Month: January 2013

Sketch Ireland with Avis Fleming

The town of Roundstone, watercolor by Avis Fleming.
Roundstone, County Galway, on the Western Irish coast. From Avis Fleming’s sketchbook.

This May, artists can pack their sketchbooks and join the latest Art League travel workshop for a tour of the Irish coastline, painting and drawing their way through the countryside’s natural and man-made sights with veteran instructor Avis Fleming. (Click to view her website, with a biography and images of work from Ireland and other travel workshops.)

Avis, an Art League teacher for 25 years, has taught travel workshops to Louisiana and the Czech Republic, and this will be her third Ireland workshop. When we first asked her to arrange a trip for us, she and her husband, Paul Hodge, went on a scouting trip to scope out the best drawing spots in Western Ireland. It was a natural fit — the couple owns Connemara ponies, an Irish breed, and love the country’s literature and music.

Musicians in an Irish pub. From Avis Fleming's sketchbook.
Musicians in an Irish pub. From Avis Fleming’s sketchbook.

On this year’s trip, May 24–June 3, a private bus will take artists to small coastal towns, castles and abbeys, bays and harbors, natural wonders, prehistoric monuments, and picturesque locales rural and urban. Destinations include:

  • Westport, an English-style town, with accommodations at the three-star Clew Bay Hotel
  • Poulnabrone Dolmen (c. 2500 B.C.) on the Burren limestone formation in County Clare
  • Clifden, with accommodations in the award-winning Quay House overlooking the harbor
  • Two days in Roundstone, a painter’s dream location

… and many other stops. The group will spend a couple of days in each location, taking day trips to select sites and staying in charming small hotels like the two linked above. (There’s a link to the full itinerary below.) Continue reading Sketch Ireland with Avis Fleming

Travel Workshops

Artful Links: 13 Videos to Inspire Your 2013 (Part 1)

If you resolved to try something new this year, we want to help you with some inspiration in this edition of Artful Links. Get your creative wheels turning with these 13 videos of performances, installation art, demonstrations, video art, inventions, and more! Part 1 includes 6 videos, and the next 7 will be in part 2. (Update: Find part 2 here.)

Any videos, photos, or websites you’ve seen recently that sparked your imagination? What new projects will you work on this year? Share in the comments!

1. As part of MoMA’s “On Line” drawing exhibit, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker combines dance and drawing in this performance:

2. This short stop-motion film by PES, nominated for this year’s Oscars, combines familiar objects and actions in new ways:

More video inspiration is below! Continue reading Artful Links: 13 Videos to Inspire Your 2013 (Part 1)

Artful Resources

Make the Patrons’ Show a Success: Donate Artwork!

Patrons' Show 2013

The 46th annual Patrons’ Show is coming up, and The Art League needs your help to make this year’s fundraiser a success! Each year, this art-show-slash-block-party attracts hundreds of art lovers and raises funds to support The Art League throughout the year. It all depends on the amazing generosity of our volunteers and artists. We’re asking each member to donate artwork for this important fundraiser.

Why donate to the Patrons’ Show?

  • Prizes: Cash awards total over $1,500 this year. Artwork donated by Monday, February 4 will be eligible for the Van Landingham Awards, but the Gallery will accept donations at any time. There is also the $1,000 Clemente Prize, awarded to the artist whose work is chosen by the first ticket-holder during the drawing, and the $250 Geri Gordon Award, presented to the artist whose work is selected by the First Choice raffle winner.
  • Exposure: Each year the Flickr page with images of all the artwork gets tens of thousands of views — last year it was over 40,000. Plus, hundreds of Patrons’ Show ticket-holders fill the Gallery each year to study their favorites, and they remember the artists and artwork they fall in love with. (Click here to read some stories from past Patrons’ Shows.)
  • Support The Art League: The Patrons’ Show is our biggest fundraiser, and all proceeds go to benefit The Art League’s educational programming, exhibits, and community outreach programs. Each work of art valued at $200 or more means we can sell another $200 ticket.

So if our programs have made an impact on you, your artwork donation can continue to support our nonprofit mission: nurturing the artist to enrich the community. All the information about donating is here. Thank you!

