It’s The Art League’s first art auction and wine-tasting party! The event kicked off May 30 with a 10-day online art auction that culminates in a festive, global wine-tasting party on Friday, June 9 at 7:30 pm in the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
The auction …
The online auction began at 12:00 noon on May 30, and it features a variety of artwork from our esteemed faculty of artists as well as date night packages from local Alexandria businesses, including the new Hotel Indigo. A small selection of the items are pictured above.
The final round of bidding will occur during the event on June 9 as a silent auction. No ticket is required to bid online. To attend the final round of bidding (and taste the wine), you’ll need an Art on the Vine ticket ($55).
… the wine
The Art on the Vine wine tasting party on June 9 will feature 12 different wines from around the world. Tickets are $55 per person, and each ticket holder will receive a tasting glass, eight tastings, and one full pour.
Well Crafted Wine & Beverage Co. curated the selection of wines, and the tasting is designed to take the palate on a journey from light to bold. Chadwicks in Old Town will provide light hors d’oeuvres.
All proceeds go to benefit The Art League and its educational programs.
Deadline: June 5. 1708 Gallery (Richmond, VA) invites US-based and international artists and curators to submit proposals for the 2018 and 2019 exhibition seasons.
Artist as citizen
Deadline: June 7. “Create/Change” at Hillyer Art Space (Washington, DC) is an all-media, juried exhibition that will feature work that examines the idea of artists as citizens.
Design competition
Deadline: June 26. To mark 100 years of service, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area is commissioning one local artist (or team of artists) for an original design to be painted on a canvas which will be displayed at their headquarters on Georgia Ave NW.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. 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 Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 4. The City of Alexandria, Virginia invites artists and artist teams living and working in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications for a temporary public art project for the Duke Street Pedestrian Concourse. An average of 3,000 people walk through the tunnel daily.
Art of Engagement
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
The Art League: July Open Exhibit
Deadline: June 16. Open exhibits at The Art League are open to all current exhibiting artist members. There are no restrictions on medium, process, theme, or content. The juror for the July Open Exhibit is Lucila Biscione.
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Black and white
Deadline: July 10. Specto Art Space, a new gallery coming to the Harrisonburg, VA area later this year, is seeking applicants for its September international juried show “Black & White: 2017“. Media accepted: photography, digital art, graphic design.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
In crayon news, those dandelion yellow Crayolas might be worth some money someday. (OK, probably not.) Recently retired by the company (illustrated eulogy here), they’ll be replaced by a new blue inspired by an accidentally discovered artificial pigment.
She and the Franklin Furnace are still supporting avant garde art, and are marking their 40th anniversary. Here’s what they’re up to these days, in Wilson’s interview with Hyperallergic.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is holding an exhibit of Imogen Cunningham’s photography, so naturally they took to Instagram to promote it. Instagram is, of course, the place to share amazing photography online — unless, as the MFA found out, that photography includes “some … female nipples.” Instagram took down three posts by the museum.
Inspiration
You may know Jerry Saltz as famous art critic, but do you know Jerry Saltz as an artist? In My Life as a Failed Artist, Saltz’s essay for Vulture, he recalls a forgotten part of his life and why it didn’t end up the way he wanted. “Every artist does battle, every day, with doubts,” he writes. “I lost the battle.”
This writer told the story of his mother, Katherine Bradford, who is achieving recognition for her art in her seventies, over three decades after she took the plunge. How About a Little Badass Inspiration?
Gear
Have you heard of the camera lucida? It’s one of the optical devices painters used as an aid in the days before photography. (Another is the camera obscura, which is much older.) Anyway, the camera lucida was invented about 200 years ago and never really took off — except that now you can buy one and try it out! Check it out on Kickstarter.
Bonus video
In this very thought-provoking video, Vox explains the research into how different cultures name colors. It’s definitely worth a watch:
Where does the title The Moment come from? Was it the moment the model was captured? The moment artist Wen LePore put pen to paper? Or was it the moment she nearly started over, but decided to keep the painting instead?
