Opportunity for DMV high school sophomores, juniors and seniors

The Friends of The Yellow Barn Studio & Gallery's

18th Annual High School Student Art Exhibition

March 18 and 19, 2017

Saturday, 12 to 5PM and Sunday, 12 to 5PM

Reception Sunday, March 19 from 4:00 – 5:00pm

The Friends of the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery is sponsoring an art competition for all high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from Montgomery County, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington DC. Click here for an application form.

The Friends of the Yellow Barn, with support from Plaza Artist Materials, will award a First Prize of $500, second prize of $250, and Third prize of $150. $25 gift certificates will also be awarded to the other 37 works selected for the exhibition. Selecting the work this year will be Lenny Campello, outstanding artist and arts promoter for the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Award ceremony and judge’s comments take place Sunday, March 19^th from 4:00 – 5:00pm.

The Friends of the Yellow Barn is also pleased to recognize three Outstanding Teachers with a monetary prize of $250. This is our third year of enabling high school students to nominate and award their high school art teachers with a monetary prize of their own. Three outstanding art teachers will be acknowledged the night of the reception for their year round hard work in cultivating and inspiring young minds.

DC Gallery Show Opportunity

Deadline: March 15, 2017.

Foundry Gallery in Washington, DC will host a guest solo exhibit for the month of August 2017. This call is open to artists residing in the US working in 2-D media. Proposals by both individuals and groups will be considered.

$40 Entry Fee. Details: https://foundrygallery.submittable.com/submit
or www.foundrygallery.org

 

Chris Shea at Strathmore Opens Tonight

DMV artist Chris Shea is easily one of the great masters of the almost arcane art of metalworking...


His work is included in a new exhibition focusing on contemporary craft and design at Strathmore. Along with several pieces on loan from a major private collection, this will be the first public showing of his recent collaborative project with ceramic artist Sarah Nikitopolous

Interiors

Opening: Thursday, March 2
7pm - 9pm
THE MANSION AT STRATHMORE

10701 Rockville Pike

North Bethesda, MD 20852-3224

Amy Lin opens in NYC tonight!

The interesting story of my American flag

The American flag that I sometimes hang outside my house has a most interesting story. As you can see below, it is a gold-fringed flag, which we used to call "a Navy flag" back in the days, because of who knows why... when I was an Executive Officer at the Naval Security Group Activity Skaggs Island, California in the 1990s, I was told that it was because it represented the ability to execute/hold a Captain's Mast.

But I meander away from the history of this flag... my flag.

In 1983 I was the OZ Division Officer for USS Virginia (CGN-38), and the ship was assigned Naval Gunfire Fire Support (NGFS) patrol off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, in support of the US Marines ashore in Beirut as part of the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force.

We would routinely fly ashore for meetings, etc., and one day I will scan and show you a description that I put on my journal (in pre-blog days) many years ago where I described one such meeting and the interesting event that happened, with 50 cal bullets flying all over the place. Below is a picture of me, ashore in Beirut with the USMC.

From HistoryNet:

At 6:22 on Sunday morning Oct. 23, 1983, a 19-ton yellow Mercedes stake-bed truck entered a public parking lot at the heart of Beirut International Airport. The lot was adjacent to the headquarters of the U.S. 8th Marine Regiment’s 1st Battalion, where some 350 American soldiers lay asleep in a four-story concrete aviation administration building that had been successively occupied by various combatants in the ongoing Lebanese Civil War. Battalion Landing Team 1/8 was the ground element of the 1,800-man 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU), which had deployed to Lebanon a year earlier as part of a multinational peacekeeping force also comprising French, Italian and British troops. Its mission was to facilitate the withdrawal of foreign fighters from Lebanon and help restore the sovereignty of its government at a time when sectarian violence had riven the Mediterranean nation.

... Marine sentries initially paid little attention to the Mercedes truck. Heavy vehicles were a common sight at the airport, and in fact the BLT was expecting one that day with a water delivery. The truck circled the parking lot, then picked up speed as it traveled parallel to a line of concertina wire protecting the south end of the Marine compound. Suddenly, the vehicle veered left, plowed through the 5-foot-high wire barrier and rumbled between two guard posts.

