You’ve seen her artwork in the Gallery, you’ve met her at opening receptions, and this summer you can start taking classes with Alice Kale.
Alice is a longtime Art League member and volunteer, and teaches workshops locally and even aboard a cruise line. This summer she teaches her first class at The Art League, Watercolor from Start to Finish. If you haven’t met this artist yet, here’s an introduction:
How long have you been part of The Art League?
Alice Kale: Although I studied art in college, I did not do painting. I was a sculpture and art history student. After graduation, I went out in the “real world” to make a living, and I didn’t pick up art materials again until I retired. Then, one day in 1998, I saw an Art League catalog at the YMCA, browsed through it and decided to take a class. My first Art League class was watercolor with the late Ted Betts, a very fine painter. I can’t imagine a kinder or more encouraging teacher. I have found the quality of teaching at The Art League to be extraordinary.
Alice Kale with her husband, Jim.
What’s your favorite thing about watercolor?
I love to paint in oil as well as watercolor, but watercolor has some distinct advantages. You only need paint, paper, brushes, and water, and you can work practically anywhere. It is perfect for the painter who does not have a dedicated studio space. It is also very portable. My husband and I love to travel, and I always keep a watercolor travel diary which makes a wonderful souvenir. I drop a small travel kit, a brush, a pencil, eraser, and a 5″ x 8″ watercolor notebook in my purse. With just these few things, I am well supplied and can paint anywhere.
Because it is transparent, watercolor also has some interesting properties. When working wet-in-wet, you can drop one color into another and get magical effects, unlike those in any other medium.
Tiny Treats by Alice Kale
What’s it like teaching classes on a cruise ship?
It is fun for me as well as for the students. I’ve done it several times, most recently on the Queen Mary 2 where, since it is British, it isn’t called watercolor, it’s watercolour. Most of my students have been new painters, but occasionally I have more advanced students who come with their own supplies. It is a great learning environment because everyone is relaxed and all set to have an enjoyable time. I’ve heard from many of them after the voyage and am always delighted to hear when they have enrolled in local courses.
When you are working on a problem, it is so much more rewarding to look at the great names in watercolor, rather than going to a “how-to” book.
What can students expect from this class? Who is it for?
I’ll be teaching beginning and intermediate students. I love working with beginners. I like to start students with simple projects designed to build basic skills and de-mystify watercolor. Watercolor has the reputation of being a very unforgiving medium, but that’s just not true. Once students are well grounded in the basics, they are able to move on to more complex work with confidence.
White Petals by Alice Kale
For intermediate students, I like to help them hone their skills so that they can produce stronger work while maintaining their own identities. This involves helping them to learn to analyze their work in order to strengthen design, composition, and color handling. I don’t want students to paint like me. I love to see their individuality blossom.
I am also fond of bringing in a little art history. When you are working on a problem, it is so much more rewarding to look at the great names in watercolor, rather than going to a “how-to” book. For instance, to learn to paint water, I like to show students Homer and Sargent. I always tell my students if they don’t gain anything else from class, the next time they visit a gallery, they will see art with new eyes.