Two of last year's attendees with their choices picked out and color-coded.
Two of last year’s attendees with their choices picked out and color-coded.
2012 attendees follow along as artwork is selected.
Events, Exhibits

Artist Opportunities: January 29, 2013

See below for details on upcoming exhibits, art fairs, and other opportunities. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!

Art in the Courtyard
Deadline: February 28, 2013. The Merchants of Lorton Station are providing a free community event, Art in the Courtyard. The exact date of the event is to be decided by the artists; please let us know which Saturday in May is best for you when filling out your application. The event will feature artists from the Workhouse, Occoquan, and Alexandria displaying their art for sale. There will also be a complimentary wine tasting and a live jazz band. There is no charge and no percentage taken from the artists for this event — it is totally free! For more information and the application, contact Gabriella Nunez at [email protected] or call 703-339-7506.

Maryland Artists
Deadline: March 11, 2013. The Art Outside Free Art Festival at Druid Hill Reservoir will take place on Sunday, May 19, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entries are currently being accepted in these categories: ceramics/clay, drawing, painting, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, photography/digital, textile, and wood. There is a non-refundable fee of $50 upon acceptance into the show. There is no entry fee or commission on sales. For more information and to apply, click here.

See below for more announcements! Continue reading Artist Opportunities: January 29, 2013

Artist Opportunities

March150 Fundraiser at Target Gallery


The Target Gallery and the March of Dimes are teaming up to raise money for both organizations with their third annual exhibition fundraiser, March150 (formerly titled “March Madness”). The show includes 200 panels of artwork created by local artists, each only $150 (and only $100 the night of the Art Party on March 15), and a free kids art activity on Sunday, March 10.

  • Exhibition & Entry: March 9–17, 2013. Panels can be paid for and picked up through Sunday, February 17. Artwork is due back to Target Gallery March 1–5, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The $15 entry fee guarantees entry into the exhibition, a chance to win awards chosen by special judges, and free entry to the Art Party on Friday, March 15. Download the complete prospectus (PDF) here.
  • Kids Art Activity: Sunday, March 10, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, FREE. March of Dimes will sponsor an art activity for kids whose families benefited from the March of Dimes, as well as the public. This activity will be held on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in front of the spiral stairs. Completed artwork may be left to be part of a mini exhibition with a cookies and lemonade reception on March 14 at 6:00 pm during Second Thursday Art Night.
  • Art Party: Friday, March 15, 7:00–10:00 pm. $15 advance, $20 door. This ticketed event will be held at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. The theme of the evening will have a pub-like atmosphere to include games, pub faire, music, prizes and more. Artwork will be on sale for $100 during the Art Party. Five pairs of tickets to an exclusive Progressive Dinner Party will be hidden behind some of the artwork.
  • Progressive Dinner with Torpedo Factory Artists: Five of the artworks will be “loaded” with prizes of two tickets each to a exclusive dinner party to be held in April (date TBD). This is a party where each successive course is eaten at a different host’s house — the guests progress from house to house, in this case from studio to studio throughout the art center. Guests will be invited to enjoy great food while talking with artists about their work!

Read full details and buy Art Party tickets here.

 

Artist Opportunities

Meet The Art League Store Staff: Cindy Richmond

Cindy Richmond - The Art League Store

With Winter term classes now underway, things are busy at The Art League Store — the place to find all your supplies for Art League classes. It’s also one of the few places in the DC area to buy art supplies at low prices from working artists. One such artist is Cindy Packard Richmond, a painter and Art League member (you may remember her 2011 solo show in the Gallery, “Food, Glorious Food”). You can find her in the store on Wednesdays, ready to answer all your questions about oils and pastels!

Cindy told us more about the store and her favorite oil colors:

Why should I check out The Art League Store?
Cindy: You should visit The Art League store because 1) it is staffed by knowledgeable artists, 2) we are non-profit so our prices are lower than Michaels or other art stores, 3) you will be supporting The Art League, and 4) we know where everything is! Continue reading Meet The Art League Store Staff: Cindy Richmond

Art Classes

Q&A with Award Winner Amanda Nicholas

"Burrow Hill," lithography crayon on Yupo paper, by Amanda Nicholas. (Click for full size.)
“Burrow Hill,” lithography crayon on Yupo paper, by Amanda Nicholas. (Click for full size.)

