Jim Schlett Photograph
News From Our President
Meet the Member: Kile Casey
The Colorful world of Liz Morton
WhiteBoard: Call for Art and … much more!
Jim Schlett Artist in Residence in Whiskeytown National Park
Upcoming Art Class with Melanie Z Stanley
“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso
It is hard to believe that we are heading into the autumn of 2016 already. LRA has had but virtually all measures, several amazing months. We had several major exhibition venues over the summer including a special photography exhibition celebrating the Centennial of the National Park Service (NPA), which had a great number of spectacular photographs and we produced a nice hard-cover book of the images. Ken Bigley, Deputy Superintendent, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, spoke at our reception.
LRA was also featured on page 58 of July-August issue Viva Reston Lifestyle Magazine.
Two of our members, Karen Hutchison and Charlene Fuhrman-Schultz were featured in recent issues of a very special magazine, Elan, which “celebrates the arts,” with stories about their artistic art experiences and journeys. You can check out the issues on-line at
June – Elan – Charlene Fuhrman-Schultz – see page 48:
http://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=308684
July – Elan – Karen Hutchison- see page 36-39:
http://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=317648
The transition with the Art in Public Places (AIPP) program continues to go well. We now have 16 venues in northern Virginia that we can utilize for 3-month solo exhibitions for our members. All of the exhibitions rotate on the same general schedule starting at the beginning of January, April, July, and October. This is another great way to have the public see your work and make connections.
Over the past year, Anne Emerson has done a great job of assuming the position of the Chair of the Reston Photographic Society (RPS) and has a full schedule of speakers for RPS starting in September. Please contact Anne for specifics on that schedule at caemerson6@verizon.net I would also like to thank Sarah Burton for her continuing and timely updates on the LRA and RPS Facebook pages with notices and updates.
Finally, as some of you know, I love history and try to utilize my photography in capturing moments and landscapes at historical places. One of the books that I recently read was about President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt and the Progressive party. There was a great quote in there that applies equally to LRA and our mission, and it went like this,
“Look up, not down,
Look forward, not backward,
Look out, not in,
please come join us.”
Jim Schlett
LRA President
From Reston Photographic Society our sister league
Boris and Vavaldi by Kile Casey
My name is Kile Casey. I’ve been snapping pictures for around 30 years since first picking up a Kodak Pazzazz. Today, it’s mostly digital and occasionally black and white film. There isn’t a style of photography that I don’t find fascinating, but creative portraiture, macros, and fine art shoots are where my passions lie. I recently delved. For the first time, with more extreme post editing for an Alice in Country of Hearts Cosplay shoot. While participating in Art in Public Places, I have been displayed in the Capital Financial offices in Tysons Corner, Potomac Falls Rehabilitation Center in Sterling, Herndon Harbor House, 1851 Alexander Bell Drive in Reston, and Griffin-Owens Insurance. My image “Float Away” placed 1st in photography at the 2015 LRA Ernst Center Exhibit: Dream, Create, Inspire. I’m looking forward to continuing to expand my knowledge, learn new techniques, and meet other creative minds in the LRA.
Color My World Solo Exhibition at Potomac Falls Health & Rehab Center in Sterling, VA, one of the Arts in Public Places (AIPP) venues supported by the League of Reston Artists (LRA).
It’s up — and here is the blurb I posted on Facebook and art4urbrain.com:
Friday, July 1, Color My World Solo Exhibition went up at Potomac Falls Health & Rehab Center in Sterling, VA. Potomac Falls Health and Rehab Center is one of the Arts in Public Places (AIPP) venues supported by the League of Reston Artists (LRA). I am grateful to LRA for the honor to participate in AIPP and Potomac Falls Heath and Rehab Center for participating in this program.
Potomac Falls staff and residents took me to the top of the world while I was hanging the show. I am energized from comments: “Awesome paintings,” “I love the colors,” “WOW,” “These are beautiful” and “I got to meet the Artist!” among many more. I smiled so much my face hurt, and I am truly overwhelmed that my paintings can spread joy and smiles!
Color My World features thirteen colorful mixed canvases and runs until October 27, 2016. You can stop by and see it, the front desk can direct you to the area that is conveniently close to the main lobby. Potomac Falls Health and Rehab Center 46531 Harry Byrd Highway Sterling, VA 20164. If you have interest in owning one or more pieces, let me know!
Art Show Opportunities with LRA click the link:
https://sites.google.com/site/restonarts/shows
Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center. Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus
Eclectic Visions September 11 – October 7, 2016
Paintings and Photography, Mixed Media and 2-D.
Again this year LRA sponsors this great exhibition, curated by Charlene Fuhrman-Schulz. The show will be presented on September 11th and run through October 7th.
Awards will be presented by Betzi Robinson during the opening reception:
September 17 between 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
A light refreshment will be served.
COURAGE! October 3 – October 31, 2015
Paintings, Mixed Media and 2-D
Break through the fears, leave behind conflicts, embrace empathy, and open your heart to COURAGE!
Colors and brushstrokes for unity through diversity!
As has become a tradition for the Lake Anne show, Artists are invited to provide a short note to add a dimension to their work and deepen the viewer’s understanding of their vision.
