jurors

We are pleased to introduce our four distinguished jurors for the 2008 Art in the Park fine arts and crafts fair.

Teresa Blackburn is a Nashville trend spotter and professional food, decorating and prop stylist whose work for the past 25 years can be seen on many national television shows and the HGTV, TVFN and DIY networks. Creating the visual atmosphere of cooking books, magazine features, television commercials and editorial work gives Teresa the means to be active in the arts community of one of America's coolest cities. Ms. Blackburn's professional affiliations include the Tennessee and Nashville Film Commissions, the International Association of Culinary Professionals and, with her partner, lighting designer Wouter Feldbusch, the Historic Germantown District Association.

Ms. Blackburn's academic experiences have taken her from Knoxville to England and on to New York City. Most recently, Teresa has pursued her love of black and white photography at the Sarratt Center of Vanderbilt University.

Lucy Commoner has been the Senior Textile Conservator at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum since 1977, and Head of Conservation since 2004. From 2002-2006, she was the project coordinator of the museum's Collections Gallery, responsible for both design and programmatic development. She has served in a curatorial capacity and published catalogues for several exhibitions based on the Museum's collection including folding fans (1986) and sample books (2007). Her other areas of expertise include, museum storage systems, fiber identification and microscopy, exhibition and mounting techniques for textiles, and the construction and maintenance of a conservation environment.

She has developed a comprehensive storage and exhibition system for all types of textiles, costumes, and costume accessories which has been in use at the Museum for the past 30 years. Ms. Commoner has taught textile conservation classes for the Fashion Institute of Technology Textile Conservation Program and is an adjunct professor for the New York University Institute of Fine Arts Conservation Center. She has trained many interns in the field through funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Kress Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Ms. Commoner has lectured and published widely for publications such as, the Journal of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC), the Textile Conservation Group, and the Smithsonian Institution Press.

Patti Bleicher received her BS at the University of Michigan and her MS at Columbia University. She has always had a love of jewelry and design. Fifteen years ago she decided to formally pursue her passion for art jewelry. She began studying the field by visiting artists, studios, and academic centers. A particular point of fascination became the metals department at the Rhode Island School of Design. Eager to share this work with others, she opened Gallery Loupe in September 2006. At Gallery Loupe, the wearable works of art come in a wide range of material that includes precious metals, iron, natural minerals, enamels and acrylics. It has been written that Gallery Loupe is unique in that it represents the work of more than 30 well-known artists, all of whom have been formally trained in fine arts programs at prestigious art academies in the United States, Europe and Israel. Bleicher and her business partner Eileen David chose Montclair because they were looking for an eclectic town with a diverse population and a real sense of individuality as a backdrop for a gallery that offers completely interesting alternatives to the conventional jewelry found at your typical jewelry store.

Twig Johnson has been associated with the Montclair Art Museum for over twenty years. A native Arizonian, she did her graduate and undergraduate work at Arizona State University in Anthropology with an emphasis in southwestern archaeology and Native American Art History. She has worked for both the Forest and Park Service doing archeological work, has served as Lab Director for Soil Systems, Inc, a private archaeological firm; has co-managed a Native American art gallery, and worked at several museums. She currently serves on the Horizon Speakers Bureau for the New Jersey Council of the Humanities, was the 2007 recipient of the John Cotton Dana Award for outstanding museum work from the New Jersey Association of Museums, is on the Advisory Board to Native Peoples magazine and is a judge at the annual Indian Market in Santa Fe New Mexico.

Twig is married and has two daughters.