Farewell Post: Only a Hiatus

After this week’s blog posts, I’ll be waiting out the rest of 2012. These upcoming posts may very well be the last on this blog, but it’s much more likely that I’ll be returning in some fashion. Some incarnation of this blog will be continued in January 2013, possibly incorporated into another blog.

The narrow focus of chiefly Cumberland County history has been good for discovering oft-overlooked people, places, events and ideas. But I may broaden the scope. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’ll be something more ambitious. That’s a scary word that carries a connotation of –gulp—responsibility. And there is a trend of my oversold and overstated goals floundering completely. So I’ll be keeping it, whatever it turns out to be, simple and tight.

My first “greatest hit” is The First Pioneer Artist of Glasstown Speaks. I most enjoy watching the Dennis Tawes video, for he is a creative spirit. It didn’t take any prodding from me (nor much post-production editing) for him to weave together a coherent story from his disparate ruminations on art. My second greatest hit, and the post I most enjoyed writing was last week’s on The Tea Burning of 1774. It’s an event with a number of elements I find appealing: early American history, rebellion & social unrest, economics and even a little maritime activity. My third and fourth greatest hits are An Insight Into Glass and A Brief Comment on Glass Art. Glass is so central to South Jersey, especially Cumberland County. Glass, as an industry, commodity and artform, is so interwoven with the history of the area that it deserved three posts. David Iams is also very informative. My fifth greatest hit, and the post that got the most attention and feedback was the Moron post. A little low on the content side, I thought, but that will be fixed very soon. Very soon.

Thanks. After Monday, check back in January for updates.

The First Pioneer Artist of Glasstown Speaks

Fourteen years ago the city of Millville sought to establish a hub of economic and cultural activity. The efforts to renovate High Street into a centerpiece of the local community led to the creation of the Glasstown Arts District. What is ostensibly six blocks of stores and galleries has courted artists from across the country to reside there. The Pioneer Artist program offers loans of up to $5,000 at 0% interest to artists relocating there from elsewhere. The first Pioneer artist was Dennis Tawes from Jacksonville, who operates the Amethyst Gallery, a small cottage in a series of cottages located at 212 North High Street. His style is primarily that of wildly vibrant expressionism. The walls of his gallery are adorned with paintings, some of them naturalist, some of them abstract, all of them somewhat quirky. In the video below he goes into some of the detail of his process and reveals what he thinks art is.

Some of his work is available at his website. Or his work can be seen on the Third Fridays of every month.

A Brief Comment on Glass Art

I recently spoke again with Wheaton Arts docent David Iams, who remarked on the changes in glass art. How recent innovations contrast with traditional techniques that had characterized glass art for centuries.

Welcome

Hello and welcome. I’m starting to become enthusiastic about history. My own mind tends toward the macroscopic upon hearing the word “history”. History is the nation, Western Civilization, feudalism, Punic War galley battles, Mesopotamia, cavemen, whatever lightning-striking-a-volcano alchemy created human life. However, there is a magnitude of history that is essentially in your backyard, and in mine. It is local history, and the relevance of the history that has occured in one’s township or county should not be understated. The history that has occured in one’s township or county is denotative of the historical trends of the nation, in many ways making local history reflective of national history. Just about every township or county in America has its old firehouses, its old courthouses, its old houseshouses. These things are landmarks. Simple objects and buildings that have escaped mundanity by virtue of still standing over the course of multiple generations. They are relics.

I stated before that I am enthusiastic about history but enthusiasm does not translate into expertise. I will be exploring historical sites and other old-looking, pretty-looking things. Along the way I will talk to people, experts in the field of history, those who have the credentials and/or wear bow ties. As I learn new information about these historical sites in my county, shortly thereafter so will you.