Whenever the Moment was, it was recognized this month by juror Dana Shearin, who selected it for the Amelia T. Clemente Family Award for Best in Show in the May Open Exhibit. We asked the artist to tell us more about this painting:
What was your goal when you were painting The Moment?
To be honest, I did not think about what it should be. I did not plan it. It was an unfinished ink sketch from drawing class, and I was trying to finish it but I made the face ugly … I was trying to wash away and redo it again, then I saw there was something nice there.
Why are you a painter?
To be a painter is my dream.
I love music, love dancing, and I admired artists who stand in front of a easel. But I am too short; I have very small hands. My parents thought I wasn’t able to be a perfect musician or dancer. As I saw artists were painting, I wanted to paint, but my mom told me, “That is too expensive.”
I stayed in math and physics … such useful majors. It’s easy to survive, too. To be a painter became my dream.
Passion, oil, by Wen LePore
Why did you choose watercolor for this painting? What other media do you work in?
The first time I learned brown ink was in Dan Thompson’s workshop in 2015. Then I started to take Robert Liberace’s drawing class. Some classes were learning to use watercolor as one kind of media to do a quick sketch. Usually I use black ink pen in my sketch book; this took longer and used more ink. Learning the watercolor technique has brought me more joy.
Usually, I paint in oil.
Is this a typical painting for you? What makes it different?
This is a typical painting for me: It came from a mistake or unpredictability.
Portrait of Len Brachen by Wen LePore, honorable mention in The Art League’s January 2015 exhibit.
More often I paint landscapes and portraits in oil. When I started to paint, I only wanted to use oil media, since Chinese ink painting is very hard to save for hundreds years or longer. There is a more magical result from the wash technique in painting because there is always unpredictability. How many risks I took during the creation — that’s how much surprise I get from it.
It’s very exciting. I feel it is like a casino.
What was your first experience with art as a child?
I went to primary school when I was five. I joined the school band and played the Chinese musical instrument ErHu. I also joined a dancing group and singing group as a conductor in same period, from first year to the end of primary school.
Who or what are your greatest influences?
It’s hard to say … there have been so many.
My parents were my influences in my childhood. My dad taught me music, and he also helped me build my love of nature. My mom taught me how to sing songs and how to perform for an audience.
Memory of One Spring by Wen LePore
After I came to America, my two favorite places to go are the National Gallery of Art and the Torpedo Factory. In the early years I spent a lot of time browsing each floor on weekends at the Torpedo Factory … I still remember which artist has cool metal in the corner of the first floor, who is making little figures in the ceramic space on the third floor, who makes the most elegant cherry blossom carving work on the second floor. All the artists in their studios were my influences.
Then I went to NVCC for art, and I learned the basic techniques of drawing, painting, and ceramics there. In 2010, I joined Arlington Artists Alliance, a wonderful artists group, and then I joined The Art League. I met Rose O’Donnell in the gallery, and she is the key person who guided me to The Art League school, where I have been taking higher professional training since 2015.
We have exciting news to share from one of our Art League instructors! Delna Dastur writes:
“I have been accepted as a Fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, (VCCA), an honor that both excites and humbles me. I shall be doing my residency on their beautiful campus for two weeks this summer, where I shall be given a studio to work in undisturbed!”
In her class, Abstract Art: New and Creative Approaches, Delna introduces a new artist each week for students to learn about different processes and techniques. Here is a day on Per Kirkeby:
(Amherst, VA) – Delna Dastur of McLean, VA, has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). The VCCA is located near Sweet Briar College in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in rural Virginia. Delna Dastur will be among approximately 25 Fellows focusing on their own creative projects at this working retreat for visual artists, writers and composers.
A typical residency ranges from two weeks to two months. Each artist is provided with a comfortable private bedroom, a private studio and three prepared meals a day. Beyond the breakfast hour and the dinner hour, there are no schedules or obligations. This distraction-free atmosphere, as well as the energy that results from having some 25 visual artists, writers, and composers gathered in one place, enables artists to be highly productive.