Art and Frame of Falls Church has moved to a new space and now has space available for artist studios. Each studio has its own door, window, utilities included, and 24/7 access. While visitors can come in anytime the shop is open, there are monthly events (FIRSTfriday of Falls Church) during which all artists can open their studio for public viewing. Pricing with a year sublease range from $55 to $850 per month. More about the studios →
Photography exhibit
Deadline: May 27. For their 29th annual juried exhibit, the Frederick Camera Clique is looking to showcase the full range of subject matter that photographers in the region capture with their cameras. More about this exhibit →
Cast art
Deadline: June 1. The Glen Echo Park Partnership is accepting entries for the exhibition Casting Call, August 1 through 30, 2015 in the Stone Tower Gallery at Glen Echo Park. Original artwork will be accepted comprised of minimally 50% cast material, any medium. The work can be wall hanging or freestanding, kinetic or static. The work cannot require drilling into or augmenting the gallery’s walls or structure in any way. More about the exhibit →
Exhibit in retail space
Deadline: June 7. Washington Project for the Arts is pleased to invite artists to submit proposals for an exhibition in the new Shinola store gallery on 14th and R Street in Logan Circle. Artists with pre-existing work with a minimalist approach that shares Shinola’s aesthetic and vision for a community that thrives though excellence of craft and pride of work are invited to apply. More about this call for artists →
Outer space
Deadline: June 21. Other Worlds, Other Stories is a group exhibition curated by Jeffry Cudlin. WPA seeks work by contemporary artists thinking deeply about outer space: how humans will travel there in the future, what they will find, and how life after Earth could transform us as a society and as a species. More about this exhibit →
Small works
Deadline: July 1. Now in its 16th year, the Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national, juried exhibition of contemporary art work from across the country. This annual show is presented by the Allegany Arts Council and held in the Saville Gallery in Cumberland, Maryland. The theme for this year’s exhibition is “One Cubed.” The entirety of the artwork, including the frame or supports, must fit inside a 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot volume or a 1 foot by 1 foot area. More about the exhibit →
Wings from Chains
Deadline: December 18. Wings From Chains at the Athenaeum in Alexandria invites artists to consider women’s roles and responsibilities in society — yesterday, today, and tomorrow — and explore the transformation from oppression to liberation, shame to pride, or drudgery into art. Contemporary, historical, stereotypical, and fictional references are all welcome. This exhibition is timed to coincide with the annual meeting of the Women’s Caucus for Art in Washington, DC in February, 2016. More about the exhibit →
What goes on in The Art League’s classrooms? We proudly answer that question every February with the Student/Faculty Show — and, from time to time, individual classes organize their own exhibits to share what they’re working on.
This month, you can see student work from Deanna Schwartzberg‘s abstract painting class in a show at the Torpedo Factory. “Different Voices/Common Goals” is in the Site 2 and 3 galleries — on the east side of the building on the second and third floors, just past the central staircase.
“This class is unique in joining seasoned professional artists with those new to the field. Along with Deanna’s individual and class instruction, each artist learns from the other through critical discussion and a spirit of artistic camaraderie.
In this exhibit, as in the class itself, there is a wide range of subject matter, technique and style. The commonality of the work is a confident approach to color and form as each artist pursues his personal interest. This show gives voice to the creative possibilities and meanings of abstraction.”
The exhibit is open May 4 to June 5, with an opening reception on Saturday, May 16, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
A monotype is a one-off print created by painting or inking directly on the plate. In this case, the “painting” is done with water-soluble crayons on Mylar.
The Art League has a shiny new printing press at our Madison Annex, and it’s getting put to good use in one of this year’s new classes, Print Like the Masters. We stopped by class on a Wednesday morning to see what these techniques are all about.
The focus of this class, taught by Priscilla Treacy, isn’t on creating editions (multiple prints from the same plate). Instead, students explore the different materials, tools, and techniques at their disposal.
Marking the plate for a drypoint.A completed drypoint print.
Drypoint is one of those techniques. It’s similar to etching, but produces a softer line and (like the other processes used in this class) doesn’t require acid or solvents. The printmaker draws directly on the plate using tools like a diamond-tipped needle or anything else that can cut into the plate. This class uses plastic plates.
Once the drawing is finished, the plate is covered in ink and then wiped clean so ink remains only in the grooves. This makes drypoint part of the intaglio family of printmaking processes. (Relief prints are the opposite: the printmaker removes the parts that won’t be inked.) The artist can also leave thin amounts of ink on the plate surface to create what’s called plate tone.
An inked drypoint plate.Here, that plate is used for a Chine-collé print, in which the image is printed onto tissue-thin paper and simultaneously glued to a stronger support.
Along with drypoint, the other major technique students learn about is monotype. It’s often called the “painterly print” because the printmaker applies paint or ink directly to the printing plate and transfers the image to paper. That means it only creates one good print. The photo at the top of this post shows a monotype being made with water-soluble crayons.
Deadline: May 29. The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of Individual Photographer’s Fellowship grants of up to $10,000 each for artists working in photography and photo-based art. The Foundation seeks to support artists/photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field, who are professionally active or employed in the field. More about the grants →
Street painting festival
Deadline: May 30. “Battle of the Arts” is a street painting festival to be held on June 6 in Manassas, VA. No fee, all materials provided. Click to download the PDF prospectus and application.
