With fall officially in the air, it’s not too early to be thinking about Halloween — and coming up in October, there are two one-day workshops to get you in the spirit.
[button-blue url=”https://www.theartleague.org/school/course_desc.php?class_id=2340″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Register here! [/button-blue]Felted Masks: The Art of Disguise (Saturday, Oct. 5, $80) will show you how to make your own mask. You’ll use natural fibers and wet or needle felting and take home a completely unique costume.
[button-blue url=”https://www.theartleague.org/school/course_desc.php?class_id=2341″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Register here! [/button-blue] And in Halloween Clay Animation for ages 8–12 (Saturday, Oct. 19, $130), kids make clay characters and work together to make a short animated movie. Here’s what happened in one of the four-day summer workshops:
See below for details on upcoming exhibits to enter and other announcements. You can click the image above to view past opportunities posts. (This week’s banner: detail from a drawing by Art League instructor Rob Liberace.)
FotoDC International Awards Competition
Deadline: Tonight, September 24, by midnight. Now in its sixth year, the FotoDC International Awards Competition continues to innovate and find new ways to engage and honor photographers from our region and around the world. More about the competition >
Studio space: Alexandria
Art studio available with onsite free parking and 24/7 access. Each artist has a key to the building’s main entrance and a studio key. All studios have full spectrum lighting with a color temperature matching sunlight. The building has nine studios ranging in size from 197 to 1,064 sq. ft. and a larger industrial space is available for a commercial artist or group of artists. Near intersection of Duke Street and S. Quaker Lane (2.5 miles from Torpedo Factory). Contact Liz Boynton 703-759-4227, cell 703-638-8369, [email protected].
Studio space: Bethesda
Deadline: September 27. The Bethesda Urban Partnership and Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District are opening Studio B located at 7475 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Studio B will feature three artist studio spaces available to artists who reside in Maryland, Washington, D.C. or Virginia. Studios will be available for occupancy beginning in late fall 2013. More about this studio space >
Corcoran Community Art Fair
Deadline: October 5. The Corcoran’s second annual Community Art Fair is a juried exhibition and sale of fine arts and crafts made by D.C.-area artists. More about the art fair >
Residency
Deadline: November 29. Sandy Spring Museum in Sandy Spring, MD has issued an open call for proposals for residencies starting the winter of 2014. Artists may be visual, literary, performing, or multidisciplinary. More about the residency >
Fall classes started yesterday at The Art League, but it’s not too late to register for that class you’ve been eyeing — the first week of classes continues through Sunday, and there are plenty of classes starting even later. (See the School home page for the whole list.)
See below for details on upcoming exhibits and other announcements. You can click the banner image above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
(P.S. Don’t forget about two upcoming deadlines at The Art League: solo artist applications are due this Friday, September 20 by 6:00 pm, and “Large Works” entries are due Friday, October 4 by 6:00 pm.)
Residency at Arlington Arts Center
Deadline: October 1, 2013. AAC invites Washington-area visual artists to apply for this prestigious six-year residency program, which supports artists by providing spacious and light-filled studios, subsidized rent, and a creative community of emerging artists working in diverse media. > More about the residency program
Opening this Saturday at Fiberworks (studio 14 in the Torpedo Factory), there will be a retrospective exhibit of fiber artist and jewelry designer Helen Banes. Helen was a Torpedo Factory artist through 2010 and taught beading workshops at The Art League. The exhibit is open September 14–23, with receptions on the 15th and 22nd. Read more about the exhibit on the Fiberworks website.
Capitola Halloween, pastel by Holly Masri. Winner of the Dee Gee Watling Memorial Award.
The painting that won the Dee Gee Watling Memorial Award for pastel this month has a dark mood and palette, which caught juror Joann Moser’s eye — the liberal use of black challenges the viewer’s expectations about pastel as a colorful medium, she said.
Capitola Halloween, by Holly Masri, was painted based on an old photograph that the artist just couldn’t get away from. We asked Holly to tell us more about her process, the medium of pastel, and the role of photography as a painter’s tool. It’s all in our Q&A, below.
