Still Life: Valençay & Others, acrylic on board by Gale Wallar
Bring a donation of nonperishable food when you come to receiving (or next time you stop by) and you can help feed the hungry!
United Community Ministries (UCM) is a private, non-profit, community-based social services agency that assists low-income families and individuals in Northern Virginia. Please help us build UCM’s food bank by bringing cans of food anytime through January 6. Together, we collect over 200 pounds for UCM each year. Let’s set a new record in 2014!
You can drop off food in the box marked “Holiday Food Drive” in front of The Art League Gallery (studio 21 on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory). Especially appreciated: low-sugar cereal, low-sodium canned goods, and whole grain pasta and meals.
Vitamins 6 by Amy Ordoveza (click for larger image)
Vitamins 6, above, is the latest in an ongoing series of still life paintings by Amy Ordoveza. It’s also the painting that juror James Farrah recognized with a second place award in the “Small Works” exhibit this month. Why vitamins? Find out in our Q&A with the artist, below.
Vitamins 1 through Vitamins 5, top to bottom
What inspired the “Vitamins” series of still lifes? How does Vitamins 6 compare to the others?
Amy Ordoveza: I think of vitamins as a kind of contemporary vanitas symbol, representing a desire to protect life and health and an awareness of their impermanence. Periodically, studies are published that call the effectiveness of vitamins into question, but along with many other people, I still take them, hoping they will protect me, almost magically.I paint them so that they appear precious and a little bit magical. The first painting in the series was more of a traditional tabletop still life. Subsequent paintings have shown the vitamins on colored grounds in a less defined space, and in one the vitamin is held in the palm of a hand. I’ve become more precise in handling the paint as the series has progressed.
Why are you a painter?
I began studying art seriously when I was a teenager. Painting and drawing have become important parts of the way I think. I like the way painting allows me to give an idea a physical presence.
Do you paint full-time?
No, I also teach art for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Why gouache?
I was inspired to start using gouache after seeing “Worlds within Worlds,” an exhibit of Mughal and Persian folios and paintings at the Sackler in 2012. I noticed the way that the Mughal and Persian artists were able achieve rich colors and fine detail in gouache and decided to give it a try.I found that it is an excellent medium, especially for small paintings. I am able to build up the painting in translucent layers and refine edges, similarly to the way I use oil paint, but with a much faster drying time.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a landscape in oils and another small gouache painting in the Vitamins series.
Along with the Year of the Veteran Art Exhibit at City Hall, there’s another small exhibit in our gallery this month in honor of Veterans Day. (Both exhibits are on view through this Monday, December 1.)
The six artworks are poignant examples of how art can emerge from unlikely places. We’ll let the donors behind the exhibit explain:
“The artworks presented here are but some of the works that were done by friends of Major Zbigniew Rozalowski and given to him while he was in Oflag VII-A Murnau, a Polish officers prisoner-of-war camp in the Bavarian town of Murnau, Germany during World War II. They were painted on whatever simple paper the artists could find and whatever paints/inks they could acquire from parcels that arrived from time to time from their families in Poland. These paintings are reprints of the original art that was digitally restored to eliminate moisture and paper aging stains and blemishes.
We are honored to share these paintings for viewing in this exhibit, not only to honor the memory of our beloved Dad but more importantly to honor the memory of so many members of the ‘greatest generation’ and all the brave Veterans on this very special Day.
Artwork by prisoners of war at Murnau, dated from 1941 to 1943. Clockwise from top left, they depict a cavalryman, a guard tower, the view from the entrance to the camp, and a play the prisoners staged in 1943.
Lt. Rozalowski was assigned to the 7th Lancers Cavalry Regiment and his unit was on military maneuvers when Poland was attacked. During action against the Germans, Lt. Rozalowski was severely wounded. He managed to reach a hospital in the outskirts of Warsaw where he obtained medical treatment.
As the Germans were rapidly approaching, he needed to flee the hospital long before his wounds had healed. He did so and along with others joined units still in the fight.
Eventually, his unit was surrounded by Germans on one side and Russians on the other. Both sides made offers and terms of capitulation. In both cases the terms for the enlisted men were to let them go free after their identification and the officers would go to prisoner of war camps.
