Month: August 2012

12-Hour Drawing Marathon on September 8

Sharpen your pencils and grab your newsprint pads! Our Drawing Marathon Fundraiser is the forth and final event in The Art League’s “30-Something” Summer Series of events. From 10:00am-10:00pm on Saturday, September 8, artists may come to The Art League’s Duke Street Annex and draw for as little or as long as they like with a $30 donation (click here to register; drop-ins welcome). Creative participants will have variety of models and still life setups from which to sketch. Artists must bring their own drawing supplies (painters also welcome!), easels will be provided.

Members of our esteemed faculty will join in the draw-a-thon, and they will provide artistic inspiration and technique tips throughout the day. Instructor Rob Liberace will join the group via Skype for a virtual demonstration late in the afternoon.

The details:

Location: The Art League’s Duke Street Annex, One Duke Street, just off the corner of Duke and South Union Streets, Alexandria, VA 22314
Date: Saturday, September 8, 2012, 10:00am-10:00pm
Admission: $30 donation to participate in up to 12 hours of drawing; click here to register; drop-ins welcome. All proceeds go to fund the build-out at the Madison Annex.

Participating instructors:
Morning:
Scott Hutchinson
Lisa Semerad
Kurt Schwarz
Early Afternoon
Ted Reed
Afternoon
George Tkabladze
David Carter
Jin Chung
Late Afternoon/Early Evening
Rob Liberace
Evening
Joe Spollen
Jim Burford
Tatyana Leykin

Need more info?  Email: [email protected], or call: 703-683-2323.

See you there!

Art Classes, Artist Opportunities, Events

Bowled Over: A Blogger Tries Pottery

Have you watched the Ice Cream Bowl Throwdown video we posted yesterday? They make it look easy, don’t they?

Don’t make me laugh.

My name is George. I do the blogging here at The Art League. Blogging, while requiring a certain amount of creative output, isn’t really a “fine art.”

So we thought it would be fun for me to leave my comfy spot behind this keyboard and try my hands at the potter’s wheel. I have returned to share what I learned. Full disclosure: I don’t know what I’m talking about. But I can recommend the ceramics jumpstart class this fall if you want more reliable information.

My teacher was Tiffany Scott (bronze medalist in the throwdown) who works in The Art League School and teaches ceramics to summer art campers — her patience with young pupils would prove useful during my lesson.

Day 1: We wedged the clay to prepare it for the potter’s wheel. It vaguely reminded me of kneading bread. Then we skillfully plopped our raw material on the wheel and I learned how to center it, open it up, and shape the sides — but not for long. Suddenly, somehow, my developing bowl became an unwieldy, floppy mass. The clay could be recycled, though.

My first lesson.

Bowl Two was a similar story. It fell apart at the sides.

Bowl Three went wrong, too, but with lots of help from Tiffany, we salvaged it into a mini-bowl. A success, in my book.

Not too shabby.

Read on for the rest of the story! Continue reading Bowled Over: A Blogger Tries Pottery

Events

Artist Opportunities: August 28, 2012

Read on for upcoming classes, exhibits, and other opportunities! You can click the banner above to see past opportunities posts.

Apply to Gallery West!
Gallery West is jurying for new members. We are at 1213 King Street and would love to see your work. For more information or to express your interest, please contact P. Delia Chisholm at [email protected] or 703-328-1020, or Jefferson Evans at [email protected]  or 703-869-1682.

Seminars and portfolio reviews for photographers
FotoWeek DC and the Goethe Institut are offering portfolio reviews and a variety of seminars this November. Seminar topics include self-publishing photography books, marketing photographs, and working in multimedia, among others. Click the links for details; early-bird discount for seminars ends September 9.

4th Annual Juried Art Show benefitting the Retreat
Deadline: September 1, 2012. The Retreat, the only non-profit domestic violence agency serving the East End of Long Island, is pleased to announce their 4th Annual Juried Art Show. In the previous three years of the Juried Art Show the Retreat has garnished both national and international attention by reaching artists who have submitted works for consideration as far as South Africa, San Paolo, Brazil, the Midwest, and the entire Eastern seaboard. The show benefits the Retreat’s Domestic Violence Services and is open to all artists with work in Photography, Painting, 2D, 3D, and Sculpture (no video art). The work cannot be larger than 24″ x 36″. For details and to enter, visit hamptonsjuriedartshow.com.