Festooned by Delna Dastur
Serving more than 350 artists a year (more than 4,000 since its inception), the VCCA is one of the nation’s largest year-round artists’ communities. VCCA Fellows have received worldwide attention through publications, exhibitions, compositions, performances, and major awards and accolades, including MacArthur grants, Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts awards, Rome Prizes, Pollock-Krasner grants, National Book Awards, Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and Academy Award nominations. VCCA has been a wellspring of music, literature and the visual arts in the United States, providing residencies for artists from all disciplines during the most important and the least supported phase of their work: the creative phase. This is done by giving visual artists, writers, composers, performance artists, filmmakers, collaborating artists and those whose work crosses disciplines the crucial elements every artist needs–time and space to do their work.
A nonprofit organization founded in 1971, the VCCA is supported in large part by grants and private donations.
More information is available online at www.vcca.com or by calling 434-946-7236.
See all of Delna’s classes at The Art League in our catalog.
Deadline: June 4. The City of Alexandria, Virginia invites artists and artist teams living and working in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications for a temporary public art project for the Duke Street Pedestrian Concourse. An average of 3,000 people walk through the tunnel daily.
The Art League: July Open Exhibit
Deadline: June 16. Open exhibits at The Art League are open to all current exhibiting artist members. There are no restrictions on medium, process, theme, or content. The juror for the July Open Exhibit is Lucila Biscione.
Deadline: July 10. Specto Art Space, a new gallery coming to the Harrisonburg, VA area later this year, is seeking applicants for its September international juried show “Black & White: 2017“. Media accepted: photography, digital art, graphic design.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. 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 Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
The Fruits of Summer by workshop instructor Diane Tesler.
There’s exactly one month until summer classes start, but this week’s 90-degree temperatures have us feeling the summer heat already.
Heat, it turns out, is also an important part of an artist’s toolkit. Here are a few of our classroom demos where temperature plays a role:
Raku firing
In this video, Art League ceramics chair Blair Meerfeld fires ceramic work using the raku process. After the raku ware is heated in a kiln until red-hot, the pieces are placed in metal cans filled with combustible material, like newspaper. The paper ignites and the smoke completes the process:
The raku firing workshop is not currently on our schedule, but stay tuned for raku firing opportunities!
You can create work suitable for the raku kiln in any ceramics class. Our ceramics department also fires work in electric, gas reduction, and sometimes woodfired kilns. See all our ceramics classes →
Heat-coloring copper
The sculpture classroom sees plenty of heat when we hold our Metal Sculpture classes. In this demo, Brian Kirk shows how easily a torch’s heat can create interesting coloration on copper:
Beeswax, pigment, and heat are the critical ingredients for painting in the ancient medium of encaustic. For our encaustic workshop, the jewelry studio becomes a painting studio for a few days. Warm wax allows for some interesting transfer techniques, like the simple photo transfer here:
Our next encaustic workshop is in September, but you can register for it now! All encaustic workshops →
Color study painting
For an exploration of temperature as it relates to color choices, you can’t go wrong with a color study. In this demo, artist Danni Dawson shows how to build a portrait starting with some pretty wild colors:
I wanted to write and describe my process in selecting work for this May’s open call Art League show. In making selections, I tried to represent as faithfully as possible the diversity and variety of submissions. I chose pieces that brought me joy, charmed me with their eccentricity, or impressed me with their skill; I looked for pieces that made me uncomfortable and pieces that surprised me with their direct simplicity.
Foreground: Ocean Vista by Thomas Mulczynski
For those who submitted work that was not included, first, I would like to say that I had space for about 14 percent of the works submitted; there were many excellent works that I was unable to include simply because of space restrictions. I want you to know that your work is valuable and my choices were personal; the world needs more of your art and I thank you for making my job both difficult and enjoyable.
I hope this show leaves your soul well fed.
Best wishes,
Dana Shearin
The Three Heavens: Water, Earth and Sky by Marcel Artes Deolazo
About me: I spent my childhood on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the daughter of a watercolor painter, I was immersed in art making from a very young age. My formal education began at Interlochen Arts Academy where I built large scale abstract plaster sculptures, studied figure drawing, photograph and printmaking. I have a BFA from Alfred University’s New York State College of Ceramics. There I continued studying figure drawing, printmaking and began pursuing an interest in mixed media installation, sound, and ceramics. I also have an MFA in Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art.