A portrait of Zbigniew Rozalowski by a fellow prisoner of war.
The officers sunk all their machine guns, cannons and other armaments in a nearby lake to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Most officers decided not to capitulate to either side. There were a few officers who decided to capitulate to the Russians as their terms promised that they would also be free after identification. Unfortunately, that promise did not turn out to be true, and those officers became victims of the Russian massacre of thousands of Polish officers in the Katyn forest.
Eventually, Lt. Rozalowski was captured by the Germans and with hundreds of other officers was sent to the officers’ prisoners-of-war camp Oflag VII-A Murnau in Murnau, Germany.
The Germans had many camps throughout Europe. People are most familiar with concentration camps of which there were scores throughout Europe. But there were also many prisoner-of-war camps that were segregated by officers and non-commissioned forces.
Officers were kept in what is termed an Oflag which comes from the German word offizierslager. Non-commissioned forces were kept in Stalags, the other type of prisoner-of-war camp. To get a mental image of what the Oflag VII-A Murnau prisoner-of -war camp looked like, you can see the movie, The Great Escape (1963) starring Steve McQueen. I saw this movie with my father in 1963 and vividly remember him leaning over to me in the theater and telling me how the camp and the life in it closely resembled his five-year experience in Murnau.
Lt. Rozalowski stayed imprisoned in Murnau from 1939 until the camp was liberated by the Americans on April 29th, 1945. Along with many other officers, he rejoined the Polish forces stationed in Italy where he met his beloved Helena who was a nurse in the Polish hospital and cared for him when his horseman’s knee injury landed him there.
Eventually Polish forces were transferred to the United Kingdom and both Zbigniew and Helena were deployed there as well. Zbigniew was eventually promoted to the rank of Captain and then Major. Both he and Helena received many military medals honoring their service in the various campaigns they participated in on behalf of their country and the Allied forces.
They married in London and unwilling to go back to communist Poland they, along with many other Poles, emigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After a 14-year wait for emigration papers, Zbigniew, Helena and their two children George and Irene, left Argentina and settled in Florida.”
— George Rozalowski and Irene Rozalowski Klimowicz
“Nearly every man who develops an idea works at it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged.” — Thomas Edison
Art on Paper
Deadline: January 22. The Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its 38th annual Art on Paper competition. Any original 2-D or 3-D work created on or of paper, including collage, artist book, origami, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and more, will be considered. More about the exhibit →
Touchstone Gallery
Touchstone Gallery at 901 New York Ave. NW, Washington DC is seeking excellent artists with a contemporary vision working in printmaking, glass, fiber, watercolor, ceramics and other media. Member benefits include a biennial solo show, one or more pieces on exhibit in each monthly member show, matted work bins and gallery website/online artist pages. To be considered for one of the limited memberships available, contact Jill Brantley at [email protected] or Ksenia Grishkova at [email protected], call 202-347-2787, or visit touchstonegallery.com/about for more information.
Teach a weekly art class
Coppermine Place in Herndon, VA, an affordable housing community for seniors, is seeking an art teacher for a weekly class. If you are interested, please contact Leigh Serroka at [email protected] with the days you would like to teach and your rates for about an hour long class.
Re-runs: These announcements have appeared here before, but if you missed them, it’s not too late to apply!
Portrait competition last chance!
Deadline: November 30, 2014. Entry is open for the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery. Dorothy Moss, the competition’s director, juried the September exhibit at The Art League and encouraged Art League artists to enter. More about the portrait competition →
Virginia artists last chance!
Deadline: November 30. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach invites artists to enter its annual juried exhibition, “New Waves 2015.” The exhibit is open to all media and all artists currently residing in Virginia. Juror: Lisa Dent. More about “New Waves” →
Figurative Art last chance!
