The Artists of Bordentown are pleased to announce their upcoming Holiday Art Show, scheduled for Saturday, December 14, and Sunday, December 15, 2024 12pm to 5pm, at Old City Hall, located at 11 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown, NJ. The exhibition will feature seven distinguished local artists, each bringing a unique perspective and medium to the showcase. Full bio for each artist found below the Introduction section of this page.
Introduction
Elizabeth Aubrey: Aubrey Image Elizabeth’s work captures abstract interpretations of nature and industrial landscapes. A Bordentown resident with studies at the University of Colorado, School of Visual Arts in NYC, and Mercer County College, she has exhibited in prestigious venues and received awards such as the Mercer County Purchase Award. Elizabeth also curates exhibitions in Trenton, contributing to the local art community.
Al Barker: An award-winning wildlife painter, Al specializes in oil and watercolor mediums. His works have been featured in numerous national exhibitions, including the prestigious Salmagundi Club in New York CityAl Barker Landscape.
Georgie Chalker -With degrees in graphic design, web design, and visual communications, I’ve been a multimedia artist across various industries since 1981. Recently, my artistic journey came full circle after taking an abstract oil painting class at Johanna Furst Studios in Lambertville, NJ. Painting has become my form of meditation, alleviating anxiety and inspiring a more positive outlook. I now live in Bordentown City with my husband and three cats, and I’m thrilled to share my work in this show.2024-GChalker-Calla-Lilies-oils-18×24-1 and
Ann Darlington: A self-taught landscape and nature photographer, Ann’s published works capture the serene beauty of natural environments. She generously supports local nonprofits by allowing the use of her images to promote their initiatives.Ann Darlington untitled-55-Edit
Marsha Dowshen: With a B.F.A. in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and further studies in ceramics, Marsha creates functional and decorative pottery. Her unique glazes and techniques have been showcased in over 25 art and craft shows annually across the region Marsha Dowshen Creature Vase
Owen Leichner, Wood Turner is a talented 13-year-old woodworker who has been honing his craft for three years. His passion for wood turning is fueled by creativity and a dedication to studying each piece of wood to highlight its natural beauty and uniqueness. Owen sources materials from found logs, trees being taken down, and purchased lumber, applying his growing knowledge of grain patterns, moisture levels, and drying techniques to ensure the success of his pieces.
Wood turning runs in Owen’s family, with his father serving as his technical advisor and his grandfather having been a master wood turner. Through trial, perseverance, and family tradition, Owen is carving out his own path in this art form.
Debbie Pey: An award-winning artist and retired art educator with a 30-year career in Burlington County, Debbie’s mixed media works have been exhibited at venues such as The College of New Jersey Gallery and the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie MansionDebby Pey April Love.
Maggie Rose: Maggie’s art reflects the dynamic essence of people, animals, and landscapes. With a B.A. in Painting, Sculpture, and Art History from SUNY Potsdam and an M.A. from Columbia University, she has worked alongside renowned artists and now serves as an Associate Video Producer while maintaining her own studio.Maggie Rose Sayen Garden II 2024
Andrea Schlaffer: A semi-retired accountant turned artist, Andrea collects materials from various sources to create whimsical characters and assemblages. Her innovative approach transforms everyday items into unique art pieces.AndreaSchlaffer
Leaping Dog Art Studio: Leaping Dog Art Studio’s goal is, “to provide a creative space for all” or more specifically, “to provide a welcoming, inviting, inspirational space where people (of all ages and of all levels) are given opportunities to be creative (via Kids Classes, Family Art Nights, Paint Nights or Clay Nights, Ceramic Classes, Private Art Lessons, and various Artistic Workshops).
This space also provides unique opportunities for locals to meet other like-minded individuals. In this way, we help support creative individuals and help build a special community of people who value the arts and art education. Leaping Dog Art Studios is proud to have celebrated their 9 years of being in business last spring.
Leaping Dog Art Studios 325 Farnsworth Ave. Bordentown, NJ 08505
T: 609-400-5623
The exhibition is open from 12pm to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12pm to 5pm on Sunday. Admission is free, and all are welcome to experience the diverse artistic expressions of Bordentown’s talented artists.
Artists Full Biographies
Elizabeth Aubrey studied art at The University of Colorado, School of Visual Arts in New York City and Mercer County College, NJ.
Elizabeth Aubrey, a resident of the City of Bordentown, is a Greater Trenton artist noted for works depicting abstract interpretations of nature, open space, and industrial sites.
She has exhibited at the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton City Museum, Prince Street Gallery in New York City, Muse Gallery in Philadelphia, Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, and the Plainsboro Public Library.
In addition to being included in the Trenton Artists Workshop’s international exhibition in Moscow, she has participated in group shows featuring prominent American artists Mel Leipzig, Robert Birmelin, Huey Lee Smith, and Bernarda Bryson Shahn.
