December 9, 2013 – The Art League

For a special gift — one that’s literally one-of-a-kind — you can’t really beat art, whether it’s a new class or workshop, or an original piece to hang on the wall. To show the art-lover in your life that you care, here are some holiday gift ideas from The Art League:

Art supplies

The Art League Store, on the second floor of the Torpedo Factory, sells everything the art student or working artist needs: watercolor paper, stretched canvas, a new set of pastels, or a stylish Join the Flock tote bag to carry their supplies to class in. For young artists who can’t wait for Art Camp to start up again, some markers, colored pencils, and newsprint can keep their creative side engaged.

Art classes

Drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, metalwork, stained glass, weaving, felting, knitting, child and teen classes, and Summer Art Camp … we keep pretty busy at The Art League School. You can encourage creative growth with the gift of a workshop, class, or camp — or, a gift card and a catalog for your artist to pick out a class to take. (If you need some ideas, you can look inside our classrooms in this YouTube playlist.)

Price: Prices for classes vary, ranging from $45 for the one-day Jumpstart in Ceramics workshop to an average of around $200–300 for a nine-week course. Summer Art Camps for ages five and up start at $155. You can search the catalog here.

Gallery membership

For the artist in your life looking to take the next step and start exhibiting, you can give them a supportive push in the right direction with an Art League membership. Membership at The Art League entitles an artist to enter juried group exhibits every month, submit to special exhibits like Art in City Hall, apply for a solo exhibit come Fall, access our reference library, and attend seminars and lectures.

You can pay a year’s dues (or renew an existing member), and take home a copy of Tidings and an exhibit schedule to wrap up so they’ll be ready to come to receiving January 6 or 7.

Price: A one-year membership is $95 for new members or $80 for renewals. We also offer one-month trial memberships for $30.

Handmade ornaments

The ornaments hanging on The Art League Gallery’s tree are each handmade by an Art League artist — painters, sculptors, and glass artists alike. We’ll be hanging new ones throughout the month, so come check out our collection!

Price: From $7 to $60

Bin Gallery artwork

Holiday Hippo by Trinka Roeckelein, in the Bin Gallery — *Holiday Hippo* by Trinka Roeckelein, in the Bin Gallery

Because everything in our gallery is original artwork, it’s guaranteed to be a one-of-a-kind gift. The artwork in the Bin Gallery includes unframed pieces by our artists, which are a perfect choice if you’re looking for an affordable option. Of course, we have new framed and 3-D artwork in the Gallery every month, too.

Price: $45 and up

Art League Apparel

Our “Join the Flock” merchandise has been a hit ever since we introduced it during our “30-Something” campaign last summer. These aprons, t-shirts (crew neck and scoop neck), buttons, and tote bags feature drawings of 12 famous artists — as birds — by Art League instructor Stephen Procopio. Get one for the Art Leaguer in your life and let them show off their artist pride!

Price: Shirts, $15–20; aprons, $20; bags, $10; and buttons, $1

Gift cards

OK, so it’s not always easy knowing exactly what class, what tube of paint, or what piece of artwork to get. Let your loved one choose for themselves with an Art League gift card, which they can use for any of the following:

Any Art League class (wrap it up with a school catalog and an Art League apron!)
Any artwork in the Gallery
Supplies at The Art League Store
Events like Patrons’ Show and Art on the Rocks
Membership dues
Exhibit entry fees

Don’t forget that buying artwork, taking classes, and shopping at The Art League goes to support our mission and means we can continue to offer affordable art classes, exhibition space for emerging artists, and outreach programs in our community.

Any ideas we missed? Anything here on your wish list? Try sharing this post on Facebook with a subtle “hint, hint.”

Christmas 1960, oil on canvas, by Gail Vogels. (click for full size) — *Christmas 1960*, oil on canvas, by Gail Vogels. (click for full size)

With muted colors and soft edges, Gail Vogels has been exploring the relationship between images and memories in paintings like the one above — winner of the Carolyn Zakaski Award in this month’s all-media exhibit. If Christmas 1960 looks like a home movie, that’s because it comes from one. Vogels has been painting stills from her parents’ Super 8 movies for her “Flash: 1960s” series. We asked her to tell us more about the series and her memories in our Q&A, below.

Why oil?
Gail Vogels: I’m an oil painter because it is the most forgiving medium. Oil paint forgives your mistakes, your change of heart and you can paint over all the bad paintings you’ve done in the past.

Do you remember the scene in the photo? What does it mean to you?
I think I remember the scene but this image was taken from Super 8 home movies. It’s hard to separate a memory of an event from an image depicting that event. If an image is shown to you at a young age, I think it is imprinted on your brain and perhaps you lose track if you were actually a witness to the event or a witness in seeing the event depicted in a photo or film.

I did an entire body of work from stills of these family movies called Flash: 1960s which can be seen on my website. The girl in the image is my sister showing off her new Christmas gift, the Barbie doll. Working from these stills I began to explore the idea of painting memories. During the process of painting I discovered that memories are alive and continue to take shape.

Girls in Snow by Gail Vogels, from the "Flash: 1960s" series. — *Girl in Snow* by Gail Vogels, from the “Flash: 1960s” series.

What was your inspiration or motive for the 1960s memories series?
I started this series when my parents sent me a compilation of home movies. I was intrigued by the light and movement. I wanted to try to capture the ghost-like blurred movement. Plus I love the juxtaposition of the sweet little girl’s face proudly showing off her scantily clad, ridiculously proportioned Barbie doll. The original Barbie doll is iconic and I think triggers memories for both men and women.

You write in your artists statement that the soft edges seemed appropriate to this series. Why is that?
I think that memories shift. I believe we are our memories and those memories are always evolving.

How do you try to paint that? Do you have a specific technique to achieve that effect?
Yes, many layers of paint, glazes and blurring of edges with a large brush.

What is your first memory of art as a child?
My mother is an artist and she was an early influence in observing the world with an artist’s eye. I have this memory of going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and I think I wore white kid gloves. The only other place I wore white gloves was at church so I knew I was on holy ground. Is this memory accurate? I need to ask my parents but I think so!

What are you working on now?
I’m new to DC and I’m working on scenes from riding the Metro.

I’m not sure yet where this work is going. I enjoy riding the Metro. I moved here from Atlanta and although I’m not a native southerner I did learn after living there for 20 years to make eye contact with people and smile sometimes! There is a sense of community on the trains; we are all in this moment together. I don’t paint or draw on the trains. I don’t want to be obvious or to distract people from their ordinary commute. I remember images pretty well and I confess to discreetly taking photos of folks on the train with my phone.

Day: December 9, 2013

Artful Gift Ideas