Deadline: December 1. Target Gallery presents its biannual exhibition, “In the Flesh 5”. This all-media exhibition examines contemporary work with the human figure as its subject. More about the exhibit →
Two opportunities at Annmarie Sculpture Garden
Deadline: December 5. Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center in Solomons Island, MD is accepting entries for an upcoming exhibit, “Cosmos: Imagining the Universe.” All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; cash awards. Juror to be announced. Artists in all media can also apply to their Artists in Action temporary studio space project, held in the main gallery January through March. More about both opportunities →
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Deadline: December 7. The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival will be held May 15, 16, and 17, 2015. More about the festival →
BlackRock Center 2016 proposals
Deadline: December 19. BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD is currently accepting proposals for solo, themed and group exhibitions to be presented in 2016. Visual artists, independent curators, and coordinators of artist collectives and arts organizations who reside in Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia are encouraged to submit Exhibition Proposals. Read the call to artists here →
Call for Printmakers
Deadline: December 31. Gallery One Visual Arts Center in Washington State announces their first national juried printmaking exhibition titled “In Print.” More about the printmaking exhibit →
Photography competition
Deadline: January 2, 2015. The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its 5th annual Focal Point, an open-juried all-photography competition. More about the photography exhibit →
Torpedo Factory opportunities
Deadlines: January 28, 2015. Membership jury: The jury process for joining the Torpedo Factory Artists’ Association — the first step to leasing a studio in the building or exhibiting in the new associates’ gallery on the first floor — begins with online submissions, due by January 28. The jury will be slightly different this year, so check this page for details when they’re announced later this month. Visiting artist program: Applicants may apply for a summer residency at the Torpedo Factory of one to four months from June to September. More about the visiting artist program →
The cover of Julie Booth’s new book, due out in December. (All images used with permission from Quarry Books.)
Fiber artist and Art League instructor Julie B. Booth (website | class schedule) has a brand-new book coming out December 2, and it’s all about printing on fabric using stuff from around your house. To mark the occasion, we asked the author a few questions about what’s in Fabric Printing at Home, and what it’s like to write a how-to book in the first place.
Julie will be demoing at Artfête on December 5 — one more reason to come to our annual holiday party!
What inspired you to write a book about surface design with fruits and vegetables?
Julie B. Booth: Printing with fruits and vegetables is just one chapter in Fabric Printing at Home. There is a funny story associated with that. The husband of a good friend of mine plants an amazing vegetable garden every year. One day, my friend sent me an email about it. “We are eating raw corn from the garden almost daily. It is so sweet right off the cob. I wonder about corn cob printing…” I was immediately inspired to try that out! I then started looking at all sorts of vegetables and fruits with an eye for their printing potential.
The book was originally inspired by my work on a grant project called “Kitchen Resists: Using Common Household Materials as Fabric Resists.” I was experimenting with applying all sorts of pastes, syrups, and gels to fabric to see if they would resist fabric paint and dye. After the success of that project, I began to look more closely at materials and products in my home — and especially the kitchen — to see their potential for surface design on fabric. Fabric Printing at Home is the result of many months of exploring and playing with materials ranging from plastic wrap to liquid dishwashing soap.
Some supplies for the home printer.
Can you give an example of a project from the book?
I created a printing plate from heavy duty aluminum foil to print a folk art-inspired fabric. The flower design was embossed in the foil with a ballpoint pen. I printed the design on the fabric twice, brushing fabric paint on the printing plate for the first layer and then rolling fabric paint over the raised areas for the second layer.
What are some good ways to use fabric I’ve printed myself?
There are so many ways to use hand-printed fabric! Create home décor or functional projects such as pillows, curtains, placemats, napkins, or tablecloths. Design fabrics to use for accessories (such as scarves or handbags) or clothing. I often have students in my classes (e.g. Exploring Surface Design) who create wall hangings or art quilts from the hand printed fabrics they’ve designed in class. In fact, I now teach a class called, Fabric Painting, Printing and Stitching to Tell a Story with Cloth, that focuses on using hand painted and printed fabrics to design an artistic wall hanging that tells a story. Anything you can make from cloth can always be enhanced by hand printing … the possibilities are endless!
Cardboard printing blocks
What was the process like of writing the book and getting it published?
I did a lot of prep work before I submitted my book proposal to a publisher. I found that it was really important to hone in on a solid concept. I did have some help from a colleague who specializes in art coaching. She’d written a number of craft books and I was able to bounce my ideas back and forth with her.