I have taught workshops and classes at National Louis University, Western Illinois University, North Central Michigan College, and The Evanston Art Center. I have an active studio practice at the Midwest Clay Guild where I have been now for more than 11 years, and have twice served as its president. I currently work with dogs and make art in Evanston, Illinois, where I live with my husband and our yellow lab.
Deadline: June 2. McLean Project for the Arts (McLean, VA) invites all Mid-Atlantic artists to submit up to ten high resolution images for MPAartfest2017. MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 50 local and regional visual artists.
The National Building Museum (Washington, DC) is seeking volunteers for programming related to their latest Summer Block Party installation, Hive.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
First Sunday: Annapolis
Deadline: First come, first served. Applications are now open for vendors for the 2017 season of the First Sunday Arts Festivals in Annapolis, MD.
Leesburg fair
Deadline: First come, first served. The First Annual Arts in the Alley Street Fair will be held one day only July 29, 2017 in Leesburg, VA.
Art sale
Deadline: May 18. Applications are now available for art sale booths at the June 11 Mt. Vernon Spring Art-Fest at Sacramento Center (Alexandria, VA).
Paint out
Event: May 20. Mattawoman Creek Art Center invites artists including photographers to a paint out at Historic Smallwood State Park in Charles County, MD. Register with Barbara Stepura at [email protected]. Meet at the art center in the morning and paint anywhere at the park. Bring a bag lunch and meet back at the art center at noon for a break and an informal critique, if desired.
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. 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 Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
Bacchus stranded in a dry county. Oedipus working on Wall Street. Achilles wielding a rifle.
These are the mythological figures you’ll meet in this month’s solo exhibit, Lesa Cook’s “Gods, Heroes and Fools.”
Wall Street Oedipus by Lesa Cook
Cook’s exhibit of drawings and sculptures reimagine these characters as 21st-century personalities, asking what these stories have to tell us in the present day. Each piece is accompanied by an statement explaining the original myths behind the art.
You can come experience these stories at The Art League through Sunday, June 4.
Elpis Is Alive! by Lesa Cook
About the artist
Lesa Cook grew up in South Carolina and received a degree in studio art from the University of South Carolina in 1987. In 1990, she pursued graduate work in computer graphics at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. She continued her fine art studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD; the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC; The Art League in Alexandria, VA; and The Shuler School of Art in Baltimore, MD.
She continues to pursue her studies and thinks of herself as a perpetual student. Currently, she resides in Burkittsville, MD, where she paints and sculpts. She teaches at The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, and The Yellow Barn Studio in Glen Echo, MD. She is a registered copyist at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. She considers herself a classical realist, drawing inspiration from the great masters and trying to capture not only the natural form but the emotional reality as well.
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
First Sunday: Annapolis
Deadline: First come, first served. Applications are now open for vendors for the 2017 season of the First Sunday Arts Festivals in Annapolis, MD.
Leesburg fair
Deadline: First come, first served. The First Annual Arts in the Alley Street Fair will be held one day only July 29, 2017 in Leesburg, VA.
Deadline: May 15. The ManneqART Competition (Laurel, MD) covers three distinct “sections” of wearable art design: Sculpture, Hair, and Makeup. An artist’s award pool of over $10,000 has been allocated for this year’s ManneqART competition.
Baltimore craft show
Deadline: May 15. The 2nd annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American and international crafts and design.
Art sale
Deadline: May 18. Applications are now available for art sale booths at the June 11 Mt. Vernon Spring Art-Fest at Sacramento Center (Alexandria, VA).
Paint out
Event: May 20. Mattawoman Creek Art Center invites artists including photographers to a paint out at Historic Smallwood State Park in Charles County, MD. Register with Barbara Stepura at [email protected]. Meet at the art center in the morning and paint anywhere at the park. Bring a bag lunch and meet back at the art center at noon for a break and an informal critique, if desired.