By then it was obvious the driver of the truck—a bearded man with black hair—had hostile intentions, but there was no way to stop him. The Marines were operating under peacetime rules of engagement, and their weapons were not loaded. Lance Corporal Eddie DiFranco, manning the sentry post on the driver’s side of the truck, soon guessed the driver’s horrifying purpose. “He looked right at me…smiled, that’s it,” DiFranco later recalled. “Soon as I saw [the truck] over here, I knew what was going to happen.” By the time he managed to slap a magazine into his M16 and chamber a round, the truck had roared through an open vehicle gate, rumbled past a long steel pipe barrier, threaded between two other pipes and was closing on the BLT barracks.

Sergeant of the guard Stephen Russell was alone at his sandbag-and-plywood post at the front of the building but facing inside. Hearing a revving engine, he turned to see the Mercedes truck barreling straight toward him. He instinctively bolted through the lobby toward the building’s rear entrance, repeatedly yelling, “Hit the deck! Hit the deck!” It was futile gesture, given that nearly everyone was still asleep. As Russell dashed out the rear entrance, he looked over his shoulder and saw the truck slam through his post, smash through the entrance and come to a halt in the midst of the lobby. After an ominous pause of a second or two, the truck erupted in a massive explosion—so powerful that it lifted the building in the air, shearing off its steel-reinforced concrete support columns (each 15 feet in circumference) and collapsing the structure. Crushed to death within the resulting mountain of rubble were 241 U.S. military personnel—220 Marines, 18 Navy sailors and three Army soldiers. More than 100 others were injured. It was worst single-day death toll for the Marines since the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.

Aboard USS Virginia, the ship's crew went into action, and within minutes our helo was airborne, carrying our ship's doctor and his Navy corpsmen to help with the wounded Marines. Minutes later the helo came back, looking for people and equipment to help assist with digging out the people from the collapsed building. Because my division was the only one that had an Arabic linguist, they came to us to see if he (Sgt. Bobby Jack Irvin, an amazing linguist and as far as I know the only Marine ever to qualify for the Enlisted Surface Warfare pin) could go ashore to help facilitate our doctor's mission, as he had radio'd that several Lebanese doctors had already come up to help him, and he might need language help.


Irvin and I had been ashore the day before (that's him in the photo a few paragraphs above - Irvin is to my left and to my right is Warrant Officer Carnes), but because of our shipboard mission, I felt that he could really help more by staying on the ship and doing what he did best.

Later on, they asked for volunteers to help ashore, and together with some other crew members, we headed to Beirut - other than Irvin, I was the only person on the ship who routinely flew back and forth between Beirut and the ship, and thus I wanted to ensure that I was part of the volunteer crew.
When we arrived at the airport, it was essentially controlled chaos, and dozens of bodies were already being tended to, and our ship's helo - along with others - began taking the wounded to a hospital in Sidon. There were also plenty of black body bags already filled.

With our doctor frenetically working to triage the wounded Marines, and since most Lebanese doctors actually spoke English, after donating blood, I left the medical area and began to help with the digging operations.

This story is not about that part, which was brutal and heart-breaking. This story is about the flag that I found in the rubble.

My American flag.

At the time, it seemed like a natural thing to "rescue" it from the rubble. I brought it back to the ship, where it flew often, as our mission shifted from routine patrol to Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS). When I left the ship, it was given to me, along with a ship's plaque. When I retired from the Navy two decades ago, I used it as my retirement flag and it was presented to me again, after flying over the Capitol - I never put it in a shadow box, as is the custom, but kept it flying every once in a while, as a flag deserves to do.
Last Saturday, when I hung it outside, it dawned on me that the history of this flag should merit some notice, and thus now I'm going to reach out to the Navy and/or the USMC to see if they are interested in receiving it back.

Time to apply for the Trawick Prize!

It’s time to apply to the 2017 Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards!


Entries are due 4/7/17

Application: https://bethesdaarts.submittable.com/submit 

 

The jury will select up to 10 finalists for a group exhibition in Bethesda in September 2017. The Best in Show winner will receive $10,000.

 

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 Art of Legacy Exhibit

The Art of Legacy Exhibit, in the historic former space of the Georgetown Theater 1351 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC.


Sponsored by Marsha Ralls Founder & CEO of Closed Monday Productions LLC along with architect Robert Bell.