Drawn to the piece by its emotional content, interesting line, and “wealth of mark-making,” juror Trace Miller selected the drawing above, Burrow Hill, for best in show in this month’s all-media exhibit. The artist, Amanda Nicholas, a new Art League member, drew it en plein air using lithography crayon on Yupo paper.

Amanda usually works outdoors, visiting a place several times and drawing over a period of time and multiple perspectives. She told us more about her creative process, Burrow Hill, and how she captures “the bones and essence of a place” by drawing perceptually and not following compositional rules — it’s all in our Q&A, below. You can see Burrow Hill and the rest of this month’s exhibit in person through February 4.

You’re a new member here — how did you find The Art League, and what was it like to enter your first show?
I actually found The Art League years ago — I worked as an intern for Summer Art Camp in 2007 and 2008, then as a teacher in 2009. Following that summer, I moved to North Carolina for grad school, and didn’t move back until this past November. I remembered the Art League and wanted to get connected to an artist community here, so I thought it would be a good place to start!

This was actually the second show I’ve entered here — in the first one I didn’t get in at all! So getting in this month and receiving best in show — I’m just ecstatic.

Why do you work in lithography crayon, and how did you get started drawing in that medium?
Lithography crayon was a happy accident. I took a lithography class in grad school, and experimented for a while with transfers, hoping that I could draw my subjects plein air and then transfer those drawings to the stone. The actual transfers were a bust, but the process (drawing with lithography crayon on paper coated with matte medium) was great! I was really fascinated with the lithography crayon — it dissolves in water, but is oil based. This meant that by dipping the crayon in water, I could get incredibly fluid lines (not the usual grainy crayon look). I could also use water to dissolve marks or tint it to create washes. When I’m not using coated papers, I like Yupo paper. The toothless surface allows the crayon to glide beautifully; no water necessary. I enjoy the black tone — it’s warmer and richer than charcoal — and like the way the marks sit on the surface; there’s a great immediacy to them, like they’re coming off the page.

Click to keep reading! Continue reading Q&A with Award Winner Amanda Nicholas

Artist Interviews

Artist Opportunities: January 22, 2013

See below for upcoming exhibits, contests, and events. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts.

Printmaking Competition
Deadline: February 1, 2013. The National Society of Arts and Letters DC’s Dorothy Nicholson Stabell Competition in Printmaking offers a regional first prize of $4,000, with the winner advancing to NSAL’s national career award competition in printmaking. Applicants must be U.S. citizens between the ages of 18 and 29 on May 18, 2013. For more information and to enter, click here.

More announcements below!

Continue reading Artist Opportunities: January 22, 2013

Artist Opportunities

“Altered Terrain”: Drawings by Rosemary Luckett

"Eden," ink, mixed media, paper, and watercolor, by Rosemary Luckett.
“Eden,” ink, mixed media, paper, and watercolor, by Rosemary Luckett.

Art League instructor Rosemary Luckett has a new exhibit of drawings, open through March 2 at the Ramp Gallery at McLean Project for the Arts! For the hours and location, click here.

“Virginia artist Rosemary Luckett makes works that spring from many diverse sources of inspiration, from wild American landscapes to Dutch paintings, to surrealism. Pulling these disparate factions and forces together into images that serve as metaphors for American culture and commerce, she explores and alludes to the connections she sees between and altered terrain and the absent people who have transformed it. Both playful and at the same time deadly serious, these images present a powerful commentary on contemporary life.”

Rosemary is teaching two classes at The Art League this winter: Sculpture From Scrap, which started Sunday, and Collage: Art of Transformation, which starts tomorrow (January 23) and runs for six weeks. Click here for her full teaching schedule at The Art League, and you can watch a video from her Fall term collage class here.

