2010 Creative Grove Season Begins

Creative Grove 2010 finally bloomed Friday. A brutal rain storm postponed opening day by a week, but no one could have asked for a better afternoon weather-wise. Temperatures grew warmer and the sky sunnier in mid-week and by Friday, it felt like a peak-Spring day, not a late-winter afternoon. But you know what they say about March—you get all four seasons in one month.

For more information on Creative Grove click here. I was looking forward to our local Art Mart. I wanted a reason to hang out outside in the non-Winter weather and ease into the weekend. My anticipation seemed shared. The turn-out seemed high, one of the better crowds for the weekly event that I could recall.

Last year was the inaugural year for Creative Grove. There was always a nice vibe going on and a lot of the artists returned week in and week out, indicating that the endeavor was profitable. Some may look at Creative Grove as a visible manifestation of our arts & crafts community. That description implies that the arts are a separate community, segregated from the community at large. I don’t see the arts like that. Artists contribute to society, are part of society. Creative Grove integrates arts into the community. Basically, it’s a flea market, without the fleas or antiques—at least not yet. But it seems the flea market sales part is just the excuse for what people really use Creative Grove for: a reason to pass some time and socialize. That’s what people do. They see what’s on sale, maybe buy something now or buy something next time. Then they head home or where ever else they are headed. The same sort of scene takes place in Union Square Park across the river, but we’re not the capital of the world. Creative Grove is local, which makes it more endearing.

I found a chair, read a little and observed the scene. The sun was setting to set, its light felt warm on my face. Spring sweetened the air.

Parents attempted to herd their toddlers as they talked with each other covering topics like school and the weather. Then some older kids with hula-hoops came into the clearing. They did more toppling over each other than successful gyrations. The parents herded the toddlers away from the swinging hoops. None of the kids were crying. They were laughing and having fun and the parents were glad about that.

A DJ spun some trippy techno. It wasn’t too annoying or blaringly loud. I noticed familiar faces, folks from the neighborhood, folks I hadn’t seen since the last Creative Grove which was probably sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. All ages, all ethnic groups. That’s why the word community comes to mind. This city seems too fragmented sometimes. A lot of different scenes are going on, but they are often very insular. The art community is just as guilty as any other group, even the more “mainstream.” Creative Grove is about as inclusive as it gets. I think the reason is that there is no agenda. It is what it is—a funky flea market. For a community to exist, it needs a point where the idea of community can manifest and be realized by everyone who shares the idea of community. Creative Grove is one of those points for Jersey City. It is held for the afternoon, it merely happens. There is no “show” with a specific beginning or end. No parade or performance to witness. No real organized activity that you might be late for takes place. It’s a... hang. Communities may need to achieve more than that – as do the individuals within a community – but for communities to work towards a greater good, they have to recognize themselves first as a community. What do we all have in common—we’re all here! Creative Grove is that first step. It’s a point where Jersey City can converge.

The catalyst for this Creative Grove is Uta Brauser. She’s the proprietor of Fish with Braids, a gallery on Jersey Avenue. She has been the main promoter and organizer of Creative Grove and acts as a liaison between city authorities and the artist/vendors. She’s an ebullient and outgoing artist, and sports the longest dread locks I have ever seen. They are often streaked with iridescent hues. She took the microphone from the DJ to make some announcements that no one paid attention to. She was gleeful about the turnout and the fact that the second season of Creative Grove was now a reality. Everyone was too busy enjoying the scene to listen to her announcements. I can think of no better compliment for her work.

Fish with Braids on Face Book

The Fish with Braids Blog

Lots of new art to look at. There was an actual artist in residence too, leaning into an easel with a canvas, rendering the corner buildings with brush and paint. I noticed some children watching him paint, fascinated. Lasted only a few moments, then they scampered on to some other distraction. The parents seemed pleased. The kids can play and frolic, everybody gets out of the house, away from the T.V.. Everyone gets to wonder aloud if winter may really be gone. A nice vibe was felt by all.

Iconic album cover images digitally reproduced on actual LPs. This is the work of Mike Ferrari. Sort of looks like my college bedroom, I never put away those damn records. I liked that Billie Holiday and Patti Smith were on the same table. The images were rendered in shiny monochromatic colors. The circular objects gleamed.

Visit: http://www.mikeferrari.net/.

This is the man behind Iris Records. For a really interesting story about this record store, located on Brunswick, click here.

It’s a Jersey City Independent story. The record store held limited hours, Fridays. Apparently, they had a following for selling vinyl. I’m not going back to vinyl. I’m perfectly happy with CDs. The store is located in this funky building, used to be a pharmacy. I was in there once. I didn’t get anything – even though there was a CD I wanted, the guy wouldn’t sell me the CDs, he was only selling LPs. The business and the business owners may be idiosyncratic and more than a little eccentric, but what a great space. But I couldn’t help but ask, can a retail store that wasn’t really a store really close?

“I didn’t like the grind.”

“One day a week was a grind?”

He laughed. “I’m more underground, but I’ll be here every Friday.”

Few things I like better than looking through rows of CDs. DVDs are for sale too. The selection is impressive. I could have bought about a dozen or so, but I did find a Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, an Impulse release that has heretofore escaped my purview. My compulsion towards Coltrane completion continues. Maybe I’m old enough to finally appreciate the Duke or is it just that Coltrane can do no wrong? A mere eight bucks! I was digging on it all weekend.

.For more information on Iris Records click here.