Jenne Glover – Jenne Glover

0 Jenne Glover’s solo art exhibit, “Discovering the Journey” opening reception June 3, 2018 — 2 to 5 pm — New Door Creative 1601 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD

Editor’s Perspective: War Is Not the Answer

Voicing Art has been silent for awhile for so many reasons — election shell shock and the soap opera that’s transpired. Witnessing the reality that living Black in America is still hazardous to your health and well-being. It’s also been troubling watching our government’s administrative order and decorum go down the drain, as a sink hole literally forms on the White House lawn; and our involvement in war goes on and on.

I’m not gung-ho about royalty, but I did take time to view the wedding ceremony of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. And, I’m glad I did because it was refreshing to see so many Black people participating in their service. Reverend Curry’s sermon on love, fire and harnessing it for good was timely. As we live in a world where nuclear threats are waged, being clearly a no win situation for everyone and everything on planet Earth. War is hate and destruction. Love is peace and construction.

We’ve endured a dysfunctional Congress for nearly a decade. A House and Senate willing and able to get paid for doing nothing wanted by the People. Republicans spent eight counter productive years blocking everything President Obama wanted to do to improve the quality of life for the people and the planet.

And now, Congress is turning a blind eye to the Kakistocracy currently governing the Nation. We are now experiencing an administration run by the worst, least qualified, and most unscrupulous people. Where incompetence, ignorance and corruption are reigning over expertise, diplomacy and truth.

Instead of progressive actions, this administration is reversing every thing Obama put in place. As they undermined, dismantle, and disrespect our systems of government, the USA’s standing in the world is plummeting.

Congress has lost its footing, being unwilling to abide by any socially responsible standard. And, I don’t believe the forefathers could have envisioned an economic imbalance and lack of accountability that prevails today.

Earth is a speck in an infinite universe, why can’t we live in peace with love as the driving force instead of greed, hate, and warfare?

Peace and Blessings!

Contemporary Artist: Jenne Glover, Discovering the Journey

Jasmia and the Crew

Jenne’s solo exhibit, Discovering the Journey, will be on exhibit from June 3 to June 29, 2018 at the New Door Creative — 1601 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 www.newdoorcreative.com

Opening Reception and conversation with the artist Sunday, June 3 from 2 to 5 pm.

RSVP appreciated at 410-244-8244 or newdoorcreative@gmail.com

This exhibition is featuring 26 original artworks including oil paintings, mixed media collages, and one hand-sewn fabric mask. The art dates from 1998 to 2018.

It’s going to be a colorful and diverse exhibition.

Hoping you will come see Discovering the Journey!!!

UPCOMING EXHIBITION: Resilience: Surviving the Middle Passage, Seeking to Live a Privileged Life

Hoyt Art Center — January 8 to March 28, 2019 — New Castle, PA

0 The Global Art Awards: Vote for Escaping the Dragon by Jenne Glover

Editor’s Perspective: A Time to Dream — The Global Art Awards Gala and Awards Ceremony — Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, Dubai — November 17, 2017

For those of you who were wondering where I’ve been, in spite of the political climate, I am alive and well. Carpal tunnel syndrome and surgery on both hands has been challenging, but I am still producing my art.

I want to let you know I was nominated and entered the Global Art Awards competition. A red carpet event, this is the first large-scale International Awards for the Visual Arts.

Artists with the highest on-line votes for each category will move on to be curated by a distinguished jury of art professionals.

The jury will select 18 “Best Artists” in 18 categories.

Please, I need your vote!!!

Click here to Vote for “Escaping the Dragon,” a mixed media collage—36 x 24 inches.

Thanks so much!

Peace and Blessings!!!!!!!

Bernard W. Brooks: Art for Sale

Prince Rogers Nelson

Prince Rogers Nelson = phenomenal musician artist genius

The sudden loss of our Prince left us all in shock, but clearly he had done what he was called to do.

What an amazing legacy he created for us to treasure.

Thank you Prince for being you.

In This Issue…

Editor’s Perspective: Getting Old is the Goal
Bernard W. Brooks: Art for Sale

Editor’s Perspective: Getting Old is the Goal

Some people can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. Recently I discovered I am challenged to sit while talking. I never knew this was an issue until Saint Patrick’s Day when I was talking to an associate, I stepped my feet over the bench of a picnic table, but when I sat down, I missed the bench completely. (The picnic table was a smaller metal version of what you see in a park.)

It was a bizarre moment, realizing that I’m heading backwards to the floor, and it felt like I was falling in slow motion. Instinctively, I tried to hold on with my legs and I stuck my right arm behind me to brace the fall, but one hand and arm was no match for my weight and I came crashing down. I did reduce some of the impact by rolling my spine up as I fell, but my right shoulder and hand were strained and my lower back is still tender. I didn’t break anything, but frankly, I’m way too old for this kind of goofy mishap.

Laying on the floor with my feet stuck up in the air, I looked like a tortoise flipped on its shell. Thank God, no one pulled out their cellphone to video tape me in this ridiculous situation and luckily I had on pants.

I never thought of myself as being clumsy, especially since I’ve studied dance most of my life, but I’ve had a few weird accidents. And then, I recalled when I was a child, my mom calling me a bull in a china closet because I was always moving too fast and knocking over everything in my path.

So folks, if you see me flying by, please remind me to slooooowwwww down because I really want to dance with my grandchildren’s children.

Peace and Blessings!!!!!!!

Bernard W. Brooks: Art for Sale

Bernie and Gwen standing next to “Dukes Big Band”

Bernard’s life revolves around the visual arts and his work is authentic and in demand. His philosophy for marketing his artwork is simple, “What’s the point of storing art under my bed if I can sell it and make room for new stuff.”

Building a clientele base is second nature for Bernard and his wife, Gwendolyn Aqui Brooks, an accomplished visual artist, doll and quilt maker. Friends and colleagues for over 40+ years, they married in 2009, and together they have made finding homes for their artwork their mission.

When Bernard was a teenager he sold his first art work, a collage, to a patient at Alexandria Hospital and from then on he was bitten by the bug to produce art for sale. Bernard was inspired by his uncle, Linwood Jordan, a professional artist and master jeweler who repeatedly broke down color barriers. He founded the silk screening department at Carver Vocational High School in Baltimore; and he was the first black instructor to teach at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Ironically, during segregation the school had denied him enrollment. During the 1950’s-60’s, his uncle was the first to sell handmade jewelry in major department stores between New York and Miami, but he wasn’t able to reap the full rewards of his craftsmanship, because he had to pay a middle-man to get his jewelry into the stores. Bernard remembers asking his uncle what price he should sell a piece of his art and his uncle told him as much as the market can stand, because it’s one of a kind.

Family Origin
Purchased by the U.S. State Department, Art in Embassy Program. It is in the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia.

Bernard honed his art skills at the Philadelphia College of Art where he studied under Wing Fong, a major American illustrator and under Dr. Edna Andrade, a professor of design. While attending the University of Maryland he studied life drawing under Professor Maurice Seigler, and at Howard University he studied watercolor and design under Professor Lois Mailou Jones and printmaking under Professor James Wells. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Howard University and served there as the chief medical illustrator for more than 26 years.

Bernard is an important fixture in the art community, enormously talented his artwork is part of the prestigious U.S. State Department, Art in Embassy Program, and his work is in many public and private collections in the United States and internationally. Committed to sharing his knowledge and guiding the next generation, he has mentored more than 60 students and interns.

Bernard’s creative process begins with him sketching his ideas out on paper or canvas because he needs to see where he’s going. He thinks drawing is the most important element for developing a successful painting or collage. He says Professor Jones used to say you can’t have a good painting unless you have a good drawing. His creations emphasize positioning, colors, and placement. And, his travels to different parts of the world inspire him. When he travels he captures the essence of where he’s been by taking photos and jotting down the principle colors of what he has seen.

Shango and his Bride
Serigraph Print
Edition 100
17 remaining

Bernard specializes in watercolors, what he calls a very unforgiving medium because once you’ve stained the paper there is no room for corrections. You can’t go back and clean it up and you can’t paint over what you’ve done. He no longer does silk screening, etchings, and lithographs because of the strong chemical fumes. Now a days, if he has work done in print he farms it out.

Bernard avoids creative blocks by working on three or four pieces at one time, so if a piece is challenging he may put it aside until later. He has some pieces he’s worked on for two years because he didn’t feel like getting back to them. And when he goes back, sometimes he finishes it in a day and sometimes it’s still a long process. He adds, the main thing is to know when you are finished.

For the past two years he was working in mixed media, but he’s gone back to watercolors because financially it is a successful medium. Bernard explains that a lot of times people get confused when he makes a reference to finance or to selling or marketing artwork, but commercialism is not new to the visual arts and was practiced by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Picasso, and many other artists throughout history.

Bernard believes marketing is 30% of the business and a continuous process, he emphasizes, you have to market all of the time. He developed his marketing skills working as an assistant art director, an assistant advertising manager, a technical illustrator, and in retail sales. He adds, when marketing it is important to stick with your exhibition’s theme. If you are doing a show on flowers, then that’s what you should be featuring. Marketing is psychological and many people only buy what they were told would be for sale and some are really disappointed if they find other things being exhibited from what was advertised.

Duke Ellington
Watercolor and Collage

Bernard’s art collectors date back to the 1960’s when he was pursuing a commercial art career. During that time, he was able to work his way to the top where he was in contact with people who had money and were art collectors. Other clients from the 60’s and 70’s were people he met through his attorney.

Today he has a multi-faceted clientele base and many of his clients are now buying his art for their children. He’s continuously seeking new patrons, but he also holds on to the old ones. He stays in touch with his clients by sending a Christmas present to them for that year. For instance, the people that bought from him in 2014 got a print that no one else will get because it is exclusively for his purchasing clients for that year. He explains people may frame his gift, they may put it up with thumb tacks, but the point is they have it and every time they look at it they will think about where they got it. One thing he learned from the advertising world is to always give people something to remember you by.

Bernard feels the internet is a wonderful tool for selling your art, but if someone goes to the internet to buy a piece of art and can’t find it, chances are they aren’t going back to that site again. So in addition to using the internet, Bernard has something to put in a buyer’s hand to take home and lay on the coffee table. Even if they throw it in the trash, they have to pick it up and will see it twice as opposed to once on the internet.

Haitian Madonna
Original in the collection of
Drs. Jack and Jackie Cole
5 giclees sold

He has a big problem with galleries and dealers because he believes their percentages are too high. If they didn’t do 50% of the painting then why are they charging him 50% to sell it? He says the first thing a lot of younger artist want to do is grab a dealer or gallery to represent their work, but he doesn’t advocate this because he thinks we all have the capacity to represent ourselves.

Bernard says a good way to start doing home shows is by having fifteen people over for a cocktail party, serve light refreshments, and if you sell one piece for more than you have invested it’s a successful show.

He likes doing home shows, some with as many as 200 people. He says the most important thing with a home show is entertaining your guests and stimulating sales. He puts the refreshments out and lets his guests help themselves and that way he can move around and mingle. He likes the hands on approach rather than having someone else working his show and controlling his money.

Bernard explains that timing your home show is important. He has the marketing down to a science which is why it works so well for him and Gwendolyn. He recommends September through December and February as the best times to do home shows. He explains March through August are not good since most people are focused on preparing and paying taxes, or preparing for graduations, and vacations. In the summer people don’t want to come out because it’s too hot and he doesn’t do January because it’s too cold.

Another big concern Bernard has is that people often don’t know the value of an art work. If someone offers you something at a specific price, you might think it’s a good price on the market, but it may not be. Someone called him recently because they had the opportunity to buy an Elizabeth Catlett print, and Bernard’s first question was for how much? The person wanted five thousand dollars for the print and Bernard thought that was way too much. His next question was how many prints were in the edition? There were five hundred prints in the edition which is a lot.

Cigar Maker
Watercolor

Additionally, it is also important to check the validity of an artwork before purchasing it. Several years ago,he framed up an Elizabeth Catlett print for a man who had paid a thousand dollars for it. Bernard said he wouldn’t have purchased it for one thousand, but it might have been worth it if it had been valid. He questioned the validity of the print because it had printer marks on the back of it suggesting it had been run through a printing press versus Catlett having pulled it by hand. The print had her signature on it, but it could have been forged. He tested the signature and it was valid, but he was still concerned that the print had gone through a printing press. He thinks you have to be careful when purchasing prints because there’s so much stuff being copied.

Bernard buys art based on an artist track record which is how dealers buy art. He doesn’t randomly buy other nationality’s work because American art dealers typically don’t know the artist or the value of their work on the international market.

Bernard explains people need to understand that art is a major investment. When you want to buy or sell art you need to find out what the auction houses are selling? Two of Bernard’s favorite reference sources are Michael Rosenfeld in New York City and the Sloan Auction House in Washington, D.C. because both handle African American art.

He thinks emerging artists will find success if they stay in their studio and produce, focus on building a track record, keep up with what other artists are doing, research what types of artwork are selling, and most importantly, get to know their customers.

Bernard can be reached at 202-506-7095 or at artonwheels@hotmail.com.

Caberet Du Moulin Rouge
Watercolor

0 Hubert Jackson: Spirits of the Journey

In This Issue…

Editor’s Perspective: Facebook Connections Expanding Community

Hubert Jackson: Honoring the Spirits of the Journey

Video: Spirits of Fredericksburg in the Making by Multimedia Artist Hubert Jackson

Editor’s Perspective: Facebook Connections Expanding Community

Social media is changing how we share information and is expanding our sense of community! I find myself networking daily with people from around the country, world, and with a global art community.

I am grateful to meet folks I would never have met without social media. I love information circulating instantaneously…in real time.

Recently, I became friends with Timmy Cuffia, a portrait painter from Baltimore, Maryland. We decided to swap art, here’s the portrait he did of me.

I am delighted with his representation!!!!!!!

Timmy Cuffia

Portrait of Jenne Glover

oil on canvas 16″ x 20″

Here’s what I swapped with him (his choice).

Jenne Glover

Circle of Love 14″ x 11″

mix media collage

Peace and Blessings!!!!!!!

Hubert Jackson: Honoring the Spirits of the Journey

A retired art educator from Washington, D.C. Public Schools, Hubert Jackson is happy to have retired in 1999, because since then his authentic painting style has emerged. He says he feels he’s expressing what has meaning to him.

His exhibition, “Spirits of the Journey,” is a phenomenal show inspired by memories of the Civil War, it’s rich in history, expression and symbolism. What I especially like is the uniqueness of each artwork in the exhibition, each piece has its own story.

Hubert states in the exhibition catalogue, “My recent work deals with the period of American history from its inception throughout the Civil War and in particular the spirits of those who have come and gone but remain anonymous and unaccounted for through war, slavery, poverty or the passage of time.”

In July 2015, the exhibition was at the Tri-Mission Art Gallery, Embassy of the United States of America, Rome, Italy.

Growing up in Culpeper, Virginia, Hubert lived in an area where many major battles of the Civil War were fought. But, it was not until his retirement, as he traveled back and forth from Colonial Beach to Culpeper to Washington, D.C., that he began to explore the battlefields and take an interest in the history of the Civil War. While developing this series, he researched the historical accounts of major battles that took place in Virginia and he was able to collect relics from different battlefields from relic hunters and on Ebay.

Hubert is inspired by the spiritual essence of those bodies left on the battlefields, including his ancestors, that are now a part of the landscape. He says he feels a spiritual connection to those who died. His visual interpretations are capturing moments in history, so that those who fought and lost their lives will not be forgotten.

Hubert’s compositions demand your attention because there’s so much going on. He designs his mixed media paintings by overlapping layers of textures and colors, transcending one form to another, creating distinctive vertical planes, as well as, incorporating Civil War relics and vegetation from the battlefields. He says his works reflect the multiple planes of existence. The columns and light in his pieces symbolize the spirit ascending like Christ.

Hubert has a master’s degree in Art Education from Howard University.

Here are a few artworks from the exhibit:

Spirits of Fredericksburg

Acrylic/mixed media, 24” x 36”, 2015

The city of Fredericksburg, located on the Rappahannock River was a boundary between Union forces heading south to try to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia and the Confederate soldiers.

In December 1862, the city was assaulted by the Union army, resulting in over 17,000 casualties. Hubert used artifacts and projectiles dug from in and around Fredericksburg to develop this artwork.

Situated by the river, you sense the city’s buildings are under attack. Your eyes are pulled to the center where there is a feeling of firey activity, as well as, a feeling of figures ascending. Blood is flowing on the battlefield.

Spirits of Brandy Station, No. 1

Acrylic/mixed media, 42” x 30”, 2013

On June 9, 1863, Brandy Station, Virginia, just northeast of Culpeper, had the largest cavalry battle of the war. There were close t0 1,000 casualties. In designing this painting, Hubert used horseshoes, a mule shoe and bullets that were dropped or fired on this battlefield.

You see abstract horses and men charging forth to battle, the chaos and sacred finality of war.

Spirits of Cold Harbor

Acrylic/mixed media, 30” x 30”, 2015

On June 3, 1864, more than 18,000 men died in the battle of Cold Harbor, near Richmond, Virginia. Hubert used fired bullets with cedar wood and pine bark to create a sense of the rows of men who died in an absurd frontal assault on entrenched Confederate troops.

