“I wanted to showcase friends, and when I saw them laughing I thought — how great it would be to capture that because of the hard times we are all going through. And when you laugh it helps the soul and makes you feel happy again. Reminding all of us about the good there is, especially in our community.”
—Tessa Ella Goldstein

Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture is pleased to announce Tessa Elle Goldstein as the 1st place winner of the MAPLEWOOD 2020 PHOTO CONTEST. Tessa’s photo, “Laughter is the Best Medicine,” with 503 votes brought joy and chuckles to all who voted for it. Tessa is 11 years old and a photography enthusiast. 2nd Place was awarded to Joy Yagid and 3rd Place to Claire Sinclair.

Lydia Johnson’s passion for encouraging children to create dances led to the founding of the Lydia Johnson Dance School in 1998. Lydia Johnson Dance (LJD), the Professional Dance Company was founded in 1999.

”Johnson is a craftsman and a poet; her works, which stress the ensemble and attend closely to the music, have an ebb and flow in addition to a strong emotional current. The basis of her technique is ballet, and her dancers are strong.” — The New Yorker Magazine

“My mural, Won’t You be My Neighbor, was an incredible experience. Spanning over the course of many months, in both cold and warm weather, I spent many hours at the wall on the side of HLS bringing my characters to life. This was the first mural I’d ever attempted at this size, so I learned a lot as I went along. The entire mural was painted with one paintbrush, a time-devouring mistake I will never make again. The most amazing takeaways from my experience painting this mural was the warmth with which the community embraced me. At times this was presented as an offering from a passerby of a warm cup of hot chocolate. Other times it was simply a visit by a neighborhood family—I would ask the kids to help me paint and they would proudly add a little something to the mural. One time it was when I was invited, covered in paint and filthy, into Shakti Yoga & Living Arts for a once in a lifetime meditation session with a traveling Buddhist monk. All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and has changed my path in art.” — Brian McGowan

“The art community in SOMA is strong and always has been. Each year, we have Maplewood and South Orange seniors win awards in the Essex County Contest, and I am so pleased that the competition could continue under COVID. The range of subjects and artistic styles was better than ever, and some of our most talented seniors were able to participate. Well done everybody! — Cathy Rowe, Coordinator, SOMA Two Towns for All Ages

“My paintings and murals are inspired by the endless beauty that exists amidst the chaos of daily life. To exemplify this spectrum, I utilize a mixture of collage, abstraction and portraiture. Aside from these juxtapositions the population density and corresponding sensory overload of the NY/NJ metropolitan area provides plenty to ingest and process. Therefore, introspection is a factor. I approach every project as a boundless opportunity to learn and grow.”

— Lawrence Ciarallo

“I work from my own long exposure photographs. I’m fascinated by the distortions and compressed, simplified forms that appear in these blurred images, almost as if painting with the camera. These photos inform my paintings; I use the abstracted images to encourage my own ever-evolving freedom with the paint.” — Jay Pingree

“I am generally obsessed with repeating patterns, and was excited to be able to combine this with my adoration for our two towns. Also, I’m always interested in doodles and simple drawings of all sorts.”—Shauna Cagan