MILLSTONE: Exhibit features child-inspired art

by Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
   MILLSTONE — For one township native, 700 kindergartners and two teenagers have helped revitalize a long-lost passion.
   Jude Harzer, 45, is being featured in her first solo art exhibit at the Mattison Gallery in Asbury Park. The show, which features mostly oil paintings of children, will have an opening event Saturday and be on display through Feb. 28.
   The former Stagecoach Road resident spent much of her childhood creating art, but decided not to pursue it as a career for fear it might not be “practical” and took an 18-year hiatus. It wasn’t until three years ago, when Ms. Harzer — now a Brick resident — volunteered to paint a mural in her children’s elementary school there and rediscovered her passion.
   ”I hadn’t really thought of myself as an artist, but from the mural, it all kind of snowballed,” she said.
   After school officials saw her painting on the library wall, the Brick Township Public School District offered her a job teaching art to kindergartners. Up until then, Ms. Harzer had been doing part-time consulting work with Coastal Amusements in Lakewood, overseeing graphics and designs for amusement games.
   ”It was art related, but I was growing frustrated that I wasn’t producing fine art,” she said, adding that her teenage son and daughter helped provided a needed push. “They said, ‘You’re always telling us to pursue our dreams, Mom, but you gave up on what you loved most.’”
   Drawing inspiration from her 700 students and her own childhood challenges growing up as one of six children to a legally blind single parent, Ms. Harzer got back to painting. The majority of her work focuses on nurturing and encouraging children.
   ”Even though I loved art as a child, I wasn’t encouraged to pursue it,” she said. “I love children, and I think they should be inspired. I think that they should know that no matter what, there are always opportunities out there for them.”
   Another motif in Ms. Harzer’s paintings is quilting, and each patch contains something relevant to the subject. In a piece created for a woman whose husband recently had died from cancer, “The Pain Passes But the Beauty Remains,” Ms. Harzer painted the woman’s son and included images of things the boy shared with his late father — such as seashells — inside the quilt patches.
   As a teacher, Ms. Harzer says she has “endless subject matter.”
   ”Kids are my greatest inspiration so what better job for me than to be surrounded by them?” she said. “They are continually inspiring, and I’ll never run out of ideas that relate back to them.”
   The artist’s first solo exhibit, which includes 41 pieces, is called “Serendipity,” referring to the fortunate accidents and coincidences that have brought her to this point. When she sought out the Mattison Gallery owner in December to view some of her work, he asked, “What are you doing next month?” and offered the artist her own solo exhibit.
   Ms. Harzer, a 1981 graduate of Allentown High School, said much of the feedback she receives about her work comes from Millstone residents she hasn’t heard from in 20 years.
   Further, the artist-educator, who is a member of the Allentown Art Guild, cites the reoccurrence of a Ben Shahn painting as a symbol of her work coming full circle.
   ”When I was 12, during softball practice, I remember being fascinated by this mural behind the Roosevelt Elementary School,” she said. “When I was in college, it was the first image shown in my art history class. Now, 20 years later, I see it when we hold artist meetings back at the school.”
   Since she was offered the exhibit, Ms. Harzer has spent the last five weeks creating 15 news pieces and finishing up others.
   ”It takes a lot of discipline,” she said. “I get up at 5 a.m. to paint, teach from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., go home and paint ‘til midnight … but it doesn’t feel like work.”
   Last year, Ms. Harzer’s painting, “Unguarded,” was awarded Best All Around in Show at Ellarslie Mansion at the Trenton City Museum. She also has been accepted to the National Association of Women Artists in New York City and is an executive board member for the Art Educators of New Jersey.
   Ms. Harzer said rediscovering her love for art has made her the happiest she’s ever been.
   ”I was always fearful of pursuing this. I was worried what people might think, and I didn’t want to fail,” she said. “But it’s really about doing what you love.”
   While Ms. Harzer’s pieces will be available for purchase at her exhibit, she says money does not drive her ambition.
   ”Some people can’t understand that happiness isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity,” she said. “I’d be happier working with kids at camp and making minimum wage than doing something I don’t love for tons of money.”
The opening event of “Serendipity” will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Mattison Gallery. It is free to the public. For more information, visit www.mattisongallery.com or contact the gallery at 732-774-4392. Ms. Harzer’s work is available to view online at www.judeharzerfineart.com.