Spirits of Good Hope

Acrylic/mixed media, 36” x 24”, 2015

Spirits of Good Hope honors Shiloh Baptist Church at Brandy Station, Virginia, the oldest surviving black church in Culpeper. Hubert’s grandfather, Reverend J. J. Jackson was an early pastor. Spirits of Good Hope also pays homage to the African-American churches that were thriving after the Civil War ended. You sense the building of a Christian, spiritual structure.

Hubert will have artwork for sale in the “Harvest 2015” group exhibition at The Gallery at Friendship Heights in the Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 South Park Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. The show opens on Sunday, October 11 and continues until October 31. For more information, call 301-656-2797.

You can also find Hubert’s artwork for sale at Gallery Serengeti in Capitol Heights, Maryland and Zenith Gallery in Washington, D.C.

See more of Hubert’s art at www.hubertjackson.com; contact him at hurbertartist@gmail.com.

Let Hubert know you saw him in Voicing Art!!!!!!!

Video: Spirits of Fredericksburg in the Making by Multimedia Artist Hubert Jackson

0 ’60 Americans’ Contemporary Art Exhibition

Hello Everyone,

If you are in or near New York City or simply want to see an exhibition that challenges what is important American contemporary art, then make plans to see ’60 Americans.’

PRESS RELEASE

#########################################################

ELGA WIMMER

526 WEST 26^TH STREET (#310)

NEW YORK CITY, NY 10001

TEL: (212) 206-0006

CELL: (310) 433-9958

Thursday May 21^st – Sunday June 14^th 2015

Opening Reception: Thursday May 21^st from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

‘60 Americans’ is a response to the ill-gotten gains of flipper based collectors, money corrupted and trend obsessed gallerists, shopping mall (puppy mill/factory) inspired art fairs, nepotism and favoritism of the made men and women of fast track MFA programs in America. This exhibition will offer an alternative perspective on what’s arguably relevant and important in the current landscape of American contemporary art.

Curated by Noah Becker, Terrence Sanders & Alexander Venet

Artists in Exhibition – Bobby Neel Adams, ShinYoung An, Michael Anderson – Anita Arliss, Jessica Barroso-Gomez, Noah Becker, Johanna Breiding, Shannondoah Buckley, Clayton Campbell, Ori Carino, Joe Castro, Eteri Chkadua- Mike Cockrill, Marcia Cooper, Kenny Cole, Stephen Collier, Gregory De la Haba, Michelle Elmore, Donna Festa, Nicholas Galanin, Tatiana Garmendia, Jenne Glover, Ronald Hall, Randell Henry, Musa Hixson, Heidi Howard, Mike Jacobs, Marcus Jansen, Chris Justice, Stephanie Keith, Nimai Kesten, Bruce Keyes, Lali Khalid, Miru Kim, Maria Kreyn, Adam Krueger, Hayoon Jay Lee, Daniel Maidman, Jamie Martinez, Michael Massenburg, Shiri Mordechay, Rebecca Morgan, AJ Nadel, Alex Podesta, Robert Preston, Rajko Radovanovic, Terrence Sanders, Tom Sanford, Sol Sax, Cheryl Schainfeld, Satomi Shirai, Jamel Shabazz, Aaron Skolnick, Jansson Stegner, Lynn Stein, Dan Tague, Betty Tompkins, Sam Trioli, Jonathan Viner & The Citizen X.

For further information please contact Terrence Sanders at artvoices@gmail.com or at +1.310.433 9958. All images are subject to copyright. Curator approval must be granted prior to reproduction.

‘60 Americans’

May 21st – June 14th 2015

Opening Reception: Thursday May 21st 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Performance by: Hayoon Jay Lee @ 7:30 pm

Elga Wimmer PCC

Click here to preview art.

Peace and Blessings!!!!!!!

1 Jenne Glover on cover of ARTVOICES Magazine

Dear Readers,

I’m happy to announce my artwork, Book of Truth, is on the cover of ARTVOICES Magazine, Spring 2015. The issue includes an interview by Amy Bryan and features more of my art.

Book of Truth

Mixed media collage

40” x 30”

2014

Click here for ARTVOICES magazine distribution/circulation info.

Peace and Blessings!!!!!!!

0 Light of the Ancestors

“Light of the Ancestors”
An Art Exhibition during Black History Month

Mark your calendars to make sure you come to see “Light of the Ancestors.” This art exhibition features 100 artworks by 68 artists from the African Diaspora and around the country, including celebrated artist, Faith Ringgold.

Exhibition: February 13 to March 12, 2015
Pepco Edison Place Gallery, 702 Eighth Street, NW, Washington, DC

(located between G & H Streets; Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station; Public Parking is right next door)

Opening Reception: Friday, February 13, 6-9 PM
Closing Reception and Artists Talk: Friday, March 6, 2015, 6-9 PM

Sponsored by Black Artists of DC, Art Impact USA, and the Pepco Edison Place Gallery the theme “Light of the Ancestors” challenged artists to illustrate their perception and understanding of light and of their ancestors. A stimulating topic to explore, each artists’ interpretation shines light on our unique individuality.

As Carolyn Goodridge, President – Art Impact USA, explains in her Curatorial Statement:

Light is the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. Light illuminates understanding of a problem or mystery. Light enlightens. Light makes something start burning or ignites. Ancestor is a person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended. But if it was your grandparent who gave you the most wisdom and inspiration then go for it!

“Light of the Ancestors” exhibition’s theme encompasses the African Diaspora ancestral history. The exhibition celebrates the Light passed down from all these cultures and civilizations.

This is an important exhibition that visually reflects the disposition of our culture that the highest value lies in the relationships between people.

Please join us at the reception on Friday, February 13 from 6-9 pm.

0 Betty Murchison: Figurative Expressionist Painter

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: CALLING OUT TO COLLECTORS — The Black Aesthetic Exhibition is extended to January 17, 2015 — Abstract Expressionist Master Painters from 1930 to 1961 – B2 Fine Art Gallery/Studios, Tacoma, Washington

• Jenne Glover – Apollo Diva – giclee prints on archival water color paper — limited edition: 100 , 24″ x 12″, signed and numbered — $185.00

• Betty Murchison: Figurative Expressionist Painter

Editor’s Perspective: CALLING OUT TO COLLECTORS — The Black Aesthetic Exhibition – Abstract Expressionist Master Painters from 1930 to 1961 is extended to January 17, 2015

I don’t believe in coincidences, but sometimes great things seem to happen by chance or good timing. Just recently the B2 Fine Art Gallery/Studios contacted me. The gallery has assembled a phenomenal show of a group of African-American master visual artists from 1930 to 1961. Some are better known than others, but all are exceptionally accomplished.

The gallery is selling original art works by the following artists:

Romare Bearden

Paul Dusenbury

Humbert Howard

Richard Mayhew

Milt Simons

Thelma Johnson Streat

For more information contact Gary Boone at garyb2finearts.com or call him at 253-238-5065. Let him know you read about the exhibition in Voicing Art.

Click image below to take a look at the exhibition.

Peace and Blessings!

Apollo Diva

24″ x 12″

giclee print

edition: 100

archival watercolor paper

signed and numbered

$185.00

CLICK HERE TO ORDER.

Betty Murchison: Figurative Expressionist Painter

Betty Murchison is a soft spoken mother of six, who lights up when she’s talking about her art work. I’ve been friends with Christy and Betty, two of her daughters for many years, but I had no idea how relevant this elder is in the art community.

She grew up in Chicago and always loved art, museums, and books. As a child, she didn’t know any artists or anything about art, but she loved to draw and she never thought someday she’d be in a studio painting. Her journey as a painter began when she enrolled in classes offered at Lipmann’s Art Store which was located in Silver Spring, Maryland. Working in a small studio above the store she began developing her painting skills and working with live models.

Over the years, she continued taking art classes and in 1975 she earned a B.S. at D.C. Teacher’s College and in 1978 she completed a graduate arts program at Trinity College. Joining the D.C. Arts Association was the beginning of her quest to establish an art career. There she met Lois Mailou Jones and Delilah Pierce; and she began finding exhibition opportunities.

Still Life 46″x56″ acrylic on canvas

Working in acrylic, she uses dark and muted colors and describes her style as figurative expressionistic. She wants her art to express passion and emotion and she wants her collectors to feel a connection to her work. Her subjects are usually about females because she knows them best, and most of her work explores the dynamics between women and girls. Her most popular theme is on images of sisters and because people can relate to them so well they always sell.

She describes her earlier works as gestural and spontaneous. Newer works are more fully figurative, less gestural and have smoother and more even brushstrokes and color. She believes her paintings connect with people because they are stories about relationships, family members, friends, and people we encounter in our lives.

Friends Forever 32″x42″ acrylic on canvas

Most of the time when beginning a new piece Betty starts with nothing in mind except to cover the canvas. After mounting a piece of canvas on to a studio wall, she applies a semi-transparent wash on the unprimed side because it absorbs the paint. As she applies the wash, she studies the canvas flipping it around to see if she sees a figure emerging that she can use to build her story. Once she finds something that intrigues her, the work can begin. She likes working really large like 60″ x 60″ and then if she needs to she’ll edit the canvas down.

Her artistic breakthrough happened at the Foundry Gallery in 1989 when all her pieces sold in her second solo show and she was written up in the Washington Post. This exhibition really boosted her confidence and she began feeling her work was being accepted.

In the 1980’s, Tim Davis began representing Betty and in 1997 they opened The International Visions Gallery. The gallery exhibited many African-American and international artists and after a 17 year run the galley closed its doors in June 2014.

Mother and Child 2 34″x42″ acrylic on canvas

Super critical of her work, she will rework a piece until it finally “feels right” to her. Most of the time she has at least three pieces in progress which gives her the flexibility to work through and solve the artwork as she goes along.

For many years she worked in a group studio and there she felt like she was living, breathing, and talking about art all the time. She misses the camaraderie now that she is working from a studio in her home.

Group Exhibition 24″x18″ acrylic on canvas

This past July, the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum arranged a visit to her studio with 28 guests who questioned her about her artwork and processes. She likes getting feedback on her art work to understand what the viewer is seeing, because sometimes the feedback suggests she’s failing in her message

Over the years, Betty has exhibited her work in solo, group and juried shows in Washington, DC; New York City, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and in Maryland, and Virginia. Her most recent exhibition was a retrospective of her art work at the International Visions Gallery in March and April 2014.

Let’s Go Home 38″x50″ acrylic on canvas

Betty’s art work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institute’s Anacostia Museum; the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; HBO in New York City; the City of Rockville, Municipal Office, Rockville, Maryland; numerous law firms in Chicago; and in many private collections throughout the United States. Currently, her large works are selling at $12,000 and medium size works are selling for $4,000.

Betty is the recipient of several awards including the Maryland Annual Governor’s Leadership in Aging Visual Arts Award, and a Fellowship from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Me and Honey 48″x40″ acrylic on canvas

Her biggest professional challenge is deciding whether the art needs to be framed or do they stand on their own? Also, working with large canvases becomes an issue when she has to transport or ship the work.

Her advice to aspiring young artists is to do the work. She feels it’s important to keep in contact with other artists, embrace all disciplines, and to learn as much as possible about their craft. She suggests they look at colors and shapes in nature and elsewhere, and to explore local, national, and international art. She thinks it’s imperative to believe that all of the experiences you have stored inside of you will emerge to create wonderful art.

For more information, visit her website at www.BettyMurchisonArt.com or email her at BettyMurchison@gmail.com.

0 Mason Archie: Brushstrokes to Greatness

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Amiri Baraka – A Fearless Voice

VIDEO – “Why is We Americans?” by Amiri Baraka

• Choices: Ocean or Shackles by Jenne Glover

• Mason Archie: Brushstrokes to Greatness

• Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center: A Journey in Creativity

•Click here to follow me on Instagram

Editor’s Perspective: Amiri Baraka – A Fearless Voice

Heartfelt reason

Rhythmic beats

Amiri Baraka — dramatist, novelist, and poet made his transition on January 9, 2014

Sometimes you just know you need to do something. So when WPFW 89.3 fm announced Howard University was celebrating the life and work of Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones), I knew I needed to be there.

It was good hearing personal experiences shared by his friends and family, hearing excerpts from his works, and reflecting on the many things he accomplished.

Some refer to him as an instigator, a provocateur, but Amiri was no secret agent, he did not keep his observations, nor rage undercover. He spoke his truth courageously and passionately.

If we are going to keep Baraka’s legacy alive, I think putting reparations on the table is what should be done. Baraka makes the case quite clear in “Why is We Americans.”

What do you think?

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela

Peace!

Choices: Ocean or Shackles

Mixed Media Collage

14″x11″

Jenne Glover

Mason Archie: Brushstrokes to Greatness

I recently met Mason Archie when he contacted me seeking information on a collector. When I visited his website I was amazed at the quality of his old master style paintings reminiscent of the 19^th century painter, Robert Duncanson and the Hudson River School. Yet, Mason’s work is different because he’s blending impressionism with realism, and his palette is more vibrant.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, he now lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mason’s career began, through a special program offered by his high-school, when he landed a job working with Lamar Outdoor Advertising as a pictorial artist. There he learned how to paint huge billboards for national corporations, and by the time he was 21 he was their Art Director. After working for Lamar for 15 years, he opened his own advertising company that he eventually sold to pursue his true calling, becoming a full-time fine art painter.

Migration Series #1 Oil on linen

48”x72″

Mason Archie

A shrewd businessman, he’s selective about how he’s building his fine-art career. He’s represented by E&S Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky. They are one of the largest African American owned and operated galleries in the country. Mason also works with consultants and he receives commissions from many corporations including Wells Fargo, Nationwide, Indiana State Museum, Elanco (a Division of Eli Lilly), Eskenazi Health, and Community South Hospital. Mason feels his biggest obstacle is navigating through multiple commissions with varying delivery dates.

He calls himself old-fashioned, because he stays in his studio and makes no major marketing efforts. Yet, his work is in demand and his patrons are passionate about acquiring as much of his work as they can. Some even try to purchase pieces before he’s completed them. Mason’s art is rapidly increasing in value. Today, a painting E&S Gallery sold for $5500 in 2007 is now worth $48,400 without a frame.

Migration Series #2 Oil on linen

32”x48”

Mason Archie

Mason showcases his talent by entering relevant competitions that get media attention. In 2012, he established an auction record when 3 paintings were sold by Jackson’s Auctions. This is significant because people purchasing art at auction houses are investing in an artist career and are establishing a true value for the art, what people will pay for the art when it’s resold.

The same year, Mason exhibited at the Parish Gallery in Washington, DC with his mentor Simmie Knox, a master portrait painter and still life artist, and Morris Howard. Mason is one of the 44 artists featured in “Visions of Our 44^th President,” an exhibition mounted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan (2012-2013), to honor and celebrate President Obama’s achievement in American history.

In 2006, Mason received the “Best Overall Landscape” painting award and 2^nd place Best Overall Award in the 82^nd Annual Hoosier Salon Art Show for the State of Indiana, and in 2007, he won “Best Oil Painting.”

The following pictures of Migration Series #3 show Mason’s 5-stage layering process from a drawing to final painting.

Migration #3 – Drawing

Migration Series #3 – First Layer

Migration Series #3 – Second Layer

Migration Series #3 – Third Layer

Migration Series #3 – Final

Oil on linen

36”x40”

Mason is a member of the Hoosier Salon Patrons Association and Fine Arts Gallery, the National Conference of Artists, the African American Visual Artists Guild, and Black Art in America. See more of his work at http://www.masonarchie.com/catalog/index.php. You can reach him at mason@masonarchie.com.

Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center – A Journey in Creativity

Add value to your art collection. The Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center (RWWAC) is offering 10% off purchases of fine textiles.

Sayed Mahmoud weaving on a loom

RWWAC is reaching out to gallery directors, museum curators, and lovers of fine textiles for purchases of wool tapestries and cotton weavings at a 10% discount; and they are also looking for exhibition opportunities.

Located in Harrania, a little village just outside of Cairo located in the shadows of the Giza Pyramids, the center is internationally known for their fine textiles.

Since it began in 1952, RWWAC has been independent and financially self-supporting; and two generations of weavers have emerged. Unfortunately, the Egyptian revolution in January 2011 has created economic turmoil and instability. Tourism has come to a halt, businesses have closed and unemployment is widespread. Consequently, tapestry sales are down and the future of RWWAC and the 50+ artists working there are endangered.

Their tapestries have been featured in major exhibitions in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Dubai; and they are in the collections of many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, and the British Museum in London.

Bougainvillea and Blue Leaves

2.13 m x 3.00 m

Reda Ahmed at the Egyptian Landscapes Exhibition 2006

Brunei Gallery of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University

The center was founded by Ramses Wissa Wassef, an architect, stain glass window designer, and potter and his wife Sofie, an art teacher. This was the launching pad for a grand experiment in creativity by providing an environment for children ages 10-11 to cultivate the skill to weave tapestry on looms. Children were selected because of their openness and unspoiled natures and by their desire to work. They were free to come whenever they wanted after school.