The Cube at Canal Park
Deadline: October 1, 2012. Artists or Artist Teams in the Washington DC area with experience in time-based works are encouraged to submit materials for consideration in the curatorial programming for a 20’ transparent cube equipped with data projectors and an audio system, at Canal Park in SE Washington DC. The Cube is part of Canal Park Development; the project is administered by the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and curated by Bruce McKaig. Interested artists should email a letter of interest, a brief statement about their work and url(s) for work samples to: [email protected]. Two artists or artist teams will be selected, to each program a 4-month exhibition for the Cube between March and October 2013, in exchange for an honorarium, artistic, technical, marketing, and community support.

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Deadline: November 15, 2012 (late applications through November 30). The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is produced annually by the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) and showcases the best contemporary fine art and craft from around the country. The 2013 Festival will be held on May 17, 18 and 19, 2013 and marks our 22nd anniversary. Over two hundred artists will be selected on the basis of quality, originality, and craftsmanship by a panel of jurors, who are experts in their fields, and by members of GRACE’s professional staff. For details and to enter, click here.

Artist Opportunities

The Ice Cream Bowl Throwdown

Some of the selection from the 2011 Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser.

With the ceramics department’s annual Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser just around the corner, three potters gathered in The Art League’s ceramics studio last Friday for a throwdown.

The contestants were Tiffany, Jack, and Blair, who have been churning out hundreds of bowls over the past few weeks along with other ceramics artists. Their challenge: throw as many ice cream bowls as possible in 20 minutes.

The clay Olympics weren’t without drama — including a blown fuse, necessitating a time-out, and injuries including a case of dreaded potter’s back. As for the winner, you’ll just have to watch the video.

All that stress and exertion sounds like the perfect prelude to a refreshing bowl of ice cream.

Tomorrow: See our blogger George’s attempt at making a bowl of his own.

The Art League’s Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser will be the weekend after this one: September 8 & 9, at Market Square in Alexandria. For $15, you can get a handcrafted ice cream bowl, filled with its first of many scoops of ice cream (provided by Artfully Chocolate).

Events

Q&A with Award Winner Marsha Staiger

“Graft Revisited, Morning” by Marsha Staiger

For the August landscape show at The Art League Gallery, “’Scapes,” juror Jonathan Linton selected the extra-tall abstract painting you see to the right for the Chameli and Amiya Bose Award, which goes to the best acrylic or oil painting on stretched canvas. Graft Revisited, Morning, by Marsha Staiger, has clean lines with a human touch, Linton said, also praising the color and texture of the painting. “The textural patterns look effortless and as if they belong exactly where she put them,” he said.

Marsha has also donated a painting from her R&B series for the Online Silent Auction of Faculty Work, starting on Sunday. You can read more about the auction, which will fund the Madison Annex build-out campaign, here — and click here to see the piece Marsha donated and register for the auction.

We asked Marsha to tell us more about Graft Revisited, Morning and her work in general. “’Scapes” is on view in the gallery through September 3.

Can you tell us about the Graft series — how it started, how it’s changed, where it’s headed, and what it’s all about?
Marsha: My Graft series started in 2004 when I had assigned myself a series of 50 18” x 14” paintings. In an effort to resolve the 50, I stacked five on my easel to work them as a unit. The verticality felt right to me and I started to attach the pieces, forming a 70” x 18” rectangle that used the repeating strata. I have continued to use the elongated format for several of my pieces, either vertical or horizontal.

As an abstract painting, how do you think Graft Revisited, Morning fits into the landscape show? What are the essential elements of a landscape?
This piece is all about the horizontal captured in a vertical. The colors are reminiscent of the changes that light creates, so many variations, as every day is unique.

The juror, Jonathan Linton, who selected your painting for the award commented specifically on the color, line, and texture. How do you use color in your work, and how do you select the colors you’ll use for specific paintings?
I am a colorist and work the painting until there is a color resolution, an interaction of color that makes the piece feel alive. I am very intuitive about my selections of color and let my senses take over for selections and variations. I love to take chances with the paint to see how far I can go. Continue reading Q&A with Award Winner Marsha Staiger

Artist Interviews

Artist Opportunities: August 21, 2012

Read on for details on upcoming deadlines! You can click the banner above for past opportunities posts.

The 31st Annual Smithsonian Craft Show
Deadline: September 14, 2012 (late fee for applications Sept. 15–21). The annual Smithsonian Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American crafts. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 120 artists from a large pool of applicants. Previous exhibitors must re-apply each year. No one is grandfathered into the show or given preference. Craft artists are selected on the basis of the originality, artistic conception, and quality of their work. The Show does not charge sales commissions. Full details can be found here.

