See below for details on upcoming exhibits. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
Recycled Art
Deadline: September 13, 2013. Northern Virginia community college is seeking submissions of recycled art for an exhibit publicizing sustainability, reducing, & recycling. Submissions may be sculptural (both free-standing or wall hangings) or 2D, but must be composed of a minimum of 75% recycled materials. Entry is open to any Virginia, Maryland, and/or D.C. residents. For details on how to enter, download the PDF prospectus here.
One of the best things about taking an art class or taking your work to a critique is getting feedback from fresh eyes. But how do you get the fresh perspective to objectively, critically evaluate your own work in progress? How do you know when it’s ready? How do you challenge yourself to keep improving? We asked some Art League teachers to share their strategies: Continue reading The Challenge of Critiquing Your Own Work
Our popular landscape and sculpture shows, “’Scapes” and “Shapes,” garner entries from many of our talented artists, making competition for a spot on the wall, and a cash prize, that much more tough. Jurors from these two exhibits chose five awards: one recognizing the best sculpture in “Shapes,” and four for “’Scapes.” We asked the artists to tell us a little about their work, below.
Monkith Saaid Award (“Shapes”): Sabyna Sterrett, Pristine Environment, string and plastic bags
As someone who started out as a fiber artist, how do you think it fits into a sculpture exhibit with more “traditional” materials like bronze and stone? I think hard and soft materials go well together in any sculpture exhibit. This work was a challenge as I always go through a process of trial and error when trying to make work that is cohesive in a group exhibit yet strong enough to stand alone. I tried many configurations before I simplified the design to just one string, a hole in the small plastic bag and with a twist or twirl of my hand layered one bag on top of the other. I wanted the look and feel of earth in the balance before humans marred the environment with our consumption and defacing. Continue reading Q&As: Meet the August Award Winners
See below for details on upcoming exhibits. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
For photographers
Deadline: August 30, 2013. Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice, LLP is partnering with Honfleur Gallery to curate a unique art exhibition in their downtown DC office space. Photographers who currently live in DC, VA, MD are eligible to apply. Photographers who have limited exhibition experience are especially encouraged to apply. Artists will receive a 100 percent commission on any sales that take place during the duration of the exhibition. For full details, download the PDF prospectus here. Continue reading Artist Opportunities: August 20, 2013
Kreshnik Xhiku talks to a student in his Wood and Stone Sculpture class.
Note: This critique has been rescheduled for October. Please watch our website for the new date and contact the Gallery to sign up.
Kreshnik (Nick) Xhiku, Art League instructor and September’s solo artist, will be conducting a critique in the Gallery.
This critique in a group setting is a great way to get feedback on your work from a world-class artist who also happens to be one of our instructors! Each artist can bring two pieces in any medium for Nick to discuss with the entire group. The critique is limited to 10 people, so RSVP by contacting the Gallery at 703-683-1780 or [email protected].
Kreshnik Xhiku’s solo exhibit, “Structural Elements,” will be on view in The Art League Gallery from September 5 to October 7.
Last week, our blogger, George, entered his first exhibit at The Art League. Read his original post here.
Well, my photos didn’t get in to this month’s group show.
However, I’ve found the experience anything but a failure. Just the process of entering my first show revealed a lot about the talent, community, and helpfulness to be found among Gallery members and volunteers. I’ll be back on future receiving days, but for now, here are my thoughts: Continue reading Reflecting on My First Art League Entry
See below for info on upcoming exhibits and studio space. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
Studio space — Rockville
Capitol Arts Network (Rockville, MD) is considering expanding by adding 16 new studios to increase our current population of 36 resident artists in 24 studios. These new studio spaces are in an adjacent annex that is conveniently located for teaching in our classroom, attending gallery events, and interacting with our current roster of artists and visitors. They are generously sized and priced right for immediate occupancy once completed. For more information, see their Facebook post here.
Studio space — Alexandria
Three art studios 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].
