Krave Cafe debuts high school art gallery

By Laurie Gordon
NEWTON — Krave Cafe and Caterer kicked off a unique art display with a gallery-style welcome reception Dec. 29 as area high school artists were treated like professionals and their work was debuted to the public.

Located on Sparta Avenue in Newton, in addition to its deliciously eclectic food, coffees and teas, Krave also features a rotating display of local artists' artwork in its "Gallery Within." Working directly with art consultant, Mitzi Campbell, Krave prides itself on promoting artists from around the area. “The idea to feature local high school artists was something new for us,” Campbell said, “We thought it would be great to put together a student show.” Schools were notified that students could submit their work under the category “A Magic Winter” for possible selection to be featured in the gallery. “We got a great response from 25 students encompassing five regional high schools,” Campbelll said, “And given the quality of the work we received, though we had intended to have a selection process, we couldn’t turn any of them down.”

Complete with guitar music by George Stritter, the gallery opening was completely authentic with the students’ work displayed on the walls and visitors encouraged to peruse their works of art and photography. “I’m so proud of these students,” Campbell said in her welcome address, “They are being treated like seasoned artists in a real gallery and are putting their art work out there to be discussed, critiqued and most importantly to inspire others of all ages with their creations.”

Zack Greene, a senior at Kittatinny Regional High School, was proud of his pastel which gave a message of life and death as associated to the winter theme. “It’s how I see winter,” the Fredon resident said. After graduation, Greene intends to pursue becoming a professional artist.

Nathan Jakub, of Great Meadows, is a junior at Hackettstown High School and not only had a water color pencil piece on display at the gallery but was also modeling some of the clothing he has designed. “This event is really great,” Jakub said, “It’s an opportunity for high school artists to have their work seen by the community.” He plans to pursue art upon graduation from high school and one day become an art teacher like his grandfather.

Brienne Rosner, gallery and store manager as well as curator at the prestigious Peters Valley School of Craft, in Bevans, NJ, visited the gallery prior to the opening to select a “Best in Show” and Kristin Muller, the Executive Director of Peters Valley donated a scholarship to the winner. The Best in Show winner was Madison Lutchko, a senior at Vernon High School. “This year has been my year of witches,” she said, “So I decided that witches are magical so they fit into the theme of A Magic Winter.” Her illustration so encapsulated her interpretation of the gallery’s topic that it earned her the award and the opportunity to take a class at Peters Valley School of Craft valued at $300. “I am eager to take an illustration class,” Lutchko said. She plans to pursue a career as an illustrator after high school.

A board member at Peters Valley and adjunct professor at Sussex County Community College with a passion for her students, Campbell is also a professional photographer who enjoys many forms of creative expression and works diligently to bring all sorts of art to the rotating gallery at Krave. “This is all about connecting people with art and for the first time at Krave, connecting people with some very talented high school artists,” Campbell said.

“The goal was to provide an authentic gallery experience for the students, so when we asked students to register for the show, we included the option for them to offer their work for sale. This can be an interestingly 'risky' thing for artists, as it brings up the issue of 'letting go' of a personal creation, which can be difficult. For the students, I think the prospect of an actual sale is also very exciting. Many of them chose to offer their work for sale to the public. There are no commissions and the money would all go directly to the artist. In a real gallery situation, there are commissions, obviously, but with students, we wanted to provide the experience but did not want the gallery to receive any compensation,” Campbell added. This show is wholly sponsored by Campbell and Krave.

Students rarely have opportunities outside of school to show their work and experience true public interaction with their creative efforts,” Campbell said, “Especially for those who may want to be actual practicing artists one day, I wanted to give them the same experience any of my artists would have in exhibiting their work, including the preparation, delivery, working with a gallery, opening the work up to public scrutiny, and having a party, the opening reception, to celebrate it all.” Krave donated that reception including the food, drink and music.

Peters Valley School of Craft is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, founded in 1970 in partnership with the National Park Service to promote and encourage education and excellence in craft. What began as an artist colony has blossomed into an internationally acclaimed center of fine craft. Located within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Peters Valley has adapted historic buildings to serve as its home and it’s renowned programs include adult summer workshops, youth programs, opportunities for artists, special studio programs, public exhibitions, demonstrations, and outreach. PV maintains studios in 8 disciplines: Blacksmithing, Ceramics, Fiber Surface Design, Fiber Structure, Fine Metals, Photography, Special Topics and Woodworking. PV’s primary programming is between May and September each year, and they offer over 125 intensive 2-5 day workshops in the disciplines represented by our studios.