Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 60 JERSEY SHORE PEOPLE IN THE FLOW, continued from page 59 Jenny Santa Maria 2022 Pysanky Workshops For updated listings, to register, or to propose a workshop, visit Jenny Santa Maria's website at www.flametipstudio.com. 3-19, 3-27: Calgo Gardens, 462 Adelphia Road, Farmingdale, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM 3-20: Monmouth County Art Alliance, 33 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM 3-23: Thompson Park Creative Arts Center, Filly Run, Lincroft, 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM 3-25: Insectropolis, 1761 Route 9, Toms River, 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM 3-26: Advanced and Experimental Pysanky, Pine Shores Art Association, 94 Stafford Avenue, Manahawkin, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM 4-2: Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, 68 Elm Street, Summit, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM 4-3: Thompson Park Creative Arts Center, Filly Run, Lincroft, 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM and 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM 4-4: Livingston Library, 10 Robert H. Harp Drive, Livingston, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM 4-6: Thompson Park Creative Arts Center, Filly Run, Lincroft, 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM 4-9: Brattleboro Art Museum, Brattleboro, VT, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM 4-12: Hunterdon County Library, 314 State Route 12, Bldg. #3, Flemington, 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM wipe it off with a soft cloth or paper towel. She continues drawing on the egg, with her dominant hand doing the drawing and her opposite hand spinning and maneuvering the egg. "Both hands have a function," she explained. "Drawing and moving or rotating the egg are equally essential." A common question asked during her workshops is what happens if someone makes a mistake and drops wax on the egg or if someone's hand slips while drawing with the kistka. "Mistakes cannot be fixed once the wax is on the egg. Beginners can turn their mistakes into polka dots, but I will modify my design to compen- sate for the mistake," she explained. "It's a good lesson, to run with the mistakes. It's rewarding to roll with the punches." She continues the process of dip- ping, then drawing, then dipping until she is ready to reveal the final design, which is done by using the flame to melt the last layer of wax off the egg and wiping it off with a soft cloth. "Sometimes the design I see at the beginning is not what I see at the end of the process," she said. Santa Maria can complete one egg from start to finish in an average of forty minutes when creating in her studio, but the process takes her a bit longer when leading workshops. Several clients over the years have commissioned Santa Maria to make eggs for them. "I'm honored to make eggs for baptism gifts and to recreate designs done by great-grandparents on eggs, which can be difficult to do because it is such a methodical pro- cess." She also creates a limited-edi- tion design for each holiday season and sells her batik eggs to collectors. As far as masterpieces go, Santa Maria humbly admits to creating only two of them thus far, with one as a commission. "A masterpiece is something I cannot make again or a design I cannot replicate," she said. "I don't want to believe in masterpieces because then I cannot do it again." Santa Maria is an equally accom- plished singer, songwriter, and musi- cian as she is a batik egg artist. She has created music with her husband of eight years, Daimon, ever since the two met in high school. "We've both had music in our lives forever, both separately and together," she said. The two frequently perform songs they have written under the name Bone and Marrow along the Jersey Shore, including at the Light of Day Winterfest 2022. Santa Maria is also a full-time art teacher at the Oakwood School, a non-profit high school in Monmouth County that serves disadvantaged youth. "A lot of my students have been dealt difficult cards and lead difficult lives," she said. "I see how important art can be as a therapy tool and encourage my students to share their pain through their art, because where there's pain, there's passion." She also encourages her students to explore creative careers and how to think creatively in both school and in life. Pysanky allows Santa Maria to give people a piece of the Earth. Her art is her legacy, and her light and passion shine through her generosity, leader- ship, and extraordinary creativity. u Santa Maria and husband, Daimon, perform under the name Bone and Marrow. For more information about Jenny Santa Maria and pysanky, visit www.flametipstudio.com. courtesy of Jenny Santa Maria

• Cover