Realism
Deadline: June 1. The International Guild of Realism is proud to announce a “call for entries” for our upcoming 10th Annual Exhibition. This exhibition will be held at the prestigious Principle Gallery in historic Alexandria, VA, from August 18 through September 18. More about the exhibit →
Water media
Deadline: June 6. Central Virginia Watercolor Guild is seeking watermedia artists to enter their 24th annual show, to be held in Charlottesville in September at the McGuffey Arts Center. More about this exhibit →
Small works
Deadline: July 1. The ArtBeat Gallery in Manassas, VA announces its first annual small artworks exhibit! This will be a juried show, open to all artists over 18 years old and residing in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All media are eligible, including photography, sculpture, and textiles. More about this exhibit →
National pastel exhibit
Deadline: July 15. The Maryland Pastel Society’s national juried “Shades of Pastel” Exhibition will be held October 5 – 28, 2015 at Hill Galleries at the Old Naval Hospital in Washington D.C. More than $6500 in cash and merchandise awards are to be awarded. More about this exhibit →
What class are you going to try this summer? There are 128 classes and 63 workshops to explore, not to mention all of the art camps for young people.
Summer courses are summer schedule-friendly, with shorter time frames and many classes starting after the July 4 holiday. It’s like a weekly vacation for your creative side!
There are also a few classes that are only offered this time of year:
So what’s it going to be? Photography? Pottery? Painting? Sculpture? Printmaking? Weaving? … We could go on and on with this list, but to save time, you’d better just search the catalog.
As always, if you have any questions about what class to take or anything else, you can contact the School office at 703-683-2323 or [email protected]. You can sign up starting this Monday! (You can register for workshops at any time.)
This is the month to observe some local color at The Art League.
“Local” because printmaker John Gosling has captured the people and places around Alexandria in his solo exhibit, “Printed Art: The Potomac.”
And “Color” is the star in our group exhibit, “The Influence of Fauvism.” The Fauvists were a 20th century group of “wild beasts” famous for their lively, colorful brushwork. This month’s exhibit was juried by Alison Sigethy, a glass artist in the Torpedo Factory.
John Gosling’s linocut relief prints in “Printed Art: The Potomac” draw on the artist’s knowledge of history, architecture, urban planning, and his own personal experiences. Be sure to check out the “Faces of Alexandria” series. You can read more about his artwork on the exhibit page.
We hope you’ll join us next Thursday (May 14) for the opening reception!
Fair Valley by Lisa Neher won the Amelia T. Clemente Award for Best in Show.It’s All a Facade by John Gosling
Deadline: May 14. MFA (Maryland Federation of Art) invites artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its fourth biennial found objects art competition. “The Eye of the Beholder” is held to showcase the works of fine art that have incorporated at least one or more found objects into their presentation. More about the found objects exhibit →
Garden theme
Deadline: June 1. Live An Artful Life® Gallery in The Plains, VA invites artists who create 2 dimensional original artwork to participate in our Garden Party exhibit and sale. Accepted entries will relate to the theme. Think: flowers, gardens, single flowers, arbors, garden tools, anything that can happen in the garden. More about the garden exhibit →
Virginia watercolorists
Deadline: June 6. The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild 2015 Annual Show is scheduled to open on Friday, September 4 at the McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville. This month long juried show is open to Virginia resident artists, 17 years or older. Each artist may submit two original paintings in watercolor or other water media for consideration. More about the watercolor exhibit →
American landscapes
Deadline: June 17. MFA (Maryland Federation of Art) invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its 15th annual American Landscapes competition. Any original 2-D or 3-D work depicting a landscape from one of the Americas and following entry guidelines, will be considered. More about the landscape exhibit →
Sustainability art
Deadline: June 30. Art Works For Change is seeking submissions for “Footing the Bill: Art and our Ecological Footprint,” an online exhibition of artwork addressing the urgent need to live sustainably within the Earth’s finite resources. There is no entry fee. More about the sustainability exhibit →
New paintings 2016
Deadline: July 10. The University of Mary Washington Galleries is proud to host the tenth Mid-Atlantic New Painting biennial exhibition! The competition is open to artists 18 years of age and older, living in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Entries must have been completed within two years of the application deadline. More about the painting exhibit →
Chadwicks and their chosen painting, On the Rocks by Kathy Turner
When you mix art, food, and cocktails, everyone’s a winner — just see the pictures below for proof!
