November 29, 2016 – The Art League

Coastal Route 1 by Art League instructor Susan Abbott — *Coastal Route 1* by Art League instructor Susan Abbott

On Tuesdays, we gather a variety of artist opportunities around the DC area and beyond. Find one below and enter today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

Virginia artists

Deadline: November 30. The Taubman Museum of Art (Roanoke, VA) is pleased to announce its first juried triennial Homeward Bound, a major exhibition presenting work in all media by artists living in Virginia.

Spectacular Skies

Deadline: January 4, 2017. For “Spectacular Skies” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), artwork should seek to fill viewers with a sense of wonder and mystery. All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; indoor and outdoor works accepted; cash awards to be presented.

Fine art photography

Deadline: January 9, 2017. ArtSpace Herndon invites photographers from Virginia, DC, Maryland, and West Virginia to participate in the 2017 ArtSpace Herndon Fine Art Photography Competition.

Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!

Matador Review

Deadline: November 30. The Matador Review, an online literature and art quarterly based in Chicago, publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. Art submissions for the Winter 2017 issue are now being accepted.

Shelter

Deadline: December 1. For “Shelter: Creating a Safe Home,” Contemporary Craft (Pittsburgh, PA) is currently seeking artists whose work reflects an interest in topics related to home, shelter, homelessness and displacement.

Call for collaborative proposals

Deadline: December 1. Evolve at Current Studio (Oklahoma City, OK) encourages teams of artists to propose ideas of work they would make in collaboration. Open to any artists, regardless of geographic location.

Join Printmakers, Inc.

Deadline: December 1. Printmakers Inc at the Torpedo Factory Art Center invites printmakers to submit their portfolios for consideration as they jury for new members. Printmakers was established in 1975 as a workshop where professional printmakers would share facilities, materials and ideas with each other and the public.

Artist as Activist fellowship

Deadline: December 5. US-based artists and artist collectives are invited to apply to the Rauschenberg Foundation’s Artist as Activist fellowship. The 2017 fellowship’s theme is racial justice with a particular focus on mass incarceration.

The figure

Deadline: December 5. This is an open call for submissions from artists for an exhibition at Site:Brooklyn. The Figure: Interpreted Through Contemporary Mediums is an exhibition that reflects the ambitious, innovative and contemporary practices in painting, printmaking and mixed media today.

Migrations

Deadline: December 9. The Maryland Federation of Art seeks conventional and unconventional renderings of migrations that can make viewers see the changing world in a new light.

Animals

Deadline: December 11. For Gimme Shelter at Ciel Gallery (Charlotte, NC), artists are invited to show the souls of the animals they love, whether feathered or furred, realistic, whimsical, or imaginary. All US artists working in any medium are eligible to enter.

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival

Deadline: December 11. The Greater Reston Arts Center invites artists to showcase their best contemporary art and craft in the 26th annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, to be held in May 2017.

Emerging curators

Deadline: December 12. Applications for the 2017 VisArts Emerging Curator program are now open. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites applications from emerging curators to work with an experienced mentoring curator to develop and present an exhibition.

Fellowship: Center for Emerging Visual Artists

Deadline: December 15. The 2017 CFEVA Visual Artist Fellowship application is now available. Emerging, mid-career, and established visual artists are encouraged to apply. The Visual Artist Fellowship is designed to help artists within 150 miles of Philadelphia reach new levels in their careers.

Habits

Deadline: December 16. Open to Art League exhibiting artist members only. For “Habits” at The Art League, artists are encouraged to examine habits, patterns, routines, and rituals – either in the context of their own lives, their own artwork, different cultures, or humanity as a whole. Juror: Rebecca Chaperon.

Vessels

Deadline: December 18. Capitol Hill Art League presents its 6th Annual Metro DC Open Juried Call with “Vessels,” open to 2-D and 3-D art around that theme. The juror this year is Chris Cooley.

Attachments

Deadline: December 21. For “see attached,” VAE (Raleigh, NC) will be accepting submissions through email and printing out the attachments to hang. Alongside the attachments will hang the corresponding emails as artist statements, website, and label information.

Stormy Weather

Deadline: December 28. Stormy weather is the theme of the Maryland Federation of Art’s 2nd annual exhibition.

Facing Our Fear

Deadline: January 4, 2017. The prospectus for Facing Our Fear, to be exhibited in Norfolk, VA, is now live. Artists may apply the student, amateur, or professional category.

