So much to DO!

This is going to be one art-filled weekend!  We have two events we want to spotlight, and hope that you’ll join:

Kiki DC-This fashion-show themed fundraiser benefits WPG, WPF, and Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, and takes place tomorrow night–that’s Saturday, June 8–at the Fillmore Silver Spring.  Doors open at 8 pm.  WPG will be running the Silent Auction which includes great items such as one of the designer’s runway shoes, prints and artwork galore, and even a 1 week stay at a beach-house in Antigua!  Get your tickets now!

Supernova Performance Art Festival-This unique festival runs all weekend, with performances starting tonight. Many of them are in Rosslyn’s public parks and spaces and free and open to the public. This festival is presented by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID) and produced by The Pink Line Project’s Philippa Hughes, who also happens to be this year’s National Small Works juror. Tickets to special performances at Artisphere and the Big Bang Dance Party are also available through their website.

Another day in the life of a print gallery…

So, we’re all set up at the Book Arts Fair!  Now would be a great time to do a quick refresher read on our Printmaking 101 introduction to bookbinding post, and then head on over to the preview party 7-9 pm tonight!

Additionally, congratulations to Yolanda for her well-deserved press coverage in the Gazette of her current show!  You can read the article at the link.

Sneak Peek: WPG at the Book Arts Fair

Yay!  The Book Arts Fair is just over a week away!  Do you have your tickets yet?  We’ll have some great books by Martha Oatway, Rosemary Cooley, Carole Nelson, and more!  Here’s a few images to get you excited.  See you at the Book Arts Fair next week!

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Carol MacDonald in the Press Room

courtesy Carol MacDonald

We’re super excited for Line – Structure – Pattern in the Press Room next month!  Vermont printmaker/knitter Carol MacDonald will install recent prints that are inspired by her other creative passion, knitting.  These looped and coiled, tangled and reorganized images explore the role of process, repetition and the essential elements found in our daily lives and the natural world.

Can’t catch Carol at WPG?  She’ll also be at the Art at the Coach Barn (Shelburne, VT) now through November 4 and the Parallax Art Fairs (NYC- November 17 and 18 and Miami December 7-9).

Member Artist News October 2012

“Arrivals” by Yolanda Frederikse

Yolanda Frederikse has just announced an artist-led tour of her upcoming solo exhibition, Before and After the Derecho.  This tour will be at 2:30 pm on Sunday, November 11.  If you can’t come to the November 3 opening (or even if you can), this is a great time to hear more about work from the artist herself.

In addition, four of the 5 artists in the upcoming Maryland Hall exhibition, Connections, are WPG artists-Deron DeCesare, Ed McCluney, Ron Meick, and Margaret Adams Parker (good friend Mary Ott is the 5th printmaker).  This exhibition showcases printmakers that also work in other media (painting or sculpture).  The opening reception is the day after Yolanda’s, Sunday, November 4, 2-4 pm, in the Chaney Gallery (Maryland Hall for Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD).

Finally, don’t forget to buy your tickets to the Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair!  This biennial festival will be held November 16-18.  Several of the lectures will be held at Washington Printmakers Gallery, and we’ll have a special booth at the vendor’s fair.

Fall Arts Events for your Calendar

“Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, Lucca” by Deron DeCesare

WPG is excited to have two special Press Room Exhibitions in addition to our regularly scheduled October and November member and solo artist shows.  In October, mark your calendars for Both Sides of The Brain, a travelling mezzotint portfolio, in the Press Room and Deron DeCesare’s Old World and New: Apart though still a Part.  The Opening Reception for both these shows (and the membership exhibition) is Saturday, October 6 ,1-4 pm.  In November we have Before and After the Derecho, a solo exhibition by Yolanda Frederikse in the main space, and Carol MacDonald’s Line – Structure – Pattern in the Press Room.  The Opening Reception for these exhibition is Saturday, November 4, 1-4 pm.

In addition to our events, there are two fairs we’ve probably mentioned, but it doesn’t hurt to mention them again.  First, is the 2nd ever (e)merge Art Fair, put on by the WPA.  This fair focuses on under-represented artists and galleries “with an an energetic environment of collaboration and discovery.”  This fair takes place at the Capitol Skyline Hotel in SW DC, October 4-7.

Later, in November, there is the Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair.   WPG will have a booth, and the full list of vendors is now online at their website.  Check it out, get excited, and come to the Book Arts Fair November 16-18, 2012.