But in a more specific sense, there were two winners at Friday’s Art on the Rocks:
Mason Social, led by Tony Burke, won the Judges’ Choice Award, as selected by judges from Green Hat Gin, Catoctin Creek Distillery, and The Hour Shop. Burke’s “Walk in the Safari” cocktail was based on Sunset in Paradise—Tree of Life by Fanny Cramer.
And Virtue Feed & Grain’s Bill Peugh took home the Popular Vote Award based on the votes of everyone who came. The “Potomac River Breeze” was based on the painting Potomac River by Dennis Crayon.
Mason Social celebrates their big win.Virtue’s Bill Peugh
Alana from GBD discusses art & cocktails with the public.Mason Social’s ice luge pour.Chadwicks’ Woods serving his Smoked Rye Flush.The truffles Chadwicks brought.DJ Ayes ColdGBD’s sous chef Adam McClendon brought roast chicken crostini with strawberry and blueberry-thyme syrup.At the photo boothThe evening’s awards
Blair Meerfeld, a ceramics instructor and department chair at The Art League, is giving a talk this Saturday at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum (on the third floor, directly above The Art League).
“Alexandria Archaeology is pleased to host Blair Meerfeld for a Java Jolt, sponsored by the Friends of Alexandria Archaeology. Blair is a master stoneware potter, as well as the current Ceramics Department Chair at the Art League in Alexandria, Virginia, and partner of Highfield Pottery in Cascade, Maryland. Blair is a lifelong scholar of the stoneware craft and an avid collector of historical stoneware. For his presentation, Blair will be discussing the Germanic influences on early American stoneware craftsmanship. On display will be several historical examples from his personal stoneware collection, as well as specimens from Alexandria Archaeology’s collection.”
The talk is Saturday, May 2, from 10:00 to 11:00 am. Come on out and catch it!
With Summer registration starting May 11, you might be tempted to think it’s too late to join Spring classes. Au contraire!
There are no fewer than 16 classes starting in May, including lots of fiber arts and jewelry courses. So look below for the list, and as always, contact the School office if you have any questions (or if you want to join a class that’s already in session). The full catalog, as always, is here.
Deadline: July 31. The Arts Club of Washington in Northwest DC continues its support for the visual arts with the Call for Entries for the 2016–2017 gallery season. Exhibitions are scheduled monthly from September 2016 through May 2017. Read the call for entries
Mattawoman Creek Art Center
Deadline: August 15. The Mattawoman Creek Art Center, located at Smallwood State Park in Charles County, Maryland, is seeking artists of all media to exhibit their art in individual shows. The Mattawoman Creek Gallery is spacious, light filled, and overlooks the Mattawoman Creek. More about this opportunity
Athenaeum call
Deadline: Ongoing. Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo or group show at the Athenaeum. Read the call for artists
King Street business
Deadline: None. Sonoma Cellar, a new wine-tasting room opening on King Street, is seeking artists to display their artwork on an 8- to 12-week rotating basis in the second floor bistro. Sonoma Cellar is looking for traditional and contemporary paintings, with the preferred genres of landscapes, animals, seascapes, abstracts, wine-inspired themes, sunrises or sunsets, California- or Virginia-inspired themes, and other possibilities will be considered. It will not take a fee or percentage of sales. Please contact [email protected] directly with images of the pieces you would like to be considered.
So far, we’ve posted three videos from the Art on the Rocks mixologists, previewing what they’re bringing to the party May 1. Stay tuned for three more drink reveals and all six appetizers, too!
(And if you’re looking for some music for your Friday, may we suggest DJ Ayes Cold? She’ll be performing at Art on the Rocks!)
Where does Purpose come from? It’s made from re-used packaging materials. It comes from Haiti, where the creator invented a process to turn ubiquitous trash into fabric. And it also comes from the hands and mind of Kevin McCarthy, the artist recognized this month with the Anne Banks Collage Award in the “Bits & Pieces” exhibit. She explained the origins of Purpose in our Q&A:
How did Purpose come to be?
