Artists & Makers Studios First Anniversary!

Artists & Makers Studios will present the Resident Artist exhibit At 1(one), and The Painted Fox, two very special exhibits to begin Artists & Makers Studios' first anniversary celebrations.  At 1(one) is a play on words in regard to the momentous occasion of our first anniversary and the tight-knit bonds that have developed in this artists’ haven.  The Painted Fox is a joyous, exuberant celebration of color, line and form with ColorBoxes and painted books by artist Julianne Fuchs-Musgrave.  Opening Friday, March 4th, the exhibits continue through Wednesday, March 23rd.  These curated exhibits will fill the galleries with color, beauty and vibrancy. 

“At 1(one)” and “The Painted Fox”
Opening Reception

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM,  Friday, March 4, 2016

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Dr., Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Artists & Makers Studios’ two main galleries will feature the incredible talents of our Resident Artists.  In the past year our emerging and mid-career artists have come together to work and grow and unite in bonds of professional affiliation and friendship that have deepened their skills and talents - and enriched their studio practices.  At Artists & Makers Studios our main duty is to nurture talent, provide opportunities for personal and professional growth, and to maintain an inspiring, welcoming environment responsive to the needs of serious artists – while at the same time welcoming our neighbors and the larger community as a whole.

In the long Gallery Hall, Julianne Fuchs-Musgrave will delight with delicate boxes and books constructed of gorgeous color-soaked paper. The paper constructions from Julianne’s childhood have evolved into structures that begin with abstract ink paintings.  She approaches her work with a desire to meld functional structure with the freedom of “Color School” abstract paintings.  Each piece incorporates her training as a painter and sculptor.  All of the artworks are handmade, using classic and new art materials: archival inks, and fine art papers.

Artists & Makers Studios, established in October 2014 by artist and arts community builder Judith HeartSong, is located at 11810 Parklawn Dr. Rockville, MD 20852.  The facility has grown by 40% in its first year of operation and is now home to 70 Resident Artists and a growing number of affiliates.  A&M Studios is dedicated to providing a supportive and vibrant environment for artists to realize their creative goals - through studio practice, collaboration, education, opportunities, networking and connecting with the community beyond our doors. 

At Waverly Street

CityScapes

Photography Exhibit by members of

The North Bethesda Camera Club

March 8-April 2, 2016

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday March 11, 6-9 pm

Artist Talk: Saturday March 19 2-3 pm

The essence of any city includes a wide variety of conflicting and complimentary visual details: soaring architecture with intimate spaces, homelessness in the midst of extreme wealth, crowded streets filled with people seeking a morsel of personal space. "Cityscapes" explores the beauty and fragility of urban life through the lenses of members of The North Bethesda Camera Club. The exhibition will feature various aspects of urban life and architecture. This show was juried by Colleen Henderson, a fine art photographer and educator living in Bethesda, MD.

Touchstone Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists

Touchstone Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists (2016-2018)

Open Call for Applications

Deadline: March 31, 2016

 WHAT is it?

The Fellowship provides a 2 year membership in Touchstone Gallery in downtown DC. This guarantees a solo exhibition as well as participation in gallery group shows, mentorship and a presence on the gallery website. The monetary value of the fellowship exceeds $4500.00

WHO can apply?

The Fellowship is awarded to 1 or more emerging artists in the Washington area who have not been represented by a commercial gallery in at least 10 years.

HOW to apply?

The application process for the 2016-2018 fellowship program is now open. The application and related information can be found on the TFA website,
www.touchstonefoundationdc.org

Openings and ongoings...

DMV area artists openings around the DMV and the nation:

Carol Reed at Susan Calloway Fine Arts on February 23 - March 23

Felicia Avalos, Irene Clouthier, Anthony Gongora, and Giselle Ruzany at Little Salon on  February 23

Maida Withers and Annika B. Lewis at Arts Club of Washington - Monroe House on February 28

Fran Abrams at Foundry Gallery on March 2 - March 27

Anna Demovidova at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital on March 3 - May 1

Roxana Alger Geffen and Fabiola Alvarez Yurcisin at Olly Olly on March 5 - March 31

Richard Paul Weiblinger at 47th Annual LAG Open Juried Exhibition on March 6 - March 27

Amy Hughes-Braden at Montgomery College's Open Gallery on March 23 - May 2

Alexandra Chiou at Vivid Solutions Gallery on March 25 - May 13

Carol Barsha at Nesto Gallery on April 1 - May 6

Ongoing: 

