Getting into the Morristown CraftMarket is easy for visitors. Buy a ticket, and you’re in.
But getting into this weekend’s juried show as an exhibitor is another matter. For photographer Jeremy Moss, it’s taken years of obsessive attention to detail, abundant patience…and the discipline to crawl out of bed very early, when the sun’s soft light turns ordinary scenes into breath-taking spectacles.
“Photography makes me look at things in a slightly different manner,” said Jeremy, who emigrated from Leicester, England, to Maplewood with his wife in 1995.
“I find it fascinating that you can present something from everyday life to people and they don’t recognize it.”
He is among 160 artists from 25 states who will be showcased at the Morristown National Guard Armory, on Western Avenue in Morris Township, from Oct. 18-20, 2013.
Works range from photography and paintings to jewelry, leather, ceramics, metal, glass, wood and wearable fiber. Many items are one-of-a-kind or limited editions.
Ken Selody, a Somerset, NJ, horticulturalist who has appeared on Martha Stewart’s show, will lead a fall plant sale featuring trimmed topiaries and other leafy surprises. Specialty foods also will be available, and donations of gently used clothing will be collected for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Proceeds from the 37th annual Morristown CraftMarket will benefit charities of the Kiwanis Club of Randolph. The Kiwanis are partnering with Morris Arts, which has hailed the CraftMarket as a “nationally acclaimed fine art and craft show” and “a major cultural event.”
A sampling of items coming to the 2013 Morristown Craftmarket
For Jeremy Moss, this will be year four as an exhibitor.
“I did not sell much my first year, but I built a following,” he said. “Last year was my most successful show.”
Jeremy will be displaying macro (extreme closeup) nature shots specially printed on frameless aluminum, and black and white photographs on metallic paper. Prices range from $60 to $800.
People frequently compliment him for shooting on film instead of digitally, he said, when in fact, his work is digital.
“The secret is true blacks,” Jeremy explained. “In digital, you get red and blue artifacts that make the blacks look grey. So you need to do color-correction. Otherwise, your whites and greys will be off.”
Jeremy began his photographic career with traditional film, in darkrooms. He got hooked at age 14 by a photo class in school, back in England. Eventually, he began shooting fashion assignments for magazines. His big moment came when model Naomi Campbell, wearing very high heels, toppled off a runway.
His exclusive shots ran in the U.K. But he did not own the rights to them. He decided to launch his own photo business.
Around that time, he switched from film to digital. Working at home with PhotoShop on a computer was easier and more economical than mixing chemicals in a darkroom–and healthier, too, with three children around.
Yet despite all their advantages, digital photography and smartphone cameras have diminished the medium in some ways, Jeremy said.
“Everyone’s snapping away… there’s no thought behind it. It takes some of the artistry away from the act of it. The world is saturated with it. It’s created more photographers at art shows. Before, it was expensive. You had 36 shots on a roll. You had to be more trained and disciplined.”
With digital, you just hit “delete” if you don’t like a shot.
“We’re a very throw-away society. You can stay there all day until you get it right,” said Jeremy, 53, who teaches the basics to children from ages 2 through high school.
“PhotoShop will do marvelous things. But if you haven’t got a good shot to start with, it’s not going to make it a good shot.”
That requires a combination of skill and planning. You must develop a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
“I have one I call ‘Golden Tree.’ I shot it at 5 am near the Delaware Water Gap. The sun hit a beech tree sapling…it was like the top of the tree was on fire. Everything else was dark. To get things like that, you have to be slightly disciplined, to get up early. Some of the best shots on earth are at dawn or dusk, when the light is softest.”
Fortunately, you don’t have to get up early to appreciate great photography. You can see Jeremy’s work at the Morristown CraftMarket from 5-9 pm on Friday, from 10 am-6 pm on Saturday and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday.
Admission is $10 at the door, or $12 for a weekend pass. Children under 12 with an adult are free. A coupon for $2 off the admission price is available at the CraftMarket website. Parking is free.
Big Brothers Big Sisters will be collecting gently used clothing items throughout the show. Receipts will be issued for tax-deductible donations of clothing items accepted at the collection truck located near the parking lot, which are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