Elizabeth is a recipient of a Mercer County Purchase Award and Best in Show from The Artists of Yardley. She has coordinated exhibitions with the Trenton’s Sage Coalition, curates the current series of exhibitions at the Trenton Free Public Library and is on the exhibitions committee at The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie.
Artist Statement I work to communicate tranquility and reflection to the viewer. I wish to trigger the viewer’s imagination, not of a specific place or time but something that is from their experiences.
The changing environment influences my work. We are surrounded by the disappearance of natural places that are rapidly being replaced by new homes and warehouses. I like to show natural elements competing with the constant conflict of industrial influences. Before the pandemic, I drove down the Turnpike each day. Along the way, new warehouses were being built at an alarming pace. Yet no matter what, there is evidence of nature still working to maintain a balance.
Selected Exhibits: The First Forty: Artworks, Trenton, NJ. Selections from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage
· Commission permanent collection
· Art & Soul, TAWA at Ellarslie – Trenton City Museum, NJ
· TAWA Salon Show, Artworks, Trenton, NJ
· Eyes on Trenton, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
· Realism/Surrealism, Ellarslie – Trenton City Museum, NJ
· New Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
· Celebration of Racial Harmony, Pavillion Gallery, Mt. Holly, NJ
· TAWA/Soviet Exchange Exhibition, Moscow, USSR
· TAWA Group Exhibition – MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
· Four Women Artist’s, The Gallery at MCCC, Trenton, NJ
Al Barker the artist, Al Barker, was born in New Jersey and raised within the New York Metropolitan area where he learned to appreciate the outdoors by spending a great deal of time hunting and fishing.
These activities, no doubt, influenced his decision to pursue academic studies in Environmental Science where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forestry and later received a National Fellowship for Doctorate work. After these academic studies, Al became a Forestry educator and worked in private industry, and eventually taught his trade on the post-secondary level.
Without formal art training, he began drawing and painting wildlife scenes to assist with his teaching curricula and has been influenced by the works of Milton Weiler and Don Stone, N.A. Presently, as a full-time professional artist, Al specializes in smaller sized paintings, completing works in both oil and watercolor, as well as rendering many small editions of etchings.
Al Barker is the only professional artist that has exhibited continuously at the Easton Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland, since its inception over fifty years ago.
Al has won over fifty major awards in premier art competitions and principal exhibitions such as the Grand National American Artists Professional League, New York; Greenwich Workshop Galleries, Connecticut, and California; Settlers West,
Arizona; Gallery One, Ohio; and the prestigious Salmagundi Club (Emeritus status) in New York City.
Al’s work is displayed in many National Miniature Exhibitions in the continental United States. Al’s work has been purchased for permanent and private collections, as well as the White House fine arts collections.
Georgie Chalker – Professionally, I have degrees in graphic design, web design, and visual communications. I have worked in various industries as a multimedia artist since 1981.
My recent artistic career was rebooted after attending an abstract oil painting class at Johanna Furst Studios in Lambertville (http://www.johannafurst.com), New Jersey, (2023). The genre has been a full-circle experience, considering that drawing and painting were what started me on a path as a multimedia artist. Another facet of oil painting that I would Ilke to research more, is why painting has alleviated a lifelong battle with anxiety. Painting is now my form of meditation. It is documented that enacting the creative brain can bring on a calming effect (Your Brain On Art, 2003). Coming out of the pandemic with an inspiration to paint; has pulled me into a more positive state of mine. I continue to take classes and appreciate the opportunity to show my works within this show. I live in Bordentown city with my husband and three cats.
Follow my portfolio at georgiechalker.art and @georgiechalkerart. My contact is gurl@georgiechalker.art and 646-833-5566
Ann Darlington – Photographer – An award winning, published, self-taught landscape and nature photographer. Lives in Bordentown, New Jersey.
Multiple nonprofits use her images in support of their projects.
To view more of Ann Darlington’s work go to her website. annedarlington.myportfolio.com
Marsha Dowshen – Clay Artist – From the time I was born in Tenafly, NJ on January 23, 1945 (012345 for numerology buffs) my love for crayons and mud set me on my unrelenting path of becoming a hands-on visual artist.
My focus was so strong that I only applied to one school, The Rhode Island School of Design. RISD gave me the focus and tools to help me continue my path. I graduated with a B.F.A in Painting, with some secondary studies in ceramics — that later became the most important part of my work.
From RISD I became the only accepted American graduate student at the Royal College of Art in London. My oil paintings were well received and found their way into gallery shows and public and private collections in the UK and the US.
In the mid-1970s, after the birth of my first child, I quickly learned that removing mud and clay from the hands and clothes of a two-year-old was a lot easier than removing oil paint. So, my underlying love for clay created a natural way to refocus my art. I started doing independent study at Mercer County Community College, finding unique ways to combine my two-dimensional work with functional and decorative pottery.