Ramses selected tapestry weaving workshops because he believed “tapestry weaving contains everything necessary to enable the child to use simultaneously his skills and imagination to its maximum.”

Holly Hocks

1.44 m x 1.48 m

Taheya Ibrahim

Three rules govern how weavers learn:

All weaving is done without the aid of a sketch and all tapestries are improvised on the loom.
Weavers are not provided with works of art to imitate. They are encouraged to find their own solutions to problems while creating.
No criticism or interference from adults. Ramses felt adult feedback was a crippling intrusion on a child’s imagination.

Sunset

1.05 m x 1.15 m

Ashour Messelhi

The center’s successes are a testament to the creative genius dwelling inside of children, and how it will flourish if they are allowed to think independently and to develop their authentic expression.

Garden Pond

.97 m x 1.30 m

Sayed Mahmoud

Upcoming exhibits include “Garden Pond” on display in “New Art of the Loom,” a touring exhibition, at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida from April 26 – June 29, 2014. The exhibition features 25 tapestries from 16 counties, and was organized by Dirk Holger and Atelier Jean Lurcat. RWWAC will be exhibiting at the Nature in Art Museum in Gloucester, England from November 18 to December 21, 2014; and at the Egyptian Culture & Educational Center in London from November 24 to December 6, 2014.

You can see more tapestries at www.wissa-wassef-arts.com and www.wissawwassef.com. For more information, contact Ikram Nosshi, Director at ikram@wissawassef.com.

0 Martha Jackson-Jarvis: On Public Art

Martha Jackson-Jarvis: On Public Art

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Crossroad

• “It’s On You” – honoring Dr. Martin Luther King — Available — limited edition of 50 giclee prints on watercolor paper

• SAVE THE DATE! Universal Temple of the Arts, Staten Island JAZZ Festival 26 Saturday, October 19, 2013 Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Music Hall 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 2 pm to 7 pm

Featuring Barry Harris, Winard Harper Ensemble, Vishnu Wood & Safari East, Kiane Zawadi, Leopoldo Fleming, Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Betty Shirley, Dr. Mambo & the Experience Ensemble, Karlus Trapp, WaFoo, Rudi Mwongozi, David Jones, Sajda Musawwir Ladner, Darrell Smith, Joy Whelan, Sylvester Scott, Earl Sauls, Paul Von Thadden

• Jenne Glover artwork (Queen of Spice and Angel on a Mission) featured in Studio Visit, Volume 22, Open Studio Press, 2013 — a juried selection of International Visual Artists, Curated by Dina Deitsch, Senior Curator, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA — Available — limited edition of 50 giclee prints on watercolor paper

• VIDEO — Martha Jackson-Jarvis: On Public Art

Mark Your Calendars — Martha will moderate a panel discussion on Sculpture Today and Sculpture Tomorrow at the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland on October 10, 2013 from 6-8 pm

________________________________________

Editor’s Perspective: Crossroad

For weeks I’ve struggled with deciding what to write for this column. Should I acknowledge the transition of Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, a trailblazer in diversity management and founder of the American Institute for Managing Diversity Inc.?

Or, do I vent my outrage and disappointment over Trayvon Martin’s killer being acquitted and essentially sanctioned an open season to kill?

But, how can I ignore the 50th year of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom?

Then it occurred to me these issues are connected.

We are a heterogeneous Nation, yet regardless of the color of our skin, we are 99.9% the same — we are one human race, but unfortunately, race is proving to be the USA’s Achilles heel.

Our Nation has made some strides to level the playing field. However, considering the power gained by corporations and the wealthy over the past 30 years, poor and middle class people of all colors clearly must build coalitions if we are to have racial, social, and economic justice.

We are at a crossroad.

“In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.” Reverend Martin Niemoller, Germany, 1930’s

Peace!

________________________________________

It’s On You

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King

Fine art giclee print on watercolor paper, 1” white border
Limited Edition of 50, signed and numbered
10” x 10”
$85.00

Click here to order

________________________________________

Queen of Spice

Fine art giclee print on watercolor paper, 1” white border
Limited Edition of 50, signed and numbered
10” x 10”
$85.00

Click here to order

Angel on a Mission

Fine art giclee print on watercolor paper, 1” white border
Limited Edition of 50, signed and numbered
10” x 10”
$85.00

Click here to order

________________________________________

Martha Jackson-Jarvis: On Public Art

Mark Your Calendars

Sculpture Today and Sculpture Tomorrow

Panel Discussion

The David C. Driskell Center

University of Maryland

1214 Cole Student Activities Building

College Park, MD.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 6 to 8 pm

Panel moderator is Washington, DC based sculpture, painter and installation artist, Martha Jackson-Jarvis.

Panelists include University of Maryland Department of Art sculpture professors Foon Sham and John Ruppert; Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art Dr. Lauren Dickens; and sculptors from the Washington Sculptors Group Terry deBardelaben and Mike Shaffer.

RSVP at 301-314-2615

1 Ulysses Marshall: Master Collagist, Artist In Exile

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Less is More, Mini Expressions Collection
• Ulysses Marshall: Master Collagist, Artist In Exile

Editor’s Perspective: Less is More, Mini Expressions Collection

A few months ago with the holiday seasoning approaching, I decided to create some miniature collage art “stocking stuffers” to sell. I’m talking about pieces that are 3” x 3” and 2.5” x 3.5”.

I had no idea the Mini Expressions Collection would consume so much of my time and attention, and would be so well received. With little space to work in, they are challenging but fun to create because once I’ve figured out what I’m going to do and how I’ll need to construct it, it doesn’t take long to complete.

They are on sale at the gift shops at the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA), as well as the Corridor/Rush Galleries. They retail for $100.

Here’s a sampling from a series on Africa’s influence on music:

Drum Beats

Doo Wop Harmony

Scratching Hip Hop

Peace!

Ulysses Marshall: Master Collagist, Artist in Exile

Ulysses Marshall calls himself an artist in exile because he spends a lot of time alone. He says the term anchors him and gives him the space to create independently. Growing up in Vienna, Georgia, he had no playmates, so as his grandmother made patchwork quilts, Ulysses played paper dolls with cuttings from catalogs and magazines.

He has been painting and doing collage art for 30+ years and recently began calling his collages paper dolls. His exhibition “Paper Dolls: Poetic Responses to the Artwork of Ulysses S. Marshall” will be on exhibit through April 13, 2013 at the Prince George’s African American Museum Gallery 110, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, North Brentwood, Maryland. This exhibit is special to him because he knows he’s created something that has meaning to others.

Grandma and Me 2010
24” x 36” Acrylic on Canvas, Fabric & Paper

Greatly influenced by how his grandmother worked spontaneously, putting her hand in a pile of scraps, and cutting and sewing them together, he strives to maintain that sense of freedom when he’s creating and he loves experimenting and taking risks. He feels every time he picks up a paint brush his grandmother is there with him. Before Mama Gussie made her transition she knew Ulysses was a painter, but she never knew how greatly she had influenced him and his work.

Earlier in his career, Ulysses painted one work independent from the next, but he found that doing a series of work is less stressful. Currently, he develops 5-7 pieces in a series. His artistic process begins by creating a storyline. Once he gets a picture in his mind of what the first image should look like the rest follow. He doesn’t begin a work by doing sketches; instead he develops the face and then decides where to place it. Although he doesn’t like to be labeled, he calls his work primitive.

Where You At Mama 2012
30” x 40” Acrylic on Canvas, Cardboard & Spackle

If he gets stuck on a piece he works it out in his sleep and if a piece is really bothering him he’ll put it aside and work out the problem on another piece. He calls this process erasing. He doesn’t usually work on multiple canvases unless he’s stuck because he finds it more comforting to complete one task at a time. Once a piece is completed he hangs it on the wall as a reference to where the storyline’s goin. And, if he runs into a creative block he calls on Mama Gussie for help. When he’s working on his art, once the tension subsides, and he can breathe he knows he has finished the work.

Madame E Spirit Seeker 2010
30” x 40” Acrylic on Canvas, Cardboard & Spackle

Ulysses creative urges began when he was working in Buffalo, New York. While visiting the University of Buffalo campus with a friend, Ulysses visited the Knox-Albright Museum. The artwork in the museum was some of the first original art he had ever seen and he was captivated and inspired by William De Kooning’s “Woman 1.” The artwork reminded him of his grandma’s quilts only it was done in paint.

After serving in Viet Nam, Ulysses became a student of sociology at Albany State College in Georgia. When it rained he often found shelter under a large oak tree on campus and students passing by would ask him if he was an art student. His eccentric behavior reminded them of art professor, Joo-Yon Ohm-Cederberg. The professor had a reputation of being different because he talked to himself, drove around with his paintings in an ice cream truck, and his clothes were covered in paint. When Ulysses visited the art department to meet him his artistic talents were ignited; and the professor became his mentor.

When Ulysses was in his senior year his advisor suggested he change his major to art since he spent so much time in the art department and that’s what he did. Eventually, Ulysses came to Washington, DC and was accepted at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) where he completed his undergraduate work and received a Phillip Morris Fellowship to complete his graduate work at MICA. He also did graduate work with Grace Hartigan at the Hoffberger School of Painting and he is the recipient of the Whitney Independent Study Fellowship in New York, as well as several Maryland State Art Council Individual Artist Awards.

Ulysses Marshal - Harriet and the Safe House

Harriet and the Safe House 2008
36” x 48” Acrylic on Canvas

Ulysses studies a lot of art books; he likes reading about artist survival skills and what motivated them to pursue their dreams. Some artists he admires are William H. Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Renee Cox, Henri Matisse, Franz Kline, and Robert Motherwell.

Ulysses has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Vietnam Veterans Museum, Reginald Lewis Museum, John Heinz History Museum, Woodmere Art Museum, International Visions Gallery, De Menil Art Gallery, and Williams College. His art works are in both private and public collections.

Professionally, his biggest challenge is having articles published about his art. He thinks this is important because it secures him a place in history and makes his work more important. He also finds it challenging that there are so few African American galleries in the area and white galleries often do not know how to accept the expressions in his work. He says the rejections motivate him and push him to continue doing what’s fun to him.

You can contact Ulysses at 301-785-4511, or at artistatwork@gmail.com. See more of his art work at http://ulyssesmarshall.com/.

View Video Interview:

The Blessing 2007
36”x 36” Acrylic on Canvas

Bent not Broken 2009
36” x 48” Acrylic on Canvas

0 Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation presents “The Legacy of Romare” and “A Tribute to Ellsworth Ausby”

November 18 – January 5, 2013

Opening reception at the Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

0 Sam Vernon, Visual Artist-Program Administrator, Art in Public Places

In This Issue…

• Jenne Glover – “Homage to Bearden” — November 11 to December 22, 2012 at the Corridor Gallery, 334 Grand Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Mark Your Calendars!!! Opening Reception Sunday, November 11 from 4 to 6 p.m.

• Editor’s Perspective: War Is Not Our Friend

• Sam Vernon: Visual Artist-Program Administrator, Art in Public Places, Prince George’s County Government

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbdGod0t1VU[/pro-player]

Family Exodus 2 New York City is one of three pieces selected for “Homage to Bearden.”

Jenne Glover, Family Exodus 2 New York City

mixed media collage, 24″x18″

Editor’s Perspective: War Is Not Our Friend

Enough is enough. War sucks anyway you look at it.

I have two sons in the military, one is serving in the Army and one in the Air Force, and I along with countless other people can’t wait for the conflict to end.

After ten years of war, it’s time for our leadership to give peace a chance.

If only we could be as wise as an ant and live to work and build our communities together.

If only we could be as committed as a goose is dedicated to guiding and supporting the flock.

If only we could stay as busy as bees to sustain our communities.

If only we could love and respect each other.

Peace!

Sam Vernon: Visual Artist-Program Administrator, Prince George’s County Government

Sam Vernon is Program Administrator of Art in Public Places in Prince George’s County Government. This past February a colleague gave Sam my name and number to discuss having my art work on exhibit at the County Administration Building.

Although at the time, I was somewhat ambivalent because I was busy preparing for another exhibition, I am so happy I did accept the invitation because working with her was a treat. She picked up my art work, made sure the display looked great, and when the exhibit closed she promptly returned my work to me. Best of all, Sam is now a friend and patron. She’s refreshing to talk to because her artistic vocabulary, exuberance, and savvy elevate the conversation.

As program administrator, she is responsible for building an exhibition program and with a panel of distinguished colleagues they commission artists to create public art work for newly renovated or brand new County properties. In 1988, legislation was passed allocating 1% of construction cost for civic buildings to public art; and since then over 24 commissioned pieces have been completed.

Sam Vernon, “ghost rainbow”
pen and ink, Xeroxed, 11”x8.5”

Sam loves what she is doing because she gets to travel around the county meeting artists and art enthusiasts. Although she was raised in Prince George’s County, and attended Suitland High School’s visual arts program; she had no idea how strong the artists’ community is or the vastness of the county.

A multitalented young woman, Sam is a 2009 graduate of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a private college located in New York City’s East Village. She says her breakthrough moment as an artist came in 2009 when she mounted her thesis exhibit, an installation of her drawings covering 20,000 square feet of the 6th floor lobby of The Cooper Union. Working non-stop it took four days to build the installation from the floor to the 20 foot high ceiling. Once completed, the room was black and white with red lighting shining down on the art work. She says people were amazed at how the space had been transformed.

Sam Vernon, “in red (detail II)”
pen and ink, Xeroxed, red

After graduation, she stayed in New York to continue the momentum that she had established showing her art in galleries and working in Brooklyn for a multidisciplinary non-profit arts organization and then for a contemporary art gallery in Brooklyn Heights. In 2010-2011, she was an A.I.R. Emerging Artist Fellow and a recipient of the A.I.R. Emma Bee Bernstein Fellowship. As a Fellow she was given her first solo show “Think On It—Then Lay It Down For Good.”

Sam Vernon, “Think On It – Then Lay It Down For Good”
pen and ink, Xeroxed, collaged

Sam describes her art practice as interdisciplinary, that everything she does comes from drawing and moves into photography, installations, and light. Creating installations came about through experimentation and personal preference. She doesn’t like feeling boxed in, she wants to do big imagery, loves multiplicity, and being able to continue developing an image.

Both photography and printmaking lend themselves to that, but financially she wasn’t in a position to continue doing lithography because it’s an expensive practice. One day she tried Xeroxing one of her drawings and the black ink against the white paper was exactly what she was looking for. From there she started making huge images out of her Xeroxed drawings and then began hanging them from the walls because of a dream she had about walking through a cave.

Sam Vernon, “we have never been modern (detail V)”

pen and ink, acrylic on canvas

As her imaginative vernacular evolves, she describes her work as a strain of Afrofuturism. “Afrofuturism plays tricks with history, wrapping street culture with science fiction to advance new and alternative views of the world.” Denise Markonish, art:21 blog,June 19, 2012.

Sam Vernon, “Don’t Worry What Happens Happens Mostly Without You”

digital photo

photograph by Kitija Dambite

Although she revisits and enhances her drawings, she knows she’s done when the image is very dense and is communicating what she sought to build. A lot of her drawings are figurative, but she’s also making abstract patterns, and her newer line work incorporates nature.

Continuously exploring, Sam’s been staging her installations in the natural landscapes that abound in Prince George’s County; she’s also incorporating fabric into her art work, and getting her line work printed onto fabric.

Sam Vernon, “prophet”
digital print

Sam’s line work will be on exhibit September 19 – October 27, 2012 at the University of Tennessee in “Pencil Pushed,” curated by Michael Creighton. It’s a group show that examines how artists are expanding the formal notion of drawing.

Sam Vernon, “peek-a-boo”
pen & ink, Xeroxed, 11”x8.5”

Sam created “How Ghost Sleep,” a site-specific installation for the group show “In the Realm of Folklore.” The exhibition is at the Emery Community Art Center, University of Maine in Farmington thru November 16, 2012; and features 6 other women artists. They are exploring what it means to be American and the different mythologies around their American ideology.

Sam Vernon with “How Ghost Sleep” in Farmington, Maine

Next year, she will be exhibiting in Los Angeles at the Reginald Ingraham Gallery. They are still working out the details, but she’s really excited because she’s never shown her work on the west coast.

Since she moved back to the area, Sam feels she’s in a good place and surrounded by people who want her to do well, and she’s encouraged by that. You can reach her at 301-883-6201 or at SVernon@co.pg.md.us. See more of her art work at http://www.samvernon.com/.

0 Eric Key: Arts Program Director, UMUC

In This Issue…

• Jenne Glover – “Weighing In” on the cover of the Journal of the National Medical Association (May – June 2012)

• Editor’s Perspective: The Olympic Summer Games Golden Experience

• Eric Key: Arts Program Director, University of Maryland University College (UMUC)

• Mark Your Calendars!!!

Eric Key Hosting “Artist Talk” with Jenne Glover, Artist-in-Residence at The Gallery at IONA
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 @ 6:30 pm
4125 Albemarle Street, NW (at the Tenleytown Metro)
Washington, DC 20016

Weighing In Mixed Media 6”x6”

Editor’s Perspective: The Olympic Summer Games Golden Experience

I’ve been hooked on the Olympics since childhood. And, every four years, I watch as much as I can. Swimming, track and gymnastics are my favorites, but I’ll watch almost anything.