Once I’d settled on my concept, I needed to work on a sample chapter which included writing and creating samples. I didn’t get a contract with the first publisher I approached. Quarry Books was the second publisher and they were so great! The managing editor was interested in the book concept but asked if I’d be willing to revise it a bit. After being offered the contract, I had about 4 to 5 months to write the book. Boy did I learn a lot! A whole new language, in fact (BLADs, GOR forms, how to set up an art log etc.)!
I didn’t find writing the book too difficult. I’ve been writing a monthly how-to surface design newsletter for a couple of years and in a lot of ways it was very similar. I did find preparing for the photo shoots challenging. My book has many step-by-step photo sequences and I had to create multiple samples of the project at different stages. I had to be very organized at the actual shoot so I didn’t waste the photographer’s time.
What’s great about working with a publisher is that they have your back throughout the process, including the marketing of the book. The downside is that you do give up some control over the length of the book, and the page and cover design. On the whole, I had (and continue to have) an excellent experience with my publisher, Quarry Books and hope to work with them again on another book.
Daydreams, graphite, by Wendy Donahoe (click for larger image)
The subject of the portrait above is nameless, but the artist is anything but: Wendy Donahoe’s skillful drawings always catch the attention of gallery visitors. This latest piece in graphite, Daydreams, won the Eleanor Boudreau Jordan Award for Best in Show in “Small Works,” an exhibit that had 428 pieces submitted and 153 accepted.
Donahoe’s last best-in-show award was in 2012, and you can read that Q&A here. We asked the artist to tell us more about this piece and the appeal of drawing media like graphite and charcoal. Here’s what she had to say:
When I get to the stage in the process when I’m able to envision the finished drawing, I begin to think about what to call it. Once the drawing is completed, choosing the right frame and assigning a thoughtful title will enhance and endow the overall work of art. With that said, I decided against “Daydreamer,” because I didn’t want to assign the figure an identity, but rather maintain her anonymity so that the viewer might consider their own “Daydreams.”
Daydreams by Wendy Donahoe (detail)
Although I didn’t put in as many hours as usual to complete this drawing, it was challenging nonetheless to produce a compelling image and work within the small works guidelines. My goal with “Daydreams” was to present an uncomplicated composition that would draw the viewer in. The dark tones of the pullover give weight and balance as the faceless figure leans into the light.
Graphite, which is my favorite medium to work with, enabled me to achieve the fine detail of the loosely tied back hair, and the soft transition of light glimpsed along the edge of the face. For this drawing I used pencils in varying degrees of hardness from 5H to 6B. Additionally, I used a kneaded eraser to pull out the graphite where it was applied too dark, and as a tool to manage highlights. As I use only the pencil to blend the tones, they are always kept to a sharp point.
“Olivia,” a colored pencil drawing by Wendy Donahoe won the Shayna Heisman Simkin Award in the 2010 September All-Media Show at The Art League.
I enjoy the ease at which I can work with graphite, charcoal, and carbon pencil, particularly with the ability to put a cover sheet over a work in progress, and pick back up right where I’d left off. Although currently under cover sheets, I have a large landscape drawing underway of a beach inlet in Maine, which I hope to finish in early 2015. My work can be viewed on my website, wendydonahoeart.com.
Congratulations to our 2016 solo artists! Of the 47 artists who applied for solo exhibits last week, our panel of jurors were able to pick just nine to put on the calendar for 2016. Here they are:
March Fritz Desroches • oil and airbrush paint
April Teresa Oaxaca • oil on canvas & charcoal on paper
May Nancy McIntyre • silk screen & acrylic
June Alex Tolstoy • watercolor
July Kathleen Best Gillmann • oil & acrylic
September Michael Fischerkeller • spray paint
October Anita Damron • mosaics
November Soomin Ham • photography
December Dennis Crayon • oil on panel
This year’s jurors were: Joel D’Orazio, sculptor; Chawky Frenn, artist and professor at George Mason University; and Rosemary Covey, a printmaker, Torpedo Factory artist, and Art League instructor.
See some of our 2016 artists’ work and their (tentative) show titles below. (Click any image to launch a slideshow.)