I developed my own ceramics studio where I began experimenting by translating my painter’s color and design sense into the art of wheel throwing and glazing of objects that could be both functional as well as pieces of art in themselves; “three-dimensional canvases” as I like to call them. I’ve developed many unique glazes and application techniques along the way. I have been making and showing these pieces at fine art and craft shows (over 25 shows a year in some years) in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware ever since.
Owen Leichner, Wood Turner
Owen is an avid woodworker, tinkerer, and creative 13 year old. He started turning wood 3 years ago, and has developed his skills through trial, failure, and perseverance. Owen’s creativity in form study, functionality, and practicality drives each bowl towards its own uniqueness. His work is informed through studying the wood blank for features and grain to exploit the integral beauty of each piece.
Owen gets his turning material from many sources – found logs in nature, looking for trees being taken down, as well as using his profits to buy dimensioned lumber from yard sales and lumber stores. Understanding grain patterns, moisture levels and drying rates so the wood does not crack, and tree species are all aspects to master for bowls to succeed.
Wood turning is in the family. Owen’s father is a lighting and product designer, and woodworker (and is Owen’s technical advisor), and his grandfather was himself a master wood turner. Owen is just following the family tradition.
Debbie Pey is an award-winning artist-teacher who is retired from a 30 year career as an art educator in the public schools of Burlington County. Beyond her degree in art education, Debbie has studied textiles, puppetry, painting, papermaking, and collage.
Between 1980 and 2000, she performed, made costumes and designed sets with the Bordentown Community Players. With her eclectic background, Debbie enjoys working in mixed media.
The TCNJ Gallery; Princeton Windrows, Princeton NJ; J.B. Kline’s Gallery in Lambertville; Palmyra Cove Nature Center, Bordentown’s Farnsworth Gallery, Abstract Expressions Galley in Mt Holly and Gallery 28 East in Burlington have all shown Debbie’s work.
Juried shows to Debbie’s credit include The WAA Juried Show at Virtua Memorial Hospital, and the BCAG Annual Robert Ransley Juried Show, both in Mt. Holly, NJ; Gallery 125, ArtWorks and The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion, all in Trenton, the 15th Annual Juried Show Artsbridge in Lambertville, Perkins Center for the Arts Works on Paper 2013, and Creative Tension 2015 and 2016 and Fall Open Juried Show 2019 Moorestown, NJ, Medford Arts Center Abstract Show 2019 as well as the Philadelphia Sketch Club Works on Paper 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Selected awards:
· Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1994
· People’s Choice Award: WAA Members Exhibit, Smithville Mansion, 2011
· Sculpture Best in Show: The Ellarslie Open, Trenton City Museum 2011
· First Place: Markeim Arts Center, Fiber and Fabric Show, Haddonfield, NJ, 2013
· Juror’s Choice: Markeim Arts Center, Russet and Rouge Show, Haddonfield, NJ, 2013
· Honorable Mention Philadelphia Sketch Club Works on Paper Show 2015
· Honorable Mention Ellarslie Open, Trenton City Museum 2015
· Best in Show Markeim Arts Center Educators exhibit Haddonfield, NJ 2018
· Museum Purchase Award Ellarslie Open, Trenton City Museum 2019
· People’s Choice Award Medford Arts Center Medford, NJ 2019
· First Place Perkins Center for the Arts Fall Show Moorestown, NJ 2019
Maggie Rose’s artwork strives to reflect the energy of humans, animals, and the landscape. She sees all the arts as critical to enhancing our communications, as well serving to document life with imagery at a subliminal level.
Maggie’s education includes a B.A. Painting, Sculpture and Art History from SUNY Potsdam; an M.A. from Columbia Teacher’s College in Communication, Computing and Technology in Education, and a 2-year apprenticeship and 2 years on staff, at The Johnson Atelier in Princeton NJ. She also studied painting with Heather Barros in Princeton, NJ.
While living in New York City (1983 – 1989) Maggie worked as an artist’s assistant for Alice Aycock, Lauren Ewing, Jane Freilicher and Julian Schnabel. After a corporate career as a data analyst and data architect, she taught Math, Art, and Technology to Elementary Students in Trenton and Princeton. Since 2020 Maggie has worked as Associate Video Producer for Telequest, Inc. and maintains her own studio.
Andrea Schlaffer is a semi-retired accountant who never thought she was artistic but was always envious of people who could express their creativity, whatever the medium.
After attending many fine art and craft shows as well as being inspired and encouraged by the artists in her life, she decided to see what she could do. So……in the past few years she’s collected “stuff” from various antique and second-hand stores, yard sales, flea markets, and, she says she’s not embarrassed to say, on garbage day around her town.
Now that her friends and family know about her hobby, they also scout for “spare parts” for her. Andrea says it’s always an adventure to see how those parts come together and what character emerges from the pile of stuff/treasures.
Old City Hall - Bordentown 
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