Kevin McCarthy: Purpose was made using a process that I developed to make fabric out of trash when I was living in Haiti. I was working with Haitian artisans in design and development, at the time. In Haiti, I was struck by all of the trash on the streets and in the environment. You could see layers of it in the ground that built up over the years, and people living all around it. I wondered if there was anything else that could be done with the “material” and realized that’s exactly what it was. I experimented and developed a process for repurposing this used packaging material into fabric that was functional, and also beautiful and conceptual. I made products with the fabric, and taught Haitian women how to weave and sew and we sold purses and other accessories to generate income for them. But I always thought the texture and the control the process offered was well suited for fiber art, and the process is completely unique. I have not seen it anywhere else.
What different processes and materials went into Purpose? Purpose is made of coffee, butter, and shipping packaging that is woven and stitched.
As a fiber artist, how do found materials fit into your artwork?
Fiber is really quite broad because it can include materials other than those typically used to make fabric. Fabric can be made of anything, really. Using found materials lets me stretch the definitions and purpose of the raw materials I use, and of fabric structures.
I was raised outside of the United States — in West and East Africa — for the first eighteen years of my life. These are places where fabric is both functional and decorative, and often communicates things about an individual’s social role. To me, my work is about identity and culture. How do we define ourselves? More specifically, as a white American woman who never lived in the U.S. until the age of eighteen, how do I define myself? By pushing the boundaries and application of unusual materials — found materials — in my art, I can explore my own identity and definition of self.
Ecumenical Blue, Triptych by Kevin McCarthy (from the April All-Media Exhibit)
The framing and presentation of my fiber art is also very much an intentional part of my artwork that I’m not sure people notice. I present my work in a box frame, splayed, behind glass, somewhat like an ancient textile fragment you might see in a museum. This presentation refers to the way we separate foreign cultures and practices from our own, what we are comfortable with. The way we preserve and examine its exoticness. It’s not necessarily bad or good; I just think it’s interesting because fabric is intimately tied to everyday life so it’s about people and how they live, what they believe, and what their values are.
When I go to exhibitions of textile and fiber artwork, I always want to touch the objects, even though I understand and appreciate the necessity to protect ancient fabric fragments and also more contemporary work. The glass and frame, in my work, is a physical representation of the conceptual barrier between the artwork, where it came from, what and whom it represents, and the viewer.
What is fiber art, and why are you a fiber artist?
Fiber art, to me, is more about process than anything else. It only partly has to do with materials used. Fiber art is different from textiles and fabric but rooted in textile-making techniques. A lot of it is sculptural and conceptual, like the work of Anni Albers (also a printmaker), Sheila Hicks, Yinka Shonibare, Nick Cave, and Olek. There are many artists who use fiber art elements, approaches and concepts in their work, like Magdalena Abakanovicz, Eva Hesse, Judy Chicago, and El Anatsui.
Fiber is everywhere, in every culture.
I am a fiber artist because I grew up around cultures in which textiles played a key role in communication. I also come from a family of artists, and my mom is a master knitter and a weaver, and she knows how to do almost any other fabric-related process you can imagine. She taught me to knit and weave when I was very young and she collected textiles and garments in the places we lived: Mali, Burkina Faso, and Kenya.
She always talked about how they were made and why they were important and beautiful. That’s where my understanding and appreciation for textiles came from and since I was raised in a family of artists, art-making was a natural form of communication and exploration for me. Also, my dad loves mechanics and is very good with his hands, and I think that really aligned in my mind with the skill that I appreciated in fiber work. Fiber art constantly entertains my mind and my hands. As I work, I think about personal and global social and cultural issues that I find both intellectually and physically intriguing and satisfying. Fiber is everywhere, in every culture. It communicates about and impacts people that are intertwined with our daily lives, whether we know it or not.
Purpose (detail) by Kevin McCarthy
Is this part of a series? If so, how has the series changed up to this point?
