Local artist Jennifer Levine is cheating on Montclair! Well, we can't expect to keep her all to ourselves, now can we? Montclair folks have come to really connect with Levine; whether it is from participating in one of her collaborative murals, spying finished pieces in our favorite haunts like the Terra Tea Salon, or enjoying puppet fun at a Princess Moxie performance. So it is with pride, then, that we share this resident artist with the Outsider Art Gallery.

Levine currently has two drawings on display at the Outsider Art Gallery in Frenchtown as part of the Nursery Rhyme Project. Levine and other artists from all over the world were asked to use nursery rhymes as an inspiration. Levine chose The Cat and the Fiddle because she says, "it was fun." Good enough for us! She also
has a painted box and painted bottles at the gallery as well.

Lest you worry, Levine still has plenty of love (and art) for Montclair. Beginning November 20 and running through January 3 at Studio Kids Art, Levine will have a solo show featuring large format murals and collages. Come by the first day and watch Levine in action doing a live mural making (you may even get to join in)! In conjunction with her show at the Studio, Levine will also be doing three performances of her puppet show Princess Moxie Rules, which Levine describes as "a fun, funky, and feminist performance piece for 3-7 year olds," on December 31. And Church Street will soon be treated to more of Levine's handiwork with a new piece on the fence at Montclair Parking, across from Starbucks. Can't wait!

Here's a quasi-survey I hope you will respond to; where would YOU like to see Jennifer Levine do a mural next? I will start us off and nominate a wall at any of our town pools (which will hopefully still exist in the near future). I am a town pool devotee but, admittedly, they could use a little aesthetic upgrading and what better way to do that than with the help of a Montclair artist who admits, "one of my passions is bringing art to the people in Montclair."

Tara Chowaniec is a very plugged-in writer, curious wanderer, and mother of two gorgeous girls.