Dafna Steinberg and Jenny Walton at Flashpoint Gallery to March 19

Jung Min Park at District of Columbia Arts Center to March 20

Nara Park and Dane Winkler at Hamiltonian Gallery to March 26

Mike McConnell at Strathmore, curated by Adah Rose Bitterbaum and Harriet Lesser, through February 21

Gail Rebhan at Lentos Art Museum through February 21

Stephen Schiff at ARC Gallery through February 27

Catherine Day at BlackRock Center for the Arts through February 27

Marc Robarge and Alex Porter at Hillyer Art Space through February 27

Gordon Binder at Studio Gallery through February 27

Stephanie Firestone at Salzland Museum through February 28

Linda Larochelle at 1st Stage Theater through February 28

Becky S. Kim at Foundry Gallery through February 28

John M. Adams, Barb Januszkiewicz, and Jennifer Lillis at 34zero9 Art Studios and Micro Gallery through February 29

Richard Weiblinger at Marymount University's Barry Gallery through March 3 and Maryland House of Delegates through April 6

Fabiano Amin, Joel D'Orazio, Sylvia Gottwald, Oenone Hammersley, Kathryn McDonnell, Elba Molina,and Helen Zughaib at Watergate Gallery through March 5

Lilian Hoover at Honfleur Gallery through March 11

Cedric Baker, Daniel T. Brooking, Edward Savwoir, Eric Celarier, and Gloria C. Kirk at Pepco Edison Place Gallery through March 11

Cianne Fragione at AU Museum at the Katzen Arts Center through March 13

Athena Tacha at Marsha Mateyka Gallery through March 19

Alexandra Chiou and Mike McConnell at Maryland Art Place through March 26

Jarvis Grant at Walton Gallery through March 3

Rebecca Clark, Joan Danzinger, David D'Orio, and Rachel Schmidt at Arlington Arts Center through April 3

Brian Dailey at Curator's Office through April 16

Lillis Werder at cove through May 12

Brian Feldman at Chinatown Friendship Archway through December 31

Artomatic is coming to Frederick!

The amazing artistic spectacle that is Artomatic is returning to Frederick, Maryland! Official announcement, dates and venue coming soon.

Here's my review of the last Frederick AOM.

NASA plans to send art to asteroid Bennu

And you are all invited to submit work!

You have until March 20 to submit your artwork. It would join the 442,000 other entries submitted through NASA's "Messages to Bennu" campaign.

Details at http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/21/us/nasa-art-asteroid/

Fields of Inquiry

Fields of Inquiry

Mei Mei Chang  Pat Goslee  Kathryn McDonnell February 27 – March 27, 2016 Opening Reception: Sunday, February 28, 2016  3 pm to 5 pm The Popcorn Gallery  (1st floor, Arcade Building)  7300 MacArthur Blvd.  Glen Echo, MD 20812 Gallery Hours:  Saturdays and Sundays, 12 pm to 6 pm or by appointment

In early December Mei Mei Chang, Pat Goslee and Kathryn McDonnell began working on two donated canvases. They moved the large canvases into Kathryn's studio and using paint that was also donated they began collaborating. They had to contend with busy work schedules, the holidays, travels, snowstorms, ice storms, blizzards and the pressure of a deadline, as well as unique artistic sensibilities. Will they be able to complete the paintings in time? And which one will they choose for the exhibition Fields of Inquiry? The gallery space at the Popcorn gallery is limited and will hold just one of the paintings. So they must choose. Please join them and see this unique collaboration.

State of the Art/DC - Part 3

By now you should all be aware of the three part "State of the Art/DC" conversation events sponsored by the DC chapter of the national professional women in the arts organization ART TABLE.

 

In the first two events (held at the NMWA and at Long View Gallery) they gave the floor to about a dozen DC based artists/art administrators/educators/organizers/thinkers each night for about 6-7 minutes to share thoughts about what they are doing now and their thoughts about the DC art scene in five years. 

 

There have been significant presenters and the event has been sold out both times.  

 

They are currently  accepting proposals for presenters for their last event, which will be late spring/early summer. You can submit a presentation proposal to programdc@arttable.org.  There is a jury involved.

 

Just so that you can get an idea, here are the presenters from the second session:

• Holly Bass, Artist and Director, Holly Bass 360
• Rhea Combs, Curator of Film and Photography at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Head of Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA)
• Tim Doud ( Artist and American University, Director, Studio Art) and Caitlin Teal Price (Artist and American University, Adjunct professor, Studio Art)
• Jarvis DuBois, Director, J. Dubois Arts
• Arthur Espinoza, Jr., Executive Director, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
• Philippa Hughes, Writer/speaker/flâneur/provocateur
• Brandon Morse, Artist and professor, University of Maryland, Dept. of Art
• Andrea Pollan, Founder/Director, Curator’s Office
• Tony Powell, Artist, dancer, composer, choreographer, writer
• Victoria Reis, Co-founder, Executive & Artistic Director, Transformer Gallery

Moderator: Elizabeth Blair, Senior Producer, Arts Desk, NPR

Opportunity for Artists

Going home

Going home today! This is my hospital allegory to Frida Kahlo's "What the water gave me."