News

Ethiopia Travel Workshop: Info Session Wednesday

The climb to Debre Damo Monastery in Ethiopia. Photo by Andarge Asfaw.
The climb to Debre Damo Monastery in Ethiopia. Photo by Andarge Asfaw.

Curious about joining The Art League’s upcoming travel workshop to Ethiopia with photographer Andargé Asfaw? Join us at the Madison Annex (305 Madison Street) outside room 8 for an information session, this Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 pm.

The workshop, March 11–22, is open to photographers and artists in all media, who will go on a tour of the amazing historical sites of Ethiopia.

You can read more about the Ethiopia trip in our interview with Andargé. “You’re in paradise,” he said of Ethiopia, where he was born. “Everything is there for you. You’ve got culture; you’ve got architecture; you’ve got faces, animals — I don’t think you can ask for a better place than that.”

There’s more information on the trip here.

Travel Workshops

Patrons’ Show Tickets Go on Sale Tomorrow!

Patrons' Show 2012 sent 687 pieces of artwork to happy homes.
Patrons’ Show 2012 sent 687 pieces of artwork to happy homes.

It’s an art show, it’s a block party, it supports The Art League, and it sends hundreds of people home every year with original, affordable art. Are you ready for this year’s Patron’s Show?

Tickets for the 46th Annual Patrons’ Show, The Art League’s biggest fundraising event of the year, go on sale this Saturday, January 19 at 10:00 am ONLINE and in The Art League Gallery.

Make sure to visit the online ticket-purchasing page ahead of time and read the FAQs for online purchases. Please contact the Gallery (703-683-1780) if you have any questions! Tickets may also be purchased in the Gallery beginning at 10:00 am on Saturday. Checks, cash, and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) will be accepted in the Gallery.

Each $200 ticket entitles the bearer to a work of art worth $200 to thousands of dollars, selected when their number is called the night of the drawing — Sunday, February 17 at 4:00 pm. For a couple of weeks before the drawing, the available pieces can be viewed in the Gallery and online on our Flickr site. For more information about the Patrons’ Show and how it works, visit the Patrons’ Show 2013 page, view the FAQ for online ticket sales, and take a look at what happened at last year’s event.

Thank you to our 2013 Patrons’ Show Sponsors:

Halt Buzas & Powell, LTD

Events

Tied for Second – We Need Your Vote by 5pm!

On Monday, ACTion Alexandria, with support from the Bruhn-Morris Family Foundation, launched the “Make Us Your Favorite” Contest.  They are awarding grants to the top three organizations that recruit the most supporters to their organization pages on ACTion Alexandria (between Monday, January 14 at 9:00 am and Friday, January 18 at 5:00 pm). The prizes are $1,000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd place, and $250 for 3rd place.

We’ve dropped to second place but can still win the $1,000 prize! All you have to do is make us your favorite organization on ACTion Alexandria!

What is ACTion Alexandria?
ACTion Alexandria is the interactive engagement website of ACT for Alexandria, the community foundation that brings Spring2ACTion and so many other wonderful philanthropic fundraising events to The Art League and the Alexandria community each year.

How do I make The Art League my favorite?
If you have an account…
1.       Login to your ACTion Alexandria account: http://www.actionalexandria.org/user
2.       Click on “Organizations” on the navigation bar or go directly to our page: http://www.actionalexandria.org/organization/art-league-inc
3.       Search for organizations alphabetically or via keywords, issue and/or neighborhood
4.       Select the organization you want to add as a Favorite (The Art League!)
5.       Click the “Add to Favorites” graphic on our page just below our logo. You can like as many organizations as you want!

If you don’t have an account…
1.       Create an ACTion Alexandria account at this link: http://www.actionalexandria.org/user/register
2.       Look for your account verification email from [email protected]
3.       Verify your account by clicking on the account verification link in the email.
4.       Change your password by clicking on “My Account” link under “My Action Tools”.
5.       Then follow steps 2-5 above.

This is an easy way to support The Art League without spending a cent! Thank you so much to everyone who has already voted! Let’s make this happen!