Seeing the athletes perform and hearing their stories is a testament to the hard work, sacrifice, and team effort required to compete on this level.

They remind us of what the human body can physically achieve when tuned in on self-development and mastering a skill.

Even though I enjoy watching the competitions, it is a relief to know the 2012 games have come to a close, and I can finally walk away from the television.

It’s too bad we don’t settle all conflicts in the sand.

Peace!

Eric Key: Arts Program Director, University of Maryland University College

Photograph by Steven Halperson, Tisara Photography

Building
Sharing
Protecting the Legacy

It only takes a few minutes with Eric Key to understand how much he loves his work. As the Arts Program Director at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC), he is responsible for the program’s overall management, with an annual budget of $560,000, which includes salaries, insurance, programming, and catalogue production. Tasked with creating six major exhibitions a year, Eric works closely with his staff to make the most of their resources, while also attracting additional dollars and diverse audiences. But in spite of the challenges, he finds that the university community is always more than willing to help.

Eric joined the UMUC staff in October 2008, just in time to work with Joseph Holston on his exhibition “Color in Freedom: Journey Along the Underground Railroad.” Since then, he has orchestrated a number of other, unique exhibits, including his latest, featuring the whimsical work of Noi Volkov, a Russian painter and ceramic artist, who endured years of Soviet repression before immigrating to the United States.

Noi Volkov
Mona Lisa in Pop Art – front
Photograph by Genna Gurvich

Eric found his true passion as soon as he stepped on to the campus of Hampton University, a traditionally black institution, with a rich cultural legacy. As his first real exposure to African American art and history, college marked the beginning of Eric’s long and ardent love affair with both.

A self-described country boy, Eric grew up in Smithfield, Virginia, on a farm in a sharecropping community. He didn’t know he was poor because his family had food on the table every night. Still, farm life was demanding. He rose at 5 am to feed the hogs, got ready for school, caught the bus at 8, and was back home by 4:30, just in time to watch his favorite television show. Evenings were spent picking vegetables and doing homework.

Besides raising and slaughtering chickens and hogs, his family grew all sorts of produce, which they preserved and canned. My mouth watered as he recalled his great-great grandmother’s spoon bread, his grandmother’s homemade ice cream, and the juicy peaches and apples he picked from the trees in their yard.

Noi Volkov
Napoleon and Picasso
Photograph by Genna Gurvich

Not surprisingly, Eric’s high school curriculum did not include African American history. Although he did know something about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, along with both the American Revolution and the Civil War, he had no real sense of his own cultural heritage as a black American. But that all changed at Hampton, where his very first English course included a lesson on “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the “Negro National Anthem.”

It was in this environment of self-discovery that Eric decided to major in political science and minor in history. He also came to understand the wisdom behind his great-grandmother’s assertion that a college education was the one thing no one could ever take away from him.

So after earning his undergraduate degree at Hampton, Eric continued to feed his passion for black art and history, by completing a graduate program there, in, of all things, museum studies. (To this day, he remembers what he now considers his most valuable lesson in graduate school – learning how to transport fragile artwork, by packing a raw egg for safe shipping.)

Eric landed his first job out of graduate school, as an intern with the African American Museum in Dallas, Texas, which eventually turned into a full-time curatorial position. His first solo exhibition featured a collection of African masks. And after researching the artifacts; writing and producing a catalog; and presenting a series of educational programs, Eric figured out that while he wasn’t going to get rich doing what he liked, he certainly loved what he was doing.

Noi Volkov
Two Knights – front
Photograph by Genna Gurvich

Today, he is responsible for exhibiting, maintaining, and preserving UMUC’s permanent art collections, which include more than 1,800 pieces. For Eric, it is a source of great pride to keep this art out of storage and on the walls for students, staff, and visitors to enjoy at the university’s Inn and Conference Center, as well as its Administration Building and its Academic Center at Largo.

Noi Volkov
New Look
Photograph by Genna Gurvich

As the Arts Program continues to grow, Eric has also laid the groundwork for a new and more cohesive acquisitions policy, which includes an annual acquisitions budget and a standing subcommittee on UMUC’s Art Advisory Board. This group considers each piece separately with respect to both quality and suitability, while carefully vetting the artist’s career, including his/her track record in community outreach and education. Moreover, Eric has developed an exceptional network of art lovers and patrons, who help him identify and secure the work of up and coming artists.

Noi Volkov
Duchamp Conception
Photograph by Genna Gurvich

Because Eric believes in art as an educational tool, he has pushed to incorporate the Arts Program as an integral part of UMUC’s curriculum. Likewise, he encourages students not only to use these collections for research, but to publicly disseminate their findings, as well. Eric and his staff are also reaching out to local educators in an effort to put art and artists into the schools, wherever possible.

In fact, he likes nothing better than to promote the Arts Program as a resource for artists of all ages and stages in their careers. His wish list includes an unlimited budget for sponsoring community workshops and underwriting grants for travel and study. Eric also relishes the idea of having artists become more involved in teaching for UMUC overseas, as well as online; and thinks it would be great if there was a special arts program scholarship fund. But for now, he is making the most of the university’s exhibit schedule (which is mapped out several years in advance) to showcase artists who exemplify UMUC’s enormous diversity as a global institution.

As a historian, Eric believes good exhibitions should tell extraordinary stories that are factual, rather than embellished, because that’s the only way we are truly able to learn from our experience.

Take his own story, for example. Growing up on a farm, in a multi-generational family of farmers, provided him with a unique perspective into the many ways history defines and shapes our future endeavors. So accordingly, going from farmer to fine art administrator is not really a huge leap when you consider that cultivating a field of crops is a lot like nurturing and preserving an art collection. Because, of course, one feeds the body, while the other feeds the spirit.

You may reach Eric Key at 301-985-7937 or at ekey1@umuc.edu. See more art at http://www.umuc.edu/visitors/events/art/index.cfm.

0 Eric Key Hosting Artist Talk with Jenne Glover at the Gallery at IONA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IONA Senior Service Center Presents:
Eric Key, Hosting “Artist Talk”
Featuring: Jenne Glover, Artist-in-Residence
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
6:30 pm
The Gallery at IONA
4125 Albemarle Street, NW, DC 20016

Washington, DC/USA – August 8, 2012 – Mark your calendars to join us at the “Artist Talk” hosted by Eric Key featuring Jenne Glover on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 6:30 pm.

Jenne Glover is Artist-in-Residence at the Gallery at IONA through September 5, 2012. A home grown figurative artist and art blogger, her exhibition is a retrospective from 1980 to 2012; and features 77 intricate mixed media collages, colorful oil paintings, and hand-sewn textile montage wall hangings.

Capturing moments in time, her figurative art style reflects images of masks, musicians, athletes, lovers, women, children, angels and more.

Eric Key, Art Program Director, University of Maryland University College (UMUC), has over twenty years of distinguished experience in museum administration and exhibition development. Before joining UMUC, he served as Executive Director of the Kansas African American Museum. There he raised the museum’s stature and relevance as a regional arts and cultural heritage center from a historical archive to include a noteworthy visual arts collection. Under his direction, the museum’s annual operating budget grew from $32,000 to $450,000. He also elevated the museum’s educational programming and laid the groundwork for building a state-of-the-art facility in Wichita’s museum district.

Mr. Key was curator-assistant director at Prairie View A&M University; the African American Museum in Dallas, Texas; and was curator at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters. Mr. Key earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in museum studies from Hampton University.

The Gallery at IONA is one part of IONA Senior Services extensive programs to support adults aged 60 and above. Jenne is one of the selected regional artists to participate in a 4 month exhibition and community outreach project. As Artist-in-Residence, she is sharing her talents with IONA’s Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Wellness & Arts Center, a state-of-the-art day program providing companionship, nursing care, safety, and opportunities for individual expression through a range of enriching activities.

Contacts:

Patricia Dubroof, Gallery Director
IONA Senior Services
4125 Albemarle Street, NW
Washington, DC
202-895-9407
pdubroof@iona.org

Meg Artley, Director of Development and Communications
202-895-9401
martley@iona.org
http://www.iona.org/programs-and-services/adult-day-health-wellness-arts-center

Jenne Glover, Artist
202-253-8098
jenneglover@gmail.com
https://www.jenneglover.com

###

0 The Thornton Business Hour featuring Jenne Glover on WOL 1450 AM – June 13 at 11:00 am

• Jenne Glover will be on The Thornton Business Hour — WOL 1450 AM — Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 11:00 am. Listen live at www.woldcnews.com or by using the Tune-in free app, and tuning to WOL 1450 Washington station.

• Editor’s Perspective: Getting to Know You

Mark Your Calendars!!!

Iona Senior Service Center Presents:

Jenne Glover, Artist-in-Residence, Exhibition & Workshops

May 16 – September 5, 2012

Meet the Artists Reception — Friday, June 15, 2012
5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
4125 Albemarle Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20016

Editor’s Perspective: Getting to Know You

Voicing Art has been coming to you since January 2008. Over the years, I’ve heard from many of you. Some of you I know personally, some I don’t know and would love to meet.

Please join me at the meet the artist reception

Friday, June 15, 2012

5 to 8 pm

IONA Senior Service Center
4125 Albemarle Street, NW
Washington, DC 20016
Exhibition features 77 mixed media collages, oil paintings, and hand-sewn textile montage masks. Discover your color…

Daddy Long Legs Playing with the King
mixed media collage
16” x 12”

Calm Before the Tsunami
mixed media collage
6” x 6”

Fish Out of Water
mixed media collage
7” x 7”

https://www.jenneglover.com

Peace!

0 IONA Senior Services Presents: Jenne Glover, Artist-in-Residence…Emerging from the Cave

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Emerging From the Cave

• Mark Your Calendars!!!

Iona Senior Service Center
Presents:

Jenne Glover
Meet the Artists Reception — June 15, 2012
5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
4125 Albemarle Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20016

Editor’s Perspective: Emerging From the Cave

Earlier this year, I agreed to do a large art exhibit in May 2013 at the IONA Senior Service Center in Washington, DC. A few weeks later, the date was bumped up to May 2012, and I anxiously accepted the challenge.

For most of the year, I was immersed in a monumental juggling act pulling together all the pieces for the show…finishing art work, identifying pieces to show, scanning images, framing, etc., etc., etc.

I’ve done many exhibitions, but this is the largest of my career. It’s a retrospective from 1980 to 2012 and includes 77 oil paintings, mixed media, and hand-sewn textile montage masks.

All the hard work culminated on Mother’s Day when my daughter and grandchildren came over for brunch and spent the afternoon wrapping my artwork for pickup the following day. Tasked with inputting the inventory list on my laptop, I could hardly keep up with their youthful teamwork.

Although it was sad seeing my babies go out the door, it was a relief knowing the hardest part was out the way. The show opened May 16 and will close September 5, 2012.

I can now exhale, recharge, and God be willing resume interviewing shortly.

In the meantime, I hope you will…

Join me at the reception

Friday, June 15, 2012

5 to 8 pm

IONA Senior Service Center
4125 Albemarle Street, NW
Washington, DC 20016

The exhibition is a colorfully composed show, here’s a sampling…

Flower Child
mixed media collage
16”x12”

Primal Love
mixed media collage
16”x12”

Fat Tuesday
mixed media collage
14”x11”

Nina and the Song Birds
mixed media collage
6”x6”

Peace!

0 IONA Senior Service Center Presents: Jenne Glover, Artist in Residence, Exhibition & Workshop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

IONA Senior Service Center Presents:
Jenne Glover, Artist in Residence
Exhibition and Workshops

Washington, DC/USA – April 25, 2012 – The Gallery at Iona is one part of Iona Senior Services extensive programs to support our over 60 years young community. Jenne Glover becomes one of the select regional artists to participate in the 4 month exhibition and community outreach project. As Artist in Residence, she will share her talents with Iona’s Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Wellness & Arts Center, a state-of-the-art day program providing adults aged 60 and above companionship, nursing care, safety, and opportunities for individual expression through a range of enriching activities.

Jenne Glover, a home grown figurative artist and art blogger, will exhibit a retrospective of her artwork from 1980 to 2012, featuring an array of colorful oil paintings, intricate mixed media collages, and hand-sewn textile montage wall hangings.

Capturing moments in time, her expressive art style features images of masks, musicians, athletes, lovers, women, children, angels and more.

The exhibition runs May 15 to September 6, 2012.

A Lunch and Learn hands-on workshop is scheduled for the community on May 24th at 12:30 pm.

A Meet the Artist Reception will be held Friday, June 15, 2012 from 5 to 8 pm.

Contacts:

Patricia Dubroof, Gallery Director
IONA Senior Services
4125 Albemarle Street, NW
Washington, DC
202-895-9407
pdubroof@iona.org

Meg Artley, Director of Development and Communications
202-895-9401
martley@iona.org
http://www.iona.org/programs-and-services/adult-day-health-wellness-arts-center

Jenne Glover, Artist
202-253-8098
jenneglover@gmail.com
https://www.jenneglover.com

###

0 Dr. Synthia SAINT JAMES – Artistic Marketer

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: One Planet, One Human Race
• Contemporary Artist: Dr. Synthia SAINT JAMES, Artistic Marketer
• Washington Project Deck of Cards
• Mark your calendars!!! Jenne Glover, Artist-in-Residence & Exhibition at Iona Wellness and Arts Center – May 16 to September 6, 2012 – Reception: June 15, 2012 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. – 4125 Albemarle Street, N.W. Washington, DC

Editor’s Perspective: One Planet, One Human Race

For nearly twenty years, workplaces across our Nation have been educating leaders, managers, and employees on the importance of diversity as an organizational resource.

Yet, Congress is willing to throw the baby out with the bath water and stall our political system rather than work with an African American president.

It’s a sad commentary on our leadership or lack thereof, since we are a diverse nation operating within a global economy that’s in crisis. I know there are people who long for the “good old days and how it used to be,” but I’m sure that instead of lamenting the past, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, women, gays and lesbians, transgendered individuals, people with disabilities, and many others are grateful for the progress.

Dr. King’s, “I Have a Dream,” speech speaks of the future so eloquently, “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”

Instead of political stalemates and self-centered pledges driving the agenda, we need holistic leadership to pull together in the spirit of cooperation and compromise for the good of the country. It can be done, in much the same way that divorced parents put aside their differences to raise healthy, happy children.

It is my hope our society will embrace the 21st century with a passion for balancing the economy, sharing the wealth, and preserving the planet.

Have a Blessed New Year!!!

Contemporary Artist: Dr. Synthia SAINT JAMES, Artistic Marketer

Abounding Faith & Creativity +

Strategic Thinking +

Decisive Action =

Success!!!

When I spoke to Dr. Synthia SAINT JAMES to schedule a time for our interview, I immediately knew why she is so successful; her positive winning spirit is refreshing. Born in 1949 in Los Angeles, California, SAINT JAMES is an internationally celebrated self-taught visual artist, author, keynote speaker, licensor, and architectural designer. She credits the creator and her ancestry (African American, Native American, Haitian, and German Jew) for her artistic gifts.

Her signature style is distinct, characterized by people dressed in brilliant gemstones of color, their geometric-like bodies are poised, looking upward and onward, they are celebrating life.

Elevation Acrylic on Canvas 30”x30”
Signature painting commissioned by Saint Augustine College

SAINT JAMES is a tireless, over achiever and her biggest challenges are keeping finances flowing in and pacing herself so she won’t burn out. Her latest accomplishment, the just released publication, Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing provides insights on her art career, marketing tips, and her favorite affirmations. Click here to purchase Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing.

She is a sought after key note speaker, exhibitor and workshop facilitator. Touring colleges and universities nationwide, as resident artist, she’s presenting workshops on the business of art.

SAINT JAMES has been practicing her craft for 42 years and made her first art sale when she was a 20 year old living in New York City. She’s known since she was five that she wanted to make money selling her artwork; and credits her success to her self-determination and by consistently letting people know she’s available. She does extensive research to find out what’s going on and to find venues that are interested in exhibiting her artwork.

As she developed and emerged as a fine art painter she found employment to keep money coming in. She’s been a certified tax practitioner, an accountant, publicist, publisher, biographer, free-lance writer, and actress. She’s grateful for the varied work experiences because the skills acquired have helped her build her art career.

A turning point in her budding career occurred in 1980 when she was selected to exhibit in a group show in Paris, France where she won the prestigious Prix de Paris award. Other breakthroughs occurred in the mid-80’s when Richard Pryor purchased five pieces of her art for his home; and in1990, the House of Seagram’s commissioned her to create a painting as a fundraiser for the National Urban League. This artwork was exhibited on Park Avenue in New York City and a limited edition of 100 original lithographs were produced and sold at $1000 each.

Kwanzaa stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service, October 22, 1997

Doors have opened for her in divine ways; in 1997 she had her “all-American week,” with two significant projects offered to her that would significantly help to establish her career. First she received a request from the U.S. Postal Service to design the first Kwanzaa stamp. This was followed by a commission from the Girl Scouts of the USA to create a painting to commemorate their 85th anniversary. Her successes were then highlighted in the Los Angeles Times – Lifestyle section.

