today, printmakers gallery and union station.

Today i participated in the brown bag lunch discussion at the Washington Printmakers Gallery. My friend Kirk has a show up and i helped him with his concrete pieces. Plus, he needed some support for the talk, though he did a great job. this link has more info




Afterward i wandered over to Union Station and took some pictures.

today, printmakers gallery and union station.

Today i participated in the brown bag lunch discussion at the Washington Printmakers Gallery. My friend Kirk has a show up and i helped him with his concrete pieces. Plus, he needed some support for the talk, though he did a great job. this link has more info



cafe outside the printmakers gallery.



Afterward i wandered over to Union Station and took some pictures.

art opening at Black Rock *****TONIGHT*******

From 5-7 tonight there is a reception at Black Rock Arts Center for an exhibit by Michael Enn Sirvet


Inspired by the mysticism of humanity, Michael Enn Sirvet strives to capture the simple in the complex, the complex in the simple. An admitted deconstructionist, he sees a world of endless sensuousness—feelings, colors, shapes, sounds—yet he smirks:

“I’m also simply trying to make some cool things.”


directions:
* Take I-270 North
* Take Exit 13B (Middlebrook Rd. West)
* Cross the well-marked Md. Route 118
* After crossing Rt. 118, make first right into shopping center (Century Blvd.)
* Travel for two short blocks and turn left
* BlackRock Center for the Arts will be on your right
* Parking is located behind the facility

recent experiments

This is using cement and then force drying to produce a cracking effect. My intention is to create a series of works have an archaelogical feel to them. There will be objects embedded in the cement that are representative of feelings and ways of thinking that are buried within us.


These are the "sketches" i'm starting to play with for a series of "concrete paintings". More visual and decorative in content than the previous series, i want to use concrete in a way that is beautiful and colorful. I want to create a series of non objective work.

a recent plaster job

Here is a venetian plaster job i just finished.

a show i went to see: kirk waldroff's "Sancti Insoliti"

last night i went to see Kirk Waldroff's stuff at the Washington Printmakers Gallery

I helped Kirk with his mold for the concrete pieces he has on display, but hadn't yet had a chance to see how they turned out. This show is the reason that Kirk has temporarilly balied on Art Mondays.

There will be a brown bag lunch discussion coming this thursday. i'll say something about mold making and concrete casting.

Kirk chose to do a series of strange saints "Sancti Insoliti". a saint with a dog head. a siamese twin saint with a beer drinking brother. cool work, but its the materials and techniques that i found more exciting that the subject. First, Kirk created a woodcut. He then pulled a print, then made a plate glass print using my favorite technique, "dry relief plaster casting". Lastly kirk ( and I) took a mold of the wood cut and he cast it in concrete. See the piece in the different media was fascinating and hopefully we'll see more of this. I certainly walked away with some ideas for my own work.

I also ran into Julianne of the Capitol Fringe Festival. She described some of the goings on. its going to be very exciting. Kicks off on july 20th with a party at A Venue. From her description its going to be action packed. Keep your schedules open.


Afterwards i went to a pretty large pot luck dinner in my neighborhoodhosted by a recent client of mine. I'm always really shocked by how many creative people i meet in my hood. Designers, architects, chef's, artists, landscape architects, writers, retail design. It was quite nice and i met tons of neighbors i hadnt even seen before.

public drunkeness and acceptability.

This is a monument to a "derelict" person:

I found it here. apparently its in Oslo.








There are things in motion in my hood to repeal some liquor store licenses
look here

A main concern is loitering, public drunkeness, and litter.


Soon there will be some middle to upper middle class establishments in the hood. here and here.


Surely we will see a lot fewer public parties at the bus stop and outside local liquor stores. These are the types of public drinking that the community at large doesnt want. The established watering holes are by and large accepted. ( some cases excepted)

Can we, or ought we build a memorial to demise of the types of parties that have made this area notorious in the past?

