52 O Street Artist OPEN STUDIOS: Spring 2016

Location: 52 O Street Artist Studios
52 O St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Between North Capitol Street and First street NW, north of New York Ave
Metro: NOMA red line
Date: Saturday May 21st & Sunday May 22nd 2016 Time: 11am-6pm 

The 52 O Street Artist Open Studios is an annual event that invites the public into the creative spaces of the artists and designers who work and live in the artist studios at 52 O Street. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet artists, learn about their creative process and purchase artworks directly from the site of creation. 

Since its inception in 1978, 52 O Street has been an integral part of the DC arts community. The building provides both living space and creative work space to a variety of artists and designers in different mediums. 

Conveniently located a short walk from the NOMA Metro Station on the Red Line, in the Washington DC Truxton Circle neighborhood, the 52 O Street Artist Studios is between North Capitol Street and First street NW (north of New York Ave). 

The building will be open for visitors to explore and meet the artists from 11am to 6pm the weekend of Saturday May 21st and Sunday May 22nd. 

Participating artists work in a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. The 2016 Spring 52 O Street Artists Open Studio event will include: painters, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Thom Flynn, Cianne Fragione, Dan Treado, Kelly Towles, Tom Bunnell, Laura Tighe Katie Pumphrey, Rachel Farbiarz and Charles Jean Pierre; sculptor Matt Hollis; photographers, Caitlin Teal Price, Jonathan Ellis, Veronica Ramos, and Pitch Fork Studio (Erin Scott + Abby Greenawalt); fashion designers, Virginia Arrisueño, DeNada and Skylar Javier, Native Danger, accessory designer Vesna Kustudic of Mint Lola; Homme boutiques/gallery curated by Amir Browder; goldsmiths and instructors for JewelryClassDC Daniel Valencia and Emily Reeder; natural skincare curator Becky Waddell of Be Clean; interior designer, Veronica Revilla and co-working space Locale Workspace.

For more information please visit them online.
Website: http://52ostreet.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/52OStreet/

José Raúl Capablanca

I've taught Little Junes how to play chess, and he asked me why I always open the game with the King's Knight opening.

It reminded me of José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942). Capa was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. 

José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera

Nearly everyone who is a chess geek considers Capa as one of the greatest players of all time and it was he, not Bobby Fisher (who is one of Capa's greatest fans), who became the first person born outside of Europe to become world chess champion.

Chess geeks are always studying the masters' games and Capa is recognized as one of the best - he only lost 35 first class games in his entire career.

Is this new for the Washington Post?

This medical article in the WaPo is a fascinating read and I highly recommend it. I was also startled to find the article illustrated by a series of original artworks (23 of them!) credited to Robert Carter.

Artwork by Robert Carter

The works are actually quite good! See them here.

GRACE Call for Artists

Deadline May 21 ‏


This summer the Greater Reston Arts Center will present its second biennial exhibition highlighting the talents of their artist members.


Juried by a distinguished outside guest curator, this group exhibition will feature multiple artists working in a variety of media and treating a wide range of themes. 


This call is open to all artists. Application fee is a $35 membership to the Greater Reston Arts Center. Read more

Call for Artists

Deadline: May 6

In association with Woolly Mammoth’s upcoming production of An Octoroon, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Sheldon Scott Studios is calling for visual artists to include in their exhibition, Radical Re-imaginings: Our Racialized Past, Present, and Futures. This is an all-media call for a public art project at Woolly Mammoth featuring DC area artists responding to the ways in which America’s racialized past continues to inform our present moment.

Details here. 

Fox 5’s Shawn Yancy's really, really good artwork

Whodda Thunk It? Local DMV news anchor Shawn Yancy is not only one of the region's top newscasters but also a superbly talented artist!

You have said that journalism is black and white, while art is more of a creative outlet. Do you think journalism and art complement each other, or are they different?

I think they’re different. I don’t think news is as black and white as it used to be, but it’s black and white. We’re supposed to look at the facts. For me, art is my opinion all the time. In TV news, every now and then we can give a little opinion. In art, it’s all my opinion. It’s colorful. That’s not to say news isn’t creative because certainly there’s a lot of creativity and thought that goes into the shows that we produce and air every day. But it’s different. There are certain guidelines that we need to follow. This is the difference: News, basically you stay in [the] lines. With art, you can color outside of the lines. I never liked it when teachers said, ‘Color in the lines.’ I don’t believe that’s what you should do when it comes to art.

Read a really informative and very well-written piece about Shawn in Bethesda Magazine (which is usually taking the brunt of my ire for their lackluster coverage of the visual arts, but gets an A+ this time) here.


To see more of her work, visit her website at shawnyancy.com.