SAINT JAMES has completed many commissioned paintings for major organizations, corporations, non-profits, and individual collectors, some include Kayser-Roth/Maybelline, Essence Magazine’s 25th Anniversary, the American Library Association, UNICEF, the United Way, the National Education Association, Dance Africa, Coca Cola’s “The Lady of Soul Awards,” the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, Children’s Institute International’s “Project Fatherhood,” Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s “Circle of Promise” campaign for which she now serves as a National Ambassador, and “CROWNS” for Regina Taylor’s play CROWNS.

CROWNS Acrylic on Canvas 40”x30”

In 2010, she was commissioned to paint two new awards, The “Mosaic Woman Award,” commissioned by Diversity Woman Magazine was presented to Dr. Maya Angelou; and Africare commissioned her to create a Lifetime Achievement Award for His Excellency Nelson Mandela. SAINT JAMES finds commissioned work challenging because she wants to meet and exceed the client’s expectations by finding the right symbolism to convey their message.

She has written and/or illustrated 13 children’s picture books, 3 poetry and prose books, 4 children’s activity books, a cookbook, and a postcard book. Her artwork is featured on the covers of 70+ books, including Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, New York Times bestselling authors Terry McMillan and Iyanla Vanzant, and she’s licensed her art for merchandise sold by Barnes and Noble.

The backstory on her art appearing on the cover of Waiting to Exhale is another example of the wonderful opportunities that come her way. Terry McMillan had purchased “Ensemble,” a print of SAINT JAMES art, to hang in her home. While writing Waiting to Exhale, dissatisfied with the rendering prepared by the publisher’s designer, McMillan had a light bulb moment when she noticed SAINT JAMES artwork had four women in it, the same number of women in her book. They were wearing hats and McMillan loves hats. McMillan contacted SAINT JAMES for permission to use her artwork, SAINT JAMES agreed, and her artwork was licensed for the book cover in the USA and abroad. McMillan’s publisher also commissioned SAINT JAMES to design the rerelease covers of Disappearing Acts and Mama.

Aruba Fantasy Acrylic on Canvas 22”x28”

SAINT JAMES has exhibited on Tom Joyner’s Fantastic Voyage Cruise to connect with representatives of historically black colleges and universities. On the 2009 cruise, she met Dr. Dianne Boardley Suber, president of Saint Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina.

SAINT JAMES was invited to speak at Saint Augustine College and she visited in September of the same year. Her visit included working with art students and attending a luncheon held in her honor. During the Q&A, she was asked what she wanted her legacy to be. SAINT JAMES expressed the desire to set up a foundation at a college to award scholarships to young women interested in pursuing a visual arts career. Dr. Suber offered Saint Augustine College and SAINT JAMES accepted.

The Synthia SAINT JAMES Fine Arts Institution was soon established, and several exhibitions have been held to raise money for the foundation. The first scholarships will be awarded to students for the 2012 fall semester. On May 8, 2010, SAINT JAMES was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Saint Augustine College and in September 2010 she did her first week as Artist-in-Residence.

SAINT JAMES is inspired by life and all it encompasses, it may be something she’s seen in a book, a play, movie, song, or someplace she’s been. Every morning at dawn, she takes a walk at the beach to say her prayers and affirmations. This clears her head and gets her focused on what she wants to accomplish this day. She takes care of herself physically, spiritually, and mentally. She eats right, takes vitamins, and works until she tires.

She advises artists to be prepared to spend their lives building relationships, researching, and actively pursuing their art careers. She cautions not to worry about art representatives and galleries, and instead listen to your inner voice and be your own self.

Over the years, SAINT JAMES has received many awards including the distinguished Trumpet Award in 2010, which acknowledges the accomplishments of Black Americans who have significantly contributed to enhancing the quality of life for all, and she is the first painter to be recognized. The same year, she was inducted into the National Organization of Women Business Owners – Los Angeles, Hall of Fame. She’s also the recipient of the 2008 Woman of the Year Award for the 26th Senate District; and has received the Parent’s Choice Silver Honor, a Coretta Scott King Award, and an Oppenheim Gold Award for her books.

Sisters of Providence Acrylic on Canvas 36″x48″

Recently, ten limited edition remarques of her painting “Sisters of Providence,” were unveiled and auctioned at the Providence Health & Services Excellence Awards Dinner in Seattle, Washington. The auctioned raised $126,000 which was matched by a corporation bringing the total to $252,000. Proceeds went to the Sisters of Providence Mission in Chile.

Diversity Ceramic Tile Mural at the Ontario International Airport 2’ 8” x 150’

Some of SAINT JAMES architectural designs include a ceramic tile mural at the Ontario (California) International Airport, and stained glass windows for the West Tampa Library, Tampa, Florida. She just completed “Totem” which will be painted by a team of muralists in the courtyard of an apartment complex for people who were once homeless or have mental health issues. Her goal was to create an image to encourage residents to rise to a higher point in life.

Totem Acrylic on Canvas 48” x 13” – Mural will be fabricated in paint 30’ x 8 ½’

She is featured in many periodicals, as well as, Africana Women: Her Story Through Time, a book written by Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter. She’s in the cast of M. K. Asante’s latest documentary The Black Candle, which screened globally; and she appears in Breast Cancer Examined: An African American Perspective, which aired on the TV One Network.

SAINT JAMES is now booking her 2012 speaking engagements, workshops, artist-in-residencies, and exhibitions. To book her, call 323-993-5722 or email tobooksynthia@synthiasaintjames.com. See more of her work at http://www.synthiasaintjames.com/ and click here to purchase an autographed copy of Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing.

The Washington Project deck of cards is produced by Art in Hand Cards.com. The deck features 54 artists from the Washington Metropolitan Area.

Click here to order the Washington Project deck of cards for $12.95 per deck.

Mark Your Calendars!!! Reception: June 15, 2012 – 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Jenne Glover – Artist-in-Residence & Exhibition at Iona Wellness and Arts Center, 4125 Albemarle Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20016.

70+ pieces of art – paintings and mixed media will be on exhibit from May 16 to September 6, 2012.

Praying Ritual Bowl Mixed Media 6″x6″

Girl with Substance & Presence Oil on Canvas 24″x18″

0 Martha Jackson-Jarvis Trailblazing Organic Artist

In This Issue…
• Editor’s Perspective: Connecting to Family
• The Pen and Brush, Inc. — Peoples’ Choice Exhibition, October 13 to 30, 2011 — 16 East 10th Street, New York City
• Contemporary Artist: Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Trailblazing Organic Artist
• Washington Project Deck of Cards
• Jazz Lovers Alert!: STATEN ISLAND JAZZ Festival 24 – October 29, 2011 – Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens, Staten Island, NY

Editor’s Perspective: Connecting to Family

On August 12, 2011, I traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the weekend. Initially invited by Martha, an aspiring genealogist, I was going to meet some ladies that I didn’t know, but who are connected to me in a primal way. We are genetic cousins, descendants from a woman from North Africa, and our DNA dates back 70,000 years.

There are 9 women we know have the same DNA and 7 showed up for our gathering. Constance came in from Texas; Sharon from Missouri; Martha from Washington; Phyllis, Dorothy, and Virginia (who are sisters) from Pennsylvania; and I’m from Washington, DC. Cheptu who lives in Georgia and Nadia who’s in Australia were unable to join us.

Our interaction was easy; it was like we’d known each other for years. We shared family photos and stories, laughter, food, and history. We saw similarities in family facial structures, especially foreheads and lips; heard parallel life experiences; and had similar taste in clothes and cars.

Saturday morning, we went to the Gettysburg Visitors Center and Museum to view “A New Birth of Freedom.” The film, narrated by Morgan Freeman, details the Civil War conflict over slavery, and how the Battle of Gettysburg helped secure the Union’s victory over the Confederacy. We also experienced the Gettysburg Cyclorama which stands 42’ high and is 377’ around. Depicting Pickett’s Charge, the final fury at Gettysburg, this detailed oil painting on canvas, painted by Paul Dominique Philippoteaux, is enhanced with sound, lighting, and landscape effects.

That evening, we went to see “The Help.” The film is set in Mississippi in 1962, a difficult time and place to be an African American, but it felt good seeing the women working together to publish a book exposing the contrasting lives of affluent white families and their servants; and airing what it was like living in an oppressive, mean-spirited culture. After the movie, we strolled back across the complex to the Courtyard Marriott knowing we’ve lived to see progress.

Sunday afternoon, we gathered in the hotel’s gazebo to finish up the business of the day. God be willing, we will meet next year in Montreal, Canada.

Peace!

jennesig

P.S.

I’m offering advertising on my website and in Voicing Art, click here to learn more.

I’m pleased to announce Visioning Ritual Bowl will be in the Peoples’ Choice Exhibition at The Pen and Brush, Inc. from October 13 – 30, 2011 at 16 East 10th Street, New York City.

Visioning Ritual Bowl 2011, mixed media collage 6”x6”

Contemporary Artist: Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Trailblazing Organic Sculptor

Repurposing…
Reenergizing…
Nurturing Life Cycles!!!

Photo by Jarvis Grant

“One experiences the magic of a mythic transformation in Jackson-Jarvis’ work. The ancient mysteries of clay becoming solid rock take place before one’s eyes, and new universal forms are born emanating from that wellspring of magic and myth where imagination and belief blend into one level of reality.” Dr. David C. Driskell

Martha Jackson-Jarvis may be petite, but her artistic vision and courage are gargantuan. She creates sculptures, site specific installations, and corporate/public art projects that would leave most of us exhausted at the thought. Born in 1952, Jackson-Jarvis credits her early years, living on a farm in Lynchburg, Virginia at the foot hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, for instilling her with a great love for nature, a natural affinity for working with clay, and a fascination for how things grow and change through time. Growing up in a family of skilled craftsmen heightened her awareness and appreciation for how things are built and how making things with your hands is directly connected to mind and spirit.

Jackson-Jarvis received a MFA in Sculpture/Ceramics from Antioch University, a BFA from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and she’s studied mosaic techniques in Italy. Throughout her career she has worked as a teacher and artist-in-residence at many institutions. In 1989, she was artist-designer for the film Daughters of the Dust and in June 2008, she traveled to Tajikistan as a Cultural Envoy Artist for the U.S. State Department.

Some of the awards she’s received are a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Creative Capital Grant, a Virginia Groot Fellowship, The Penny McCall Foundation Grant, a Lila Wallace Arts International Travel Grant, and a grant from the Pilchuck Glass School. She is featured in many publications, including Contemporary Visual Expressions: The Art of Sam Gilliam, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Keith Morrison, William T. Williams by David C. Driskell; African American Art and Artists by Samella S. Lewis; and Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists by Lisa E. Farrington.

Music of the Spheres 2003, glass, carnelian, jade, mortar, steel, 7 spheres 10’x4’x40’

Fannie Mae,Washington,DC

Jackson-Jarvis says the 2 years she studied at Howard University helped her realize art was a serious life adventure and prepared her to be competitive. Dialoguing with some of the best young minds from around the world made her feel linked to something greater than herself. And, it was a blessing to study with extraordinarily talented professors — Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Skunder Boghossian, James Porter, Charles White, and Ed Love. They advised her to take her craft seriously and to ensure her vision and research were stellar.

Producing a solid body of progressive work for over three decades has resulted in many solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Anacostia Museum, Washington, DC; Addison/Ripley Fine Art, Washington, DC; the Studio Museum of Harlem, NY; Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens, Staten Island, NY; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC; the University of Delaware University Museums; and The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russian Federation.

When I arrived at her studio in Mt. Rainier, MD, she and her youngest daughter, Njena, were busy adhering mosaic stones on one of the 12 boards compiling her latest corporate art project called “Moon Dance,” each board is 7’x50”. This project, commissioned by The Galaxy, will be installed in a new condo complex in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. If all goes well she hopes to install the project before it gets too cold.

Jackson-Jarvis is attracted to the scale and landscape of public art projects because it’s seen and experienced at a distance and creates a dialog with the viewer as they get closer to it. In order to do this work she had to retrain herself to think like an architect. She researches for site specific requirements to determine what the site will bear, what are the climate and weather conditions, how will materials react within the natural environment, what kinds of adhesives can be used, and what’s the best way to install. Her designs are executed with permanent materials including glass, stone, clay, wood, cement, tiles, steel, and mortar. Her sculptures may also incorporate plants, animal forms, and pieces of possessions of family and friends.

TECHNO 368, 2006, mosaic glass, lime stone, marble, and quartz 16’x50’
NYC Department of Education, Public Art for Public Schools, MS/HS 368, Bronx, NY

When a prospectus is announced for a permanent public art project, Jackson-Jarvis begins developing a broad perspective on the design. She begins researching for historical references because she believes a historical context provides an interesting narrative, keeps the work alive and vibrant, and links it to the community. After designing and submitting her concept, if selected as a finalist, she will sell her vision in the board room to the financiers, developers, architects, engineers, and community members who want to hear details on her vision and how she will execute the project.

Some of the public and corporate art commissions she’s completed are with the North Carolina Museum of Art; South Carolina Botanical Gardens, Clemson, SC; Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC; Prince George’s County Courthouse, Upper Marlboro, MD; MS/HS 368, Bronx, NY; Merck Company, Pennsylvania; Fannie Mae, Washington, DC; Washington Metro Transit Authority, Anacostia Station; and New York Transit Authority, Mount Vernon Station.

Crossroads/Trickster, 2005, brick, steel, mortar, glass tile, and stone 20’x23” diameter
North Carolina Museum of Art Park

Jackson-Jarvis’ Crossroads/Tricksters is made from bricks hand-made by prisoners housed in the Polk Youth Correctional Facility in the beginning of the 20th century. When the prison was demolished Jackson-Jarvis brought truckloads of the bricks to her studio where she broke open each brick to reconfigure into her creation. It is installed at the North Carolina Museum of Art Park, the site of the former prison.

She describes several breakthrough moments in her career, one was deciding to transfer to the Tyler School of Art because they had the latest technology for creating ceramics and there she would study with master ceramist Rudolf Staffel. She recalls his gem of wisdom was to learn it to forget it and pull it out when you need it. Another important development was committing to work for 2 years in her clay studio. When she emerged, her collection of work was exhibited at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. The other major events in her life were having children.

Photo by John Woo

Umbilicus, 2008, volcanic stone, glass, wood 23’x76’x20′

Her creative process begins with a concept, riding it out, and tackling changes along the way. She isolates what’s good about an idea, determines the intent and meaning the concept is addressing, and then decides how she will make it. She believes the work leads her and the hardest part is starting and finishing it. Jackson-Jarvis also creates colorful works on paper which keep her fresh, provide an immediate release from working on a large project, and help her find spontaneity she can transfer to her work with hard materials.

She says there are no short cuts and all projects are challenging whether it’s determining the approach or working through an obstacle. When things are difficult she calls on her inner strength, or does more studying. It is tedious work constructing a design one stone at a time; or sorting materials by size, color, and texture, but she is committed to the process and end result. Jackson-Jarvis believes an artist work is isolated, but there’s an intimacy with the materials and a futuristic dynamic that keeps her going.

River Spirits of the Anacostia, 2004, glass mosaic 400’ long
Metropolitan Transit System, Anacostia Station, Washington, DC

Her advice to aspiring artists is to keep working and don’t give up exploring. See what your competition is doing and stay in touch with the larger field. Being current, relevant and confident is critical because artists are working in a very competitive environment. Find your place, be willing to change, and determine what you want to contribute. Once you do the work, claim your authority. And, remember your reputation is all you have, stand for what you say and whatever you do, do it well.

Currently, Jackson-Jarvis’ work is featured in Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists at the Reginald Lewis Museum through October 16, 2011, Baltimore, MD; and in Sculpture on the Grounds: The Kreeger Museum and Washington Sculptors Group Collaborate, 2011 Invitational, through July 2013 in Washington, DC. She is scheduled to return to the University of Delaware University Museums to exhibit in 2012.

Markings, 2000, concrete and steel

For more info, her website is www.jacksonjarvisstudio.com; her email is mjjstudio@aol.com.

The Washington Project deck of cards is produced by Art in Hand Cards.com.

Click here to order the Washington, DC Project deck of cards for $12.95 per deck.

Jazz Lovers Alert!

0 David C. Driskell Center, UM, College Park

In This Issue…

• Queen of Diamond Playing with a Full Deck – Touchstone Gallery – June 29 to July 29, 2011; Reception – July 8 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
• Editor’s Perspective: Freedom Riders Crusaders for Equality
• The David C. Driskell Center Executive Director & Art Collector: Robert E. Steele, PhD
• Artistic Reflections: David C. Driskell Exhibition Honoring His 80th Birthday – Brentwood Arts Exchange – June 27 to August 13, 2011; Reception – July 16 from 4 to 7 p.m.
• Jazz Lovers Alert!: A Jazzy Evening with Marcus Johnson & Art Sherrod – Radisson Hotel Largo-Washington DC – July 15, 2011 from 8 to midnight; Lake Arbor Jazz Festival – Mitchellville, MD – July 16 from 2 to 10 p.m. – Free Admission

Great News: Queen of Diamond Playing with a Full Deck – Art Deck-O: DC Playing Card Originals

Queen of Diamond – mixed media – 16”x12”

If you missed the Queen of Diamond in Is It Fine Art? Does It Matter? at The Pen and Brush, Inc., NYC, she’ll be on display with the full Washington Project deck, featuring 54 DC Metro Area Artists, at the Touchstone Gallery 901 New York Avenue, NW, D.C. from June 29 through July 29. The Washington Project deck of cards is produced by Art in Hand Cards.com.

