National Capitol Art Glass Guild

The NCAGG is a great organization in the DMV (District, Maryland, Virginia). The NCAGG is group of artists of all glass types who come together to share ideas and have fun. The organization welcomes as members any who have an interest in glass art. In April 2010, there will be a huge NCAGG exhibition of member work at the Glenview Mansion.

For more information about the NCAGG, click HERE.

Black Rock Arts Center: Personal Armor

Black Rock Arts Center has a great new show opening -
ostensibly about aprons - but it's really about artistic process, the breaking of stereotypes, recycling, and imaginative handling of new materials. Washington Glass School artists Nancy Donnelly and Jessica Beels are featured in the exhibition.

Personal Armor: Artists' Concepts of Aprons
Wednesday, Jan 06, 2010 through Friday, Jan 29, 2010
Gallery Hours: Monday to Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday 10 am - 2 pm
Artist Reception Saturday, Jan 09, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Free Admission

Black Rock is located at 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD.

WPA Panel Discussion on Art Criticism Tonite!

Running for cover(age) is a panel discussion on arts criticism in the DC area presented by the Washington Project for the Arts

Moderator: Kriston Capps
Panelists: Jeffry Cudlin, Isabel Manalo, Danielle O’Steen
When: Monday, January 4, 2010 from 6:30-8:00pm
Where: Capitol Skyline Hotel (lounge), 10 I Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
(Free and open to the public)

Coverage of Mera Rubell’s DC studio tour by journalist Jessica Dawson in The Washington Post touched a critical nerve in the DC arts community, and set off impassioned conversations on social networking websites such as Facebook, about the quality of life for artists in the area. Artists, writers, and arts professionals weighed in on aesthetics, isolation, ambition and support for the visual arts.

This panel discussion will address questions about local arts media coverage and its effect on the cultural life of the city. During the Q&A portion of the program, panelists will provide suggestions of both existing and new models for generating dialogue about the arts.

Panelists include:
Kriston Capps is a critic, reporter, and commenter. He contributes regular news and reviews to the Guardian, Art in America, Art Papers, Art Lies, the American Prospect, Huffington Post, and other publications. Kriston taught a graduate studio colloquium at the University of Maryland College Park and will teach an arts journalism course through the WPA ArtScribe program at George Washington University in the Spring.

Jeffry Cudlin is an artist, curator, art critic, and musician living and working in Washington, D.C. He serves as the Director of Exhibitions for the Arlington Arts Center and writes for the Washington City Paper.

Isabel Manalo is an artist represented by Addison Ripley Fine Art and Assistant Professor at American University’s Art Department in Washington, DC. She runs the award-winning blog The Studio Visit which features artists from the DC region in their studios.

Danielle O'Steen is a freelance journalist, contributing to publications such as Art + Auction, Capitol File, Flash Art and Washington Post Express. She previously worked as an editor at Art + Auction magazine in New York. Currently, she is also a graduate student in art history at George Washington University, specializing in modern and contemporary art.

Glass Woodcut Prints

Mortimer and the Octopus | 2009
left: water color and woodcut print on Rives BFK | 11" x 24"
right: glass and oak | 16" x 28" x 6.5" (closed) | 32" x 28" x 6.5" (open)

Kirk Waldroff, a DC-based printmaker and sculptor, uses traditional woodcut techniques to create non-traditional prints in glass, concrete and on paper. His mixed media works depict invented saints and never-told fables.
Kirk's work was featured in the international exhibition of glass artwork, "Glass 3" in Georgetown in 2008, where he exhibited his beautiful technique that combines printmaking and sculptural glass. Kirk has a solo show of his glass woodcuts at NOVA's Waddell Gallery opening Jan 11 titled: Saints and Fables: Prints and Print-based Sculpture

Saint Funiculus | 2009
left: woodcut on unryu | 3.5" x 24" | edition of three
middle: glass, oak, flourescent lighting | 9" x 30" x 6"
right: concrete, grout, gold leaf | 3.5" x 24"

Theodulus and the Egret | 2009
left: water color and woodcut print on Rives BFK | 11" x 24"
right: glass and oak | 16" x 28" x 6.5" (closed) | 32" x 28" x 6.5" (open)

From Kirk Waldroff's artist statement:

I draw great inspiration from art that I consider beautifully melancholy and aim to make pieces that are at once dark, humorous, and thought-provoking. I often draw upon religious imagery and enjoy employing social and historical themes as well.

Since the beginning of my education in art, I have been most attracted to printmaking. I enjoy the methodology as well as the very tactile link to the past this medium provides. In addition, printmaking is uniquely poised to integrate and borrow from new technologies and methods. My most recent glass and concrete cast-prints blend the traditional art of woodblock printing with innovative techniques in sculptural casting and are certainly the only of their kind.

Saint Cuspis | 2009
left: woodcut on unryu | 3.5" x 24" | edition of three
middle: glass, oak, flourescent lighting | 9" x 30" x 6"
right: concrete, grout, gold leaf | 3.5" x 24"
detail of Kirk's glass woodcut technique


Candy for Sachiko | 2009
left: woodcut print on Rives BFK | edition of one | 7" x 32"
right: glass and oak | 11" x 36" x 6.5" (closed) | 22" x 36" x 6.5" (open)

Saints and Fables
Prints and Print-based Sculpture
January 11 - February 12, 2010

Gallery Talk: Wednesday, January 20, 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Reception: Friday, January 22, 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Waddell Art Gallery
Northern Virginia Community College

1000 Harry Flood Byrd Highway
Sterling, VA 20164 (google map)

Sculpture NOW 2010

The Washington Sculptors Group held a competition amongst its members for the Sculpture NOW 2010 exhibition opening Jan 5 at DC's Edison Place Gallery. The juror for the show was Ryan Hill. Ryan is the Curatorial Research Associate for the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. He also teaches art courses as an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University and is a working artist.

