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JANUARY 2019
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The art of inking
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Student wins social change fellowship
Jumping for joy
Tattoo artist creates pieces that last a lifetime By Kellie c. MurPhy More and more people are gravitating towards tattoos as society becomes more openminded. Bordentown-based tattoo artist Chris Seldon has seen that firsthand. “Generations change,” he said. “Tattooing has gotten popular on TV. Its come a long way. I’ve tattooed people in their 80s. I just had these Vietnam vets here who started talking about Vietnam, and I was like, ‘Wow.’” Seldon’s station at Timeless Tat2 is a peaceful, artistic space. There’s his client’s chair, the table where his paints are set up, his swivel seat and plenty of soothing art and music. There’s a painting high on the back wall that his own father, who’s in the marble and tile business, painted. His girlfriend, Amber, helps him out in the shop as he opens up about art, Timeless Tat2, and how he got in the body art business. “This shop is really a great environment,” said Seldon, a Bordentown resident. “I was bouncing around from shop to shop. Doing pop ups. [Timeless Tat2 owner Chris Stumpf] created an environment here that even if I tattoo only one person or two people a day, putting all my talent into it and making sure it’s right is the priority over volume. Having Chris as a boss is a blessing.” Seldon, 41, was born in Trenton and grew up in Princeton. He has been in the tattoo business for a little longer than 11 years. He apprenticed at BurnSee SELDON, Page 10
Centenary senior honored for her Student Mobilization Committee By SaMaNtha SciarrOtta
Isabella Mayo and Lauren Redwood perform in the Bordentown Regional High School production of “Cinderella,” which ran Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2018 at the high school. For more photos, turn to Page 16. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
New owner greets gallery at 50 Local staple Firehouse Gallery will preserve its artistic history in anniversary year By Michele alPeriN For Kelly Meyer of Bordentown, a third-grade teacher at St. Anne’s School, in Lawrenceville, the Firehouse Gallery was not just a local art program where her daughters Victoria and Kelsey went for art
classes, both during the year and in the summer. Victoria, a freshman at Kean University, took classes with the gallery’s second owner, Eric Gibbons, from ages 7 to 16, and her work with him inspired her to pursue a degree in fine arts, with a career goal of becoming an art therapist. Back when Victoria was obsessed with dolphins, Meyer says, “he made her think outside the box—if you want to draw dolphins because you love them so much, what are you going to put with the dolphins?”
Gibbons urged his students to expand their work in other dimensions. For example, he asked them to write stories about their artwork, which he then compiled into The Book Of Why: Children Stories by Students of The Firehouse Gallery, which he published through Amazon. He also celebrated his students’ work at art camp by holding a gallery opening that included two pieces from each child. “He really brought out her artistic talent; I don’t know if See GALLERY, Page 8
Hope Leonard just wanted to help her peers at Centenary University in Hackettstown become more politically engaged. She didn’t expect her idea to translate to an award. Leonard, a Bordentown resident, received a Newman Civic Fellowship, which recognizes college students who are committed to social change. The fellowship began in September 2018 and will run through May. Leonard, a social work major with minors in political and governmental affairs and sociology, was honored for starting Centenary’s Student Mobilization Committee, an advocacy group that aims to raise political awareness and to foster a spirit of inclusion. Leonard and her fellow honorees were selected by Campus Compact, a countrywide organization that aims to encourage democracy through civic engagement and community development. She was nominated by Centenary president David P. Haney. Each school is allowed only one nomination. According to the Campus Contact website, nominees should “engage in collaborative action with others from campus or from surrounding communiSee LEONARD, Page 7
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