Order a deck for $12.95 at https://www.jenneglover.com/gallery/the-washington-project-deck-of-cards/ or email jenneglover@gmail.com or call Jenne at 202-253-8098.

Editor’s Perspective: Freedom Riders Crusaders for Equality

On May 4, the Freedom Riders 50 year celebration was quietly recognized. Instead of a loud national roar heralding this historic event and their successful defeat of Jim Crow segregation, the Freedom Riders accomplishment tiptoed by. It was 1961, when these brave volunteers of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), men and women, black and white, risked their lives traveling on buses through the Deep South challenging segregated seating on interstate buses, White Only waiting areas, and race-based bathrooms in bus stations throughout the South.

I remember the turmoil incited by their non-violent actions to test the unenforced Supreme Court ruling in Boynton v. Virginia that declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. I remember seeing the brutality of crazed racist on t.v. And, I remember the joy felt when the change the Freedom Riders had courageously rallied for came to be.

Where would our Nation be today if the Freedom Riders never existed and nothing was done to correct segregation’s unlawful practices? I wonder what’s happened to our collective spirit to oppose injustice and how many today would risk their lives for the principles of freedom, justice, and equality. The bravery and commitment of the 400+ Freedom Riders should be honored, reverently celebrated, and never forgotten. Their actions are a testament to what we can do when we work together.

Click here to watch Freedom Riders, directed by Stanley Nelson.

Peace!

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The David C. Driskell Center Executive Director & Art Collector: Robert E. Steele, PhD

Energizing self…
Affirming culture!

Art is an essential ingredient in Dr. Robert Steele’s life. In 2004, he took the reigns as Executive Director for The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The David C. Driskell Center was established to exalt the significant institutional legacy Dr. Driskell has made. The Center serves as a repository for growing and training people who will promote African American art and it is tasked with building a significant collection. The Center’s art collection spans the 1880’s to 2008 and includes works by Edward Bannister, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglass, Meta Warrick Fuller, Jacob Lawrence, and many more. Commissioned pieces include art by Dr. Driskell, Faith Ringgold, Benny Andrews, Joseph Holston, and William T. Williams.

David Driskell
Reclining Nude
Woodcut 2000

Under Dr. Steele’s leadership the Center has become a nationally-known institution. He’s established a visual arts education program, including lectures and conferences, and he’s founded several endowed funds to support the Visual Art program. He calls working at the center a labor of love and his goals are to establish programs highlighting Dr. Driskell’s contributions as an artist, historian, collector, curator, and educator. He’s creating structures that document and support African American artists including producing publications, brochures, and organizing traveling programs; and he’s supporting African American printmaking operations including the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York, the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, and the Lou Stovall Workshop, Inc. in Washington, DC.

David Driskell
Spirits Watching
Offset Lithograph 1986

Dr. Steele has written numerous entries in the St. James Guide to Black Artists. He serves on a number of advisory and board memberships including the Board of Directors of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, the Governing Board of the Yale University Gallery of Art, and is the Founder of the National Black Arts Festival’s Collectors Guild.

Dr. Steele believes art affirms the humanity of the people and the people reflect the art. Art profoundly impacts a society’s self-worth, esteem, and sense of self. To demonstrate the power art has on a society’s self-worth, esteem, and sense of self, he points out the negative stereotypical images once used to disempower and denigrate African Americans. He believes surrounding your life with positive images will energize and affirm your self-respect.

James Wells
Untitled (model resting)
Oil on canvas c. 1950

He and he and his wife are serious art collectors. In April 2002, The Art Gallery, the Department of Art History and Archaeology and The David C. Driskell Center presented Successions: Prints by African American Artists from the Jean and Robert Steele Collection. In February 2009, Dr. Steele and his wife gifted 227 works of art by more than 120 African American artists to strengthen the Centers collection for future generations of students, artists, scholars, and the public.

Sam Gilliam
Scarcely Blue
Acrylic on wood 1995

Dr. Steele’s interest in African American art began when as an undergrad at Morehouse he worked in the Atlanta University Trevor Arnett Library. On his breaks he visited the art gallery which was featuring The Atlanta University Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists. At the time, he did not realize the significance of this exhibition which was organized by Hale Woodruff. Some of the artists included in the exhibit were Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and David Driskell. Later, while attending the Episcopal Divinity School, he did a clinical internship at Harlem Hospital and during his breaks he continued developing his appreciation for African American art by visiting the Harlem Art Gallery.

Dr. Steele notes in the 1960’s and 1970’s, African American art was under valued and under appreciated and it was rare if two shows in a year featured African American art. Over the last fifteen years, mainstream galleries and museums are becoming more aware of the quality of African American art, of both living and dead artist, and their recognition is driving prices up. In 2007, Swann Auction House, a major player in the arts arena, added an African American art department and they conduct regular sales.

Today, Dr. Steele’s collection includes nearly 400 established, mid-career, emerging, and graduate student artists. He buys works directly from the artists and from galleries. He collects strategically specializing in works on paper, religious and jazz imagery, and works in black and white. When purchasing art he considers the quality of the work, does it speak to him, is it well constructed, can he live with it over time, and does it fit in with his collection. He does not view his purchases as an investment, but is pleased if the work appreciates in value.

Dr. Steele’s advice to collectors:

1. Collect what’s visually pleasing to your eyes and appeals to you.
2. Collect with a goal in mind and determine the subject matter.
3. Talk to collectors, artists, scholars, curators, and read.
4. Build a library of books and exhibit catalogues.
5. Identify major artists, themes, context, and develop a national and world perspective.

He suggests a good way to train your eyes is by reviewing exhibit catalogues to determine three pieces in show that appeal to you and identify why they do and then find three pieces that don’t appeal to you and identify why they don’t.

Click here for more information on The David C. Driskell Center.

Honoring Dr. David C. Driskell’s 80th Birthday

Artistic Reflections

An Exhibition in Honor of David C. Driskell’s 80th Birthday

Featuring David C. Driskell and three of his former students
Jeremy Austin, Starmanda Bullock, and Sylvia Snowden

Artistic Reflections is presented with the generous support and cooperation of
The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora.

June 27 to August 13, 2011

Opening Reception – Saturday, July 16 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Brentwood Arts Exchange – exchanging ideas through art
@ Gateway Arts Center
(A facility of The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission,
Department of Parks & Recreation, Prince George’s County, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division)
3901 Rhode Island Avenue
Brentwood, MD 20722
301-277-2863/ tty 301-446-6802
arts.pgparks.com
Gallery Hours:
10am – 7pm Monday through Friday
10am – 4pm Saturday
Closed Sunday

Jazz Lovers Alert!
Click here for info on Lake Arbor Jazz Festival Events.

0 Ted Ellis, Creative Historian

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Renewing Life

• Contemporary Artist-Entrepreneur: Ted Ellis, Monetizing Art for Success

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Editor’s Perspective: Renewing Life

Rapidly approaching retirement age, it occurs to me it would be great if at birth we had an expiration date discreetly stamped on our body. This would eliminate the angst about when to walk away from the rat race.

Do you retire at 62 and begin receiving social security benefits, but take a penalty? Or, do you hang on to the job hoping you don’t conk out before you do retire?

The majority of my life has been spent answering to someone else, so it will be nice to finally dance to my own tune.

One thing’s for sure, it is comforting to know I can call it quits whenever I’m ready to renew my life.

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For those of you in the D.C. Metro Area, I have a solo exhibit at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) through the month of March. WSSC is located at 14501 Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, Maryland 20707. For more information call 301-206-9772 or 800-828-6439. Here’s a link to an article about the exhibit featured in the Prince George’s Sentinel…http://www.thesentinel.com/pgs/entertainment/Artist-Jenne-Glover.

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A few months ago, I was invited to participate in The Washington Project Deck of Cards sponsored by http://www.artinhandcards.com/. Fifty-four artists were selected to create a card and the Queen of Diamonds is my contribution to the deck. She is surrounded by symbols of four key elements in D.C.’s culture – politics, education, art, and religion. The Washington Project Deck of Cards is scheduled for release in April 2011 and will be available on my website as well as at different gift shops.

Queen of Diamonds
mixed media 16”x12”

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Super O is featured in the 2011 commemorative book A TIME. A SEASON.
A Visual Tribute to Oprah Winfrey. The foreword is written by Faith Ringgold and the book features 63 African-American artists. The book was developed by BlackArtinAmerica.com and printed by Blurp.com. You can preview at https://www.jenneglover.com/go/oprahbook/. Super O is on page 55.

Super O
mixed media 37”x28”

Peace!

P.S.

My new email address is jenneglover@gmail.com.

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Contemporary Artist: Ted Ellis, Monetizing Art for Success

Tedism is…
Folk
Impressionism
with Soul!

Ted and I first met several years ago when we were participating in an art auction held at Prince George’s Community College. Recently, we crossed paths at a collector’s show held in Washington, D.C. He’s an exhilarating, positive life-force, an artist-entrepreneur.

Interviewing Ted was like spinning in the eye of a tornado, his thoughts flowing faster then my brain can communicate to my pen. Yet, this was an easy interview because all I had to do was listen and seek clarification. Ted is a prolific painter with a lot on his mind and a lot to say.

He considers himself a creative historian and his art work depicts and celebrates African-American culture and history. He believes artists are important to society because we dare to dream; and have the ability to heal and give hope.

He’s coined “Tedism” to describe his art style — a blend of folk, impressionism, and soul. He believes doing art is his divine purpose and he feels good things come your way when you are following your passion.

His love for the arts is rooted in the rich culture of New Orleans where expressing your creativity is firmly entrenched in the culture. As a child he loved sketching, doodling, and tracing his favorite comic strips characters. And, he and his friends spent their spare time competing with one another to draw the best designs.

He says New Orleans was like an incubator nurturing young talent. There were opportunities to participate in art clubs, design murals for school, and create signs for special events. Ted took art classes, participated in summer art programs, and frequently visited Jackson Square to watch and talk to local artists who were there creating their art in various mediums. Doing art was fun and feeling supported by his community fostered his development.

Colored Man
Edition 950 22″x33″

Taking his art to market as a medium of exchange has been a driving force throughout his career. Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit was ignited in high school when he and his classmates sold their custom designed t- shirts to the juniors and seniors at their high school and eventually branched out to sell them throughout their district.

Ted is a shrewd, businessman who’s making his passion for art work for him. He’s been a full-time working artist for twenty years and working without a safety net pushes him to find ways to expose his art to the masses. He goes on fact finding missions to find support. This may take him to art festivals, conventions, reunions, libraries, or the neighborhood beauty and barber shops. He explains if an artist doesn’t have academic connections then they must find other venues to sustain themselves; and creating awareness and value for your art starts in your community.

In 1991, Ted founded T. Ellis Art, Incorporated and since then he has been on the leading edge of fine art publishing and products. He’s sold over 1,750,000 fine art products nationwide through direct sales, to galleries, catalog outlets, fine art dealers, and licensing. He’s developed partnership opportunities to educate and empower communities by offering maximum returns on minimal investments.

Ted has established affiliations with major corporations including Walt Disney Studios, Minute Maid, Coca Cola, Marathon Oil, ExxonMobile, State Farm, Merck Pharmaceutical, JC Penney, Southland Corporation, and Avon Products, Inc.

Women of Gee’s Bend
Acrylic 30”x40”

Over the years, Ted has banded together with other artists to build a business model. Done informally, via phone or face-to-face, they share strategies, compare notes, and exchange information regarding best and worst places to exhibit. This is a unique arrangement because typically artists don’t want to share information because the market is so small.

Ted acknowledges, getting to market is an arduous task. You create the art, frame it, purchase a booth, promote the event, pack up and travel to the location, unpack, set up the booth, sell as much as you can, pack up when the show closes, travel back to your base of operation, and unpack. It’s labor intensive and time-consuming, and all of this must be done from a position of strength, because you’ve got to make the effort pay off.

Ted realizes celebrating African-American visual arts is 100 years young. He feels the community needs to step up because they are not supporting or creating value for visual artists at any level whether they are emerging, mid-career, or beyond. He sees plenty of attention being paid to Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, and others from their era, but no one is paying attention to the next generation.

Fishing in the Creek
Acrylic 18”x14”

Ted thinks African-American artists have some major climbing to do to get recognized by the mainstream and financially we are lagging behind. He believes our generation of artists is the most productive and business savvy, but no one is crediting any contemporary artist, with 15-20 years under their belt, as a major influence. He doesn’t think academia is providing credibility by documenting how an artist is impacting the community, and no one is creating value by writing about contemporary artists. (He’s pleased with what Voicing Art is doing.) He wants to know where are the academic essays? Is the Schomburg documenting this generation? Where’s the data from art historians and curators?

Ted believes there are important issues to be addressed for the next generation of artists to thrive. We need to identify how to influence and impact our community and the masses? How do we make the business model more efficient and effective? How do you get the internet to work for you? We must understand and leverage the full impact artists are making politically, socially, culturally, educationally, and economically.

A Time to Heal
Edition 950 18″x24″

Ted feels his background as a chemist provides him with the critical skills needed to navigate in the arts arena. He is trained to analyze, observe, and draw conclusions. He’s paying attention to the facts, and if one venture doesn’t work he makes adjustments to get a better outcome. For instance, what’s the point of continuing to exhibit at a convention with more exhibitors present than collectors?

Some of his accolades include being selected art ambassador in 2010 for the New Orleans African American Museum and being named a historical artist by the Amistad Research Center in 2005. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the New Orleans African American Museum, LA; McKenna Museum of African American Art, New Orleans, LA; Free People of Color Museum, New Orleans, LA; Amistad Research Center Collection, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA; DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL; George Washington Carver Museum, Austin, TX; Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, AL; and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI.

Next
Acrylic 24″x36″

His television and movie credits include the Barney Show, Soul Food, and Daddy’s Little Girls. Ted’s been featured on local and regional television programs and in news articles. He’s also been featured in Newsweek, Upscale Magazine, Southern Living Magazine, Journal of the National Medical Association, Classmagazine, and 1-10 Media. His art is on the cover of CD’s and several books including Harlem Renaissance, Go Down Old Hannah, We Dance Alone, the Art of Cooking, Recipe Masterpieces, and Tom Joyner Presents How to Prepare for College.

Staying connected to the community, Ted’s schedule includes the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage Cruise March 20-28, the New Orleans Jazz Festival April 29 to May 8, and in September he’s returning to the Congressional Black Caucus Convention in Washington, D.C. Ted also sells his art at doctors’ and lawyers’ conventions, he participates in private collector shows, and even though his
commissioned work is providing him a good cushion, when he’s home, he calls his patrons to talk about new pieces he’s completed.

Ted Ellis is based in Houston, Texas. For more information, you can reach him at 1-800-222-3310; see more of his art at http://www.tellisfineart.com/.

0 Visual Tribute to Oprah

In This Issue…
• Hot News: A TIME. A SEASON. A Visual Tribute to Oprah G. Winfrey

• Editor’s Perspective: No Coincidences…Going with the Flow

• Contemporary Fabric Artist: Zelda Grant, Finding Creative Solutions

Hot News: A TIME. A SEASON. A Visual Tribute to Oprah G. Winfrey

Black Art in America.com is publishing a book for Oprah Winfrey to commemorate her phenomenal 25 year run as daytime talk show host. It’s called A TIME. A SEASON. A Visual Tribute to Oprah G. Winfrey. Faith Ringgold, renowned artist and writer, is writing the preface. This is huge because the book is documenting 100 artists’ perspectives on Oprah for all time.

So when the call came out for artists to submit to this juried competition, I got busy developing a design because this project is historical. My piece, “Super O” is about a superhero because Oprah is an extraordinary black woman with amazing communication skills. Painting realities with words, she’s champion at her game and personifies the American rags to riches dream. “Super O” is made of paper and paint.

I’m pleased to announce it was selected.

A TIME. A SEASON. A Visual Tribute to Oprah G. Winfrey is scheduled to go to Oprah in January 2011.

Super O – mixed media – 37”x28”

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Editor’s Perspective: No Coincidences…Going with the Flow

A few weeks ago, a dear old friend offered me a coupon with a special offer to attend 7 consecutive days of Bikram “Hot” Yoga for $25.00. Desperately in need of some exercise and conveniently located near my home, I decided to accept the challenge. To my surprise and satisfaction, I survived the week!

The sign on the window read — 105 degrees, 90 minutes, 26 postures, but I had no idea what I was walking into. As I entered the exercise room to place my mat on the floor, heat enveloped my body from head to toe. Standing there in my sweat pants, as I looked around the room at people attired in shorts, I knew I should’ve read the dress code.

