April 30, 2011, Tamah Graber

General Meeting at the Davis Library, 2:00, 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda.

This was a presentation by Tamah Graber, a glass artist.

Click her picture below to read her bio...

 

And click here to see her web site. 

March 26, 2011, Susan Murphy

General Meeting at the Davis Library, 2:00, 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda.

This program was a presentation by watercolorist Susan Murphy; subject getting into a juried show.  She runs ARTHOUSE, a studio and gallery in Sandy Spring MD.

The Washington Watercolor Society joined us.

Florence Gang introduced Susan Murphy who is a multi-skilled artist. When Susan decided upon a career in art, she designed and helped to construct an annex to her house that would be dedicated to art. “ARThouse is a teaching facility for the development of art professionalism.” She also turns out elegant picture frames, produces giclee prints or lithographic reproductions, and photographs client's art work.

Susan represents various artists and exhibits their work in ARThouse. Her own paintings have won awards at prestigious watercolor shows. She is an experienced juror and participates regularly in juried exhibits.

Susan received a warm welcome from the 12 members that attended the meeting. She shared with us her ideas of what it takes to get a work of art accepted in a juried exhibit. Try for an unusual subject for a juried show. Follow the rules for show. She stressed originality and do not use someone else's work whether it be a photo, off the internet, or out of a magazine. Juried shows must be your own idea and composition. She also discussed the elements of design and the principles.

The members were very interactive and Susan answered all of their questions and concerns. It was an informative afternoon and we missed all of you who did not attend. A note to all, if this is representative of the interest in Senior Artists Alliance, the group may have to fold. Please try to make every effort to attend future meetings.

November 14, 2010, Mira Hecht

What do we do best?

About 25 SAA members spent a few hours with Mira Hecht, an Abstract artist and instructor at the Corcoran.

Florence Gang welcoming 25+ members

We started with an art history lesson (abbreviated) showing how painting evolved from realism to today's abstractionism.   We had a taste of movements such as Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism, Modernism, and some of the work of Kandinsky, Klee, Miro, O'Keeffe.  We even touched on the emergence of photography and its affect on the painting of realistic scenes and portraits.

We were then treated to examples of Mira's work. x

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A very pleasant and informative afternoon.  Thanks Mira!  ...And for those who were there, please tell the rest of the members your impressions by commenting below....

October 2010, David Daniels, watercolorist

The SAA joint meeting with the Washington Watercolor Society was called to order at 2:20pm at Davis Library.

Florence Gang announced a decision by the Board of Directors to donate $500 to Montgomery College.  She also announced SAA has applied to Black Rock and Friendship Heights for exhibits in 2011.

Lieta Gerson then introduced our program guest, David Daniels, watercolorist.

David began by speaking about "why" he paints...

Because of his science background, he is a curious individual and wants to try something new with each painting.  He feels if an artist experiments instead of painting in the same way each time, he will experience growth as an artist.  He encouraged each of us to approach each painting as a challenge to try something different.

He always paints on large (4' x 6') paper which is glued to alumilite?, unmatted and varnished. but he reminded us that this type of presentation is usually not accepted in watercolor shows.  He recently began using squirrel hair brushes, uses many different brands of paint, and freely uses frisket to preserve white of paper.

Before starting to paint, he does background studies...value, composition, design and color, which gives him freedom to just paint since all the decisions are already made.  He also spoke about the importance of shape, value, color temperature, dominance and variety.

After demonstrating his painting technique (lots of water and letting colors flow into one another), he presented one of his large, finished paintings.

Click for a series of interviews with David Daniels, and see him at work in his studio.

September 25, 2010, Professor Riggs

Photoshop at MC with Professor Riggs

On Saturday, September 25, eleven SAA members met with Professors Riggs and Johannsen for several hours of a hands-on Photoshop workshop.

Each member brought in photos or worked with photos that were supplied.  Basic information was covered that would help an artist develop and modify a photo that would satisfy one's sense of composition, color, tonality, etc.

Here is Joe Giacalone, in the foreground, building a 'gif' photograph of one of his abstract paintings for his web site.

Professor Johannsen is helping Art Hammer.

Thank you to Professors Riggs and Johannsen!!

