Prints such as etching and engraving ranging to silkscreen, Watercolor and gouache... whew!

Oh, one more thing, your paintings 2-D work must meet dimensions: Maximum 36 inches, Minimum 11 inches and no exceptions. Sculpture must not exceed 18 inches in any direction including base. Please frame with plexi if your work is large over 24 inches to prevent damage and if your work is valued over $400, it is suggested that you also carry private insurance.

Wow! Just thinking about those delicious refreshents at the reception on August 5 makes it all worthwhile. Springpoint shows us terrific hospitality.

Hope to see you there,

Seniors Rock!