Emulsion at East City Art
Deadline: September 9. East City Art’s “Emulsion” seeks to combine the culturally different yet geographically close regions of Washington and Baltimore and to combine a wide array of art forms and mediums from two-dimensional work to performance based pieces. This call for entry is open to all residents of the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical metropolitan area as defined by the US Census. This is an opportunity for artists from the central Mid-Atlantic to showcase the extraordinary diversity in regional contemporary art. For details and the full prospectus, click here.
Among the 12 new instructors teaching classes at The Art League in the 2013/14 school year, four will be teaching ceramics: Judit Varga, Susan Greenleaf, Tony Clennell, and Allison Severance. And with the delivery of a new kiln last month, wood-firing and raku-firing workshops to come, and the Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser coming up next month, it seemed like the perfect time to check in with the ceramics department.
We talked to one of the new instructors, Allison Severance, about what beginners can make in their first pottery class, her philosophy on clay, and what to expect from the woodfiring workshop. Read our Q&A, below: Continue reading Meet Ceramics Instructor Allison Severance
Detail from Studio Interior, NW View by Nicholas Raynolds.
It’s back-to-school time at The Art League — registration for Fall classes started Monday! The classes themselves start the week of September 16. This year, we have a new crew of instructors coming in to teach ceramics, jewelry, painting, and everything else we offer. Meet the new faculty below, and browse the catalog on the School homepage to find your next art class. (See part one here.)Continue reading Meet Our New Teachers (Part 2)
George Tkabladze Hello! My Name is Jujuna (detail), mixed media, by George Tkabladze. (“Shapes”)
’Scapes and Shapes
August 7–September 2, 2013
Opening reception: Thursday, August 8, 6:30–8:00 pm
Our big annual August exhibits are now open, and this year, our artists delivered again. Look at this image gallery to see for yourself: Continue reading ’Scapes & Shapes Are Here!
Our blogger, George, entered his first exhibit at The Art League today, submitting two photos for ’Scapes. Here’s his experience:
When last we checked in, I had just finished taking Basic Drawing and Stained Glass at The Art League School. Since then, I’ve been inspired to return to photography, a medium I have a good deal more experience with.
Artists can, and do, enter work in any medium they can fit in the door — ceramics, handmade books, glass, anything and everything 2-D — with a few rules. All work must be original, it must weigh less than 60 pounds, and there’s this rule announced in the November 1975 issue of Tidings:
I opted for photography because I have more experience with it than with drawing or stained glass — although many students in our classes do get into shows, and there’s also an annual Student/Faculty Show to showcase their work. My main inspiration was a July trip to Maine, where it was easy to stumble onto beautiful scenes. The weather even cooperated. “’Scapes” seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally enter my first exhibit here, and hopefully write a useful guide for other first-timers. So here’s how I did it, step by step: Continue reading How to Enter Your First Exhibit
See below for information on upcoming exhibits and available studio space. You can click the banner above to see past opportunities posts. Good luck!
Maryland pop-up exhibit
Deadline: August 16, 2013. John Paradiso, artist and curator for the 39th Street Gallery, and Tim McLoraine, artist and independent curator based in the Gateway Arts District, invite emerging and established artists to participate in the Jewel Box Pop Up group exhibition during the month of September. The Jewel Box is a 2,300 square foot former jewelry store located at 3104 Queens Chapel Road in Hyattsville, MD. The Jewel Box will advertise and promote the exhibition and host an Opening Reception and other programming during the run of the show. Approximately 25 artists will be selected and be given a 10′ section of wall (Art-o-Matic style) with 4′ of floor space. We also encourage 3 dimensional works to be displayed throughout the space.For the complete call for artists, click here.
Emanate (detail) by new instructor Saaraliisa Ylitalo.
