Fay and David Sciarra Preserved a 1791 Stone Cottage with a Contemporary Twist

By Ilene Dube | Photos by Jeffrey E. Tryon and Halkin/Mason Photography

For nearly 30 years, Fay and David Sciarra would drive to Stockton, with its rolling vistas and farmland, to spend time with their friend David Holman. Holman, once a sought-after New York City interior designer, retreated to the countryside when his passions veered toward restoring old homes and estates. In the 18th-century stone farmhouse he lived in, it was more about preserving it as it was. “He wanted to keep its integrity and charm,” recounts Fay.

Holman lavished his attention on the garden, and when the Sciarras came to visit he would take them on tours of his perennials. It was from Holman, Fay says, that she learned everything she knows about gardening. more

Princeton Artist Linda Zacks Celebrates Nature with Visual Journal

By Laurie Pellichero | Art by Linda Zacks

“The world is a treasure hunt, and a box of 64 crayons is like a 24-carat diamond.”

—Linda Zacks

The moment you enter the Princeton home of Linda Zacks, you are surrounded by brightly colored art, eclectic treasures, and creative energy. more

The Matheny Arts Access Program,based in Peapack, empowers artists with disabilities to create art without limits. Regardless of their disabilities, artists are provided with the tools and materials needed to produce masterful works of art that are distinctly their own.

These works will be on view  on Saturday, November 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. at an opening reception for an art exhibition and performance in the Solley lobby at the Arts Council of Princeton. The event is free. Guests will have the opportunity to view and purchase paintings that are as diverse as the artists themselves — from gestural abstractions and rigid, geometric forms to meditative color studies. The variation in styles and themes is representative of the individuality of each artist, and proves that there is no limit to what an artist can create. more

The Renovated Center of Theological Inquiry Lets in the Light

By Anne Levin | Photography by Jeffrey E. Tryon

Just across Stockton Street from Morven Museum and Garden, an unpretentious red brick building has sat on land owned by Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) for the past 40 years. Some passersby have assumed it is part of the Seminary. Others haven’t noticed it at all.

Modeled after the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) as an independent nonprofit, the Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI) has never been an attention-getter. Year after year, the interdisciplinary program has quietly hosted scholars and scientists from different parts of the world, in Princeton for a year to investigate the nature of religious beliefs and how they relate to global issues.  more

Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of J. Seward Johnson Sr., celebrates her “victory” in front of her mansion gate in Princeton, N.J., June 4, 1986. (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal)

A Look Back at the Story Behind the Famed Property

By Anne Levin

Last fall, the luxury golf club Jasna Polana was listed for sale. Set on 222 park-like acres bordered by Route 206 and Province Line Road, the property boasts an 18-hole Tournament Players Course designed by golf great Gary Player, and a palatial, 46,000-square-foot clubhouse.

Jasna, pronounced “yasna,” has earned a reputation for its meticulously manicured fairways, lush setting, challenging greens, and pricey entrance fee. But the expansive, gated property is best known — or notorious — for the chapter of its history that preceded the creation of the golf club in 1998.  more

At the Digital Forefront of Creative and Technological Design

By Taylor Smith | Lead photo from shutterstock.com

As a medium, 3D printing’s roots stretch back to the 1980s, but it has since grown into a technology that provides artistic experimentation and manufacturing-grade industrial products. 3D printers also find applications in architecture and design, building models that provide mathematically accurate prototype design concepts. A wide range of people are using 3D printers these days — there are 3D printers for home use that are geared towards young teenagers and adults, and those for multimillion-dollar businesses and universities that conduct regular work on them. more

Join artist Jacqui Alexander for an afternoon of chemistry and creativity for anyone ages 10 and up at the Arts Council of Princeton’s “ART OF” series’ ART OF Cyanotype on Sunday, June 9 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Cyanotype is a basic photographic process that uses the sun’s UV rays to create shadowy silhouettes against a vibrant blue background. Learn all about the technique — which dates back to the 1840s — and then create cyanotype printed cloth napkins using found and gathered objects. Bring your own pressed flowers or leaves, feathers, shells, jewelry or trinkets, lace, small toys, cut paper stencils — anything that can lay flat to create a silhouette on your surface. more

Renowned furniture designer Mira Nakashima, head designer at George Nakashima Woodworkers in New Hope, Pa., was commissioned by the U.S. State Department to create a special piece of furniture for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the first Japanese leader to visit the U.S. as a state guest in nine years.

As she contemplated the design, Nakashima reflected on when she and her family were forcibly relocated to Camp Minidoka, an American internment camp for people of Japanese ancestry in Hunt, Idaho, from 1942-1943. Today, Mira, 82, a trained architect, has worked in the family business since 1970, producing her father George’s iconic designs as well as her own custom-designed, hand-crafted furniture. She also heads the Nakashima Foundation for Peace. more

Prestigious Performing Arts Summer Programs

By Laurie Pellichero | Photo from Shutterstock.com

While traditional camps offer a wide variety of experiences for campers each summer, those with an affinity for the performing arts might want to consider attending a summer program that can enhance their talents while they enjoy the fun, adventure, and camaraderie of camp life. Here’s just a sampling of high-profile options across the country. more

George Antheil at the piano, c. mid 1920s. (Boston Globe Archives/Wikimedia Commons)

Trenton Native George Antheil

By Anne Levin

Emerging from the horrors of World War I, Paris in the early 1920s was a mecca for artists, writers, and musicians. Names like Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Igor Stravinsky, and Sylvia Beach figure prominently in accounts of those years of innovation and creativity.

Less frequently mentioned is avant-garde composer George Antheil. But Antheil, who was born and raised in Trenton, was right in the middle of it all. In fact, he lived with his wife above Beach’s famed bookstore Shakespeare and Company, where artists and intellectuals gathered to socialize and share ideas. more