Cocktail reception Thursday, March 9 from 6 and 8 PM. Hours are 12 noon until 5 PM or by appointment March 9th- March 19, 2017.
See https://www.facebook.com/events/1050411408417740/ for more info.

How do you mend a broken heart by Barbara Januszkiewicz -Acrylic on metal panel with resin, 42x44

Closed Monday Productions LLC presents the Art of Legacy exhibition at the newly renovated Old Georgetown Theater, a former silent movie house from the 1900s.The exhibition features Washington DC artists, John Blee, Barbara Januszkiewicz, Anne Marchard, and photographers Tom Wolff, Marissa White and Matt Leedham. 

The Pop up exhibition will be on view from March 9-19, 2017. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2017, from 6-8 pm at the newly renovated space located at 1351 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Washington DC, Georgetown.

“I’m delighted to welcome spring with these iconic DC artists and photographers, and share their work in this historic space that has been lovingly restored,” says Martha Ralls, “It’s a perfect meeting of historic DC with artists whose work reflects the very nature of the city.” Ralls, the curator and CEO of Closed Monday Productions, worked closely with architect Richard Bell to create a showcase for some of her favorite artists.

Closed Monday Productions LLC was established in 2014 as a private art dealership. CEO Marsha Ralls was the former owner of the Ralls Collection Inc. an art advisory group that expanded in 1991 with the opening of a gallery bearing the same name. The gallery specialized in contemporary painting, photography, prints, and sculpture.

39 years of Zenith Gallery!

 ZENITH GALLERY

39 Years: Rejuvenate with Art, Accent on the Positive, Let’s Celebrate!

March 17 – April 29, 2017  

1429 Iris St., NW, Washington, DC 20012

Opening Receptions to meet the Artists:

Friday March 17^th 4-8pm, Saturday March 18, 2-6  

&
Closing Reception: Saturday April 29, 2-5 pm

Featuring: Kim Abraham, Jan Paul Acton, Doba Afolabi, Mason Archie, David Bacharach,   Andrea Barnes, Bert Beirne, Caroline Benchetrit, Harmon Biddle, Binder, Francesca Britton, James Butler, Lenny Campello, Eric Elhenberger, Katie Dell-Kaufman, Renee DuRocher, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Richard Fitzhugh, Robert Freeman, Carol Gellner-Levin, Cassandra Gillens, Julie & Ken Girardini, Margery Goldberg, Carolyn Goodridge, Stephen Hansen, Len Harris, Chris Hayman, Philip Hazard, Tony Henson, Frank Holmes, Marcie Wolf & David Hubbard, Hubert Jackson, Robert Jackson, Gloria Kirk, Joan Konkel, Michael Madzo, Chris Malone, Paul Martin Wolff, Donna McCullough, Hadrian Mendoza, Davis Morton, Carol Newmyer, Ibou N’Daiye, Tom Noll, Keith Norval,  Katharine Owens, Larry Ringgold, Preston Sampson, Gavin Sewell, Sica, Ellen Sinel, Bradley Stevens,  Jennifer Wagner,  Curtis Woody, Joyce Zipperer and many more!

For almost 4 decades Zenith Gallery has been a pillar in the DC arts community. We attribute our success to our ability to transform with the ever-changing times by combining our longstanding commitment to unique artworks with our personalized, high quality customer service.  Commitment to celebrating the creative spirit of our artists is the core value at the heart of Zenith Gallery. As Owner and celebrated artist, Margery Goldberg, is fond of saying, “With billions of people on the planet, for someone to come up with an original idea and execute it in an original way is what has kept me in business all these years.”

Starting in its humble Rhode Island Avenue location, Ms. Goldberg established one of DC’s first artist studio complexes, expanding from her woodworking shop and expanding to painters, sculptors, and artists who work in the widest variety of medium, along with The Dance Exchange and Studio Theater. All this lead to the 14^th St. Arts Corridor.  The gallery then moved to 7^th Street helping turn downtown into the newest art district in Washington back in the mid 80” s.  Our present-day location in Shepherd Park, which has been featured on WRC/NBC news Fox, News Channel 8, Washington Post, and many more continues to pay homage to well-known and emerging DC artists, as well as artists from far reaching corners of country and globe.  Zenith’s vast and unique collection and layout gives our visitors a more comprehensive idea of the scope of our mission, rather than the traditional white walls galleries giving both the Gallery experience in our onsight gallery and the feeling of a salon gallery throughout the home. This also includes two sculpture gardens front and rear, one in a down emptied swimming pool.   