The heat is overwhelming and coupled with stretching through challenging yoga postures this is the most intensive workout I have ever experienced. Sweating profusely, my mind is questioning whether I will make it to the end, and not wanting to quit, I’m quietly coaxing myself to just do it. Fortunately as the days went by and my body gets acclimated, the routine is better, and what at first seemed like an eternity in hell became tolerable.

By Saturday, my body feels good, but is in need of rest and I feel I have done something good for my well-being. I doubt I will do 7 days straight again, but God be willing, I am going to continue on with the next challenge, taking classes at least twice a week for six months. Yoga’s brought new concerns into my life…What are the best drinks for replenishing and recovery? Will I ever be able to sit on my heels again? Do my shorts make me look fat? I’ve known for a while that I need more exercise then what I’ve been doing, but I wasn’t sure what it was I wanted to do. I’m really glad I went with the flow.

Peace!

jennesig

P.S.

My new email address is jenneglover@gmail.com.

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Contemporary Fabric Artist: Zelda Grant, Finding Creative Solutions

Creating New Beginnings…

A Healing Journey

Zelda Grant and “Whitney the River Songstress”

Zelda Grant sent me an email suggesting I interview her for Voicing Art. I visited her website and to my surprise I found a rendition of my hand-crafted, oversized “Bag-Lady-Bag” I purchased from an artist at the Essence Festival in New Orleans in 2002. I soon learned she is in fact the same person and I am amazed that we have reconnected since she lives in rural Awendaw, South Carolina.

I use my bag exclusively for toting exercise clothes or for over night trips, and eight years later it still looks new. Zelda credits the bag’s longevity on her craftsmanship and using fabrics with the right weight. She explains at first she recycled coats and skirts to create the bags, but this method took too many hours to complete and wasn’t cost effective so she shifted to using upholstery fabrics. Zelda also designs wall hangings, fabric collages, and pillows. Her latest endeavor is sculpting clay buttons to use to accent her creations. She says doing art helps her breathe and it’s something she must do whether she’s paid or not.

Zelda is a fabric artist, arts educator, author, and founder of Chili ‘N DE MUD Foundation, a project of the National Heritage Foundation. The mission of Chili ‘N DE MUD is “changing lives by nurturing and feeding the creative spirit.” In her workshops Zelda encourages participants to tap into their creativity. When a student tells her they can’t draw, she asks what is it they like to do. What is their preferred medium, their calling? She encourages participants to do what they love and to make it part of their lifestyle. Eventually Zelda wants Chili ‘N DE MUD to establish an art farm where she can provide creative retreats for adults.

“Angel of Hope” Wall Hanging

She’s been facilitating workshops with children and adults since 1992 including the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Young Audiences of Atlanta, Inc., and In-School Programs through the Georgia Council for the Arts, the South Carolina Arts Commission, and for the Smithsonian Educational Associates in Washington, DC. In May 2003, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. awarded Zelda its annual Kuumba Tribute for advocating creativity. And, in 2005 she facilitated her first retreat for adults at the Crafts and Hobbyist Association Convention in Atlanta. Other venues featuring Zelda include Décor Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, Essence Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Living Section, Smithsonian Review, High Life – High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Craft & Needlework Age, Home & Garden Television, and Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Zelda’s fascination with textiles began at age 10 when she began constructing doll clothes from her daddy’s old socks. Textiles offer her countless options — she makes crafts and home decorations from them, paints them, tells stories about them, and wears them. Zelda says fabric designs and colors speak to her and let her know what they should be. She believes there are few mistakes in the creative process and she achieves creative solutions by being fluid. Her mantra, “a problem is an opportunity for a creative solution.”

She’s really excited about an invitation to visit a textile company in New York City where she will be introduced to the process of creating textile designs. She’s hoping to get a chance to work the equipment and explains this is what she wants to do next. This opportunity is a real boost to her spirit because in June she was diagnosed with cancer and sees this phase as her next life. Zelda says it’s time for her to begin working on projects she’s put off to do later and she acknowledges she’s on a healing journey.

Her advice to aspiring artists is to do your best job, because if you don’t, someone else will. She says creativity is about having fun, playing around with possibilities, and avoiding rigidity and letting people define you. Her biggest challenge is having the time, energy, and materials to create. Staying focused is another challenge although some of her best projects have come while she was working on another piece.
“Morning Rain” Wall Hanging

In 2002, Zelda authored Fabric Crafts: 15 Creative Projects and Home Accents You Can Make. This limited edition book published by North Light Books has sold nearly 10,000 copies. If you want an autographed copy she has a dozen copies remaining. Contact her at chilindemud@gmail.com; or 770-873-3136.

Pray for Zelda’s healing!

0 Interview with Cowboy
WPFW 89.3 FM

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0 In Memory of My Journey

In This Issue…

• Jenne Glover — “Diva of the Sea” on the cover of the Journal of the National Medical Association (September 2010)

• Tune in to my interview with Texas Fred on “The Trail Ride” — WPFW 89.3 FM — Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 3 p.m.

• Editor’s Perspective: In Memory of My Journey

• Island Hopping Caribbean Cruise

Living the power of the internet…
Braving unchartered territory…
The global marketplace!

I’m delighted to announce Diva of the Sea, a mixed media mermaid, is featured on the cover of the Journal of the National Medical Association (September 2010), and Queen Freedom, Queen Harriet, a mixed media homage to Harriet Tubman, is also highlighted. Both images are available as giclee prints in editions of 50.

I’ve been asked how did I pull this off and all I can say is through the power of the internet JNMA found me.

Click to go to the Journal of the National Medical Association.

Tune in to my interview on “The Trail Ride” with Texas Fred — WPFW 89.3 FM — Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 3 p.m.

Editor’s Perspective: In Memory of My Journey

Week before last, I took my first trip to Martha’s Vineyard. I did not know what to expect and what I discovered was an island with an extremely relaxed tempo, no traffic lights, friendly people, great food, quaint Victorian homes dating back to the 19th century, and more than their fair share of skunks. I stayed in Oak Bluffs at a bed and breakfast that was conveniently located to the beach, restaurants, shops, theaters, and the dock.

I won’t say I have a bucket list, but swimming in the Inkwell was something I wanted to do and on August 24th I waded into the cold Nantucket Sound to become a Polar Bear. The first time out, I wasn’t sure if I was going to join the group because the rocks on the shore were so abundant and discomforting that I might as well have been walking on hot coals. After several failed attempts, I finally stretched out on my stomach and walked out into the water on my hands. Once we had assembled, we formed a circle and did a 30 minute aerobic workout. Then newcomers are sent to the center of the circle to be inducted into the group and everyone introduces themselves. We walked back to the shore hand-in-hand and closed the session by affirming, “I am the source of my joy and have infinite possibilities.” It was an invigorating and harmonizing experience that I hope to do again.

After starting my days at 7:00 a.m. and going nonstop each day, I was glad to get home to get some rest. And no, I did not spot President Obama.
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Recently, an associate said an artist working full-time in the studio is more authentic than an artist employed outside the studio. It was a shocking statement, which, if true, certainly minimizes the validity of those many artists who multi-task their lives to ensure having a roof over their heads.

It made me think about what determines an artist’s authenticity? Is it based on the time spent creating from day to day? Years committed to their craft? Money made from the creative process? Client base? Work produced? Exposure? Impact on the art world? Recognition? Maturity? If time spent in the studio is the benchmark for credibility, then are those artists working outside their studios merely “wannabees”?

Once upon a time, great artists had patrons who provided them with shelter, food, and supplies. They worked at their craft at the behest of these patrons. But today’s artists typically don’t have the luxury of an exclusive client with deep pockets. So they do what they must to stay afloat; often living meagerly and selling short to make the sale.

Although there are some artists blessed with a support system that frees them to spend most of their time in the studio creating; most of us work independently. And mere talent isn’t enough in the grand scheme of things, because your marketing skills need to be equally adroit. Needless to say, we must regularly venture from our studios to network, market our wares, and build a following.

Artists are committed to the process of making stuff. We are who we are because of the unique stuff we make. Whether creating daily or whenever time allows and the spirit moves us, we are not made from a single mold or cookie cutter, and one method of production simply does not fit all. In my opinion, the impact of our work, and not the way we go about creating it, is ultimately what distinguishes the extraordinary from the mundane. What do you think?

Peace!

P.S.

My new email address is jenneglover@gmail.com.

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Recapturing spirit…
Creating…Memories!

For those of you who travel, here’s a great “island hopping” package.

0 Gaylord Hotel-DC Metro Home Show

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Spring Forward…Tis the Season to Mingle – Food, Libations & Luxury Home Show & Art Expo – Gaylord National Hotel at National Harbor – March 27 & 28, 2010 – 11 to 5
• Contemporary Artist: J. R. Marley, Painting Idyllic Liberian Village Scenes

Editor’s Perspective: Spring Forward…Tis the Season to Mingle

I usually dread shifting the clocks forward and losing an hour, but after a grueling, snowy winter it’s nice to have more daylight and things to do.

Mark your Calendar! Here’s an event you don’t want to miss.

D.C. Metropolitan Food, Libations & Luxury Home Show & Art Expo

Gaylord National Hotel at National Harbor
March 27 – 28, 2010
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD 20745

Come out and experience:

• 200 elegantly appointed design, home & art vignettes
• Trend setting kitchens & architecture
• Stylish home accoutrements
• Sleek home automation
• Interior design & outdoor living
• 100+ hard-to-find wines, artisan brews & spirits tastings
• Gourmet food purveyor tastings

Stop by to see me at Booth #627. I’ll be featuring new mixed media and oil paintings.

Kids 12 and under free. Tickets available on-line or at the door.

Click here for more info.

Peace!

Contemporary Artist: J. R. Marley, Painting Idyllic Liberian Village Scenes

J. R. Marley, is a gifted Liberian artist. He paints in a makeshift studio in West Point, an ocean side slum in the heart of Monrovia. His inspiration comes from African traditions handed down through the ages.

Ten pieces of his work were recently shipped from Monrovia. Here are his idyllic scenes of village life in rural Liberia. All paintings are for sale. If interested contact Rufus Berry at 510-393-1825 or email rufus_berry@yahoo.com.

Scene 1 – Day in the Life of the Village 24″x40″

Scene 2 – Day in the Life of the Village 24″x40″

Scene 3 – Day in the Life of the Village 18″x24″

Scene 4 – Day in the Life of the Village 18″x24″

Scene 5 – Day in the Life of the Village 30″x54″

Scene 6 – Day in the Life of the Village 24″x40″

Down by the Water Side 30″x48″

0 Akili Ron Anderson, AfriCOBRA Artist

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Time Well Spent
• Queen Freedom featured in Black Creativity 2010 Juried Exhibition – Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL – through February 28, 2010
• Contemporary Artist: Akili Ron Anderson, AfriCOBRA Artist
• Our Common Journey – Reception rescheduled to Sunday, February 14, 2010 – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Village of Friendship Heights Center – 4433 South Park Ave., Chevy Chase, MD – Featuring: Anne S.Bouie, John Beckley, Daniel T. Brooking, Bernard W. Brooks, Gwendolyn Aqui – Brooks, James Brown Jr., Desiree Darden, Henry Elliott, Jenne Glover, T. H. Gomillion, Francine Haskins, Gloria C. Kirk, Jacqueline Lee, and Samuel Mercer
• The Uganda Art Consortium Exhibition – February 19 to 21, 2010 – Howard University, Blackburn Center – Fri. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Editor’s Perspective: Time Well Spent

Two years have rolled by so quickly. And under stress, I’ve questioned whether I should continue writing Voicing Art because of the commitment it takes to put it together. After some soul searching it was clear to me that this is something that I must do. Some things are worth quitting, but reaching out to you feels right.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou

Peace!

P.S.

Queen Harriett is featured in Black Creativity 2010 Juried Exhibition, at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL – through February 28, 2010

Jenne Glover

Mixed Media 12″ x 16″

Contemporary Artist: Akili Ron Anderson, AfriCOBRA Artist

Building…
Recycling…
Perfecting technique!!!

Akili discusses artwork – Creation
Wood and Plywood 12’ x 8’ x 6” 2007

Akili Ron Anderson wears many hats. He is a sculptor, stained glass artist, painter, print maker, photographer, filmmaker, administrator, and professor. A lifetime D.C. resident, he has practiced as a full-time visual artist for more than 30 years.

Akili is a member of AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) an artist collective that emerged in Chicago in the 1960’s and relocated its base to Howard University when its founder, Jeff Donaldson, became chairperson of Howard’s Art Department. This innovative art movement seeks to develop images that affirm and uplift the black community by capturing the vigor, energy, and spirit of African American culture through elements found in traditional African Art.

Along with his passion for art, Akili has a long standing commitment to community. He is co-founder of the NationHouse Positive Action Center, Watoto School, Sankofa Institute; and NATION, a music, visual arts, dance, and poetry performance ensemble. Both institutions have been around for more than 40 years. He has served as chairperson for the Visual Arts department at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, as well as for the defunct Workshop for Careers in the Arts that was based at George Washington University. Most recently, he was on the faculty for the Department of Art at Howard University.

Akili-Jesus in the Garden

Jesus in the Garden
Mixed Media on Paper 26” x 40” 1994

Akili works around the clock and a typical work day can range from 8 to 16 hours. His parents fueled his love for the arts and his affinity for working with wood came naturally. His father, who was in the military, always had a carpentry shop at home where he did cabinet making. Akili always knew he had two things that he could do well, art and athletics, and after living a short time in segregated Lynchburg, Virginia, he knew he wanted to celebrate black culture.

He received a scholarship to the Corcoran School of Art, but being one of four black art students, he felt alienated. After a year at the Corcoran, he transferred to Howard University where black awareness was nurtured by a distinguished faculty that included James Wells and Lois Mailou Jones. Akili was also inspired by James Porter, Ed Love, and Elizabeth Catlett.

After earning a BFA in 1969, Akili worked with his mentor Robert Nash, an architect, restoring columns and repairing stained glass in the John Wesley AME Zion Church. He describes one project that was “trial by fire” and tested his commitment to working in this medium and environment. The project required repairing a termite damaged 30” x 30” skylight that had 30 separate windows and set atop a 4 story building. Although challenged to the max, he successfully completed the project and has since designed, fabricated, and installed stained glass throughout the Washington Metro Area.

Akili - columbia Heights metro west station

Columbia Heights Metro- West Station

WMATA features “Sankofa Bird I & II”, at the Columbia Heights Metro Station. Installed in 2002, it features birds in flight and is about moving forward while looking back to ensure that you don’t make the mistakes of the past. Akili says that while he was installing this work, he heard a boy tell his friend, “my metro station looks better than yours.” It was at that moment that he knew he was doing the right thing. Akili has also been contracted to install stained glass at the Prince George’s County Courthouse, Howard University Rankin Chapel, Union Temple Baptist Church, St. Augustine Catholic Church, and many other churches.

Akili-PG Courthouse hand and scale

Prince George’s Courthouse window
Hand and Scale 2008

Akili says stained glass has taught him patience, precision, and structural integrity because working with glass is unforgiving. He compares making stained glass designs to dressmaking because you use patterns, and glass has distinctive swirls and designs much like fabric which requires determining what sections will be used. He notes that all of his stained glass creations are original conceptions, not stock designs.

Working in stained glass is very important to Akili because it makes a broad cultural statement. He considers this medium to be the most challenging because it is primarily public art work and breaking into this arena was not easy. He explains that most government projects allocate 2% of their budget to art, but only a small percent of the applicants will qualify. This market requires getting on a national registry to be screened and to validate that you have the credentials needed to do the job. In order to be considered, you’ve got to be credible, have relevant experience, and be able to work within short deadlines. In 2008, along with his many accomplishments, Akili added an MFA from Howard University to his credentials.

Akili -Sankofa 2009 laminated plywood

Sankofa
Laminated Plywood 12′ x 8′ x 5″ 2009

His shared studio is spacious and filled with his huge organic sculptures that are combinations of wood, fiber, glass resin, and soldate clay. Frequently he incorporates found objects and things people bring to him into his creations. He forges his work together with glue, screws, or construction adhesive. Akili likes integrating textures and contrasts into his work because it establishes energy with the viewer and helps to keep their attention.

Akili - MLK

Martin Luther King
Clay 12” x 8” x 8”

Akili is a master of extremes, building mammoth free standing wood sculptures and constructing and installing stained glass designs require tremendous skill, spiritual balance, and respect for the elements. As he works, Akili talks to the materials he’s using to get their cooperation and support because he knows he has no room for error.

See more of Akili’s work at http://www.akilironanderson.com/Home_Page.php.

Our Common Journey — February 1 to February 28, 2010

Reception: Sunday, February 14, 2010 – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Village of Friendship Heights Center
4433 South Park Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD

301-656-2797

Featuring:

Anne S.Bouie, John Beckley, Daniel T. Brooking, Bernard W. Brooks, Gwendolyn Aqui – Brooks, James Brown Jr., Desiree Darden, Henry Elliott, Jenne Glover, T. H. Gomillion, Francine Haskins, Gloria C. Kirk, Jacqueline Lee, and Samuel Mercer

The Uganda Art Consortium Exhibition & Sale

Featuring 6 Contemporary Ugandan Artists

Sponsored by Howard University African Students Association

February 19 – 21, 2010

Howard University – Blackburn Center
2400 6th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20059

Friday, Feb. 19   5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 20   11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 21   11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Affordable fine art with a purpose: proceeds benefit HIV-AIDS patients, street children, and orphans in Uganda.

