Rosemary Feit Covey

About 20 years ago I wrote about Rosemary Feit Covey that "if there's a better wood engraver on the planet, I do not know who he/she is... as far as I am concerned, no one is better than this modern master, who continues to surprise me, gross me out, enlighten me, and always impress me with both her enviable technical skills and her super-sharp ability to cut deeply into my psyche."

And over the decades, I continued to be awed by the extraordinary printmaking super powers of this fantastic artist.

Behold "Lisa at twenty-two with Baby," c. 2003, 14 x 10 inches, wood engraving on paper.

Rosemary Feit Covey - "Lisa at twenty-two with Baby," c. 2003, 14 x 10 inches, wood engraving on paper

This Friday: Steve Wanna at Artists & Makers

Artists & Makers Studios in Rockville Presents

Steve Wanna and “Line, Circle, Ground”

for the Month of February

Opening Reception

5:00pm – 8:00pm, Friday, February 7th, 2025

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville is thrilled to host Steve Wanna in the Invited Artist Gallery for the month of February 2025. The exhibit runs from February 5th through February 26th, with an opening reception on First Friday, February 7th, 5 – 8pm. This exhibition features experimental techniques that push materials past their limits to yield unexpected, not entirely controllable results. Almost all the works use paper, pigment, and water as active mediums in an almost performative process. 

There’s a defining element shared among all the works of pigment that is pulled apart in unexpected fractures and bifurcations, creating organic patterns reminiscent of those in nature, such as in lightning or the branches and roots of trees. These works also speak to the behavior of water in different terrains such as sudden river formation in arid land. In some cases the paper is treated similar to soil, at times approached while completely dry and other times presoaked, each causing dramatic changes as the paper and the media that is applied to it react to water. 

"In keeping with my general approach of balancing elements of chaos and order in my work, I wanted to create in this series works that teeter on the edge of chaos while seeming to appear confined to simple or repeating shapes. This helps showcase the process by highlighting the myriad variations that unfold to create unique results in the same underlying shape. An important aspect of my aesthetic is to give up control over the process and end result without completely giving up agency and to negotiate with the materials and media to generate works in a collaborative process, which I find exciting despite inevitable frustrations."

Enjoy additional exhibits “Languaging Feelings in the Month of Hearts and Flowers” with Resident Artists, a mini-solo with Elizabeth Davison in the Lounge Gallery, Pop-Up with Naan Pocen, along with nineteen Gallery 209 Member Artists exhibiting their latest work. Open Studios building wide will welcome visitors to visit and learn. Shop and support local working artists, makers, and professionals. Light fare is sponsored monthly by The Chesapeake Framing Company – celebrating their 45th year. Wine by the glass and bottle by Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard.

Steve Wanna - “Line, Circle, Ground”

“Languaging Feelings in the Month of Hearts and Flowers” with Resident Artists

Mini-Solo with Elizabeth Davison

The 19 Member Artists of Gallery 209

Theremin Music by Arthur Harrison

Opening Reception

5:00pm – 8:00pm, Friday, February 7th, 2025

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Meet the Artist 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Saturday, February 15th, 2025