Summertime, and many head down the shore to the barrier island and summer colony known acronymically as LBI. Surfing, sailing, cycling, or swimming may be on the agenda, along with snorkeling and summer concerts, but on the weekend of Aug. 12 and 13, the LBI Artist Open Studio Tour will add to Long Beach Island’s cultural amenities.

Now in its 17th year, the free, self-guided tour takes visitors inside the homes, studios, and galleries of the many professional artists working on the island. Artists will demonstrate their processes, display artwork and offer it for sale.

Forty years – it can seem like a very long time if, say, you’re waiting for a bus or Uber Eats delivery. On the other hand, if you’re watching something grow – like the Ellarslie Open, the annual signature event at the Trenton City Museum that draws accomplished artists from the greater New Jersey region, you may be wondering: where did the time go? 

Artist David Orban has been around for those years – in fact, his wife, the artist Mary Yess, organized the very first Ellarslie Open. Orban has been submitting his work to the exhibition – its jurors are known for having rigorous standards – with hits and misses. This year, his hit included the top prize – his painting, “The Work Party: Biplane and Blue Truck in Green,” earned Best in Show. To put that in perspective, there are 150 works of art, selected from a total of 600 submitted. 

Though taking up less than 3 square miles in the heart of central New Jersey, the borough of Metuchen boasts a robust public art program. Among painted storefronts, sculptures both historic and contemporary, hanging banners, and artfully painted pianos and Adirondack chairs, a new mural is about to be unveiled. 

On June 24, from 1-4 p.m., a Community Celebration for Peace will take place at Earthsongs Ceramic Studio, 242 Amboy Avenue, Metuchen. The peace mural unveiling will be part of a special benefit for Ukraine. 

The mural was begun last year during Clay Days in Metuchen, under the leadership of ceramic artist and Earthsongs proprietor Linda Vonderschmidt-LaStella. “Clay artists came from New York and New Jersey for a full weekend,” she says.

“Clay is a healing and inviting material,” says V.-LaStella, who has taught workshops to seniors and in her basement studio, where she works off a repurposed Ping-Pong table. “My work, whatever the imagery, is really about connecting with the earth. I believe the medium of clay by its very nature does that.”