Prize for Photographers
Deadline: September 15, 2012. The Center for Documentary Studies / Honickman First Book Prize in Photography is a biennial prize offering $3,000 in grant money, a solo exhibit at the Center for Documentary Studies, and most importantly, the publication of a book of photography, published by Duke University Press in association with CDS Books. Artists need to submit 40 photographs in .jpg format, 40 captions, and a CV and artist’s statement. For more information on eligibility and how to apply, go to firstbookprizephoto.com

Under The Influence: The 24th Annual Prince George’s County Juried Exhibition
Deadline: October 1, 2012. Under The Influence is a juried exhibition of works that show all kinds of influences, including, but not limited, historic, aesthetic and cultural. The exhibition is sponsored by The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division. The exhibition will be on display from November 5 through December 28, 2012. This call for entries is open to all artists 18 years and older who live, work, attend school or have studios in Prince George’s County, MD. Artists may submit a maximum of 3 artworks for consideration. Full details can be found on the juror’s blog, here.

Artist Opportunities

Online Silent Faculty Auction Begins Sunday!

Art League Online Silent Faculty Auction
Begins August 26 at 6:00pm and Closes August 28 at 5:00pm
Auction site: http://www.32auctions.com/organizations/4312/auctions/4770

The online silent auction of faculty work, the third event in our “30-Something” Summer Series, is only a few days away! We’re thrilled to present such a wonderful collection of works by our generous and talented faculty. Participating in the auction is a fantastic opportunity to own a masterpiece by a member of our talented faculty while supporting The Art League’s build-out at the Madison Annex. All proceeds from the auction go to fund the build-out project.

Scroll down to learn more about the instructors who have so generously donated works to the cause, and click on the images to go straight to the auction site!

Dawn Benedetto

Benedetto picked up her first torch when she was 14. She graduated with a B.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1993. In 1997, she became an artist in-residence at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Benedetto is best known for a ring she invented in 2001 – a simple design with a sterling silver band and colorful beads that adjusts to fit most fingers. She has recently been rejuvenated by a find of un-circulated vintage Lucite, and instantly fell in love with the rich, colorful candy-like material. She makes silver components that complement the Lucite. This line showcases Benedetto’s fascination with color, confections, and the big top circus. The collection is both contemporary and classic and honors a special period of design history that was full of hope, optimism, bold color and modernity.

Gwen Bragg


A Step Back II – Segesta is from Bragg’s Stone on Stone series. These transparent watercolors inspired by the artist’s visits to ancient sites seek to capture the mystery and romantic allure of architectural ruins. Each civilization leaves its mark. Rain and wind tear the surfaces. Facades crack and crumble, revealing what was once hidden. This painting of the lovely Greek temple in Segesta, Sicily speaks to the strength and survival of classical forms — over thousands of years.

The technique used in this series of paintings is Bragg’s own adaptation of a flipping technique she discovered in a master class under Lee Weiss. Paint is applied to both sides of the paper while working on a large sheet of Plexiglas. Flipping the paper over and over mixes colors and creates textures unique to this process and particularly appropriate for depicting timeworn architecture.

Bragg is an award winning artist and art instructor who lives in Alexandria. Holding a BS in Art Education and a MFA in Drawing and Painting from James Madison University, she has been teaching watercolor at the Art League School in Alexandria since 1989. In addition to workshops held annually at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and Orkney Springs, Virginia, every year since 1995 she has led an international painting workshop to “someplace with interesting architecture, artifacts and rocks” including Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain and Peru. She is a Signature Member of the National, Baltimore and Alabama Watercolor Societies, and an Artist Member and President of the Virginia Watercolor Society. Her work has been exhibited in numerous international, national and regional shows including solo shows at The Art League ’06, Strathmore Hall ’07 and US Geological Survey ’11. A solo show of her watercolors is scheduled for NIH in January 2013. Her work is included in the collections of Philip Morris, American Bank, Petersburg Area Art League, and the National Institutes of Health and the Carrier Library at James Madison University. Her work has been published in American Artists Magazine, The Artistic Touch 4 and Elan. Continue reading Online Silent Faculty Auction Begins Sunday!