News

Artful Links: Conservation Edition

"Half as Old as Time" By Gwen Bragg
<em>Half as Old as Time</em> By Gwen Bragg
Gwen Bragg watercolor
“Half as Old as Time” by Art League instructor Gwen Bragg.

Have you dusted your paintings recently? Do you know what materials to use to keep your creations bright and colorful, year after year? In this installment of Artful Links, we’ve found some links for artists and collectors all about conservation — read on for resources on caring for artwork and repairing damage, and some stories from professional conservators. Continue reading Artful Links: Conservation Edition

Artful Resources

Artist Opportunities: January 15, 2013

See below for upcoming exhibits and events, and good luck! You can click the banner above to see past opportunities posts.

A Thousand Artists
January 20–21, 2013. A Thousand Artists is a public art-making installation on the Washington Mall, which will occur on January 20 and 21, 2013, to demonstrate the power of art and its importance to democracy. For more information and details on how to participate, click here.

Read on for more announcements! Continue reading Artist Opportunities: January 15, 2013

Artist Opportunities

Local Scenes by Local Artists, January in the Bin Gallery

Art League Gallery Local DC Scenes

This month in the Bin Gallery at The Art League, we have a special wall dedicated to Local Scenes — paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs of DC and Alexandria-area sights. We asked our Bin Gallery artists to bring in their cherry blossoms, their Old Town Alexandria, their monuments, their Rock Creek Park, and more, to coincide with January’s inauguration festivities.

The Bin Gallery is a great place to find affordable work by recognized artists. To display work in the Bin Gallery, an artist must have had work juried into three or more exhibits in the past year. There are dozens and dozens of pieces for sale, both framed and unframed — our local scenes bin is restocked with iconic DC scenes, too.

Whether you’re visiting or living here, it’s a great opportunity to take home something handmade and uniquely DC!

Elephants and donkeys painting
“Shall We Dance,” oil pastel and watercolor, by Elizabeth Loftis. (Click here to read our recent Q&A with the artist.)
Capitol dome watercolor
“Tan Capitol,” watercolor, by Web Bryant. (Click here to read our recent Q&A with the artist.)

More photos below! Continue reading Local Scenes by Local Artists, January in the Bin Gallery

Exhibits

“Make Us Your Favorite” & Help Us Win an Easy $1,000!

ACTion Alexandria, with support from the Bruhn-Morris Family Foundation, has launched the “Make Us Your Favorite” Contest. They will award grants to the top three organizations that recruit the most supporters to their organization pages on ACTion Alexandria between Monday, January 14 at 9:00 am and Friday, January 18 at 5:00 pm. The prizes are $1,000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd place, and $250 for 3rd place.

It’s easy to help us win up to $1,000! All you have to do is make us your favorite organization on ACTion Alexandria!

What is ACTion Alexandria?
ACTion Alexandria is the interactive engagement website of ACT for Alexandria, the community foundation that brings Spring2ACTion and so many other wonderful philanthropic fundraising events to The Art League and the Alexandria community each year.

How do I make The Art League my favorite?
If you have an account…
1.       Login to your ACTion Alexandria account: http://www.actionalexandria.org/user
2.       Click on “Organizations” on the navigation bar or go directly to our page: http://www.actionalexandria.org/organization/art-league-inc
3.       Search for organizations alphabetically or via keywords, issue and/or neighborhood
4.       Select the organization you want to add as a Favorite (The Art League!)
5.       Click the “Add to Favorites” graphic on our page just below our logo. You can like as many organizations as you want!

If you don’t have an account…
1.       Create an ACTion Alexandria account at this link: http://www.actionalexandria.org/user/register
2.       Look for your account verification email from [email protected]
3.       Verify your account by clicking on the account verification link in the email.
4.       Change your password by clicking on “My Account” link under “My Action Tools”.
5.       Then follow steps 2-5 above.

Thanks for your continued support!

News

Color and Texture: Our New Tapestry Class

Tapestry by Tea Okropiridze
“Red Spot,” wool, acrylic, and cotton, by Tea Okropiridze.