NoVa Mini Maker Faire

Deadline: January 15, 2017 (early bird November 21). The NoVa Mini Maker Faire brings together an amazing collection of tech enthusiasts, engineers, woodworkers, metal workers, auto hackers, artists, teachers, and craftspeople from all over the northern virginia, Metro DC area and beyond.

Drawings & prints

Deadline: January 29, 2017. For the 28th National Drawing and Print Competitive Exhibition at Gormley Gallery (Baltimore, MD), drawings and prints (not including photography) in any medium are eligible.

Fiber art

Deadline: February 4, 2017. Fantastic Fibers at Yeiser Art Center (Paducah, KY) is an international competitive exhibition that seeks to showcase a wide range of outstanding works related to the fiber medium.

France residency

Deadline: February 28, 2017. The BAU Institute residency in Cassis, France supports the development of work in the Visual Arts (including photography, video and new media), Creative Writing, Dramatic Writing, Performance and Musical Composition.

Harrisonburg juried exhibit

Deadline: March 15, 2017. All artists residing in the U.S. are invited to enter artwork completed after January 1, 2015 into the 14th annual VMRC Juried Art Exhibition (Harrisonburg, VA). No commission is charged on sales.

Nine frames from “The Artistic Frame: An Inquiry into the Enhancement of Paintings,” curated by William Adair and juried by Clarice Smith.

Crowned with Golden Acorns by Susan O'Neill, best-in-show in the exhibit. — *Crowned with Golden Acorns* by Susan O’Neill, best-in-show in the exhibit. (click for a larger image)

When it comes to frames, store-bought isn’t the only option.

In fact, there’s a long tradition of artist-made frames, protecting and complementing the artwork inside. An exhibit on view now at The Art League highlights the little-celebrated techniques that have been decorating frames for centuries.

“The Artistic Frame: An Inquiry into the Enhancement of Paintings,” curated by William Adair and juried by Clarice Smith, is open through this Sunday, December 4. We asked the best-in-show artist, Susan O’Neill, for an introduction:

What techniques can we see in the frames in this exhibit?

Susan O’Neill: The frames on view here use primarily the sgraffito and granito techniques explained in a previous blog post. These century-old techniques enhance and decorate the artist’s frame.

In this exhibition, look for examples of sgraffito — areas where the design has been scratched into the frame to reveal the gold or clay-colored layer (bole) beneath the gold — or granito: areas that are embossed with a stamp or an image. This exhibition shows magnificent examples of these techniques with artwork created especially for these frames, perhaps the opposite of what one might expect.

Detail of Susan O'Neill's frame. — Detail of Susan O’Neill’s frame.

These frames required much patience and attention to detail, from the preparation and application of the frame’s base surface (the gesso and bole), to applying the delicate gold leaf, then burnishing the gold to a brilliant, mirror-like quality, and finally (but optionally), creating an antique patina.

Often the charm and character of the frame are due to years of accumulated dust and dirt, or patina. This patina usually indicates “great age” and can be imitated with various pigments and age enhancing effects — “One man’s dirt is another man’s patina.”

Which came first for you, the frame or the painting? How did your creative process differ from the usual?

In this case, the frames came first. That is not usually how I paint, but I believe that I will now change my methods. I actually placed the canvas in the frames and created the paintings. This was especially important because elements in the frame “play off” or respond to what happened in the painting, and thus the decision-making process was altered by the details, at times subtle, in the frame. This allows the eye to move seamlessly between the frame and the work of art, hopefully working in harmony.

“The Artistic Frame: An Inquiry into the Enhancement of Paintings”

What makes a good frame, in your opinion?

In my opinion a good frame considers the elements in the artwork. Texture, theme, color, and rhythms that appear in the artwork should also be reflected in the frame. A good frame should enhance and compliment the artwork without taking away from the art or distracting the viewer.

If framing a portrait painting, in most cases the width of the frame should be the same as the width of the face. Take note of this next time you are in a museum looking at classical artwork. The size of objects, such as in a still life or landscape, should also be considered when choosing the width and texture of a frame.

Painting and frame (detail below) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

What do you hope people get out of this exhibit?

I hope that viewers come away with a with more enlightened understanding of the importance the frame holds for the artist, along with how it enhances the work of art. I hope that they will enter a museum to notice and consider the frame as well as the art. Very often the artist themselves have designed the frame specifically for the artwork. Notice the images above by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. He designed and painted this frame himself. He even signed the frame. Observations like this will open up an entirely new and inspired viewing experience. Enjoy!

Day: November 29, 2016

Artist Opportunities #347