“If you wait to be convinced that you can do something, you’ll never do anything. People always ask me, ‘How do I become a comedian?’ And I always say, ‘Well, I think one thing you should do is get on stage and tell jokes.’” — Jon Stewart
Call for Printmakers
Deadline: December 31. Gallery One Visual Arts Center in Washington State announces their first national juried printmaking exhibition titled “In Print.” More about the printmaking exhibit
Photography competition →
Deadline: January 2. The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its 5th annual Focal Point, an open-juried all-photography competition. More about the photography exhibit →
Torpedo Factory Jury
Deadline: January 28, 2015. The jury process for joining the Torpedo Factory Artists’ Association — the first step to leasing a studio in the building or exhibiting in the new associates’ gallery on the first floor — begins with online submissions, due by January 28. The jury will be slightly different this year, so check this page for details when they’re announced later this month. (See also “Torpedo Factory Visiting Artist Program,” below.)
Sculpture exhibit
Deadline: January 31, 2015. The Downeast Sculpture Indoor Exhibition is located in Greenville, North Carolina, and is a joint exhibition between the Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge and ECU Visual Arts Committee. The juror is Jenny Hagar, an Associate Professor of Sculpture at the University of North Florida. More about the sculpture exhibit (PDF) →
Local public libraries
Several local library systems have exhibit spaces for local artists. Below are the libraries we could find information for. Let us know if you know of others! Arlington County Library allows artists to list prices with artwork and juries for exhibits on a quarterly basis (artists do not need to live in Arlington). Follow these links for guidelines:
Deadline: February 10, 2015. Capital Hill Art League is seeking works of art that creatively capture the ever popular topic of food, to be juried by Bonny Wolf, journalist and food writer. Cash prizes will be awarded. “Food for Thought” is open to all DC-area artists. More about this all-media exhibit →
Re-runs: These announcements have appeared here before, but if you missed them, it’s not too late to apply!
Under $500
Deadline: November 24. Maryland Art Place (MAP) is seeking artists for “UNDER $500,” MAP’s annual affordable art sale scheduled for Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13, 2014. More about the exhibit →
Portrait competition
Deadline: November 30, 2014. Entry is open for the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery. Dorothy Moss, the competition’s director, juried the September exhibit at The Art League and encouraged Art League artists to enter. More about the portrait competition →
Virginia artists
Deadline: November 30. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach invites artists to enter its annual juried exhibition, “New Waves 2015.” The exhibit is open to all media and all artists currently residing in Virginia. Juror: Lisa Dent. More about “New Waves” →
Figurative Art
Deadline: December 1. Target Gallery presents its biannual exhibition, “In the Flesh 5”. This all-media exhibition examines contemporary work with the human figure as its subject. More about the exhibit →
Two opportunities at Annmarie Sculpture Garden
Deadline: December 5. Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center in Solomons Island, MD is accepting entries for an upcoming exhibit, “Cosmos: Imagining the Universe.” All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; cash awards. Juror to be announced. Artists in all media can also apply to their Artists in Action temporary studio space project, held in the main gallery January through March. More about both opportunities →
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Deadline: December 7. The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival will be held May 15, 16, and 17, 2015. More about the festival →
BlackRock Center 2016 proposals
Deadline: December 19. BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD is currently accepting proposals for solo, themed and group exhibitions to be presented in 2016. Visual artists, independent curators, and coordinators of artist collectives and arts organizations who reside in Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia are encouraged to submit Exhibition Proposals. Read the call to artists here →
Torpedo Factory Visiting Artist Program
Deadline: January 28, 2015. Applicants may apply for a summer residency at the Torpedo Factory of one to four months from June to September. More about the visiting artist program →
Modern photographs — silver gelatin prints — are camouflaged as antiques, combined with vintage postcard images, creating affinities between different places and times. And as you negotiate these imagined stories, you have a companion along for the ride: an enigmatic traveler in a bowler hat.
All photographs by Michelle Rogers
There’s not much we can say for sure about the figure, who reoccurs in many of the 20 pieces on the walls. He — or she — wears a bowler hat, sometimes uses a walking stick, never faces the camera. One thing that’s for certain: he’s well traveled.
Triptychs: Cactus. The Flower of the Desert (left), Brighton, Rough Sea & Palace Pier (center), and ‘Fastnet Rock’ Lighthouse, Co. Cork. The pieces take their names from the title printed on the postcard in the center. (click for full size)
Come take a look at the triptychs, flip through the artist’s scrapbook, and find the black-hatted stranger. He’s only one part of the mystery around these photographs; one you can content yourself to puzzle over for a while.
