More than the art pieces and little trinkets on display. The Junebug Artfest during Metuchen summers is a community gathering. A celebration of the arts and the people that help create and support it. Music, poetry, literature and artistry are at play well into the night. The shadowed atmosphere at this time create a relax and calm environment. Where one can simply chat with friends. Or enjoy the familiar and not so familiar faces under the yellow glow of street lamps along Main street.
Jennifer Salvato Doktorski – In addition to writing for teens, I’m a freelance writer who has written articles and essays for national publications including, Cosmopolitan. I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer even though I often referred to my college major in English as “PreLaw” because it held the promise that I might actually find work someday.
As it turns out, I did find work. My first paid writing gig was as an editorial assistant for the North Jersey Herald & News, where, in addition to developing a life-long passion for coffee and news, I wrote obituaries for eight months. I’ve also worked as a speech writer, bank teller, ghostwriter, bookkeeper in a lampshade factory, pet shop clerk, and music zine editor.
My debut young adult novel, HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES, is published by Simon Pulse . My second YA novel, FAMOUS LAST WORDS, about a teen obit writer will be published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in July 2013.
Adjenai is a singer / songwriter, who has been inspired by artists such as Whitney Huston, Aretha Franklin, and Alicia Keys. She has been playing the piano since age eight and is a self-taught guitarist. Her music is an alternative, acoustic Pop, and R&B blend. She is thankful for the support her family has provided and is eager and enthusiastic to share her music with the world.
Adjenai loves to perform and had her first opportunity in a community production of Bye Bye Birdie, from there she performed in 101 Dalmatians at Villagers Theater and in ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas as a soloist at Kelsey Theater. Her theater credits include the regional production of A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theater, where she performed as “The Ghost of Christmas Past”.
Her commercial credits include a national McDonald’s ad, along with spots for Ethan Allen, YMCA, Savin Copiers, and KeySpan. Adjenai was also excited to be a part of a History Channel television special on the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Macy’s Spring Collection Fashion Show.
Adjenai has performed her music at various talent shows. She was also a performer at the East Brunswick Vocational and Technical School for the Performing Arts Benefit Concert, played with Acoustic Soul at Guanabana’s restaurant in Jupiter, FL and continues to perform locally at various venues.
Alexis Wilner – Although at first nervous, then excited, tonight turned out to be awesome. I’m so glad that I did it and so happy that I was able to. Thank you Sergio & Karin at @To Be Continued for inviting me & all of my friends and family for joining us!
Alexis is a grade school public speaker and can take care of troubles. With her trusty best friend supporting her on stage, and her little puppy along her side. Alex is unstoppable.
Born and raised in northwestern New Jersey—near the Pennsylvannia border—Lindsey Erin Shevkun was first nudged towards the creation of art by her mother, who worked for a large art supply manufacturer. Consequently, she was constantly experimenting with different materials around her house. Indeed even at an early age, it seemed a life immersed in art was destined for this product of The Garden State. As an elementary school student, little Miss Shevkun won a poetry contest with a poem that was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica.
Following her secondary education, Miss Shevkun continued her pursuit of her artistic passions in a setting that could very well be described as the polar opposite of her rural roots: The very urban, inner-city setting of Philadelphia. As an undergraduate student at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Miss Shevkun was formally trained in various aspects of art while acquiring her Bachelor of Science in Art Education. Augmenting her training, Miss Shevkun greatly benefited from a year abroad as she lived and studied in Rome, Italy as part of her undergraduate studies. As a result, her art has been influenced by the High Renaissance artist Caravaggio, Philadelphia’s eclectic mosaic muralist Isaiah Zagar and more recently by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo as well as renowned Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
Today, Lindsey is a mixed media visual artist, who primarily works with acrylic paint, but incorporates a multitude of mediums and found objects into her work. Beginning in 2007, she has and continues to serve as an art educator at Plainfield High School in central New Jersey, where she spearheads the after school arts program she founded in 2008. While Lindsey devotes a majority of her time to teaching and creating visual art, she also enjoys utilizing her creativity in the culinary arts and gardening.
Lindsey Shevkun’s desire to paint comes from the primary force of life and most basic human needs, creating. Miss Shevkun states, “At times, I feel obligated to claim that my vision as an artist is to create work that will have a socially-conscious impact on those who see it. However, the unadulterated truth is: I just need to create. Whether it is in the studio, the classroom, the kitchen or otherwise—I have an overwhelming need to create art that will bring pleasure to another person’s life.”