Events

Q&A with Award Winner Trinka Roeckelein

This month in The Art League Gallery, the sculpture exhibit “The Shape of Things” is showing alongside the predominantly 2-D landscape show, “’Scapes.” Sculptors in the exhibit used materials including plywood, bronze, silk, steel, paper mache, and clay — the last is the preference of Trinka Roeckelein, whose Giraffe Boy was selected for the Monkith Saaid Sculpture Award by juror Mara Adamitz Scrupe. We asked Trinka to tell us more about her work with clay, the series Safari in Clay that Giraffe Boy is part of, and her artwork in general.

Giraffe Boy by Trinka Roeckelein
“Giraffe Boy” by Trinka Roeckelein, winner of the Monkith Saaid Sculpture Award.

Why do you work in clay? Do you use other media?
Trinka: I choose to work in clay because of the way it feels, its tireless unpredictability, the limitless possibilities for surface treatment and glazing, and the technical challenges it presents. I admire the sheer fragility it incorporates into the finished piece. Clay both fascinates and frustrates me. There is much experimentation and testing required to construct complicated forms in large dimensions, as well as the search to find the appropriate finishes.

In regards to other media, I was a free-lance digital artist in video and print for many years. In the early 1990s, my graduate thesis focused on the Macintosh computer as an assemblage, montage and design tool used to scan and manipulate my own photographs into digital prints and ceramic objects. This marked the beginning of my interest in human and animal forms.

Tell us about your series Safari in Clay — where did the idea come from?
After several trips to Botswana, I continue to relive the safari experience in my memory and artwork. I was captivated by the animals … their shapes, sizes, movements, sounds … and began creating animals in clay. The process differs vastly from how I had previously worked, as I now sculpt from memory or photographs taken on safari. The sculptures are larger, maybe an influence from the sheer vastness so evident in the African bush landscapes, which forms a challenge during firing. For Safari in Clay, each piece is one of a kind as opposed to multiples cast from a mold. The use of clay underlines a basic connection to the earth and emphasizes the ruggedness and uncertainty of the finished artwork, which complements a similar one of a kindness intrinsic in nature — the wildness of the animals and the snapshots in time they inspire.

Read more after the jump! Continue reading Q&A with Award Winner Trinka Roeckelein

Artist Interviews

Artist Opportunities: August 14, 2012

Good luck! You can click the banner above for an archive of past opportunity posts.

Fall 2012 Art Show & Sale
Deadline: August 19, 2012. The Springfield Art Guild & Friends of Green Spring Gardens Park present this exhibit and sale, August 28–October 28. Artwork submitted must be based on horticultural, natural or local history themes. Work may be no larger than 30″ x 40″ inches including frame. Only hand-painted, hand-drawn or other “original” art will be considered. All artwork must be for sale. Traditional photographs and digitally enhanced photographs are welcome. Drafts, photocopies, offset prints, lithographs or copies of already published art will not be permitted. The judge for the show is Lisa Semerad, an instructor at The Art League School. For full details and an entry form, you can download the prospectus here (PDF).

Solo shows at Hillyer Art Space
Deadline: August 31, 2012. Hillyer Art Space is currently looking for local DC Metro area artists and international artists to submit work for solo shows for the 2013-2014 exhibiition year. Proposals must include 5–10 high-resolution jpegs, a checklist of images, a resume, and an artist’s statement. For the full details on requirements and how to submit, click here.

Pastel Society of the Southwest 31st Annual Juried Exhibition
Deadline: September 5, 2012. PSSW 2012 National Juried Exhibition will be the nonprofit organization’s 31st juried show.  Membership ranges from beginners to nationally recognized professionals.  We invite you to participate in our juried exhibition and be a part of our quest for the highest artistic excellence in pastel. For full details, click here.

Artist Opportunities

Q&A with Award Winner Web Bryant

November Morning by Web Bryant
“November Morning” by Web Bryant

This month’s return of the annual “’Scapes” landscape exhibit, features 143 scenes of our external world — vistas and details, representational and abstract. One such scene that caught juror Jonathan Linton’s eye was November Morning, a watercolor by Web Bryant. Linton awarded November Morning the Potomac Valley Watercolorists’ Award for the best watercolor in the exhibit, praising the piece as a relatable moment and the different elements working together: a figure and a structure within nature.

We asked Web to tell us more about the painting, his background as a newspaper illustrator, and his work in general.

What draws you to landscapes, and what would you say is most important to a successful landscape?
Web: My grandmother’s couch. Really! One of my early childhood memories is the fabric on her couch — a repeated image of a dirt road going through large trees. As far a successful landscape? It has to stop the viewer, and to connect with them at some personal level.

