With Waves Water, and Wildlife Art Show Sunday in Avalon
The “Art For a Cause” community art show will have a large Ocean City presence. But before that statement could be made, Ocean City High School art teacher Paul Matusz had some hurdles to overcome.
“My students weren’t used to producing art and not keeping it,” said Matusz, now in his 10
th year as a teacher at OCHS. “Also, when they heard about who would benefit from their work, they didn’t respond immediately. But once they learned the personal nature of the cause, they really embraced it and became excited.”
The show, “Waves, Water and Wildlife,” will take place Sunday April 24 at the Princeton Bar & Grill, 2008 Dune Drive in Avalon, from 3 to 6 pm.
All proceeds from the event, dedicated to those who suffer from addiction, will benefit youth at risk in Cape May County. In addition to Matusz’ approximately 20 students who are participating, there will be works displayed by art students from Lower Township and Middle Township High Schools.
The idea for the show grew from a similar collaboration among the three schools last year, when the students painter the enclosure for the otters who live at the Cape May County Zoo.
“That was a big success,” said Matusz. “There aren’t always opportunities for schools and students to collaborate, even though we may be located close to each other.”
The event’s creator is Karen Biederman, an art teacher at Middle Township High School, Matusz said. “She didn’t exactly say what the situation was, but indicated the cause was really important to her on a personal level. That made all the difference to my students. Artists are emotional.”
Biederman applied for and received a grant which paid for the purchase of 100 canvasses which were dispersed to the students.
Matusz explained how important it is for talented individuals to give back to those less fortunate. He also communicated the idea that professional artists strive for people to want to hang their work up in their homes.
He also told them about the guidelines for the show’s theme and how each student could reach a comfort level with it.
“Not everybody wants to or feels they can paint an ocean or water-based painting, and we also have drawings among the works on canvas,” he said. “Also, for the sake of the show and people who come to it, not everybody wants that kind of art…or they already have one or two in their homes. We needed to have that variety.”
As a result, the “Wildlife” segment of the show is represented by a tiger, a wolf, even flowering plant life.
The assignment came for the show with a tight timeframe. Each work had to be completed within a month, Matusz said. “Not much time,” he said. “And we were working around the (standardized testing which has been taking place at the High School) for the last two weeks.”
All that notwithstanding, the students came through with, as they say in the art world, flying colors.
“We got to a place where each student reached his or her comfort level,” Matusz said. “I can honestly say out of the 20 of my students’ works, no two are alike.”