Whether you’re an experienced weaver or you don’t know warp from weft, we have a new class for you to check out — The Art League’s new tapestry class kicks into gear Saturday, January 19. The seven-week course is taught by new instructor Tea Okropiridze, who previously taught a two-day workshop in tapestry this fall. Tea is a tapestry artist who started her career in the Republic of Georgia and more recently has participated in exhibitions with the Washington Project For the Arts\Corcoran and the Arts Club of Washington.

Tea told us more about the class, who can take it, and her artistic background, below.

What will students learn in your Tapestry class?  What sort of finished product will they take home?
Tea Okropiridze: This class concentrates on basic and intermediate Gobelin tapestry weaving techniques, creating a miniature woven tapestry (a little less than a letter size page) on a small frame loom. This class will start with warping the loom, and then we will learn how to make horizontal lines, vertical lines (pick-and-pick technique), different types of interlock, color mixing and hatching, shading, shaping, outlining and more.

Each student will work on individual small tapestries and will be able to take home the sampler they completed during the class. Depending on students’ level of experience, they can choose to weave a sampler or some other designs of their choice.

Should students have previous weaving experience?
Students do not need to have previous experience, since I will cover basics as well; however, it will be useful if they do. In that case, they will be able to dedicate their time to more advanced techniques.

Keep reading for more about the class! Continue reading Color and Texture: Our New Tapestry Class

Art Classes

Artful Resources: Protecting Images of Your Artwork Online

This is a sequel to our recent post, “Artful Resources: Using Flickr to Share Your Art.”

If you’re on Facebook, Flickr, or a blog to promote your artwork, you hopefully also have some images of your work. That’s great! In the low-attention-span world of the Internet, photos are the best way to grab someone’s attention — especially someone looking for art.

But what about when someone wants to steal your work? Most of the friendly people who find your site won’t even think of doing it. But some might, and while there’s no way to prevent a determined thief, there are easy ways to make your image less attractive to them. The only surefire way to keep your images to yourself is to keep them off the Internet — a valid option, but then no one would be able to see your work!

Here are two of the best options — and see the bottom of this post for links with more information:

  • Use low-resolution images: You can try to find a happy medium between an image that’s large and clear enough to convey the sense of the artwork, but small enough to prevent people from getting a clear image if they hit “print.” While you’re editing images for your site, try lowering the resolution to 72 ppi (pixels per inch) instead of the 150 or 300 that your camera might save. Then, you can decrease the dimensions to whatever size you see fit: maybe 500 or 1000 pixels across in the larger dimension. Here’s where to change the image size in Preview and Photoshop (on a Mac):
    In Mac’s Preview application, go to “Tools” and then click on “Adjust Size…” below.
    In Photoshop, select “Image” from the top toolbar and then click on “Image Size…” below.

    As always, don’t forget to save your changes to a new copy so you don’t overwrite your original! For directions on resizing using Microsoft Paint in Windows 7, click here.

  • Watermark your images: This can be a painful option, since it mars your image, but might be something you want to do to prevent theft — especially for photographers, whose work can be more easily replicated off the Internet. Watermarking is fairly easy to do with an image editor like Photoshop, and there are also online tools to do it — see below for a link. Note that someone skilled in Photoshop can still reconstruct your image — even if it won’t be exactly the same, it might be good enough for their purposes.

Continue reading Artful Resources: Protecting Images of Your Artwork Online

Artful Resources

Previewing the Preview (Opening Reception Thursday!)

Noah Williams found object sculpture
Solo Artist Coordinator Megan Fox and volunteer Tom Roberts hang a piece by Noah Williams, May’s solo artist, for the 2013 Solo Preview opening Thursday.

January All-Media Show
(January 9–February 4)
and 2013 Solo Preview
(January 10–24)
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 10, 6:30–8:00 pm

Tomorrow is the opening reception for the 2013 Solo Preview, with pieces from each of the nine solo artists that will be featured in The Art League Gallery this year. It’s also the reception for the January All-Media Show, which was juried yesterday and opened today!

Sabyna Sterrett’s solo exhibit will be the first of the year, opening in March. Sterrett’s art is made using recycled plastic bags, which have been woven, hooked, and crocheted together in unique ways. The year’s other solo exhibits will feature paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, and more found object art — by Noah Williams, above.

