PONSHOP's Square City

"In September 2010, PONSHOP will transform their gallery walls to reflect the richness, diversity, and life emerging from cities of the past, present, and future."

In an exhibit with exacting measurements, "Square City" required all pieces to be 12x12, 16x16, 20x20, or 24x24. I submitted a 12x12 that was accepted into this Fredericksburg, VA show. The juror was artist and VCU Professor Bob Worthy, who carved 63 pieces by 37 artists down to 32 works for the show. I am happy to be included in those stats.

Here are some looks at the juried pieces before hanging...

The Opening will be Fredericksburg's First Friday on September 3 from 6-10p at 710 Caroline St and the show runs through September 26.

City Squares

In preparation for the PONSHOP show in Fredericksburg, I did something I don't usually do: created specific work for a specific show. I painted/compiled/mixed media'd three 12x12 pieces using wrapped canvases, airbrush watermedia, black gesso, antique books, and semi-precious stones, like peridot, star sapphire and ruby, garnet, moonstone, rhodolite garnet, amethyst, and quartz that I hounded myself in North Carolina.

 

City Perspective (Washington DC)

 

City Equation (Alexandria VA)

 

City Geometry (Fredericksburg VA)

Creating these pieces has been a fun tangent, no PON intended.

BSA Art Merit Badge in Two Parts: October 9-10 Lorton & Springfield, NCAC

Here's the blurb for my next Art Merit Badge session for Boy Scouts. Please circulate it among the local Scouting community. Further, if you need this taught to a group, please contact me, as Springfield Art Guild is very excited to have groups use their new and incredibly decorated Community Room at Springfield Mall. I like coordinating it with a Workhouse Second Saturday the evening before.

The abbreviated link is: http://bit.ly/bsa859art .

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The Boy Scouts Art Merit Badge is a fun way to spend a little time to earn an interesting and quick badge. There will be two required parts.

We will start off with Second Saturday Gallery Walk at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton (Rt 123 at Lorton Road) on October 9 from 6-7pm. Meet in the foyer Building W-16 and we will walk the quad to see glass, pottery, woodworking, fiber, photography, and 2-D art, plus meet many artists and eat free food! Past participants did not leave after just an hour, because it is so much fun for the whole family!

The next day, Sunday, October 10, we will meet from1:30-4pm in Springfield Art Guild's new Community Room in Springfield Mall located between JC Penney and the Information Booth/elevator. Use door #6 near Penney's and go left at the first set of escalators, then right at the second set of escalators with the Community Room on the left. This is the hands-on session where we apply principles discussed the night before and learn more.

There are no prerequisites, but Scouts should think about requirement 2a. in which they must design something useful. Come ready with an idea.

If you cannot attend the Workhouse gallery tour on October 9, you may visit the Workhouse ahead of time or choose another gallery. Local suggestions include the Museum of the Marine Corp Gallery (Quantico), Torpedo Factory (Alexandria), Gallery West (Alexandria), Kelly's Art & Frame (Alexandria), The Loft (Occoquan), and Artist's Undertaking (Occoquan.) Further, both inside and outside the SAG Community Room in Springfield Mall has members' art on display.

Please contact your merit badge counselor, Bonnie Ferguson Butler, Workhouse Associate Artist, with questions and your RSVP. Indicate what you will be attending: both sessions or, if you're going to a gallery on your own, just the second. Feel free to visit her website for images of her art: bfbutler.blogspot.com.

Very important: blue cards available from your Scoutmaster are required and they must come from you, because the merit badge counselor will not have any. Please coordinate this ahead of time. Also, publicize this within the local Scouting community as you are able; maximum is 10 Scouts. For security reasons, parents are requested to come into the mall to pick up their Scouts.

Cost is a $10 supply fee due on October 10.

Trummer's Opening

NOVAL joins with Trummer's On Main in Clifton for an evening of member's art, appetizers, and wine. The Opening Reception is August 25 from 7-9pm. And you are invited!

Muses

In September, the Workhouse is celebrating two years since the prison doors swung open to the public and 100 years since the prison was created. There will be a focus on the past, present, and future of the facility.

Artists, staff, and community members have been invited to submit Muses, 3x3 works of art, which may be on canvas, paper, or other supports. They will be hung with magnets on metal plates. Each of us will hang one on a collaborative board. The Associates and Guild will hang downstairs in W-16 while Studio Artists will have panels in their areas.

My 12yo son with his love of WWII was inspired to create a number of battlefield scenes with a diorama feel. The one he submitted for the collaborative area is entitled "The Liberators" and is on 3x3 stretched canvas.

My contributions to the project are on the same support, as these canvases are quite cute and inspiring. I am calling mine Geological X-Sections and each represents a different sort of rock formation with a multi-media viewpoint from within the Earth. They are adorned with semi-precious stones I hounded myself, including amethyst, garnet, rhodolite garnet, peridot, and star ruby and sapphire. They represent the treasures of the Earth if one was to peer inside.

An additional layer of interest was created by using organic illustrations from an antique science book. The pieces are definitely best in person! The show runs from August 17 through September 12.

Cleavage, Grotto, Precipice

Peak, Cavern, Crevice

Chasm, Crack, Fissure

What economy?

Last month at the Workhouse was a stellar one.

Not only was I chosen as Designer's Choice by the AIDP, I sold two of my four paintings being exhibited: one oil, one pastel.

Pictured here is Two Dog Lane, a 8x10 pastel painted on location in southside Virginia.

And there really were two dogs sauntering around, surveying their vast holdings. I love the locals entertaining me while I paint.