Join us for the opening reception for this exhibit and Nick Xhiku’s “Structural Elements” tonight, September 12, at 6:30!
What was the inspiration for this piece? What made you return to this scene after so many years?
Holly Masri: This was one of those photographs that continually tugged at me, telling me that it really needed to be a painting! I lived above this restaurant/bar, called Margaritaville, in Capitola Village, CA, for a year and a half after I graduated from college. I’ve never been a bar person, and I’d never experienced anything like Capitola Village or Margaritaville. It’s a place where every day, practically everyone you see is on holiday. They’re just there to have a good time. It’s a great place for people-watching, which is something I tend to do anyway. And that evening, Halloween of 1986, I happened to be walking by that doorway and to have my camera with me. The view inside was so exotic, strange and arresting, that I just instinctively took the picture. That photograph followed me around, asking to be painted, for the next 20-odd years. I finally got around to doing it! Continue reading Q&A with Award Winner Holly Masri
The opening reception for Kreshnik Xhiku’s sculpture exhibit, “Structural Elements,” and for the September All-Media Exhibit is tonight, September 12, at 6:30! Come join us for refreshments, presentation of awards, and to meet the artists behind these two exhibits.
As part of Second Thursday Art Night at the Torpedo Factory, “Night of 1,000 Strings,” there will also be string ensembles performing and yarn bombing. Receptions at The Art League Gallery are free and open to the public. We’ll see you tonight!
Artwork by Art League instructors, left to right, top to bottom: Delna Dastur, Alison Duvall, Nick Xhiku, Jimmy Powers, Gretchen Raber, Jackie Saunders, Linda Hurt, Abby Goldblatt, Nancy Freeman, Penny Barringer, Carlos Beltran-Baldiviezo, and Charles Johnson.
Fall classes at The Art League start next week!
It’s still not too late to register, though. We’ve put together a video tour of just one week of classes to give you an idea of what’s going on — but these are only seven of over 200 classes (and 50 workshops) happening this Fall. So click here to search the full catalog of classes by medium, your favorite instructor, or time of day and day of the week.
Have you been looking at our brand-new catalog of art classes and you’re not sure where to start? Are you a complete beginner looking to try out a new art class? Continue reading Fall Drawing Classes for Beginners
See below for links to upcoming exhibits and other announcements. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
FotoBazaar
FotoDC is proud to present the city’s first massive, open-to-all, un-juried FotoBazaar – space for 250 exhibitors, on a first-come/first-served basis, in a 25,000 sq. ft space, generously provided by JBG Companies, located in NOMA at 51 N Street NE in DC. The event takes place October 5–6, concurrently with the popular (e)merge contemporary art fair. Photographers can sell their work commission-free. Space is available until it sells out. > More on the FotoBazaar
Connection by Tea Okropiridze, winner of the Shayna Heisman Simkin Award.
Created on a simple frame loom over a period of months, the tapestry above was awarded top honors in the September all-media exhibit. Juror Joann Moser said Connection by Tea Okropiridze was a “tour-de-force” of woven art.
We asked Tea — who is also teaching a two-day Tapestry workshop and weekly class this fall — to tell us about the process of creating this strikingly detailed and richly textured piece. More photos and details in our Q&A, below.
What’s your creative process — how do you go from an idea, to dressing the loom, to a finished product?
Tea Okropiridze: Creating tapestries is a long process, and it all starts from paper and pencil. My first step is to always create a small size sketch/painting as a main idea and concept for a tapestry. However, my sketch almost never ends up the way I envision it at first. During the creative process some new ideas come up and one simple brush stroke can change the final image and dictate the creation of the rest of the composition. Continue reading Q&A with Award Winner Tea Okropiridze
Placing a completed piece on the community sculpture. Placing a completed piece in the community puzzle art project.
If you like community art, fun projects, ice cream, and good weather, last weekend was your weekend!
It was a spectacular weekend for The Art League, with great turnout for our art projects and record-setting sales at our Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser.