Finally, looking forward to the Winter season, Maryland artist members of WPG will join their mentors (or artists to whom they have been mentors) for Mentor/Mentee II at the Brentwood Arts Exchange.  More details to follow, but know that the exhibition will run December 3-January 26 and the Opening Reception is Friday, December 7, 6-9 pm.

WPG at this year’s Book Arts Fair

“Field of Vision” a collaborative book print project by Martha Oatway and Tracy Hill.

It’s official!  We received word that WPG will have a booth at Pyramid Atlantic’s 2012 Book Arts Fair!  We’ll have  books from WPG artist Martha Oatway, Rosemary Cooley, Andy Farkas, and more!

This contemporary art celebration, presented in partnership with Montgomery County Public Libraries, showcases the evolution of the book as art and the latest innovations and interpretations of this versatile form bringing together artists and collectors from across the globe. This year’s Book Arts Fair includes a contemporary print component which will examine the print form as an independent medium as well as its relationship to the book.

The creative weekend features over 40 exhibitors and includes events such as special behind-the-scenes tours of D.C. print and book arts collections, contemporary print and book art exhibitors, specialty marketplace, curated exhibition, notable speakers, demonstrations, after-hours receptions, all in Silver Spring’s modern civic building.  Make room on your calendars between Thursday, November 16 and Sunday, November 18 for a visit to the Book Arts Fair!

June 9, 10, and 11 Events for your Calendar

Three events we want to mention, all coming up in a few days!

We’ve mentioned the inaugural C Street Arts Festival before, but wanted to remind you that it is this Saturday, from 10-4 pm.  This event features art, music, theatre, dance and family activities on C Street in Historic Downtown Laurel.  Come on out and show your support!

Then, on Sunday, the Takoma Park JazzFest is back!   If you missed it last year (or in 2010 when WPG participated) there are two stages featuring traditional and more modern Jazz acts of local and national renown.  In between these two stages are booths of delicious food, local crafts and more.

Finally, on Monday, there is the DC stop on 2012 Cabot Community Tour (yes, the cheese company!).  2012 is the International Year of the Coop–a business model both Cabot and WPG follow.  The DC event will be at the Courtyard Marriott, 1325 2nd St, NE, from 5:30-7:30 pm.  Food will be available as well as raffle tickets for prizes provided by local coops.

Writeup: BMA Print Fair 2012

Last weekend was the BMA Print Fair.  WPG director Annie Newman went on Sunday, here is her report:

The founders of Printeresting, from left to right: Jason Urban, Amze Emmons, and R.L. Tillman

I was super excited to see the guys from Printeresting give their panel discussion.  It wasn’t truly a “panel,” but I enjoyed their talk all the same.  R.L. Tillman immediately launched into a discourse on the faddish-ness of printmaking–using the term positively rather than negatively.  It was interesting to see how pervasive it is outside of the art-world culture.  In particular, he pointed out the appropriation of the letterpress aesthetic in advertising, pulling up both JCrew and Target ad, amongst others.  Keep your eyes peeled and you’ll soon see what he’s talking about.

One of the most interesting trends the guys talked about was breaking out of the frame–or the three dimensional print.  You can see some really neat examples on Printeresting, just search 3D or three dimensional.  I particularly liked the example of Tara-Donovan-esque work by Andree-Anne Dupuis Bourret that they shared.  You can see their original post here.  Several of WPG’s own printmakers have been breaking out of the frame, as well–such as Mike Hagan’s screenprints on Tyvek or Terry Svat’s village constructs.  We also exhibited three dimensional prints this February, as part of our Excellence in Printmaking exhibition.  I, for one, will be interested to see how traditional methods are bent out of traditional uses.

The fair itself, of course, had some beautiful editions.  I was totally saturated by the time I left.  There was one print I had to visit twice, though, before leaving.  To be honest, I can’t remember the name of the print (it might have  been untitled), but it was a beautiful, understated and elegant print by Sara Sanders and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop.  You can see it here (along with several other prints by RBPW and Sara Sanders).

Fenton Street Market opens this weekend!

It’s back!  The Fenton Street Market kicks off this year’s season this Saturday.  We are happy to report that FSM has signed a 3-year contract with Montgomery County and will now be operating at Veteran’s Plaza in front of the Civic Building (at the corner of Ellsworth and Fenton).  Check them out this Saturday 10 am-4 pm.  Along with 60-ish other vendors, Pyramid Atlantic will be there, with works from select members on display.