By Adriane Berg • Photos by Ricardo Barros.com
As the spring sets in, get ready for a heavy dose of creativity. This is the time of year when many of us want to paint, draw, write, and be inspired. There is no better place for this than the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. Check out their website at groundsforsculture.org. Founded in 1991, the park boasts thirty-five acres with two hundred and fifty sculpture installations from a who’s who of today’s creators.
This year is the Grounds’ 10th anniversary, and they are celebrating in a variety of ways. For example, the tenth of every month is free admission day, there is a 10% discounts at their lovely shops, and the 10th visitor on the free days gets a prize package.
For those of you who want to actively create your own art, there are many opportunities for hands-on learning. Don’t wait to reserve your spot for Chakaia Booker’s tutorial on how to create your own outdoor sculpture with found and recycled materials, March 27th, or her May 2nd gallery talk. There is a four week photography class starting in April, and a three-session hands-on art class starting in May. The latter promises you will create a wooden relief in the style of Louise Nevelson, plastics and tire sculpture a la Booker, and glass and concrete pieces in the style of Sheri Warner Hunter. Margareta Warlick is the instructor.
And if you find your creative artistry wielding a knife and fork, the dinners at the five star Rat’s Restaurant are sublime. Consider the New Moon romantic three-course meal plus moonlit tour of the Grounds, or the Prosecco or wild mushroom tasting dinner with wine parings. Many of these are coming up in March and early April, so make reservations now.index
If clay art, painting, or yoga are on your list of “most dos” this season, classes start in May and continue through June.
If you haven’t at least toured the premises, you are in for a mighty treat. The Grounds are beautiful and the sculpture first rate. Children are more than welcome, with a Family Day learning to create art with bubble wrap free with admission slated to be held on May 22. There will be popcorn candy and a balloon man on April 18th for a Day at the Fair, to commemorate the Grounds’ location in the same park as the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds.
Finally, if you are a writer, you will find plenty to inspire you. A poetic calm pervades the air. If it brings out the poet in you, June 7th is your day to publicly debut your work along with musicians and writers of every ilk.