Sometimes the small things mean the most...

One of the quotes from my interview with Abbie that she really liked

I was contacted a few weeks ago by a young girl named Abbie Johnson who is 12 years old and a girl scout locally in Burlington County. She had been in my gallery previously with her mom and aunt and now she was working on a project and needed my help. The project was for her to choose a woman who had a job she admired and was interested in learning about. Once she chose the person, she had to interview them and then put together a presentation about the person's job, based on the information gathered during the interview process.

She made an appointment to talk to me and came in to Creative Genius and sat with me for about an hour during which I answered numerous questions about running an art gallery and being a woman in business. Not only is Abbie a very nice girl, she is also polite, well-spoken, and comes across as very mature for her age. She was fun to chat with and I looked forward to hearing about her presentation. 

At the end of the interview she handed me a hand-made invitation to a Sisterhood Tea that her troop was hosting for all their guests of honor. I thought that was really nice and made it a point to be available to go. Normally it would be no problem to be available but in the midst of the holiday season and having a nasty cold to boot, I was definitely pushing myself  to be alert and awake by the evening of the tea. Once I got there, I was happy I was able to be there.
The tea was really lovely and the girls and their leaders and guests were all really fun to chat with. We drank tea, snacked on cookies, cakes and tea sandwiches and shared information. Then each girl in the troop did their presentation. I have received awards in my past career but being chosen as having a job that a 12 year old girl thinks is interesting was just as special as any award I have received. It is a job I created and was one of the biggest compliments I have received. Abbie was a gracious host and I got to chat with her mom a bit too which was nice. It was obvious to me that all of these girls were definitely unique. All of them were very intelligent and very poised, even when speaking in front of a group of people. And all the presentations were interesting. In addition to an art gallery owner/photographer, presentations were made about a construction company owner, an architect, a naturalist and others. The diversity was interesting. 

Posing after the interview

The whole experience was a very important reminder for me about why I actually do what I do. Yes, I know, everyone gets caught up in the nuts and bolts of their job. It is an easy thing to have happen, especially when you are as busy as I am on a daily basis. Seeing my job and experiences through Abbie's eyes was a reminder that I really do this because I love art and want to connect people with it in a positive way. I didn't leave my corporate career to just work another job. I left it to follow a dream and I have successfully followed that dream for a really decent chunk of time. Her perspective actually made me feel proud of what I have accomplished in the past nine plus years with the gallery, from community outreach to connecting people to each other to helping people grow and pursue their own dreams. I think it takes someone special to make you slow down and actually pay attention. That is exactly what Abbie did for me. 

Presentation Board!

I have to say I really liked Abbie's presentation (of course, I AM a little biased-haha!). She loves art and hopes to pursue an arts related job some day so her presentation was colorful and attention-getting. I thought she did a great job and she even presented me with her presentation board before I left along with a candle holder that each of the girls made for their guests. The presentation board is on display at Creative Genius and I really hope people ask me about it. I will look forward to telling them all about Abbie and how special she made me feel.

Anniversary Tale...

A month or so ago, I received an email from Tim, who was in the military in Afghanistan and was scheduled to be home in the beginning of November. He was going to be missing his wedding anniversary and he wanted to do something special for his wife when he arrived home. He inquired about renting the gallery at Creative Genius to set up an intimate dinner in an unexpected but unique location for his wife.

The two arrived on Sunday, after getting prepared dinners from a local restaurant. I had recommended Braddocks to Tim earlier in the week and they decided to go with my local recommendation, which was nice. Tim proceeded to set up the whole table, complete with customized table cloth, candles and lots of other special touches. It really was lovely. Then he brought his wife, Kristen in.

The couple enjoyed a lovely dinner and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Kristen definitely appreciates surprises and her husband, Tim, obviously has no trouble thinking outside of the box when it comes to making his wife feel special.
 
I was honored to meet this terrific couple and provide the location for them to celebrate their anniversary. It isn't often that you get to help something special like this dinner happen and I definitely appreciated the gallery being a part of their anniversary.

Great meeting you and happy anniversary, Tim and Kristen!

Gearing Up for the Holiday Season!

We are working hard and hopefully smart as we gear up for the holiday season here at Creative Genius. 