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. 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 Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
Signing artwork is an important part of the creative process that’s sometimes overlooked. Here are three signatures we’d all like to find in our attic! (via)
What’s the first thing you do after you’ve finished a piece of artwork? Frame it? Take a photo? Put it on your website?
Not so fast. Before you do anything else, you need to sign it.
Common mistakes in signing artwork
The most common mistake artists make with signatures is not signing artwork in the first place. Maybe you forgot, maybe you aren’t sure how, or maybe you don’t feel like a “real” artist.
This is no time to be shy — signing artwork is a must. It gives the work value and marks it as a finished, sellable piece of work. (We’re including examples from Art League artists throughout this post.)
Artichokes on a Crate by Brent Erickson, signed with the artist’s initials in a trompe l’oeil style.
There are some other mistakes you can make when signing your art:
Distracting from the artwork: Your signature should be small and unobtrusive. This is not the time to break out your glitter marker.
Signing illegibly: The signature is there to identify you as the artist, so make sure it’s legible.
Signing the matte: For photographs and other prints, we sometimes see artists sign the matte. You should sign the print itself — probably not on the image, but just outside, or on the back. This way, if the piece gets reframed, the signature goes where the art goes.
Using non-archival materials: Just like the artwork itself, your signature should be made to last. Don’t use ink that will fade over time, for example.
Blue Dot, Yellow Center by Marilyn Grelle. The signature is on the same paper as the monotype, printed neatly just below the image along with the piece’s title.
Where and how to sign
Where to sign is up to you: some artists do it on the back, some on the front in a corner. As you’ll see below, there are other places to “hide” a signature. Most artists, however, sign in a bottom corner, and that’s where a collector will look first.
Just be sure to sign on the artwork itself — not on the matte or a stretcher bar, for example.
#877 by Tory Cowles is signed on the side of the gallery-wrapped canvas.
How to sign depends on your medium: pen or pencil are good for works on paper. Painters should sign in paint (using a small brush) with a color that makes sense for the artwork. Again, your artist signature should be legible but not draw attention to itself.
Keep in mind this doesn’t have to be the same signature you use for signing checks: you can use your initials or a monogram, like Albrecht Durer’s at the top of this post.
Diane Blackwell signed her sculpture The Washington Football with a chain stitch.
What about three-dimensional work?
The same basic rules apply to sculptures and other three-dimensional work. That is, you should sign unobtrusively on the work itself and not, for example, on a detachable base.
For jewelry and ceramic works, you may want to create a unique maker’s mark. You can see Blair Meerfeld’s distinctive mark below:
Blair Meerfeld
Jewelry can be tricky when it’s very small. Whitney Staiger puts “UDOP,” the name of her jewelry business, on the inside of pieces when she can.
Creative solutions
As long as it doesn’t detract from the artwork, there’s no reason you can’t get creative with your signature! You are an artist, after all.
In this video, Sara Linda Poly shares a good tip for painters: you can sign with a color shaper by removing paint. It’s probably a little easier to write with, compared to a brush.
You can have a little fun by hiding your signature in the subject matter, like Joey Mánlapaz does in her painting below.
911 by Joey Mánlapaz features a signature built into the scene.
Artists, is there anything else you’d like to know about signing artwork? Let us know in the comments!
Those are far from the only options, of course. With 126 classes and 43 workshops this summer, you can flex your creative muscle any way you choose! Check out the full catalog.
Registration opens May 8 at 9:30 am, and Summer Term kicks off on June 19 (the same day as Summer Art Camp). Check course details for specific start dates.
About Art Camp
Art camp — for ages five and up — provides children a wonderful introduction to visual art. This summer, we’re offering 98 different camps over nine weeks!
In our regular art camp, each day brings a new project that may include drawing, painting, printmaking, or sculpture. Our specialty camps, like Drawing Camp or Painting Camp, focus on immersion in one particular medium.
Art camps run from June 19 to August 18, Monday to Friday, and have a varied curriculum from week to week.
You can register for half-day camps, full-day camps, or full-day camps plus an extension.
