Egret Reflection – Patricia Degree
News from our President
Meet the Members: Karen Danenberger – Kate Gayl – Liz Morton – Patricia Deege
WhiteBoard: Call for Art and … much more…
LRA Exhibitions Pictures
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” Georgia O’Keeffe
2016 is shaping up to be another outstanding year for the League of Reston Artists (LRA) as we continue to build on the foundations that are a part of what we started almost 50 years ago. One of the pillars of how LRA came into existence was to display art in the newly created and developing community of Reston. Over the years, we have expanded that outreach to also included nearby communities such as Fairfax, Vienna, Herndon, and Alexandria. This past year, we have picked up 15 locations for solo exhibitions and have had two rotations of a wide variety LRA members’ work. This is in addition to eight group exhibitions we have scheduled for 2016. I believe there is no other arts organization in the Washington DC area that provides its members with as much opportunity.
I want to thank everyone who helps with coordinating our exhibitions, our publicity, our website, our finances, membership lists, etc. They keep LRA going and growing. Over the past few years, I have leaned that making connections, even remote ones, often lead to other benefits. One of the ways to make connections is to volunteer some of your time to invest in LRA. In the past few years, those connections have opened up unexpected venues for displaying and selling my photography. In late April, I made a new connection based on a tenant of a building in the Art in Public Places (AIPP), which almost immediately resulted in a request for my photos being displayed in her offices, as well as a possible partnership about supporting art projects in the schools. Don’t let your art life pass you by, get involved!
Jim Schlett
LRA President
CONGRATULATIONS JIM!
Dr. Lauren Palmor recently selected Jim Schlett, Acting Curator for the American Art for the De Young Museum of Fine Arts in America in San Francisco, to participate in the Artist-in-Residence program at the Whiskeytown National Park near Redding, California. This program which is only available in. However, the number of National Parks and is an extremely competitive process for selection. Jim will be there for several weeks later this summer to photograph the park. The park included 70 miles of hiking trails, lakes, waterfalls and was part of the California “gold rush” days.
Artist in Residence (AIR) Programs offer artists the opportunity to live and work in a national park, as an artist in residence for a specified term, providing the opportunity to create their art in a National Park setting
Karen Danenberger
Karen received a BA in studio art from Smith College in 1974, did graduate work at Edinburgh University in Scotland in 1975, and earned I intend MA in painting from NYU in 1979. Through NYU’s Summer Abroad Program, Karen was able to spend two summers in Venice, Italy, where light reflections and the emotive qualities of color first became central themes in her artwork. Karen grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the daughter of an artist and longtime art educator, Edward Bolton. Karen, herself, has over 30 years experience in art instruction at all age levels hope and was recently a teacher of oil and acrylic painting for adults at the Reston Community Center at Lake Anne from 2001-2016. Karen has participated in group and solo shows throughout the US and Italy and has won some awards in shows sponsored by the League of Reston Artists. Her drawings, paintings, and batiks are in private collections throughout the Northeast, Virginia, and Europe. Karen spent the past decade studying realism under Loudoun artist, Kurt Schwarz and is now using Impressionistic brushwork and colors as a means for expressing emotion and feelings.
Karen is long time Member of LRA; she is one of our great artists that brighten the wall of our exhibitions with brilliant colors and sunny light. Karen is also an active volunteer in our group.
Kath Gayle
I am, an emerging artist in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. I am an innovative, passionate, empathetic optimist who loves to create. I come alive when I make art, and it helps me live life more fully. Exploring what is visually possible brings me joy and creation allows me to feel a sense of serenity.
The value LRA has for me:
In addition to helping my CV gain a professional membership affiliation, the League of Reston Artists (LRA) is valuable to me because I am an emerging artist who needs opportunities to display my art in public settings with ease, despite my lack of reputation. LRA does just that and more. The organization allows a passionate, kind-spirited, aesthetically inclined community of individuals to congregate and share their artistic commonalities in a welcoming environment. Consequently, LRA helps its members, including myself, grow as artists through the exhibition events, social gatherings, and learning experiences it offers.
Artist Statement:
I conceive art that reveals a visual language for interpreting aspects of psychology. It provides vignettes of my intimate mental history and related experiences. I intentionally enhance insight about the mental health domain to offset the stigma related to it. My compositions are tools for communication that translate parts of psychiatric health that are pivotal to my reality. These accessible representations depict my truth. Everything I see, feel and encounter influences the outcome. My works range in material, technique, design, and complexity as a reflection of my ever-changing mental states. I find peace in my mind’s otherwise chaotic existence through making creations.
Kath joins LRA in February with the show: Inspired by Love. She is one of the young and inspiring artists that we are fortunate to have in our league!
Liz Morton
“I love the color and that irrational moment when I make that first mark.” – Liz Morton
Paint… Paint… Paint… O,h how I love to paint! The blank surface entices me to open up visual images that float around in my head and help me confront and accept constantly evolving change. The colors, the physical interaction with the canvas or paper, the give, the take, the addition, the subtraction are all exciting interactions! Regarding process and medium, I prepare each surface randomly with different textures and depths with no regard to size, surface, or image. My materials include modeling paste, gel mediums, watercolor, gauche, alkyd, acrylic, oil, ink, pencil, pen, spray paint, markers, and paint sticks. Each painting has multiple layers; I like to lock a layer, rest the painting, and then apply more layers. No limits, no restrictions, and no rules, except the chemistry and physics that are a given.
