Pieces to be on display at Drumthwacket’s Bastille Day Ball
By Kristen Boyd
Paris is coming to Princeton by way of Hopewell Valley Central High School, where art students created masterpieces that would make even Monet say ooh la la.
”They are phenomenal artists,” said Bob O’Boyle, one of the high school’s art teachers. “Their work doesn’t look like student art, so that speaks to their talent. It’s so strong. It’s quality artwork, period.”
Several of the pieces will be displayed during Trinity Counseling Service’s 26th annual Bastille Day Ball on July 12 at Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion.
”The ball helps us in our general mission, which is to offer the best of care to anyone in need,” said the Rev. Peter Stimpson of Trinity Counseling Service, a Princeton-based nonprofit.
About 400 people are expected to attend this year’s Bastille Day Ball. The organization’s goal, the Rev. Stimpson said, is to raise at least $100,000 during the event.
”Our budget is $1.4 million; fees bring in $500,000, so you do the math,” he said, adding that no resident is turned away because of financial need. “That leaves a $900,000 hole. Nothing (at Trinity Counseling Service) is funded through local or state funding. It’s all private.”
Trinity Counseling Service has a location on Stockton Street in Princeton, as well as six private locations throughout the Princeton area. The staff includes 22 therapists, all with an average of 22 years of experience, the Rev. Stimpson said.
”The beauty of having this many rather established therapists, all with different skills in one place, is we can address a host of issues,” he said. “We see people who suffer from depression, people who may be suffering from stress, couples who need marriage counseling, families who need family counseling. One-fourth of our clients are children.”
The organization’s services are open to all residents, regardless of income or religious affiliation. Of the 400 people treated weekly, 67 percent require some financial aid, the Rev. Stimpson said.
”I picture us, in layman terms, as a hybrid between a private practice and an agency,” he said. “We’re like a private practice in that the expertise is rather high. You come in and you get a very established therapist. We’re like an agency, though, in that the poor can gain access to our services. We’re the best of both worlds.”
For the Bastille Day Ball, students from Hopewell Valley Regional High School as well as The Pennington School, The Hun School, Princeton High School and Stuart Country Day School were asked to create original artwork based on the event’s theme, “Reflections in Versailles.”
Of the works submitted, The Bastille Day Ball Committee selected 40 pieces to represent Trinity Counseling Service’s 40th anniversary. The artwork will be auctioned during the ball, with all proceeds benefiting the organization.
Currently, some of the artwork, professionally framed by The Framesmith Gallery in Princeton, is featured in storefront windows throughout Princeton, Pennington and Hopewell.
”We picture ourselves as a community agency, and we wanted to support the community by having the local high schools involved by painting pictures of the Garden of Versailles,” the Rev. Stimpson says. “And we’re so happy to have five area high schools participate.”
Dr. O’Boyle heeded the Bastille Ball Committee’s call for artwork as a class assignment. He and his students discussed Versailles, movies with French imagery, French impressionists, body images, topiaries and even a recent magazine spread that featured lush Parisian costumes.
The students, who started with blank canvases, worked on their museum-worthy pieces for about two weeks. Sarah Vite, a rising sophomore who said art is her passion, used a graphite pencil to draw a black-and-white portrait of an aristocratic woman.
”Mostly, I like drawing, and I like looking at things and trying to portray them on paper,” said Sarah, 15. “It was fun. In history, we were learning about that subject, about Versailles and French Revolution. (My drawing) represented a typical woman from that period.”
Both she and Andrew Matlack, a rising senior, are excited to help Trinity Counseling Service and also have their artwork purchased.
”I never thought my work would be in someone’s house. I really didn’t think it would get that far,” said Andrew, 17, who used color pencils to draw the Palace of Versailles.
Dr. O’Boyle said he’s proud of his students, who have fostered their social responsibility and their artistic skills by donating their works for the Bastille Day Ball.
”It’s a lovely thing to have your work purchased, and it’s a nice recognition,” he said. “It’s every artist’s dream, and it’s being handed to them. It’s nice to see that.”
For more information about Trinity Counseling Service or the organization’s Bastille Day Ball, call 609-924-0060 or visit www.trinitycounseling.org. Ball tickets are $200 per person, $300 for patrons and $400 for benefactors.
To place an early bid on the student artwork, call Gabrielle Shamsey at 609-915-0313 or e-mail gabrielleshamsey@comcast.net. Bids start at $100.