The Struggle continues-Kennedy Baguma

For more information on The Uganda Art Consortium, visit http://ugandart.com/tools/gallery.dwp?&tool=gallery&task=album&gallery_id=189&album_id=482

0 Paul Goodnight, Imagemaker

In This Issue…

• Editor’s Perspective: Circle of Life
• Contemporary Artist: Paul Goodnight, Imagemaker
• Our Common Journey — Featuring: Anne S. Bouie, John Beckley, Daniel T. Brooking, Bernard W. Brooks, Gwendolyn Aqui-Brooks, James Brown Jr., Desiree Darden, Henry Elliott, Jenne Glover, T. H. Gomillion, Francine Haskins, Gloria C. Kirk, Jacqueline Lee & Samuel Mercer — February 1 to February 28, 2010 — Village of Friendship Heights Center — 4422 South Park Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD
• Art by Paul Goodnight @ Gallery Serengeti — 7919 Central Avenue, Capitol Heights

Editor’s Perspective: Circle of Life

You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round….. The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours….

Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Black Elk Oglala Sioux Holy Man, 1863-1950

As we enter 2010 and celebrate a new cycle, I wish for peace and blessings!

Happy New Year!!!
jennesig

Contemporary Artist: Paul Goodnight, Imagemaker

Balancing
Between the lines…
Finding ying-yang harmony!

On December 5th, I interviewed Paul Goodnight at a reception held in his honor at Gallery Serengeti in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Paul dressed up for the occasion, donning a black velvet jacket with a red pocket square over his blue overalls. He is friendly and easy to talk to.

I have admired Paul’s work for a long time, but never thought I would ever meet this world renowned artist. A master of his craft, Paul’s paintings are in major markets across the globe and his accolades continue to grow.

Just recently he completed The Network, a mixed media painting for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This painting is part of an international traveling exhibition that will begin its tour in the U.S. Other major commissions he’s received include the World Cup Soccer Poster of 1998; and the Olympics 2008 and1996.

Paul Goodnight - The Network

The Network – 2010 World Cup

Paul’s metamorphosis into a painter was channeled by the trauma he experienced as a soldier in Viet Nam. Unable to speak, he began drawing pictures to release the painful memories of the war. Over time, drawing helped him find a new voice and a new direction in life. Paul says, “Art is making me, rather then me creating it”…”his work is from him, but not of him.”

Paul paints what he experiences through travel, music, and sports. His works are ethereal, sensual, and rhythmic. He begins a work with two strokes across the canvas and what emerge are powerful, statuesque, Afrocentric images. Vibrating colors rhythmically moving across the canvas pull you into the heart and spirit of his subjects. You feel the intensity of his dancers’ movement, the power and energy of the soccer player’s kick, you hear music.

Paul Goodnight - Strength, Stride, Strokes & Spokes 2008 Olympics

Strength, Stride, Strokes & Spokes
2008 Olympics Triathlon Painting, Beijing, China

Although representational, he paints outside the lines, “I would love to convey the ability to see between the figures, melding and infusing them into an environment of endless nuances where abstraction and representational images are comfortable in the same space and where passion and humanity resonate.”

There were challenges and rejections along the way, but his career accelerated thanks to his art appearing on “The Cosby Show,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Seinfeld,” “The Hughleys,” and in the movie “Ghost.” Most recently, one of his paintings appeared in “Gone Baby Gone,” and in 2007 a piece of his art auctioned for $70,000 at the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children in Las Vegas.

Paul Goodnight - Dancer & the Piano Tickler 2008, oil on canvas 55x46

Dancer & the Piano Tickler 2008
Oil on canvas 55 x 46

Paul’s art is in many institutional collections including the Smithsonian and Hampton University Museum; and some of his private collectors include Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou, Samuel L. Jackson, Lionel Richie, Wesley Snipes, Isaiah Thomas, and the list goes on.

Paul credits his success to an enormous support system that empowers him to create. He also praises his mentor, Dr. John Biggers, a master African American artist, as a major influence in his art career. Paul was a student at the Massachusetts College of Art, in the 70’s, when he first met Dr. Biggers at a National Conference of Artists Convention; and where Biggers advised the artists to be “image makers.” These words clarified Paul’s artistic purpose and propelled him to create what he knew and what was familiar to him.

Dr. Biggers told Paul to create, not duplicate; that the work he did doesn’t belong to him, but to someone else; and to send his work out into the world where it will be enjoyed the most. For inspiration and ideas, Paul fills his studio with the work of other artists.

Paul Goodnight - Katrina

Katrina
Giclee S/N 200 17.5 x 22.5

When I was asked to interview Paul, it occurred to me that I had a print of his work. Links and Lineage, created in the early 80’s, became the icebreaker to a brief, but insightful discussion about Paul’s life and art. And, the back story on Links and Lineage illustrates Paul’s commitment to being an image maker. The Links, Incorporated commissioned him to create a piece of art for their upcoming convention. They wanted a brand, an image that reflected black women working together, that captured their southern tradition and cultural roots.

paul-goodnight-links-and-lineage

Links and Lineage

After some discussion, Paul said he stepped out of the equation and focused on what was best for them. And so, Links and Lineage evolved depicting the connection between the generations and to Africa. They work in harmony… as mother braids daughter’s hair, daughter braids granny’s, and granny is sewing a quilt.

The quilt, a guidepost to freedom, depicts patches of tribal patterns, linking the family to Africa. They are enshrined by the ancient baobob tree like offerings lay as blessings to the spirit world. Paul calls Links and Lineage an “evergreen piece” because it continues to be in demand.

Early in his career Paul was advised to diversify his subject matter. Choosing instead to stay true to his culture and history is allowing him the pleasure to do what he does best…magically capturing the essence of people.

Paul’s website is http://www.colorcircle.com/welcome.html.

Art by Paul Goodnight @ Gallery Serengeti

7919 Central Avenue
Capitol Heights, MD

301-808-6987

Our Common Journey — February 1 to February 28, 2010

Reception: Sunday, February 7, 2010 – 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Village of Friendship Heights Center
4422 South Park Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD

301-656-2797

Featuring:

0 Joseph Holston-Destined For Greatness

• Editor’s Perspective: Ken Burns – The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

• Contemporary Artist: The Art of Joseph Holston, Part 2 — Destined for Greatness

• Paul Goodnight @ Gallery Serengeti

Meet the Artist, December 5, 2009 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

December 5, 2009 to January 11, 2010

7919 Central Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

301-808-6987

• Got Art? @ Design Studio Art Gallery

Opening Reception — Sunday, November 15, 2009

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

November 8, 2009 – December 27, 2009

5702 Baltimore Avenue

Hyattsville, MD 20781

301-779-4907; 202-446-7373

• Next Issue: Paul Goodnight

Editor’s Perspective: Ken Burns – The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

Living in the city, it’s easy to forget there are places in America that are free of commercialism, pollution, and urban life chaos. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, is a 6-episode series on the history of the National Parks, from 1851 to 1980.

Directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan, the film transports you to some of the beautiful natural wonders existing within our borders. The film tells the story of the pioneers who supported a radical idea of preserving and protecting America’s significant landscapes for all Americans. It examines the challenges made by capitalists set on commercial use of the land and gives the perspective of Tribal Nations displaced in the process.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, features some of nature’s most spectacular locations including the Everglades, Acadia, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Gates of the Arctic. Visually stunning, it is rejuvenating to see Mother Nature’s majestic power, even from afar.

Click here to order the series.

Peace!

jennesig

Contemporary Artist: The Art of Joseph Holston, Part 2 — Destined for Greatness

Joseph’s life as an artist seems to have unfolded in a natural progression of events. He began developing his skills as a four-year-old, copying his mother’s art, as she learned how to draw through books and correspondence schools. Very much a loner and a dreamer, Joseph found himself always creating visual stories in his head. And, being the fifth child of six and having four older and bossy sisters, finding a quiet place to draw provided him peace and refuge. In school he always felt disconnected and unfocused, and recalls being reprimanded often for his daydreaming.

When Joseph was 17, he moved from Chevy Chase to Washington, D.C. A chance encounter with Ronald Wildy, an advertising art student, who was attending Chamberlain Vocational High School, was a changing point in his life. Although his mom wanted him to finish regular high school and get a job, Joseph secretly took the entrance test for commercial art at Chamberlain. Mr. Washburn, the art teacher, suggested that he wait until next year to enroll, but Joseph persuaded Washburn to register him for the upcoming school year. Once accepted, his mother acquiesced and Joseph received formal training in commercial art.

Upon graduation, he worked as a commercial artist for Sears & Roebuck, the Hecht Company, and with various consulting firms and art agencies around town. He enjoyed the work because it provided him the opportunity to use his creativity, to master various mediums, develop different products, work with customers, and make deadlines. But after doing this for eight years, he knew he had a deep desire to be a fine artist, specifically a portrait painter.

Joseph frequently took art courses after work and while researching for an instructor in portrait painting, ventured off to Santa Fe, New Mexico to study with Richard Goetz, who had turned to teaching impressionism. Goetz advised Joseph to rethink his plan to become a portrait painter because it was limiting and would strip him of his creativity. He advised Joseph to capitalize on his abilities. Joseph could only afford to stay away from his regular job for three weeks, but the time spent painting on location solidified his conviction to be a fine art painter.

When he returned to D.C., he didn’t know how he was going to support himself. However, he did know he would have to be resourceful when it came to creating and showing his work, in order to build a client base. Joseph took Goetz advice and began doing figurative art, hiring models to sketch. His well-known piece, “Boy in Red Cap” came out of this period. In developing this work, Joseph’s goal was to isolate the observer in a one-on-one interaction with the subject, which he achieved by painting the boy with one eye peering directly at you from under a cocked cap.

Boy in Red Cap, 1972
Joseph Holston
Oil on Canvas 40×32

During this period he also began building a collection of work, which he exhibited and sold in the Art on the Mall program sponsored by the National Park Service. These weekly shows on the National Mall, as well as other shows at numerous locations, including Malcolm X Park, were inspirational because they provided him with a sound gauge on the pulse of his market. And remarkably, many of the individuals who purchased his early paintings are patrons to this day. Yet, making money is not what drives Joseph; he’s motivated by the response his work evokes, and feels humbled that people want to own his creations.

Joseph credits his commercial art training for preparing him for the business side of art…marketing and selling his work. There were bumps along the way, but he always knew he had to work hard and pay attention to his patrons. He worked confidently knowing that something positive was around the corner and that doors would eventually open for him. And, although Joseph knew he could always return to the commercial art world, he proudly notes that 40 years later, he has developed a rewarding fine art career and has never looked back. He notes that many artists want to use only one side of their brain and they don’t want to think about the business side. He emphasizes that most artists can’t rely solely on galleries to survive; they must know something about marketing their work, how to open doors of opportunity, how to stay visible, build a client base, and keep their patrons informed.

Joseph says his art career can be divided into two phases. During the first phase, his work was representational, with nature as its foundation. The second phase emerged after finding his spiritual voice; by digging deeper to remain fresh and exploring more creative ways of expressing a concept. Moreover, he’s always striving to do something better, like finding a stronger palette, or innovative ways of bringing his paintings to life.

Rhythm ‘N’ Play
Joseph Holston
Mixed Media 48X48

Nude in Evening
Joseph Holston
Mixed Media 36″x36″

Along with his paintings, Joseph’s etchings are celebrated all over the world. He began mastering this medium in 1974, at a printmaking workshop he attended at Howard University. He finds the process of creating etchings to be challenging and deeply satisfying. He is especially pleased that they have universal appeal, are affordable works of original art, and they enjoy a growing market of avid collectors.

Joseph advises artists to find their voice, take advantage of every moment to create, and be willing to make sacrifices to get the next painting completed. He believes that artists should never doubt themselves, become complacent or too comfortable. Instead, they must be willing to explore, to stretch out to do something different; and if it fails, to learn from it. He has also found that a certain level of discomfort is good because it gives you an edge; and that euphoria comes when you accomplish something unique.

Boy in Red Cap
Joseph Holston
Etching 6″x3 15/16″

Joseph’s artworks are included in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art; New York City’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design; the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, Maryland; the Lyndon B. Johnson Library at the University of Texas; the Hubert H. Humphrey Collection; the University of Maryland University College; the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland; Howard University; the University of Vermont; the Yale University Art Gallery; DePauw University, Greedcastle, IN; the Washington County Museum of Fine Art, Hagerstown, MD; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH; the King-Tisdell Cottage Museum, Savannah, Georgia; the AFL-CIO, Washington, DC; the Evans-Tibbs Collection; the Donald Byrd Collection; the Jean and Robert Steele Collection; and the David and Thelma Driskell Collection.

Two Fishermen
Joseph Holston
Etching 12″x9″

Some of his most significant exhibitions include the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum, Washington, D.C.; the Arts Program Gallery, University of Maryland University College; the Washington County Museum of Fine Art; the Southern Alleghanies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA; Delaware State University; the Afro-American Museum, Philadelphia; the Butler Institute of American Art; the Fort Worth Museum of Fine Art, Texas; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; North Carolina A & T State University; the APEX Museum, Atlanta, Georgia; the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida; and the DuSable Museum, Chicago.

Joseph has also exhibited and been a guest lecturer at DePauw University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the University of Dar es Salaam, Howard University, Delaware State University, Bowling Green State University, Villa Julie College, and the Visual Arts Center of NW Florida. And, he has been artist-in-residence at North Carolina A & T State University, and at the Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

His commissions include North Carolina A & T State University, the AFL-CIO, the Miller Brewing Company, the National Urban Coalition, the National Medical Association, Gallo Winery, and the Washington Urban League.

Street Corner Musician
Joseph Holston
Etching 12″x19″

Joseph likes where he is in his life, and is quick to say that “God doesn’t give him too much at one time; he gives him bits and pieces.” Currently, Joseph and his wife Sharon, who handles the business side, are preparing for their annual Open House in November. Stay tuned for information on a retrospective on Joseph’s printmaking, which is scheduled to open at the Driskell Center, University of Maryland, College Park in April 2011.

For more information contact Holston Originals at 301-460-3096 or go to http://www.holstonart.com/

Color in Freedom Virtual Tour http://www.umuc.edu/colorinfreedom/virtual_tour/index.shtml

Prospectus on touring exhibit http://www.artsandartists.org/exhibitions/colorinfreedom.html

Click below to order the 96-page full color catalog —

Color in Freedom: Journey Along the Underground Railroad

Paul Goodnight @ Gallery Serengeti

Meet the Artist – December 5, 2009 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

December 5, 2009 to January 11, 2010

7919 Central Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

301-808-6987

Got Art? @ Design Studio Art Gallery

Opening Reception — Sunday, November 15, 2009

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

November 8, 2009 – December 27, 2009

5702 Baltimore Avenue

Hyattsville, MD 20781

301-779-4907; 202-446-7373

• Next Issue: Paul Goodnight

All Posts by Jenne Glover

0 Jenne Glover’s solo art exhibit, “Discovering the Journey” opening reception June 3, 2018 — 2 to 5 pm — New Door Creative 1601 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD

0 The Global Art Awards: Vote for Escaping the Dragon by Jenne Glover

Bernard W. Brooks: Art for Sale

0 Hubert Jackson: Spirits of the Journey

0 ’60 Americans’ Contemporary Art Exhibition

1 Jenne Glover on cover of ARTVOICES Magazine

0 Light of the Ancestors

0 Betty Murchison: Figurative Expressionist Painter

0 Mason Archie: Brushstrokes to Greatness

0 Martha Jackson-Jarvis: On Public Art

1 Ulysses Marshall: Master Collagist, Artist In Exile

View Video Interview:

0 Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation presents “The Legacy of Romare” and “A Tribute to Ellsworth Ausby”

0 Sam Vernon, Visual Artist-Program Administrator, Art in Public Places

0 Eric Key: Arts Program Director, UMUC

0 Eric Key Hosting Artist Talk with Jenne Glover at the Gallery at IONA

0 The Thornton Business Hour featuring Jenne Glover on WOL 1450 AM – June 13 at 11:00 am

0 IONA Senior Services Presents: Jenne Glover, Artist-in-Residence…Emerging from the Cave

0 IONA Senior Service Center Presents: Jenne Glover, Artist in Residence, Exhibition & Workshop

0 Dr. Synthia SAINT JAMES – Artistic Marketer

0 Martha Jackson-Jarvis Trailblazing Organic Artist

0 David C. Driskell Center, UM, College Park

0 Jenne Glover is a woman of many hats…

0 Ted Ellis, Creative Historian

0 Visual Tribute to Oprah

0 Interview with Cowboy
WPFW 89.3 FM

0 In Memory of My Journey

0 Gaylord Hotel-DC Metro Home Show

0 Akili Ron Anderson, AfriCOBRA Artist

0 Paul Goodnight, Imagemaker

0 Joseph Holston-Destined For Greatness

Contemporary Artist: The Art of Joseph Holston, Part 2 — Destined for Greatness