Liz joins LRA in October 2015 showing for the first time with us at The Sound of Color Show. With her strong sens of color and bold brushstroke, Liz brought to LRA new energy and good vibe! Careful when you meet her she has contagious SMILE!!
Patricia Deege
Although my first love has always been nature, I am interested in all aspects of photography, and the digital age and extensive new processing software have added a new dimension to this craft. I have gained considerable knowledge and experience from my membership in area camera clubs, in particular the League of Reston Artists, which offers photographers many options for pursuing and improving their art.
From my place behind the lens, I have learned the art of seeing what is often unnoticed and unexpected. The camera has opened up a fascinating new arena of sights and experiences, and my life has thus been g. Howeverenriched. Imparting that fascination to even just a few other people, when they look at my photographs and feel their hearts gladden and their spirits uplifted, makes all the efforts worthwhile.
Art Show Opportunities with LRA click the link: http://www.leagueofrestonartists.org/shows
Paintings – Mixed Media – 2-D JULY 2016
US Geological Survey, National Gallery 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive. Reston, VA
There is no theme, however, USGS staff has expressed a desire for works that reflect their mission, which is: “USGS scientists study the environment, natural hazards, natural resources, geology, geography, biology, chemistry, climate, landscapes, flora, fauna, and create maps. Images that depict the natural work, its biota, geology, maps landscapes, water and hazards would be appropriate for this space.” Please consider this when choosing your pieces.
Deadline for entry June 30 Entry is now open: https://sites.google.com/site/restonarts/shows/2016-jul-usgs
Paintings and Photography, Mixed Media and 2-D Dream-Create-Inspire
For the third year, LRA artists are invited to exhibit at the Ernst Center Gallery, in the beautiful two floors space that can hold approximately 80 pieces of work.
September 10th through October 8th. Stay tuned the exhibition is not open yet, check our web often!
Our member RUTH SIEVERS Invitation: Please join us if you can for an evening of art, wine, conversation and meeting old friends and new! The artists of Columbia Pike Artist Studios have also donated art to raise money for our emergency fund (i.e., the plumber and HVAC) and we’ll have a wall of art pieces for $100 or less. Photos of my donations — including a rare Ruth Sievers abstract (!) — are below the pARTy invitation. PS: No need to RSVP — just come if you can. I’m in Studio 18.
Our member MELANIE STANLEY Invitation: SURFACES A Teacher-Student Art Exhibit by Local Artists!
Please come to our Artists’ Reception on Sunday, May 15th from 1:30 to 3:30. We will have ART, music, food, and drink…and of course all of us artists for you to talk with and ask questions about mixed media art.
There are 14 of us showing our mixed media works at the following location from May 12 through June 4th at the Unitarian Church in Reston:
Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston – 1625 Wiehle Avenue – Reston, VA 20190 – 703-956-9155
We have selected Saturday, November 12 for our Book Fair at the Barnes & Noble store at 12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Dr. Fairfax, VA 22033.
Last year we raised over $2,000 at this event for our scholarship fund. Loretta Scott has agreed to coordinate this event for LRA and is looking for 6-10 volunteers to help with the event. This is a very easy event to help with and enjoyable.
Art In Public Places (AIPP) is a program that LRA has managed for the past several months. Earlier in April, we finished the rotation of the second set of artists and their work will be displayed until the end of June. LRA members’ work is shown in over 16 buildings in northern Virginia, especially in the Herndon and Reston area, and more buildings coming on-line within the second half of 2016.
If you are interested in being included in the next round of exhibitions, which would be hung around the end of June and last for three months, please contact Jim Schlett at president.lra@gmail.com as soon as possible.
“Traditional to Abstract”- Oriental Brush Painting by Charlene Fuhrman-Schulz
October 11, 2016 – November 13, 2016
Reception, Wednesday, October 19th, 2016 at 6 pm – 8 pm
Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center
Northern Virginia Community College – Annandale Campus
8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003
http://www.orientalbrushstrokes.com ;
Save the date – approximately 75 paintings will be on display. The exhibit paintings will show a transition from the very detailed traditional Chinese Brush Painting like Strength and Longevity (eagle in the pine tree) to the very abstract like Flight of Imagination to a blending of the traditional with the abstract in Lotus Dreams. My intention is to show the joy and passion of creating with ink and brush. I have been painting since 1989 and have found that growth as an artist comes from both experimentation and re-discovering the traditions. It is my hope that my paintings exhibit that growth and passion.
Inspired by Love. February:
The way I See… Founder Day. April:
Judge Choice: Alessandra Ricci
1st Place: Liz Morton
2nd Place: Mary Steingesser
3rd Place: Bettina Brunner
Honorable Mention: Gennara Moore and Pam Coat
ArtSpace Gallery “The object of art is to give life a shape” William Shakespeare. May:
Best of Show: Octavia Frazier
1st Place: Rudy Guernica
2nd Place: Karen Hutchinson
3rd Place: Sue Hamilton
Honorable Mentions: Denise Dittmar and Pam CoulterArt
Join the league of the Reston Artists. We are a fun, creative, and vibrant group of artists that welcome new members with happiness and joy.