New hand-crafted creations are arriving daily and we are showcasing a fun and unusual assortment of unique gifts in all kinds of price ranges for the holidays this year.






We are also offering our regular class schedule throughout the season with a few key additions. We've added Sculpture for Beginners to our class schedule. This is a class we have never offered before and we couldn't be more excited about it! Instructor Lynne Ghenov bring a great amount of talent and experience to the table and we are happy to have her working with us here at Creative Genius.


Don't forget about our other great offerings including Painting & Drawing for Adults, Painting & Drawing for Teens, Painting & Drawing for Kids, Pottery, Digital Photography and more.

After the holidays in January, we've added another Mosaic Workshop with Diane Emerson. If you missed the first one and you were kicking yourself, you won't want to miss this one. In fact, it was so good that two of the students from the first one have already signed up to take it again because they loved it so much. Can't beat THAT for a testimonial! 

And of course, the holiday season wouldn't be complete without one of our fun open house events in the gallery, complete with refreshments, artist trunk shows, a visit from NJBalance Wellness and more. This year's open house will be held on Thursday, November 29th from 6-9pm. Hope to see you there!

So many blogs, so little time....

Yes, the blog has not been updated recently. You are justified in thinking I might be slacking off. However, it is important to note, that I actually write three different blogs and those have not been as bad. Yes, I am a slacker but not THAT bad!

We have had some great new goodies arriving in the gallery as we gear up for the holidays. I know it is early but the holidays really are right around the corner. 

Creative Genius did something we have never done before in September--we hosted a great art festival in our parking lot and around our building last weekend. With help from Abbie Galie of Original Abbie Designs, we were able to gather up 20 artists and drew a bit of a crowd throughout the day. It was a lot of fun and the artists seemed to have a decent show, especially considering we had never done something like this before. 

The other event we hosted in September was a fantastic mosaic workshop with Diane Emerson. That got rave reviews and we are hoping to hold another one in January with Diane. She did a fantastic job and everyone loved it. Many of them want to take it again...a true testament to the fact that they really enjoyed themselves. 

September was a busy and exciting month here at Creative Genius!
And of course, October marks out NINTH Anniversary here in Medford. We truly are blessed to have the support of so many great people!

 Here are some scenes from September...

Mosaic Workshop with Diane Emerson:

 From Creative Genius Art Fest, September 30th:

Last, but certainly not least is a peek at some of the new arrivals--there are plenty more great gift creations on the way so don't forget to visit us soon!

Creative Genius Camp Highlights-2012

I have been away from blogging, mostly because of that wonderful, once-a-year occurrence known as CAMP SEASON at Creative Genius. 

So far we are 60% completed with our camps and have had a blast. All the camp groups have been terrific and the creativity shown by the kids has been nothing short of inspiring. Included here is a peek of some of the camp groups and their fabulous creations.

Clay Camp 2012

Clay Camp for Little Ones

Digital Photo Camp In Action

Digital Photo Camp 2012

Digital Photo Camp

Portrait taken by camper

Portrait taken by Camper

Too much cool photography camp made campers act goofy!

Clay Happy Head

Breakfast made out of clay!

Coil Heart Vase

This will be a clay chalk board some day!

Painting and Drawing Camp

Coming up in the month of August to finish out our camp schedule: 
MIX IT UP CAMP: includes projects in a variety of mediums each week. This is different from our other camps because most camp weeks are based around a specific medium (DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY CAMP, CLAY CAMP, PAINTING AND DRAWING CAMP, etc). MIX IT UP includes different projects including clay, painting and drawing, upcycling, etc. I am looking forward to a fun week of interesting and unique projects. 

Sneak peek of some projects from UPCYCLING CAMP-coming up in August!

UPCYCLING CAMP: includes projects utilizing different items that might be considered trash by some. We will take different items each day and create cool art. This camp is awesome--we had a blast last year and I am really looking forward to it this year. 
There are still spaces for the following weeks:
Upcycling camp-Aug 13th-Aug 17th
Mix It Up Camp-Aug 20th-Aug 24th

To register your child, just give us a call or email me at jbaselloholt@verizon.net

During camp season, we here at Creative Genius specialize in HAPPY CAMPERS! 

Group bench painting project--it came out great!