Del Ray Artisans Presents Vibrant “Local Flavor” Art Exhibit

Opening Reception: Friday, October 7 from 7-9pm
Exhibit Dates: October 7-30, 2016

This October Del Ray Artisans presents a collection of artwork from member artists that highlight the things they adore, crave, and experience in their unique and beloved neck of the woods. The art exhibit is called Local Flavor and celebrates the special touches found in community. Come to the opening reception on Friday, October 7 from 7-9pm to meet many of the artists, vote for the “Peoples Choice” award winner, and enjoy all the warm and welcoming artwork. Special thanks to local businesses Rosemarino d’ Italia, Taqueria el Poblano, and Let’s Meat on the Avenue for sponsoring artist awards.

 

The opening reception will also be your first chance to place your bids in the “Birdhouses of Del Ray” silent auction. Artisan birdhouses are being auctioned from October 7 until October 25 at 9pm. Winners will be notified to pick up their prized birdhouses during regular gallery hours. Proceeds from the silent auction benefit Del Ray Artisans.

 

The Local Flavor exhibit will run from October 7-30, 2016. The curator, Dawn Wyse Hurto, also invites the public to drop off donated children’s costumes for the neighborhood Halloween Parade. Costumes will be collected at the gallery from October 7-28. The parade is organized by the Del Ray Business Association and will be held on Sunday, October 30 starting at 2pm.

 

Del Ray Artisans is a nonprofit arts organization in the Del Ray neighborhood located in the City of Alexandria. Del Ray Artisans members fashioned this creative community group using their talent, sweat, and love; host at least 10 art exhibits annually; and organize many ongoing programs and special events. During the month of October mark your calendar for:

• Partners in Art: Monday, October 10, 2-4pm
• Life Drawing Clothed Session: Wednesday, October 12, 2-5pm (Short/Long Poses)
• Life Drawing Regular Sessions: Wednesday, October 12, 6:30-9:30pm (Long Poses); Sunday, October 23, 9:30-11:30am (Gesture); Wednesday, October 26, 2-5pm (Short/Long Poses) and 6:30-9:30pm (Long Poses)
• Annual Member Meeting/Board Elections: Tuesday, October 25, 7-9pm
• Come Play with Collage Cut Ups: Thursday, October 27, 7-9pm
• Cat-urday Toy Making: Saturday, October 29, 10am-12pm

The art exhibit, reception, and events will be at Del Ray Artisans gallery at the Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22301. Gallery hours are: Thursdays, 12–6pm; Fridays and Saturdays, 12–9pm; and Sundays, 12–6pm. The gallery is free, open to the public and handicap accessible.

 

For more information, please visit www.DelRayArtisans.org, or contact the curator Dawn Wyse Hurto at dawn@dawnds.com.

Lest we forget



"Studio View, 9/11"
Oil on Canvas c. 9/11/2001 by David FeBland

 

Maurine Littleton Gallery presents  “Echoes of Leaves and Shadows”, a solo exhibition of new glass works and sculptures by Washington, DC artist Michael Janis opening Friday, September 16, 2016. 

Janis is clearly one of the DMV's blue chip artists, and in the many years of my seeing thousands of artists' works at art fairs all over the planet, I've yet to see anyone whose work comes close to Janis' enviably distinct approach to a very difficult technique.

He has developed and refined an intuitive technique over many years, creating detailed imagery by manipulating glass powder. His illustrative works in glass are dreamy and beautifully stylized. His moody glass panels feature partially obscured people submersed in nature or seemingly dissolving beneath colors and patterns. His work explores the unseen sides of life, longing and loneliness, juxtaposed with fragile beauty. The atmosphere in his subject matter is often presented as if in a dream or limbo-like state, with elements of surrealism. 

Michael Janis: Echoes of Leaves and Shadows

Maurine Littleton Gallery

1667 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20007

(202) 333-9307

Sept 16 – Oct 15, 2016 

Opening Reception Friday, September 16, 6-8pm 

ABOUT THE ARTIST 

Born in Chicago, IL, after a 20 year career as an architect in the United States and Australia, Michael Janis returned to the US with a focus on working with glass. In 2005, Janis became a Co-Director of the Washington Glass School and Studio. Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012, Janis went to England's University of Sunderland and taught at the UK's National Glass Centre where he became an Artist-in-Residence at the Institute for International Research in Glass (IIRG). The James Renwick Alliance (JRA) named him as their Distinguished Glass Artist in 2014, and he presented and lectured about his work at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) recently advised that they had selected Janis as a finalist in "Excellence in the Arts" category of the 31st Annual Mayor’s Arts Award .

The honors will be awarded September 22, 2016 at the Historic Lincoln Theatre.