This is part of a series. The first pieces are very monochromatic or black and white. Over the last year, I’ve experimented more with the pattern, even composition, that I can create by controlling the way I weave the pieces together. I’ve also experimented a little with using the non-colored side of the trash, which is usually silver, to create different effects. I’ve experimented a little bit with the inclusion of different kinds of plastic packaging material within the structure and on the surface. I’d like to go much much larger and create something that maybe even suggests movement and flexibility.
What are you working on now?
I’ve been doing a lot of very small embroideries with found materials including old photographs and tea bags. I like working small because it’s very portable, which fits my desire to travel and live abroad, and intimate. I can get fine detail and intricate effects, but I think it requires more attention from the viewer and gets overlooked more often than the larger work that sort of overwhelms you. I will keep working small, but I will also keep trying to push the process I used to make Purpose to create something more overwhelming.
Deadline: May 29. The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of Individual Photographer’s Fellowship grants of up to $10,000 each, for artists working in photography and photo-based art. More about the fellowship
InLight Richmond
Deadline: May 31. 1708 Gallery in Richmond, VA invites proposals for InLight Richmond 2015, the annual one-night, public exhibition of light-based art and performance. Proposals should involve, be inspired by, investigate, or interpret themes of light, from light as medium to light as concept. InLight Richmond 2015 will take place on the grounds of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Selected artists will receive a $300 stipend as well as opportunities to win $2000 in prizes. More about InLight
17–27 year old artists
Deadline: May 31. VisArts in Rockville, MD welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, Virginia, area to submit their application for review for our second Gen-Y exhibit in our Kaplan Gallery from June 23 – August 24 2015. Jurors: Peter Dubeau, Associate Dean for Continuing Studies at MICA, and Molly Nuzzo, Assistant Professor of Art at Montgomery College. More about the Gen-Y exhibit
Artist panel discussion
Friday, April 24. “Watch This! Revelations in Media Art”: Eve Sussman, David Behrman, and Camille Utterback discuss how, for each artist, the manipulation of technology has become an integral part of the artistic process. More about the panel
Coming Apart, pastel and acrylic, by Barbara Steinacker (click for a larger image)
The last time we interviewed Barbara Steinacker, it was about a landscape painting for “Flora & Fauna” in 2013.
Lately, this pastel artist has ventured into abstract compositions like the one above, which won the Carol Bruce Pastel Award this month. We asked her what it’s like for a landscape and portrait artist to try abstraction:
How would you describe Coming Apart? How did it come together? Barbara Steinacker: I was doing a series of abstract paintings using tertiary triad colors. Coming Apart came out of my attraction to the blue-green/magenta/yellow-orange combination. The design of the curved lines was inspired by a garden sculpture that I saw in Florida. So I started with that and let the rest just happen.
You typically paint landscapes and portraits, so did you find this piece a radical departure for you?
Yes. I’ve been doing abstract paintings for only about a year. I became interested in doing abstract work the year before last when I met and was inspired by the work of Debora Stewart, a well-known abstract pastel painter, at the International Association of Pastel Societies convention in Albuquerque. I’ll be taking a workshop with her in Maine this coming August.
Bombay Hook NWR Autumn-5 by Barbara Steinacker
The biggest change in my process is that the information for the painting comes from within rather than from the land in front of me, as in plein air painting, or from a person modeling, or from a photo reference. The abstract painting may start from a particular image as in Coming Apart — that was inspired by a particular garden sculpture and desire to use certain colors — but then it “takes off” from there.
Coming Apart (detail) by Barbara Steinacker
Where does the acrylic come into this painting? Is that a new approach for you?
The acrylic enters the picture as an underpainting. And a watered-down version of acrylic paint produced the drips that I then painted over with pastel. I’ve also often used an underpainting in my landscape work consisting of acrylic paint mixed into a pumice gel medium to cover the surface before applying pastel. That combination provides texture as well as color under the pastel.
You know The Art League offers classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, fiber arts, sculpture, jewelry, and every other medium under the sun.
Did you know there’s also a class in crime-solving?
Forensic artist Joe Mullins teaches “Mystery Solved: Facial Reconstruction” evenings at The Art League. Students start with only a cast skull, and over seven weeks, they reconstruct a mystery face bit by bit.
How does it work?