The gallery’s collection ranges in size from monumental sculpture to one-of-a-kind pieces works. Paintings, sculpture, fine crafts, mixed media has also helped cement our reputation. Whether you are new to collecting art or a long-time buyer, we are sure to inspire the art lover you. We can confidently say that our collection is unlike anything you have seen before!

Zenith Gallery est. 1978

Celebrating 39 Years in the Nation’s Capital 

1429 Iris St., NW, Washington DC 20012-1409 

202-783-2963

www.zenithgallery.com 

 art@zenithgallery.com

Artomatic registration opens today!

It is with great excitement that I am honored to announce that Artomatic 2017 Registration is opening today, Sunday February 26, at 8:00 p.m. So get ready and get prepared to take part in one of the most anticipated arts event in town! 

All you have to do is go to their website at artomatic.org beginning 8:00 p.m. Sunday and you can follow the prompts guiding you through the registration process. 

The site selection process for visual artists will begin on March 4th based on the registration sign up order. The fee for visual artist is $140.00. Performing arts and film fees range from $15 to $25.

Remember, EVERYONE is welcome to join AOM. Visual artists, sculptors, musicians, dancers, filmmakers, poets, flame eaters - no matter what the discipline of creative arts you are passionate about, they have a space for you at Artomatic. 

So don't wait, tell everyone, spread the news and make sure you are standing by to sign up for an exhilarating Artomatic 2017 event.

There is easy access to Artomatic with the Crystal City METRO Station, Yellow and Blue lines, as well as plenty of parking and bus stops nearby.

LOCATION:

1800 South Bell St

Arlington,VA

Opportunity for Portrait Artists

19TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PORTRAIT COMPETITION

The International Portrait Competition showcases the finest in portraiture and figurative art today. The competition is open to all artists and the top twenty finalists are required to exhibit their original artwork and be present at The Art of the Portrait conference in Atlanta, GA, April 20-23, 2017.

Over $102,500 in cash and prizes will be awarded. Entry fee of $45 covers up to 3 submissions. Entry Fee. Details: 850-878-9996 OR http://bitly.com/2jkmQl6 OR info@portraitsociety.org

Amy Lin: Two solos in one month!

Constant readers know that I love to highlight hardworking artists and hardworking gallerists who are always busting their butts to move forward...

 

DMV blue chip artist Amy Lin is one such artist and we're sponsoring her for a solo booth at SCOPE New York this coming March 2-5... As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, Lin also has a solo show opening in Georgetown's iconic Addison/Ripley Fine Art March 11 through April 15th!

 

New York City:

SCOPE Art Fair, March 2-5, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., New York, NY

Alida Anderson Art Projects is exhibiting Amy's art in a solo booth (#045) at SCOPE Art Fair next week.

Info about the fair:  https://scope-art.com/shows/new-york-2017/show-info/

Images of Amy's work:  http://www.amylinart.com/Dreamworlds20/Dreamworlds20_port.html

Washington, DC:

Addison/Ripley Fine Art, March 11-April 15, 1670 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Amy's solo show “Baby Thoughts” is inspired by her adorable baby (of course!) and there will be two events in the gallery:

- The opening reception is on Saturday, March 11 from 5-7pm.

- A Conversation with Dr. Anne Collins Goodyear, Co-director of the Bowdoin Museum, will be on Saturday, March 18 at 11am.

Alper Initiative Call for Washington Artists!

This summer, the Alper Initiative for Washington Art at the American University Museum will host their first exhibition featuring Washington, DC area artists who have submitted their work to the Initiative’s online database.

The deadline for submitting is March 1, 2017, and is open to all Washington area artists. 

Please see their website for details and submission guidelines

Opportunity for Printmakers

Wanna go to an opening in B'more?

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this asswipe trying to rip off artists:

From: erin winam (erinwinam@gmail.com)

 Hello, How are you doing today? I would like to purchase something nice for my wife as our wedding anniversary approaches, please kindly forward the artworks you have available for purchase within this price range ($350-$600).Thank you

This is how the scam works and how to protect yourself...