June 12, 2010, Eileen Martin

Eileen Martin, Martin Glass Creations, 155 Gibbs St. Studio #300 (in Visarts), Rockville, MD 20850.  301.704.4613

www.martinglasscreations.com

I opened my studio in 1997 after spending 24 years with a variety of contractors and government entities. I had always been fascinated with glass, and when my career stopped satisfying me I decided to take some stained glass classes.  I found that I was quite good at it, and when I left my job I opened my studio and took on commissions.  A few thousand panels (literally) later, I have expanded my repertoire beyond lead and copper foil stained glass fabrication and glass painting, to fused and kiln-formed glass, laminating and sand-blasting. I also work with a variety of other media including ceramics, metal, stone and wood in my sculptural pieces.

            My first studio was in a barn; my next studio was a studio/art gallery, providing a different source of income and headaches.  All of the pieces in my gallery, whether they were one of a kind or production pieces, were all made by my hands.  It was a successful endeavor – I was able to create the kind of work that I enjoyed doing, people would buy that art, and I was able to teach.   And although this was a satisfying experience, I wanted to try working with other artists in a collaborative setting.

            I am currently a resident artist at VisArts - the Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts.  In this venue I am able to work with a variety of artists; fiber, ceramic, painting, and metalwork.  I am also the head of the glass department, in which capacity I am responsible for the classroom, inventory, and education programs.  I work with the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public school system as a guest lecturer, and from those contacts I have been able to work with hundreds of students, enriching their art experiences and my life.

            I am one of the very few people in this region who do on-site restoration of stained glass, so you can periodically find me on scaffolding in a church in the area.   My commission work is highly sought after.  I exhibit in shows either independently or as a member of the National Capital Art Glass Guild (NCAGG), which shows in the Maryland, DC and Virginia region.  I am also the co-chairman of the Creative Crafts Council, an association of nine craft guilds which manages and presents shows for their members. I teach art (fused, stained and mosaic) glass at numerous locations in the Metropolitan area and also judge and act as juror for glass and enamel guild shows and exhibitions.  

Temperature determines texture

About 25 SAA members and guests attended.

May 8, 2010, John Barnes

SAA member John Barnes gave a presentation on "Photographing Your Artwork"

John Barnes, a retired physicist, joined Senior Artists Alliance in 2009.  His strong interest in photography motivated him to take courses at Montgomery College in order to receive a photography certificate.  John produced the wonderful catalogue for the Pepco Edison Gallery. 

 

Most artists recognize they need photographs of their work for a variety of reasons: submission to exhibition juries, insurance and tax records, marketing their work, a catalogue or for sharing with family and friends.  Although digital cameras appear to make photographing easy, this is deceptive.  Getting the best photographic reproduction requires attention to detail.  Images must be in sharp focus, display the full range of colors, retain the perspective in which the work is displayed and eliminate photographic distractions; e.g., unnecessary objects or shadows.

 

On May 8, 2010, John presented the "how to" of photographing using imagery to illustrate those points.

Some points to consider:

-North light gives relatively diffused/soft light, and often works well when photographing a sculpture.

-Eliminate extra "stuff" in the viewfinder, which you, as the photographer, are responsible for. Eliminate extraneous items in the background. Move your body in or out or change the zoom.  Change the camera settings. The table on which a piece is sitting is generally not needed in the photograph.

-If you hire someone to photograph your work, select someone who shows your style accurately, for example, to show individual brush strokes of a painting, shadow and texture of your sculpture.

-If shooting a sculpture, consider the piece’s setting; the wall, the container you place the piece in such as the light box, a non-reflective neutral background. Move away from the wall to eliminate wall shadows when photographing a sculpture. Sculpture shadow on the base to set the piece and show depth is good. Try to light from a window or other source to show the sculpture’s depth.

-Glass and perspective must also be accounted for and corrected, as needed. Remove the glass to eliminate reflections. Avoid shooting at an angle.

-Try soft side-lighting for a sculpture. Lighting from above may be best for a sculpture. Experiment with lighting. Experiment with multiple lights.

-Avoid ‘hot-spots’ from lighting when photographing a sculpture or painting.

-You must look for the impact your photograph will have, how the viewer will perceive your artwork.

-When sending work to a juror, determine what the juror is looking for and shoot with that in mind.

-Adjust your White Balance before you take the picture. Automatic White Balance is pretty good. If your camera does not allow you to set White Balance, then it is preset to Automatic. Remember, it is important for an artist to have an accurate rendition of colors of the art work. Consider using a tripod to steady the camera. Shoot several shots and select the best.

-In summation, shoot sharp, properly lit, without distractions. The key to shooting good photographs of your work is to experiment and determine what works for you, keeping the above points in mind.