For the WSG show, Ryan has chosen artworks that use non-traditional materials, explore layering and decentered compositions and reflect our information-driven society. Our Washington Glass School director, Erwin Timmers has work selected to be featured in the show.

Please join us on opening night and to see the latest works of DC sculptors: Karen Bondarchuk, Leah Frankel, Kerry Furlani, Tom Greaves, Jason Haber, Ray Hau, Leila Holtsman, James Mallos, Bill Moore, Elena Patino, Mike Shaffer, John Simpkins-Camp, Erwin Timmers, Patricia Tinajero, Elizabeth Whiteley, and Alice Yutzy.

When: Friday, January 5, 2010, 6-8pm
Where: Pepco's Edison Place Gallery

702 8th St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

Washington Sculptors Group, founded in 1984, promotes an awareness and an understanding of sculpture and fosters the exchange of ideas among sculptors, collectors and the general public. For more information on WSG, click HERE.

Laurel Art Guild's Call For Artists

41st Annual LAG Open Juried Exhibition
The Laurel Art Guild (located in the grounds of the historic Montpelier Mansion) is a non-profit organization of people interested in the advancement of the fine arts. Each year, the organization has a call for artists to submit entries for their annual juried exhibition of artwork. This year is the 41st Open Juried Exhibition, and I am honored to be the judge for this year's event.
The membership of the Guild consists of professional and amateur artists expressing themselves through a wide variety of media. The Guild strives to promote public appreciation for the support of its endeavors through community involvement.
For more information on the Laurel Art Guild, including membership and exhibition opportunities - click HERE.

Laurel Art Guild 41st Annual Open Juried Exhibition Eligibility
Any artist who resides in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia (DMV) over 18 years old may submit two entries, however, only one entry per artist will be exhibited.
Any original two dimensional work in any medium, completed in the last three years and not previously shown at Montpelier Arts Center, is eligible. Framed dimensions must not exceed 48" high X 36" wide. Wall mounted three dimensional work that meets the specific hanging requirements will be considered.
Screening will be done by 35mm slides or jpg files on disk.

• Show Schedule for the exhibitors
  January 29 Postmark Deadline for slides/CD
  February 15 Notifications will be available on website
  March 2 Deliver Art Work; 12-2pm & 6-8pm
  March 5 Exhibit opens to the public
  March 7 Reception 2-4pm
  March 28 Exhibit closes
  March 29 Pick up artwork; 12-2pm & 6-8pm

Questions can be referred to Sherill Anne Gross at: lagopen@laurelartguild.org

Click HERE for complete Call-for-Entry prospectus pdf.

Tim Tate @ the Fuller Museum

Artist Tim Tate will have artwork featured in Brockton's Fuller Craft Museum in a groundbreaking show titled "The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Craft", which will run from May 29, 2010 thru February 6, 2011.

Curated by Fo Wilson, The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Craft steps beyond the boundaries that currently exist among technology, art, and craft. The artists in this exhibition use new technologies in tandem with traditional craft materials – clay, glass, wood, metal and fiber – to forge new artistic directions.

Tim Tate
Longing For A Hundred Years
14x6x6 Blown and cast glass, electronics, video
Video is of a sound test from Thomas Edison. First video image of 2 men dancing ever captured.

Digital video and audio, computerized design, and other technologies are viewed as new materials to be exploited, manipulated and co-opted to enrich artistic expression. The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Craft examines this phenomenon and its impact on the world of contemporary craft.

Click HERE to jump to the Fuller Craft Museum website.

Holiday Wishes

The Artists and Staff of the Washington Glass School & Studio wish everyone
Happy Holidays!

unknown artist ca 2002
fused float glass with copper inclusion

Miami International Art Fair

Miami International Art Fair (January 6-10) kicks off the 2010 international art fair season at the Miami Beach Convention Center (1700 Convention Dr., Miami Beach). Galleries from every continent will be presenting the best in contemporary art, photography, video, and installation art. The fair includes a lecture series featuring prominent experts in Latin American and International Contemporary Art.
From the MIA press release:

The Projects Gallery of Philadelphia will present work by the internationally acclaimed Cuban photographer, Marta Maria Perez Bravo, who represented Cuba in the III Havana Biennial and the XXI Sao Paulo Biennial. Projects will also be exhibiting artwork by: Florencio Lennox Campello, whose recent work has featured Cuba as the star of a series of mixed media paintings and etchings; Michael Janis, Co-Director of the Washington Glass School in Washington, D.C. and the Florida Glass Art Alliance’s ‘Outstanding Emerging Artist 2008-2009’; Cirenaica Moreira, who plays the lead role in her tableau-like photographs focusing on the performing arts; Sandra Ramos, one of today’s most important and controversial contemporary Cuban artists; and Tim Tate, Co-Founder of the Washington Glass School, and 2003 Mayor’s Art Award winner for ‘Outstanding Emerging Artist for Washington, DC.’
Read the full MIA press release HERE

Washington Glass School artists Erwin Timmers and Anne Plant round out the show's featured artists.

Click HERE to jump to the MIA website