It’s back-to-school time at The Art League — registration for Fall classes is now open! The classes themselves start the week of September 16. This year, we have a new crew of instructors coming in to teach ceramics, jewelry, painting, and everything else we offer. Meet the new faculty below, and browse the catalog on the School homepage to find your next art class. Continue reading Meet Our New Teachers (Part 1)
When we stopped by the fiber arts studio for last week’s weaving class video, we were intrigued to see an unexpected machine among the looms: a laptop. We asked instructor and weaver Marilyn Harrington to tell us a little bit more about how this ancient art form is finding new tools in the 21st century. Continue reading Weaving with Computers
Three honorable mentions selected by the juror: Jump (detail), carved driftwood and marble by Pamela Underhill; Hello! My Name is Jujuna (detail), mixed media by George Tkabladze; and Black and White, terra cotta by Saeed Marefat.
See below for information on upcoming exhibits and other announcements. You can click the banner above to view past opportunities posts. Good luck!
Arlington Arts Center space
Deadline: August 1, 2013 (Thursday). 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. In addition to well-appointed spaces, studio artists enjoy tremendous exposure and the opportunity to exhibit their work biennially in AAC’s Wyatt Gallery. The available space is within our group studio, to be shared with two other artists. For more information, click here.
In our quixotic quest to showcase all the cool things happening in our art classes, last week we visited The Art League’s fiber studio and Marilyn Harrington’s weaving class. Watch the weavers in action and see what they make in the video above. More on the fiber arts department is here.
This looks like a great exhibit opening today at the American Art Museum. Gallery members might want to check it out as they decide what to enter for ’Scapes next month and look for new ways to approach landscapes. (See the call to artists for ’Scapes here.)
“Landscapes in Passing” is open through January 20, 2014 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Calamidad cósmica installation by Luciana Rondolini. Photo by the artist used with permission.
What with all the heat waves and thunderstorms, no one can blame you if your summer reading happens inside instead of on the beach. Here’s our second edition of arts-related things to read, watch and do:
[article] Colorful stories: Allison Meier on Hyperallergic wrote a series of posts on historical art materials: pigments, pigments part 2, and paper. Painters and art historians will love reading about paints that are hard or impossible to find today because they’re “incredibly poisonous, expensive, or just involving way too many snails.”
For a long-form read on the subject of color, check out the comments section of that first Hyperallergic article. Several readers made suggestions for nonfiction books about color, such as Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color by Philip Ball. Continue reading Artful Links: Summer Reading, Part 2
Click above to check out our classes for the next year! Registration starts August 5 and fall classes start September 16; stay tuned for the searchable online class listings and the print copies of the catalog.
See below for details on upcoming exhibits and other announcements. You can click the banner above to see past opportunities posts. Good luck!
Call for photo portfolios
Deadline: July 28, 2013. (Late entry through August 4.) FotoDC’s Uncover/Discover will once again spotlight regional photographers’ work that displays a focused and consistent vision. Photographers from DC / MD / VA can enter portfolios into one of two categories or both, Fine Art or Photojournalism. For more information and to enter, click here.
Currently on view at the Target Gallery here in the Torpedo Factory, Ruth Gowell’s “Optical Studies” joins glass with fiber, straight lines with bent, and organization with distortion.
Although Gowell’s pieces are made with woven fiber and kiln-formed glass — not paint and canvas — for Art League instructor Carol Dupre, the strong sense of pattern and culture brought to mind one of this area’s most famous art movements: the Washington Color School. Continue reading Art History at the Target Gallery: Carol Dupre on “Optical Studies”
We’re on a mission to spread the word about The Art League Store — a brick-and-mortar art supply store hidden in a second floor corner of the Torpedo Factory — by introducing its staff of working artists here on our blog. Last time, we interviewed Cindy Richmond. This time we talked to long-time Art Leaguer Chris Cardellino, who took her first Art League class in 1985 and joined the Gallery the next year. We asked Chris to tell us what makes The Art League Store special. Continue reading Meet The Art League Store Staff: Chris Cardellino
Monkith Saaid Award (“Shapes”): 
