The Jefferson Arts Committee (JAC) will host its second Window Painting Contest for Jefferson Township students in grades 6 through 12 who are in district, out of district, or homeschooled. They will be accepting teams of 2 to 3 students in the established age brackets who are of the same age or mixed ages, and there is no fee to participate. The JAC will assign a teammate to any individual student who is interested. The date has been set for Saturday, May 23 starting at 10 am rain or shine (there is an overhang on the front of the building) at the Jefferson Township Public Library 1031 Weldon Road, Milton/Oak Ridge.
The front library windows will be used for the competition, and teams will be assigned a window measuring 45” wide by 41” long. There is no set theme for a window creation, so students are encouraged to be creative in developing their own theme. However, all teams will be required to register with the JAC by April 26 and submit a design/sketch to be approved by the JAC by May 10.
Teams will be supervised by JAC members or approved adult volunteers, and all supplies will be provided. Water-based acrylic paint in red, white, green, yellow, blue, black, magenta, turquoise, brown, orange, peach, and violet (participants can have fun mixing these basic colors to create others!), brushes, painters’ tape, and drop cloths, etc. will be provided by the JAC. Participants might want to bring some of their own thin-tip paint brushes, their own coverups to protect their clothing, and perhaps some plastic gloves. A small stepstool might be a good idea as well. All participants will be required to clean up their work area on the day of the event and return in the future to assist with removing the paint from their respective windows after the voting and awards.
The community will be asked to vote for the winners of each student team at the library for their painted window canvases in pre-determined categories during a two-week period for voting. Prizes will be awarded accordingly for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for each of the three groups at a library ceremony when voting is complete.
Anyone interested should email Linda at artscommittee@jeffersonarts.org with their name, address, phone number and email address or call Carol at 973-697-3828 to register if you don’t have access to email. Parents/guardians may email/call on behalf of their children if they prefer. To be sure there will be enough supplies, registrations will be accepted until April 26. Donations to help cover expenses will gratefully be accepted and can be mailed to Jefferson Arts Committee, Window Decorating Contest, PO Box 2604, Oak Ridge, NJ 07438. Any business owner wishing to donate any supplies would also be appreciated – call 973-697-3828 to discuss.
There are quite a few “canvases” ready to be painted so gather up some friends and classmates to form those teams and be sure to register as soon as possible to be able to claim a window to paint. Remember, you don’t have to be an artist to participate – just come and have fun because blank walls (in this case windows) are a shared canvas, and we’re all artists in our own way.