The Baltic Sea Anomaly

Baltic Sea Anomaly - Image courtesy of

www.disclose.tv

Peter Lindberg, Dennis Åsberg and the Swedish “Ocean X” diving team are the Swedish folks who originally discovered this curious object in the Baltic in June 2011.


They also reported that this gigantic object was at the end of a 300-meter “runway” and that they had also found what looked like a staircase and a hole leading to the interior of the object.

More images here and lots more here.

For TBT: Teen paintings

Memories of Baracoa, Cuba
circa 1973, 20x16 inches
House paint on cardboard by F. Lennox Campello
In the collection of Ana Olivia Cruzata, Viuda de Campello, Hialeah, Florida

Memories of Cuba
circa 1972, 16x40 inches
House paint on found board by F. Lennox Campello
In the collection of Ana Olivia Cruzata, Viuda de Campello, Hialeah, Florida

For TBT: The fish drawings

As I've noted before, between 1992-1993 I was lucky to have lived in wondrous Sonoma, California, the real queen city of the wine country.

While I lived there, I used to drive down to Monterey and do an art fair there... one year, a local seafood restaurant owner who collected my work proposed to me to do a few drawings of some of the fish that he served in exchange for a lifetime free food at the restaurant (which had been on the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf for years, and it's still there to this day.

I agreed, and later on I drove down again, checked in, ate lunch and then went into the kitchen area, where they brought out the fish, nicely laid on a bed of ice.

I used a Sumi brush and ink to capture the images of the fish that they served... some of them are shown below:

Trawick Prize

The application for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards is now available. They are accepting entries until Friday, April 8. The application and additional details can be found at www.bethesda.org. 

The prizes are as follows:

Best in Show - $10,000

Second Place - $2,000

Third Place - $1,000

Young Artist (must be born after April 8, 1986 to enter this category) - $1,000

The jury will select up to 10 finalists who will be invited to display their work in a group exhibition in downtown Bethesda in September 2016. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. All original 2-D and 3-D fine art including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video will be accepted.

The 2016 jurors are:

• Stéphane Aquin, Chief Curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
• Hasan Elahi, Associate Professor, Department of Art at the University of Maryland
• Rebecca Schoenthal, Curator of Exhibitions at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia

Survived!

Nothing is ever easy! Last night's ice rain made for an interesting drive to the hospital this morning.  Since I knew that the ice rainfall was coming, I put my van inside the garage and laid out plenty of salt. Around 4am I got up, sprinkled more salt and pulled the van out and warmed it up.

The walk from the van back to the house was quite an event, as I hugged the walls to try to make it back in one piece, slipping and sliding all over the place.

The drive out of my neighborhood was almost surreal. To start, the start itself took two tries to get the van pointed in the right direction. I then crunched my way out via an interesting new path that avoided most hilly streets in my very hilly neighborhood.... I slid a few times, but made it out and eventually to the hospital.

Under the knife

I'll be out of commission today, going under the knife for a major, somewhat urgent and quite unexpected surgery procedure with a substantial recovery period. Surgery starts at 0730; as I type this the main worry in my mind is getting from my house to the hospital (arrival time 0530) with all the ice still all over my neighborhood's twisty and windy streets.

Not looking forward to the next 2-3 weeks. But like Clint Eastwood once famously said: "Hog's breath is better than no breath at all..."

There are lots of things that I am afraid of, but weirdly enough, death is not one of them. I think that the fact that if I were to croak today I'd still be leaving behind around ten thousand pieces of artwork which have been sold, traded, given away, left in hotel rooms, inserted into Goodwill stores and/or otherwise left to leave an artistic footprint, is rather a calming feeling.

This is a major, multi-hour, robot-not-a-human-in-charge operation, which I am told has an 80% success rate where the John Doe doesn't bite the bucket (and frankly, I picked the robot over the human, because of something called "tremors" when it comes to a surgical scalpel), soooooooooo.... If I do bite the bucket, I'd like a tombstone that looks like a Pictish Stone, sort of like this one that I did in Scotland in 1989:

Clach Biorach Pictish Standing Stone
Edderton, Ross, Scotland
circa 1989 by F. Lennox Campello
Pen and Ink wash on paper, 9.5 x 6.5 inches