You come from a journalism background — how has that storytelling element informed your work? What role do you think stories play in landscapes, the theme of the show?
Representational art and journalism are based on the narrative. Winslow Homer started out as a newspaper illustrator covering the Civil War. His work always told a story. He is a starting point for me. Landscape painting works best for me when I can see and capture a place and time — say a sunrise on a cold beach.

What inspired this painting — does it depict an actual place or event?
I did this painting for a number of reasons, but the most personal was trying to capture blue sand. I grew up in a beach town, Virginia Beach. Natural dune lines in late autumn in morning light cast a blue shadow. That is what I wanted to capture. It is one of my “I’m going to remember this and paint it one day” paintings.

Read more after the jump! Continue reading Q&A with Award Winner Web Bryant

Artist Interviews

Sculpture and ’Scapes, Now in the Gallery

“Centered” by Kathlyn Avila Reyes is an honorable mention in “The Shape of Things” sculpture exhibit. The large oil painting in the background is “Coral Forest” by Marcel, part of the “’Scapes” landscape exhibit.

You’ve read about them on DCist and the Huffington Post. You’ve seen some of the pieces on Flickr. Now come see everything for yourself!

“’Scapes,” the annual landscape show, and “The Shape of Things,” a sculpture-only exhibit, are on view at The Art League Gallery through September 3. And tonight is the opening reception: Thursday, August 9, 6:30–8:00 pm.

In case you need more enticing, here are a few preview images we took today in the gallery (click the thumbnails for full size):

[nggallery id=5]

 

You can read what juror Jonathan Linton said about the “’Scapes” show here, and watch this space for interviews with the award winners from each of the shows. We’ll see you soon!

Exhibits

Two New Video Demos: Hammered Metal & Silk Screen Printing

We’ve just added two new instructor demos to our video demo playlist on YouTube!

In the first with Michael Brehl demonstrates how to raise a copper bowl for his class, “Pound It Out: All Things Hammered.” You can watch him demonstrate the first round of raising below:

In the other new video, Nancy McIntyre shows her Silk Screen Printing class how to use block-out stencils to add another layer of ink to selected areas of a print. She added green ink with transparent base to a blue print of a sailboat, coloring the boat’s hull green and the sea a blue-green:

If you haven’t already, check out our YouTube channel (and subscribe!) for more videos. In addition to video from Art League events and exhibits, we have a growing library of instructor demos — three hours’ worth so far!

Art Classes

Sculpture Exhibit Opens Tomorrow

The Shape of Things: Sculpture at The Art League
“Giraffe Boy” by Trinka Roeckelein, winner of the Monkith Saaid Sculpture Award.

Tomorrow, “The Shape of Things” and “’Scapes” open in The Art League Gallery! Jurying for “’Scapes” is going on right now, but you can get a sneak peek of “The Shape of Things” right now on Flickr. 51 pieces were entered at 23 were accepted for the show, a sculpture-only exhibit juried by Mara Adamitz Scrupe.

Check out what’s in the show, then come by the gallery August 8–September 3 to see the exhibits! The opening reception is Thursday evening.

“The Shape of Things” and “’Scapes”
August 8–September 3, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 9, 6:30–8:00 pm

The Shape of Things: Sculpture at The Art League
“Centered” by Kathlyn Avila, left, and “Minerva” by Lesa Cook.
Exhibits

Paint the Fall Foliage with Bobbi Pratte

Autumn in Pennsylvania: Painting Hickory Bridge Farm
Plein air painting with Bobbi Pratte
October 17–18, 2012

After June’s successful lavender-themed painting workshop in Pennsylvania, instructor Bobbi Pratte is returning to the area in October for another colorful event: the fall foliage at Hickory Bridge Farm. The workshop, October 17 & 18, “was a no-brainer,” Bobbi said: “Everybody wanted to go back and paint.”

Painters fell in love with the scenery during the Pennsylvania Lavender Festival, and the landscape has lots to offer in the fall as well: mountains, farms, water, and of course October is “prime time” for fall color, Bobbi said. There’s “a little bit of everything,” including the historic barns at Hickory Bridge Farm.

Many students stayed at Hickory Bridge Farm, in Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, for the last workshop, but this will be the first workshop to make it the home base for painting. The farm has a very long history, and today it’s a bed and breakfast.

Workshop participants can expect painting sessions in the morning and afternoon on each of the workshop days, with lunch in between. The workshop takes place on a Wednesday and Thursday. More information about the Hickory Bridge Farm workshop is here, and general info about travel workshops at The Art League is here.

Photographs by Bobbi Pratte.

Travel Workshops