Bronze recliner chairs, anyone?

alleys in dc

check out this flikr slide show by Mike Grass of alleys in dc.


and since your heading to flikr anyway, here's my slideshow of art work

weekend thing

some cool art stuff this weekend.
Museum Walk Weekend is held annually on the first full weekend in June. On Saturday, from 10am - 4pm and on Sunday, from 1 - 5pm the public is invited to visit the eight DKMC museums featuring free admission and special activities for all ages and interests. Visit in any order you choose!


i found the info here

creative dc

A job in the arts brought me to dc. for the first few years i lived here most of the people i met were either artists, theatre people, or patrons. Downtown DC, with its brutal architecture was a foreign city to me. I never understood about "stuffy dc" it wasn't my world. I sometimes feel like i live in an entirely different place when i hear people talk about dc. things like; theres no culture here, theres no real history, there are no diners, there are no artists, everyone is conservative, its a transient city. all things that aren't prevalent from my perspective. I love my dc, despite the fact that it doesnt seem to be most peoples dc.

here is a blog about helping people find "creative dc".

video added

I added a link on my scenic artisans website to watch the hgtv episode filmed in a condo i painted.

the link is on this page

or watch the video here.

you need quicktime to see it.

a possible future project.

i've been working on a rather complicated bid to do decorative plaster for this room:

plaster

This Saturday! lots of art.

I will be having and OPEN STUDIO in my great new space in Mount Rainier!

As part of the Gateway Arts District Artists Open Studio Tour, I will be participating in the group activities.

You will be able to:

See my work in Person!
Watch me do a concrete casting demo
See my Portfolio of Faux Finishes!
Experience how an artist works!
Meet and see the works of Rania Hassan, my studio mate
See the Washington Glass School ,with whom i also share a studio!

My Address is
3708 Wells Ave REAR, MT Rainier, MD 20712

Wells Avenue runs along the train tracks. I am on the other side of the building, on the first floor. You will see a sign that says SCENIC ARTISANS and a Washingtno Glass School banner.



From Rhode Island Avenue,
go SOUTH on 34th (at the traffic circle in Mount Ranier)
take a right on OTIS STREET
You will see a group a white warehouses. I am located between the two that are next to each other.

bunch o maps.

art dc people

some artists from artdc.org had a show recently.

see the pictures here

The DCAC fundraiser

This past wednesday night i volunteered to help out during the DCAC fundraiser "Cuisine des Artistes: 2006" held at the amazing O street mansion.

I met a few people, some artists some collectors, some people just interested in the arts. One of the guys i met i have seen at nearly every arts event in dc i have attended for the last several years. This was the first time i spoke with him.

As i was volunteering, i didnt get to see the artist/chef creations till the very end, when they were pretty much devoured, so i can't comment on that. I can comment on the Mansion, which has now become my favorite place in DC.

Truly a creative space, the owners have fashioned this bed and breakfast/ bar/ meeting space/ restaurant into the most unique space i have seen in DC. An extremely eclectic style, though with mainly 1980's kitchens and baths, this place is all over the map. Theres a Log cabin room with a timbered loft, there are quaint victorian rooms, hidden roooms, game rooms, bath tubs for the entire party, kitchens here and there, and a collection of art/ artifacts/ and junk to satisfy my flea market tastes.

The place is an overload of the senses that i love. Comprised of four ( or is it five) rowhouses in Dupont, it is a maze of hallways, rooms and stairways. it is easy to get disorriented.

I want to live there.

Mark Your Calendar, May 20th, a saturday, 2 weeks from now.

I will be having and OPEN STUDIO in my great new space in Mount Rainier!

As part of the Gateway Arts District Artists Open Studio Tour, I will be participating in the group activities.

You will be able to:

See my work in Person!
Watch me do a concrete casting demo
See my Portfolio of Faux Finishes!
Experience how an artist works!
See the Washington Glass School ,with whom i share a studio!

My Address is
3708 Wells Ave REAR, MT Rainier, MD 20712

Wells Avenue runs along the train tracks. I am on the other side of the building, on the first floor. You will see a sign that says SCENIC ARTISANS and a Washingtno Glass School banner.



From Rhode Island Avenue,
go SOUTH on 34th (at the traffic circle in Mount Ranier)
take a right on OTIS STREET
You will see a group a white warehouses. I am located between the two that are next to each other.

bunch o maps.

The Happenstance of Living Gives You One Shot

(click image for gallery)

paint, plaster, glass, found object on masonite panel

grants and other such nonesense.

so, i'm getting ready to start thinking about taking notes about working on some grant applications from the DCCAH. damn i hate the forms.

theres the fraser gallery show to apply for
an arlington arts center show
and a number of others.

more art

I've added a few more pieces to my gallery.