Or, you could ask the artist yourself and see if she’ll give you an answer. The opening reception for this exhibit, and “Small and Large Works,” is tonight.
“Costumes of Downton Abbey is an original exhibition of exquisite designs from the award-winning television series. Approximately 40 historically inspired costumes from the television show will be displayed and supplemented by photographs and vignettes inspired by the fictional program and by real life at Winterthur.”
Winterthur is a 175-room home on a 1,000-acre property with a huge collection of American decorative and fine arts, including the Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens.
Our day trip will be Friday, December 12. The fee is $95 per person, including a light breakfast before departure, bus transportation to and from Winterthur, entrance fees to the Downton Abbey costume exhibit, and a guided tour of the home. The day’s schedule is posted on our Travel Workshops page.
For more information or to save your spot, contact our Travel Workshop Coordinator, Margaret Cerutti, at margaretc@theartleagueorg or 703-683-1780 x13.
“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities … because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” — Winston Churchhill
Under $500
Deadline: November 24. Maryland Art Place (MAP) is seeking artists for “UNDER $500,” MAP’s annual affordable art sale scheduled for Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13, 2014. More about the exhibit →
BlackRock Center 2016 proposals
Deadline: December 19. BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD is currently accepting proposals for solo, themed and group exhibitions to be presented in 2016. Visual artists, independent curators, and coordinators of artist collectives and arts organizations who reside in Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia are encouraged to submit Exhibition Proposals. Read the call to artists here →
Banner Art Competition
Deadline: January 15, 2015. The City of Manassas, Virginia hangs banners on all the light poles in the historic downtown section. This year the banners will be directly from the work of artists from DC, MD, and VA. Each one different and unique. The winning 50 pieces of art work will be printed on individual street banners and on display in Historic Downtown Manassas, the spring through summer 2015 season. All art must be 2 dimensional media, no photography. More about the competition →
Torpedo Factory Visiting Artist Program
Deadline: January 28, 2015. Applicants may apply for a summer residency at the Torpedo Factory of one to four months from June to September. More about the visiting artist program →
Maryland Artists
In advance of launching its new Maryland Art Marketplace, the Maryland State Arts Council is inviting Maryland artists of all disciplines to sign-up for the Maryland Artist Registry, and encouraging those with online selling sites for their art, crafts or artistic merchandise to opt-in to the Maryland Art Marketplace during the process. Once launched later this fall, the Maryland Art Marketplace will be promoted by the Arts Council and its partners as a hub for Maryland-made art that is available for purchase online. More about the marketplace →
A woodcut by Printmakers, Inc. member Patrick Sargent, a leader of many art workshops for service members.
Tomorrow, on Veterans Day, a special exhibit opens at Alexandria City Hall featuring artwork by servicemen and women.
The Year of the Veteran Art Exhibit is coming to City Hall through The Art League’s IMPART (Injured Military Personnel Art) program, partnered with the USO, Fort Belvoir, Combat Paper, and the Smithsonian Arts, Military + Healing program. The artwork featured comes from the arts programs and workshops run by those organizations.
You’ll find paintings, sculptures, and more, including the paper and pulp art made by Combat Paper participants. At Combat Paper workshops, veterans use the fibers in clothing, including military uniforms, to make paper art, such as the piece pictured at left.
The opening reception is Tuesday, November 11, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in City Hall (301 King Street in Alexandria). The exhibit is open through December 1, 2014. We’ll have more images and information about this exhibit on the blog.
Reveille (detail) by Patrick Sargent (pulp painting with paper from elementary school blue jeans and military uniforms)
We’ve just uploaded the Portrait & Figure Festival’s opening keynote and panel discussion, featuring Ted Reed, Danni Dawson, Rob Liberace, and Dan Thompson.
The presenters discussed questions including:
What are the biggest day-to-day hurdles faced by working portrait and figure artists?
What is the portrait artist’s role in an age of ubiquitous imagery?
How do you work with clients and commissions?
What are the biggest struggles your students have?
Every November, we explore the physical extremes of art with our Large Works and Small Works shows. Goldilocks isn’t a big fan of these exhibits, but our visitors always are!