Not sure where to start?
If you’re brand-new to art classes — or if you just need a refresher — we most often recommend Basic Drawing as a great first class. If that’s not your speed, there are good classes for beginners in every medium, including ceramics, sculpture, fiber art, painting, photography, and printmaking.
No two artistic journeys are the same! That’s why you can always get in touch with us for advice on which class is right for you:
We’re proud to have a group of talented artists as instructors here at The Art League, and we love sharing what they’re up to! Here are some news items from The Art League faculty:
Robert Liberace’s award
Do you recognize the painting above? Robert Liberace‘s Fifth Circle graces the inside cover of this year’s class catalog. This week, we learned this stunning painting was awarded first place in Imaginative Realism at the 12th Annual ARC Salon! Read more about this painting’s inspiration.
Avis Fleming’s “Images”
Avis Fleming: “Images”
Avis Fleming teaches sketchbook workshops this year at The Art League, but sketchbooks aren’t the only place she’s making her mark! You can see her exhibit “Images” through June 28, 2017 at Printmakers, Inc. (Studio 325 at the Torpedo Factory, upstairs from The Art League.) “Images” includes paintings, prints, and ceramics by Fleming, demonstrating her gestural drawing technique.
Painting in Thomas, West Virginia
Thomas, West Virginia
“A tiny town is assembled, snow-globe-like, on only one side of the street.”
That’s Travel & Leisure writing last month about Thomas, West Virginia — a town name you’ll recognize if you’ve flipped through our catalog. A Week in Thomas, West Virginia is a five-day workshop this August with Danni Dawson, Mike Francis, and Paul Lucchesi. Students are free to paint and sculpt with the different instructors as they wish, and enjoy the small-town charm of Thomas.
Instructors, are we missing any of your news? Drop us a line or leave a comment below.
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
First Sunday: Annapolis
Deadline: First come, first served. Applications are now open for vendors for the 2017 season of the First Sunday Arts Festivals in Annapolis, MD.
Leesburg fair
Deadline: First come, first served. The First Annual Arts in the Alley Street Fair will be held one day only July 29, 2017 in Leesburg, VA.
Young artists with disabilities
Deadline: May 3. “Electrify!” is a juried competition and exhibition featuring artwork by artists with disabilities, ages 16–25, showcasing artwork that excites our senses, awakens our curiosity, and electrifies our very being.
DC fellowship
Deadline: May 4. The Halcyon Arts Lab Fellowship (Washington, DC) is a nine-month program established to provide emerging artists with time and space to explore new ideas and ambitious projects in an environment of independent learning, study, and collaboration. Halcyon Arts Lab accepts six national or international fellows and two DC-resident fellows in each year of the program.
Watercolor juried exhibit
Deadline: May 6. The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild invites entries to the 2017 Annual Exhibition, to be held at McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville, VA. The juror this year is Steve Fleming, former instructor at The Art League.
MD craft show
Deadline: May 7. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show (Easton, MD) is an indoor, juried craft show featuring approximately 65 artists from across the United States.
All-media exhibit
Deadline: May 8. The Open Regional Juried Art Exhibition at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (Washington, DC) is open only to artists residing in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Original hanging work created in any medium will be considered.
Deadline: May 15. The ManneqART Competition (Laurel, MD) covers three distinct “sections” of wearable art design: Sculpture, Hair, and Makeup. An artist’s award pool of over $10,000 has been allocated for this year’s ManneqART competition.
Baltimore craft show
Deadline: May 15. The 2nd annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American and international crafts and design.
Art sale
Deadline: May 18. Applications are now available for art sale booths at the June 11 Mt. Vernon Spring Art-Fest at Sacramento Center (Alexandria, VA).
Paint out
Event: May 20. Mattawoman Creek Art Center invites artists including photographers to a paint out at Historic Smallwood State Park in Charles County, MD. Register with Barbara Stepura at [email protected]. Meet at the art center in the morning and paint anywhere at the park. Bring a bag lunch and meet back at the art center at noon for a break and an informal critique, if desired.
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. 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 Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