Detail from Sabyna Sterrett's sculpture, "Danger: Do Not Enter This Environment."
Detail from Sabyna Sterrett’s sculpture, “Danger: Do Not Enter This Environment.”

The 2013 Solo Preview opens tomorrow, so come in and see the rest of the work by this group of artists!

This month’s All-Media Exhibit, as always, includes lots of work by talented local artists in all media. Trace Miller, an artist and a professor at Towson University, was the juror. See below for some of the work he selected for the show, and please join us tomorrow (Thursday) for the opening reception! Continue reading Previewing the Preview (Opening Reception Thursday!)

Exhibits

Artist Opportunities: January 8, 2013

See below for two upcoming opportunities at the Torpedo Factory! You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts.

Torpedo Factory Visiting Artist Program
Deadline: February 10, 2013 (opens January 10). Emerging and experienced artists are encouraged to apply for residencies of one, two, or three months at the Torpedo Factory Art Center (June-August 2013). Visiting Artists are provided with workspace and are able to display and sell original work. This year’s juror is Maria Karametou. For more information and to apply, click here.

Torpedo Factory New Member Jurying
Artists working in fine arts and fine crafts are eligible to apply for the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Annual Jury for new members. Upon selection, the associate artist member is eligible to sublease from resident artists and work toward joining a studio in the future. Information sessions: Sunday, January 20 and Sunday, February 24, 2:00–3:00 pm in Studio 31. Receiving is Monday, March 18. For more information, click here.

Artist Opportunities

Artful Links to Watch

"3 Eyes," oil on paper by Scott Hutchison
“3 Eyes,” oil on paper by Art League instructor Scott Hutchison

Happy New Year from The Art League Blog! If you’ve resolved to be more creative this year, or you’re just looking to be inspired, educated, and entertained, we’re here to help you with these videos and video collections. Click away!

  • YouTube: If you aren’t already, don’t forget to subscribe to The Art League’s YouTube channel for dozens of instructor demos, videos from events and exhibits, studio visits, and more!
    • MOCAtv: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles just launched this channel in October in a partnership with YouTube. Check it out for art, music, projects, interviews, studio visits, and a series where artists curate YouTube by talking about their favorite videos.
    • Pollock: In this excerpt from the 1951 film “Jackson Pollock 51,” hear Pollock narrate his painting, and see him and his paint-covered boots in action. (Here’s the full film.)
  • Francis Bacon: OK, they aren’t so much for watching as listening, but this collection of BBC radio interviews with Francis Bacon dates from 1963 to his last interview in 1991 and you can hear him discuss his own painting, his influences, including the Velasquez painting that inspired his “screaming popes,” and claim that he doesn’t draw.
  • ArtBabble: ArtBabble from the Indianapolis Museum of Art gathers together hundreds of art-related videos including demonstrations, artist interviews, and guides to exhibitions and art conservation. They’re all broken down by theme, medium, style, time period, and other information for easy browsing.
  • Stained Glass Tour: Ever wondered how stained glass like this stuff gets made? Spectrum Stained Glass has a video tour on their website with short videos about each step of the process.
  • Those Who Make: In case you missed it the last time it was featured here, this video blog gathers the best examples of artists and others doing what they do.

For more Artful Resources, click here — and subscribe to our e-mail newsletter for weekly blog updates!

Artful Resources

Kick-Off 2013 With Creativity!

"Delaware River 1" by Matthew Pinney.
“Delaware River 1” by Matthew Pinney.

Resolve to try something new in 2013!

A new year brings a new term at The Art League School, and could bring a new direction for you. If you’ve taken classes with us before, why not try a different medium? Or you haven’t done any art since grade school, why not learn something new this winter, and something that could stick with you for years to come? It worked out for our art neophyte George, as chronicled in this series.

The Winter Term starts next week, January 7, though some classes have later starting dates and classes may be joined late depending on space. Read on for ideas! Continue reading Kick-Off 2013 With Creativity!

Art Classes