Deadline for registering on the LRA web site is September 26.
The Opening RECEPTION:
Meet the Artists is Sunday, October 9 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
A light refreshment will be served, and Awards will be presented during the reception party. LRA will provide $1,000 for awards for this exhibition!
LRA website is ready to accept entries, here is the link:
https://sites.google.com/site/restonarts/shows/2016oct-jo-ann-rose-gallery-artreston
With more than 16 public locations where our artists can exhibit their art work, LRA continues to colorfully spread art around town accomplishing its mission to make art accessible to all. Solo Shows are available in all Art in Public Places locations. Contact Jim Schlett president.lra@gmail.com if you are ready for your solo show!
Rita Ahart paintings at the Verity building for AIP
LRA will be out to promote art and raise money for the Scholarship Program once again at Barnes & Noble in Fairfax! The event helps to raise almost all the necessary funds for the program. Our next event at Barnes & Noble will be Saturday, November 12th, 2016, if you would like to participate email Jim Schlett, LRA President, at president.lra@gmail.com
Message from RESTON PHOTOGRAPHY SOCIETY
Announcing our Members’ Showcase–this is open to everyone in the League and the public.On Sept 19th starting at 7:30 pm the Reston Photographic Society, a special interest group of the League of Reston Artists, will have our first meeting of the season, showcasing our members’ work. The meeting will be at the Reston Community Center, Hunters Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Rd, Reston VA 20191 (Phone 703-476-4500). Ellis Rosenberg will coordinate this meeting.
Please bring in your presentation on a thumb drive or CD. Please limit it to approx. 10 minutes and let Ellis Ellisrosenberg2@gmail.com know if you will be participating so we can schedule the event. Prints are OK as well. Thanks and looking forward to seeing your work. If you do not have pictures to show, you are welcome to come also; our members take many beautiful and interesting photos.
Preview: at our October meeting, October 17th, Jim Guzel will speak on adult portraiture. “One of the hardest things for me as a photographer is to set adult subjects at ease and take a natural-looking photo. Jim tells me that he is an expert at this.”
Jim Schlett tells us his experience as Artist in Resident in Whiskeyton National Park
After I was selected as the Artist-In-Resident (AIR) at the Whiskeytown National Park in northern California this past June, some members have asked about the program and how it works. There are many types of AIR, but I will address the AIR programs at our National Park Service (NRS). You should check with the web site, NPS.gov and type in “Artist in Resident” within the “search” tab, to see which of the parks offer the program and what their requirements are.
In general, the term artist includes painters, digital media, photographers, writers, etc., but keep in mind that each park may have different requirements, deadlines, themes and application procedures. The actual residency can be from 1 to 4 weeks depending in the park, and most are scheduled between April – October but a few may be available year-round, like the Everglades. The artist may need to be flexible about preferred dates for the AIR. A few parks have a third party non-profit organization run the selection procedure, and that will be evident as you begin your research into the program. Some of the parks even schedule this almost one-two years in advance of the actual time frame for the AIR. I would also mention that in most cases, a park will get hundreds of applications for just a few positions, so expect that the competition to be keen and as with myself numerous “not selected” notices may be received.
Only a small number of National Parks offer the program and there is no actual salary, but a few of the parks may some provide a small stipend. The selected artist will receive some form of free lodging in or near the park such as a basic cabin and the park usually allows the artist to include their significant other, but not families. As with many national parks, WiFi is usually limited to the Visitors’ Center. Artists are responsible for transportation to and from the park, supplies, all food, and miscellaneous costs. The artist is expected to do at least one presentation/talk about their work to the public and donate at least one piece of work completed while in the AIR to the Park for their permanent art collection.
The benefits of the program to both parties are great and was worth my time and effort to apply. Based on my time at the park, it was one of the most meaningful artistic adventures that I have experienced. The park was a hidden gem of the NPS and had mountains, 72 miles of trails, gold panning, boating, kayaking, sailing, four stunning waterfalls and a beautiful lake with over 20 miles of coast line.
Although I have been to many of our National Parks before, for the first time, I had almost three consecutive weeks within a single park, which allowed great access to the entire park, especially at first light as well as sunset. We did a great dealing of hiking for the entire time and averaging about 10 miles a day. We made numerous connections and friends at the park, including the rangers, volunteers, staff, and visitors and received special suggestions from the rangers for locations for photography opportunities.
My work will be shown at several Centennial of the NPS events in the Redding area, spotlighted in three different media venues and I plan on a future exhibition of my images from Whiskeytown. If you are flexible, persistent and open to new and a great adventure, I would highly recommend this program.
LRA Members Teaching Board
Upcoming art class with Melanie Z. Stanley
This fall, starting in early October, I will be teaching Mixed Media Art: Grow Your Art Voice! Drawing, painting, and creative collage with a variety of materials. Demos provided along with helpful critiques. Have fun learning, exploring, and discovering. Mondays from 5:30 to 8:30 pm and Tuesdays from 11 am to 2 pm at ArtSpace Herndon. Participants email me at ridingfree2@gmail.com to register (PayPal or check) and for the supply list. Call 7034716766 with questions or send an email. Classes/workshops are $45 each week (sometimes less if registering for consecutive weeks, to determine d by instructor).
