The first snow of the season has yet to arrive in Coney Island, but the weather forecast says 70% chance of snow on Saturday night. Coney Island resident and ATZ contributing photographer Bruce Handy/pablo57 sent us this exquisite image of a snowy day on the Boardwalk in January: “One of my favorite photos from last season. Ranked number 4 in my top 100.” It’s one of our faves, too.
Have you noticed it’s already snowing on our blog? One of the “extras” for the holiday season on WordPress.com is animated snow. Our blog host has been doing this for the past two years. Amusing the Zillion debuted in April, so this is our first virtual snow. We’re enjoying it! Apologies in advance if anyone is inconvenienced. According to the instructions for “allowing” the snow, it can slow down the load time and eat up a lot of CPU on slower computers. There’s also a link for “preventing” the snow, if you choose. The snow is expected to end on January 4.
Coney Island USA’s artist-in-residence Marie Roberts is an accomplished painter who is best known for her banners for the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. Her canvas advertisements for Donny Vomit, human blockhead; Heather Holliday, the youngest female sword swallower; Serpentina, the snake charmer; and guest freaks like the Lizard Man adorn the CIUSA building 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Coney Island banner line is a year-round tourist attraction and fave subject of photographers. During the off-season, the artist continues to produce banners for private clients as well as other genres of paintings. On the weekend of December 12-13, you’re invited to Marie Roberts’ Open Studio to meet the third generation Coney Islander and view her watercolor “tondos” of the old amusement district.
Astro Tower from Studio Window by Marie Roberts. Watercolor/gouache, 8 x 8 inches, 2009
“I received a faculty research grant from Fairleigh Dickinson University last summer,” says Roberts, who is a professor of art at FDU as well as at CIUSA’s Sideshow School. “The project was to compose in round, or “tondo” format. I intended to do invented figure compositions, but became enthralled with the views from the studio window.”
The artist’s studio on the second floor of Coney Island USA’s Building has a view of the Wonder Wheel, Astrotower, Old Bank of Coney Island and Luna Park … the furniture store! The studio location is 1208 Surf Avenue at West 12th Street in Coney Island. Open Studio hours are from 1- 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday, December 12-13.
The artist also paints banner portraits for folks who do not perform in the sideshow, but enjoy having their own banner at home or to promote their work. How does the Coney Island banner painter decide what kind of banner to paint for someone? “It depends on the client,” Roberts says. “Some know they want to be ‘The Feejee Merman’ and know the exact pose and what will be included in the painting. Some have no clue and I try to see what they want from their words. ‘Anything you want,’ said one client. It’s usually a collaboration of what they want and I can do.”
Tommy Couteau, pictured above with Marie Roberts, won the “have yourself painted any way you want” package at Coney Island USA’s gala auction. He decided he wanted both a mermaid banner and a “Guy from Coney Island” banner.
Says Roberts,“I have had to make banners where I don’t know what people look like. In one for a photographer, I covered her face with a camera. In another, for a group of people, they wore masks painted to look like the cast of a sideshow they had seen.”
Roberts recently completed banner for artist and “photo reader” Stephanie Diamond is on display in Miami at the Scope Art Show’s Covet Garden marketplace through December 6th. Diamond’s art project is “Snap Sharing, which uses psychometry, an intuitive technique that involves holding or touching objects or photographs to gather information.”
You can visit with Marie Roberts and her Coney Island banners via Sideshow Picasso, a documentary by Marilyn Agrelo filmed earlier this year and viewable on YouTube…
Marie Roberts Open Studio, Coney Island USA, 1208 Surf Avenue at W 12th St, Coney Island. December 12-13, Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 pm. The Coney Island Museum, which is on the same floor as Roberts studio, is open weekends year round and will be open from 12 – 5 pm.
The Freak Bar at Coney Island USA: Cake by the Cake Boss. Decorated with Sweet Replicas of Marie Roberts Sideshow Banners. Photo via Bruce Handy/Pablo 57’s flickr
Last night we were gathering info for an upcoming post about Coney Island Circus Sideshow banner painter Marie Roberts when we got some scrumptious news: A new episode of Cake Boss featuring a cake decorated with sweet little replicas of Marie’s giant-size banners premiered last night on the Learning Channel. If you missed seeing it, as we did, tune in on Wednesday, December 2 at 8 pm or 11 pm or watch the episode on the Cake Boss’s website or here. In the meantime, enjoy the photos by Bruce Handy/Pablo 57, Norman Blake and Marie Roberts. That’s Marie snapping some photos above. We recognize her bangles! Stay tuned for ATZ’s post later today tomorrow on Marie Roberts’ banner art.
The Cake Boss is a reality show about Buddy Vlastro of Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop and his family. We remember when they filmed this episode on a busy summer day in Coney Island. Now we’re sorry we didn’t stop by the sideshow for a piece of cake afterwards! The episode is titled “Freaks, Fast Food and Frankie.” According to the program guide: “The bakery heavyweights are challenged to an eating contest after they create a buffet-style cake for Major League Eating. Then one of Frankie’s biggest fears is exposed while making a cake for the Coney Island Circus Sideshow.”
Detail from Cake Boss Cake: Replica of Marie Roberts’ Banner of Sword Swallower Heather Holliday. Photo via Bruce Handy/Pablo 57’s flickr
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