On Saturday and Sunday at the Alexandria King Street Art Festival, The Art League’s corner was the place to be – with gorgeous handmade ceramic bowls, refreshing artisan ice cream from Artfully Chocolate, and engaging community art projects. We had a huge crowd this year — in fact, we sold over 1,250 ice cream bowls! The bowls were made and donated by Art League ceramics instructors, students, and artists, and all the proceeds are going to our ceramics department.
As always, the huge selection of original art at a great price and for a wonderful cause generated a lot of interest, with most buyers struggling to decide exactly which bowl to get. Everyone who bought a bowl also got a ticket for our raffle prize, a huge bowl made by our ceramics department chair, Blair Meerfeld.
By the way — if you were inspired by the beautiful ceramic bowls you saw this weekend, Blair’s Jumpstart in Ceramics workshop is coming up this Saturday. You can register for the one-day workshop (only $45) here.
Art League instructors were also on hand to direct community art projects for artists of all ages. In the Torpedo Factory, Lisa Schumaier and company got their hands dirty making a papier-mache Frida Kahlo “Capgrossos” head. And at Market Square, Steve Prince created three larger-than-life, puzzle-piece versions of icons Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Participants could contribute their vision to the collective art project by choosing a piece for their painting, drawing, or even mixed-media art. On Sunday, Prince silk screened t-shirts for young artists with a special Art League design.
Thanks to our volunteers, ceramic artists, supporters, patrons, and to Steve Prince for this hugely successful weekend! We’ll see you next year.
Our famous handmade ice cream bowls and art activities are returning this year.
Raffle news below!
Don’t miss The Art League at the Alexandria King Street Art Festival this weekend for handmade ice cream bowls and community art activities. You can find us at Market Square (at the corner of King and North Fairfax streets) on Saturday and Sunday. Instructor Lisa Schumaier will also be making a huge papier-mache head at Saturday’s Art Activated event at the Torpedo Factory.
Ice cream bowls, plus a bowl of ice cream, are only $15 — plus a purchase enters you into a raffle for a one-of-a-kind ceramic bowl created by Art League instructor (and Ice Cream Bowl Throwdown champ) Blair Meerfeld. Here’s the bowl Blair donated:
Starting today and with an opening reception next Thursday, you can see our ceramics instructor Blair Meerfeld‘s work in an exhibit at William & Mary. Blair is one of four ceramics artists in the exhibit at Andrews Gallery. If you’re in Williamsburg before September 26, go see it! More information is on the Andrews Gallery website.
Open through the first Monday in October, the exhibits this month in The Art League Gallery feature a mix of work by Art League members working in all media. Kreshnik Xhiku’s “Structural Elements” is an exhibit of free-standing and wall sculpture, with an emphasis on wood and fabric. (Our video interview with the artist is coming soon.) Our juried group exhibit is headlined by this best-in-show piece by tapestry artist Tea Okropiridze:
Connection by Tea Okropiridze, winner of the Shayna Heisman Simkin Award.
The opening reception is next Thursday, September 12, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, and Kreshnik Xhiku will give an artist talk Sunday, September 29 at 2:00 pm in the Gallery. See below for more photos: Continue reading Photos From Our September Exhibits
Inside & Out Earrings, hand-cut brass, powder coat, and sterling silver by Ashley Buchanan.
Workshop: Powder Coating
Saturday & Sunday, September 14 & 15
$195 tuition & materials Registration page here
Coming up this month, metal artists of all levels can learn how to add clean, durable color to their work, in a weekend workshop with instructor Ashley Buchanan.
In this new two-day workshop, students will learn the basics of powder coating, a finish applied to the surface of metal work. They’ll have a chance to experiment with the process and discuss the equipment needed for their own powder coating set-up. Read more about what powder coating is and how you can use it in our Q&A with the instructor, below: Continue reading Powder Coating Workshop: Clean, Durable Color
See below for details on upcoming exhibits and other announcements. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
17th Street Festival
The 17th Street Festival Arts Show is currently accepting applications from artists. This year’s festival is Saturday, September 14. > More on the 17th Street Festival
Calling all 2-D artists looking for open studio time and live models — our open-life drawing sessions have been extended for an extra week. Members, current students, and benefactors can drop in (for a $20 fee) on Wednesday, September 4 (10:00 am–3:00 pm in Torpedo Factory room 213) and Friday, September 6 (1:00–5:00 pm in room 6 of the Madison Annex).