Artists are required to work very small or very large, but other than that, there’s no theme: it’s an all-media, no-medium exhibit. James Farrah juried both shows.
It always brings great work to the Gallery, and lots of it. If you’re in the mood for holiday shopping, you’ll find many inexpensive pieces in the Small Works, including 31 under $100.
And we’ve got spiffy, newly painted walls! What more reason do you need to come pay us a visit?
Michelle Rogers’ exhibit of photographs and vintage postcards, “Le Temps Retrouvé / Revisiting the Past,” opened today! More on this exhibit in the solo room to come. See below for more photos from the two group shows!
Small Works / Large Works
Juried by James Farrah
November 5–December 1, 2014 Reception: November 13, 6:30–8:00 pm
The awarded pieces, clockwise from right: Bella by Jordan Xu, Vitamins 6 by Amy Ordoveza, and Daydreams by Wendy Donahoe.Small & Large WorksSmall & Large WorksGreat Falls I, charcoal on paper, by Herbert Parsons.
“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” — Sylvester Stallone
Photo Slam
Deadline: November 13. The Glen Echo Photoworks Photo Slam returns for year five. Photographers vie for slots in the Photoworks FotoWeek 2015 gallery show. Three-time National Poetry Slam Champion Regie Cabico returns to emcee a high-energy event featuring an on-the-spot face-off of projected portfolios plus a “best shot” final round, with winners selected by celebrity and audience-rep judges. See the rules and guidelines here →
Figurative Art
Deadline: December 1. Target Gallery presents its biannual exhibition, “In the Flesh 5”. This all-media exhibition examines contemporary work with the human figure as its subject. More about the exhibit →
Re-runs: The announcements below have appeared here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
VMFA Fellowships last chance!
Deadline: November 7. Fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts are offered for professionals, graduate students, and undergraduates. Applicants must be legal residents of Virginia. More about VMFA fellowships →
Call for proposals last chance!
Deadline: November 7. The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria invites proposals from artists or art groups to present exhibitions for the calendar year 2015. Artists must reside in the Northern Virginia/Maryland/DC Metropolitan area. Exhibitions may be solo or group; and works can be in both two- and three- dimensional formats. More about the requirements →
Purple Line
Deadline: November 14. The Maryland Transit Administration seeks artists to create enhancements for the future Purple Line light rail project. Artists are asked to submit applications to be considered for future opportunities along the Purple Line. This Call for Artists is open to all professional artists, preferably with public art experience. More about Art in Transit →
The Schwa Show
Deadline: November 15. The Schwa Show in Greenville, NC is a national juried competition recognizing excellence in fine arts and crafts. This exhibition is open to artists in any media and subject matter. Artists must be ages 18 or up. All work must have been completed in the past three years and never previously exhibited at Emerge. More about the exhibit →
Treasury of Art
Receiving: November 19. Vienna Arts Society in Vienna, VA, invites artists to enter their annual Treasury of Art show and sale. Juror Deborah Ellis will select 150 – 200 original works of art, and hundreds of bin pieces will be for sale. More about the show →
Portrait competition
Deadline: November 30, 2014. Entry is open for the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery. Dorothy Moss, the competition’s director, juried the September exhibit at The Art League and encouraged Art League artists to enter. More about the portrait competition →
Virginia artists
Deadline: November 30. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach invites artists to enter its annual juried exhibition, “New Waves 2015.” The exhibit is open to all media and all artists currently residing in Virginia. Juror: Lisa Dent. More about “New Waves” →
Two opportunities at Annmarie Sculpture Garden
Deadline: December 5. Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center in Solomons Island, MD is accepting entries for an upcoming exhibit, “Cosmos: Imagining the Universe.” All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; cash awards. Juror to be announced. Artists in all media can also apply to their Artists in Action temporary studio space project, held in the main gallery January through March. More about both opportunities →
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Deadline: December 7. The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival will be held May 15, 16, and 17, 2015. More about the festival →
Art instructors wanted
Arlington County is seeking arts/craft instructors to teach recreational classes and workshops in a wide variety of media. We have excellent facilities including a full woodshop, ceramic studio, jewelry studio, a darkroom and a printing press. See how to submit class proposals →
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