Like lots of other classes at The Art League, achieving a proper likeness starts with anatomy. In this case, that means building up layers of muscle and tissue on top of the cast skull, like in the video above. Add in details using other information — age, sex, ancestry — and a picture begins to emerge.
Why do we do it?
Forensic facial reconstruction is useful for solving mysteries both ancient and modern. For his work as a Forensic Imaging Specialist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Mullins helps identify unknown crime victims. (See this New York Times article about how his New York workshop created faces to match to murder victims.) He’s also reconstructed a 2,500-year-old mummy’s face.
Deadline: April 27. “Borders & Boundaries” examines work inspired by the outsider’s perspective. The theme extends to geographical boundaries, personal boundaries, societal boundaries, and everything in between. This exhibition is open to national and international artists working in all media. Our juror is Clint Mansell, Director of Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. More about “Borders & Boundaries” →
Virginia watercolorists
Deadline: June 6. The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild 2015 Annual Show is scheduled to open on Friday, September 4 at the McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville. This month long juried show is open to Virginia resident artists, 17 years or older. Each artist may submit two original paintings in watercolor or other water media for consideration. More about the watercolor show →
Digital fabrication residency
Deadline: June 15. Digital Fabrication Residency (Easton, MD) is a professional development program engaging artists with digital tools for project visualization and fabrication workflows for 3D printing, CNC routing, laser cutting, digital embroidery, textile printing, animation and other platforms. Residents learn software workflows and become knowledgeable in current applications of technology in the production of art. More about the residency →
New paintings 2016
Deadline: July 10. The University of Mary Washington Galleries is proud to host the tenth Mid-Atlantic New Painting biennial exhibition! The competition is open to artists 18 years of age and older, living in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Entries must have been completed within two years of the application deadline. More about the painting exhibit →
Re-runs: the announcements below have appeared here before, but it’s not too late to apply!
Strictly Painting 10
Deadline: April 17. From McLean Project for the Arts: All Mid-Atlantic artists (DC, VA, MD, PA, NJ, DE, WV) are invited to submit up to 4 jpegs of paintings or works related in some way to painting completed in the last two years and not previously exhibited at MPA. More about “Strictly Painting” →
Photography exhibit
Deadline: April 17. Candela Books + Gallery in Richmond, VA is holding its fourth annual invitational and juried exhibition. UnBound4! will be a summer group exhibition. Proceeds from a gala event will raise funds to purchase select works from the exhibition. Read the call to photographers →
Interactivity: Sight and Sound
Deadline: April 17. Sounds, music or voices seen as colors is referred to as synesthesia. Artists are invited to consider this concept and propose an exhibit of works that might connote or express it for an exhibit at Montgomery College. More about “Interactivity: Sight and Sound” →
Small Works on Paper
Deadline: April 20. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania invites all artists to participate in a juried exhibition of small works on paper in conjunction with The 25th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf. Works on paper (15″ x 11″ or smaller) in all traditional and experimental visual arts media, including photography, will be considered. More about the exhibit →
Academy Art Museum Craft Show
Deadline: April 20. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show in Easton, MD is an annual, indoor juried craft show featuring approximately 65 artists from across the United States. More about the show →
Out of Order at Maryland Art Place
Installation: April 21. For this annual fundraiser at Maryland Art Place, any artist is welcome to hang one original work of art on the first come, first served installation day — taking place on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 from 7:00 am to midnight. Sales are split 50/50 between the artist and MAP. More about More about Out of Order →
MIX: Adventured in Mixed Media
Receiving: April 26–27. For this exhibit at Del Ray Artisans in Alexandria, artists are invited to combine two or more mediums and shake up your imagination. Mixed media compositions can convey visuals that are quirky, abstract, political, environmental and social. Think: Paint, Graphite, Textiles, Jewelry, Found Objects, Collage, Sculpture, Shadowboxes, Altered Books and beyond. Del Ray Artisans and Artistic Artifacts have teamed up to create this collaborative juried exhibit. The juror is Rosalee Lamanna, a mixed media artist and 22-year owner of Beads Ltd in Alexandria, Virginia. More about the exhibit →
Tabletop ceramics
