CONGRATULATIONS
Help Beautify NJ’s Highways
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – August 19, 2009 – Congratulations to Stephanie Amato of Basking Ridge, whose NJ-inspired landscape entitled “Mount Prospect Elementary School” was announced as one of 13 winning pieces in the Palisades Highway Art Gallery competition. Her painting will be displayed on Rt. 202 at Old York Rd. in Somerset County beginning the week of August 17, making passersby smile every time they drive by.
"There are so many talented artists in New Jersey, and this is a wonderful venue to exhibit work," said Amato. "I have received so much support from the Bernards School District, as well as the people of Basking Ridge."
For more than 15 years, Amato has been honing her craft through study and practice. She pursued an education in visual and graphic arts at the Parsons School of Design and at the Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts before earning an associate’s degree from Raritan Valley Community College. Amato’s work has generally been inspired by New Jersey views and landscapes and has been shown at more than 40 juried exhibitions. She is a charter member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey and coordinator for the New Jersey Society of En Plein Air Painters. Most recently, Amato received an honorable mention from New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts for her “John on the Mountain” piece, in addition to having won second place honors at the Tuckerton Paintout and Bayonet Arts Festival. She is represented by Design Domain Gallery, Bernardsville and lives in Basking Ridge with her family.
The Palisades Highway Art Gallery is the state’s first-ever highway art gallery, using prominent billboards to display the work of local artists throughout New Jersey. The initiative was officially launched on July 13 with the unveiling of two billboards by renowned New Jersey artists Tim Daly of Hoboken and Gary Godbee of Westfield. The contest inspired state artists to submit over 940 original paintings, drawings, photography and mixed media interpretations of the state’s beautiful landscapes to the Palisades Drive With a Smile Web site. Visitors to the site viewed the submissions and voted for their favorite pieces over four weeks this summer. In the end, Amato’s “Mount Prospect Elementary School” was one of the public’s top favorites and was selected to be one of the featured works of art of the Palisades Highway Art Gallery. All submissions to the Highway Art Gallery are on display on the Palisades Drive With a Smile Web site.
The Palisades Highway Art Gallery is the first initiative of the Palisades Drive With a Smile campaign, with the goal to remind drivers about the best the Garden State has to offer and create nicer New Jersey driving moments and more smiles all around. For more information about the Drive with a Smile campaign or the Palisades Highway Art Gallery, visit Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.
For information about Palisades or any of its more than 300 independent agents across the state, visit Palisades.com.
About Palisades
Artwork above created by: Stephanie Amato 
This summer, the Palisades Highway Art Gallery will exhibit images of original works by NJ artists on some of the largest and most-viewed canvases in the state – New Jersey’s highway and roadway billboards. The first two billboards will feature artwork by renowned New Jersey landscape artists Tim Daly and Gary Godbee.
We’ve picked up to a dozen additional billboards on some of the most traveled roads throughout the state to feature work by artists like you! Your work could receive more than 80,000 views A DAY – and Palisades will foot the cost of the billboard and printing!
The purpose of the exhibit is to offer NJ artists a public venue for their work, and give local drivers an uplifting driving experience. This unique concept will give widespread exposure to New Jersey artists in a first-of-its-kind setting.
Guidelines
Want in? Starting July 13th, register and submit images of your original paintings, drawings, photography, or mixed media inspired by New Jersey scenic views, landscapes, seascapes, urbanscapes, destinations and landmarks at Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.
· There is no registration fee, and all submissions are free.
· Each applicant can submit a maximum of 10 pieces.
· Entries will be accepted as of July 13th, 2009 at Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.
· Entries should be in .jpeg or .gif format at least 600 pixels wide and 175 pixels high.
· The size of the file uploaded to the site should not exceed 8 MB.
The competition kicks off July 13th and you have until July 31st to submit your work, so enter early! Your art will be showcased in our online gallery, where site visitors can vote for their favorite submissions. Voting runs from July 14th through August 7th. Up to a dozen winners will be announced on August 10th on Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile, based on the number of votes.
| | Want more information? |
| The parties agree that the artwork and images made by the artist will be the sole property of the artist. However, the artist agrees that Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation (Palisades) shall have unrestricted use of the artist’s name and the image and artwork provided and produced by the artist in any and all commercial, promotional and advertising material without any monetary compensation. The decision to use and the manner of such use of the artist’s name artwork produced by the artist shall be the sole decision of Palisades. Employees and family members of Palisades, its affiliated and subsidiary companies and its vendors are not eligible to submit their artwork or images. All those under 18 must receive permission to enter from a parent or guardian. | |
One (1) Grand Prize will be awarded to the Finalist who receives the most votes. The Grand Prize will consists of a check in the amount of $5,000 for the winner and the winner’s back pack design will be produced and sold in Office Depot stores in 2010.
First Prize
One (1) First Prize will be awarded to the Finalist who receives the second highest quantity of votes. The First Prize will consist of a check in the amount of $3,000.
Second Prize
One (1) Second Prize will be awarded to the Finalist who receives the third highest quantity of votes. The Second Prize will consist of a check in the amount of $2,000.
For more information read this article in Woman's Day Magazine - CLICK HERE
"Unbound by Place or Time
CELEBRATE ART!
The Ridge Drama Department will be presenting "Seussical the Musical" at the end of March. Above are 7 pieces of artwork created by 5th grade students at Mount Prospect School for the Spring Musical poster contest (the 8th is filler). All submissions will be displayed in the Ridge Media Center for the performance.
Mount Prospect School Celebrates 10 Years with "Faces of the Future Tile Wall Mosaic"
For the 13th year the Somerset Environmental Center has sponsored this exhibit. All K- 6th grade schools, in Somerset County can participate. This is the 8th year Mount Prospect will have work on display! Over 50 students from Mount Prospect have their work exhibited. All the work is inspired by nature. The children are asked to write, "What nature means to them..." All of the answers are included in the exhibit program. On Sunday - January 5, 2009 there was an Artist's Reception. It is always so exciting to see the students with their family and friends, they are all so proud!!! Congratualtions to all the young artists!