(Update, 9/4: Sessions will also be offered in the same times and places next week, on Wednesday, September 11 and Friday, September 13.)
These open-life sessions are a great way for drawers and painters to work from a model, using their own media, in a quiet, focused environment. Gallery members entering October’s “Body Language” exhibit are encouraged to attend! For questions, please call the School at 703-683-2323.
Along with the slate of fall art workshops, The Art League is happy to offer some resources for working artists this fall on photographing your art, matting and framing, and handling your taxes. Check out these workshops and free seminars on the business of art, and tell your friends!
September 8: Photographing Your Artwork with Pete Duvall ($95)
With many exhibits juried from digital images and many collectors looking for art online, having quality photos of your artwork has never been more important. Photographer Pete Duvall shows students how to make their art look their best using a film or digital camera. More info is in this blog post, and find the registration page here.
September 13: Creative Matting and Mounting with Eileen and Ron Yeager ($95)
Presentation is critical to any artwork’s success, and Eileen and Ron Yeager teach framing workshops regularly to show artists how to present 2-D artwork at its finest. This workshop covers float mounting, spacers, shadow box mounting, and creative ways to cut and decorate mats. Click here for details.
September 14, 1:00 pm: Critique with Bobbi Pratte (Free — RSVP required)
Join Art League instructor Bobbi Pratte for a group critique of up to two of your pieces. Critiques offer members a unique opportunity to get feedback from Art League instructors. You can bring in up to two pieces of their own work, finished or unfinished, for a professional examination and discussion (you do not need to be enrolled in a class). Our critiques are limited to 10 people per session and it is a group discussion. Members must sign up in advance to attend — email [email protected] to reserve your spot.
September 14–15: Basic Matting and Framing with Eileen and Ron Yeager ($175)
This workshop covers the basics of matting and framing for 2-D artists and collectors. Eileen and Ron Yeager emphasize preservation techniques and archival materials such as UV-blocking conservation glass, suitable tapes for paper art, and acid-free conservation mats. Students will learn how to avoid browning artwork and peeling tape. The two-day workshop starts with a discussion on design, and also covers mounting techniques and fitting — click here for details.
October 3: Taxes for Visual Artists (Free — RSVP required)
Pursuing your art as a business can be daunting, and one of the biggest challenges is understanding the tax laws. Between the many types of federal and state taxes that apply to your business, it is easy to make a mistake that can set back your business for years. Ben Takis, founder and principal attorney at Tax-Exempt Solutions PLLC, and an active musician, will help you understand how to run your business to save on taxes and stay out of trouble with Uncle Sam. Ben will provide a general overview of the different types of taxes that apply, the different business structures you should consider, as well as more advanced topic relevant to artists in Washington DC. Space is limited — email [email protected] to register.
Work from "Shapes" and "’Scapes," open through Monday, September 2. Work from “Shapes” and “’Scapes,” open through Monday, September 2.
This weekend is your chance to come see our popular August exhibits if you haven’t already! “Shapes” and “’Scapes” are open through Labor Day. The Gallery will be closed Tuesday, September 3 for installation of the September group show, opening Wednesday, and “Structural Elements,” opening Thursday.
September is just around the corner, and that means … ice cream bowls!
Come join The Art League at the Alexandria King Street Art Festival, September 7 and 8, for a whole slate of events, including art activities for the whole family. It’s all headlined by our annual Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser — featuring gourmet ice cream and your choice of handmade bowls for only $15.
Coming up early in September, The Art League’s photography instructors have a bevy of workshops lined up, including guides to photographing artwork and using Photoshop. Check out these three of interest for pros, beginners, and non-photographers alike: Continue reading Three September Photography Workshops