Deadline: May 1. The Art League presents its annual, international juried exhibit of ceramic works designed for food, drink, and the table. This year’s juror is Trevor Dunn. More about “Tabletop” →
MPAartfest
Deadline: May 1. McLean Project for the Arts’s MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 40 local and regional visual artists. The festival is Sunday, October 4, 2015. More about the festival →
Art Uniting People
Receiving: May 1. This exhibit is open to anyone whose life has been affected by mental illness, substance use disorders, or intellectual disabilities. This includes those who have been diagnosed with one of these conditions, family members, friends and caregivers. More about the exhibit →
DC artists
Deadlines vary. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities offers several funding programs for individuals and nonprofit organizations located in the District of Columbia. More about FY16 grants →
Purchase for permanent collection
Deadline: May 3. Amazon Web Services seeks to purchase a wide range of original artwork in various media for their corporate office in Washington D.C. from artists who are either current students, alumni, or faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) from all campuses or artists eighteen years and older who live, work, or have studios in the Metropolitan D.C. region. More about the project →
New deadline: May 15. The Smithfield (Virginia) Fall Festival of the Arts is a juried outdoor fine art show featuring accomplished travelling artists from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. There will be live entertainment throughout the day on an adjacent stage. The show has openings for more than 80 artists in the first year, and room for expansion in the future. We welcome artists working in Ceramics, Drawing, Fiber/Leather, Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Painting, Photography, Wood, and other media. Prizes include $1,000 for Best in Show, and $200 prizes for first place in each category. More about the festival →
DC photography competition
Deadline: May 22. FotoDC is holding two spring competitions for photographers: Faces of DC 2015 and Places of DC 2015. Judges will select cash prizes and images to appear in online and offline exhibits.
Photo ’15
Deadline: July 1. You are invited to submit to Photo ’15, a national juried fine art photography exhibit at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory. The juror is Sarah Greenough, Senior Curator and Head of the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art. More about the exhibit →
Spring classes just started on Monday, but there’s already so much happening! See below for some of what we did at The Art League this week, and click here to start a slideshow.
What: Six works of art paired with six new cocktails, six appetizers, and jams by DJ Ayes Cold Where: The Art League, 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, VA (Google Maps) When: Friday, May 1, 7:00–10:00 pm Tickets: $45 early bird; $55 after April 12. Get ’em here. Must be 21 years of age or older to attend with valid ID.
Ticket holders sample all of the delicious pairings and vote for their favorite at the event. A panel of experts, including representatives from Catoctin Creek Distillery, Green Hat Distillery and the Hour Shop, will crown the winner of the most creative cocktail, appetizer, and artwork pairing.
In the mood for something new and artistic to see?
You’re in luck, because this month we have two group exhibits for you: Bits & Pieces, the found object exhibit juried by Millicent Young, and the April All-Media Exhibit, juried by Jayme McClellan. There’s an opening reception tonight, Thursday April 9, at 6:30 pm, and the exhibits are both open through May 4. Here’s some of what you can see:
Anthropos by Hal AdkinsThe award winners in “Bits and Pieces,” by (left to right) Kevin McCarthy, Noah Williams, and Viviane de Kosinsky.Black Widow by Doug SternGossip by Janet LeggDetail from Happy Together by Trupti VakhariaDetail from Silent Visitor by Brent EricksonDetail from Treat Tuesday by Dale Hoffmeyer
Deadlines vary. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities offers several funding programs for individuals and nonprofit organizations located in the District of Columbia. More about FY16 grants →
Purchase for permanent collection
Deadline: May 3. Amazon Web Services seeks to purchase a wide range of original artwork in various media for their corporate office in Washington D.C. from artists who are either current students, alumni, or faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) from all campuses or artists eighteen years and older who live, work, or have studios in the Metropolitan D.C. region. More about the project →
Deadline: May 22. FotoDC is holding two spring competitions for photographers: Faces of DC 2015 and Places of DC 2015. Judges will select cash prizes and images to appear in online and offline exhibits.
Red Bull Art of Can
Deadline: June 15. Red Bull Art of Can is a nationwide creative competition. We invite designers, animators, sculptors, and artists of all disciplines to create 3D art, physical or digital, using a can of Red Bull as inspiration. More about the competition →
