Holiday events around town

We are back and rejuvenated from Thanksgiving break. Now, preparations for the holiday season begin. Here's a small list of upcoming events in which some of the gallery artists are participating:


TONIGHT: Thursday, December 3
Holiday Open House
105 N. Union St, Alexandria, VA
Free Event 6-9pm
The Torpedo Factory Art Center is transformed into a glittering spectacle of holiday spirit for this annual bash! Shop for one-of-a-kind gifts as live music and refreshments get you into the holiday spirit. Guests will enjoy refreshments as they wander from studio to studio stocking up on affordable, original artwork for everyone on their shopping lists. From $20 mugs to $200 earrings; $40 scarves to $4000 paintings, there's something for every taste and budget.


Friday, December 4, 6-8pm
Opening Night of WPA's Holiday Shop, Icebox
2023 Massachusetts Ave, Washington, DC

The shop will feature artworks and products for sale by WPA artists. Small works, photographs, hand sewn brooches, notecards, ornaments, jewelry, candle holders, accessories, apparel and more- made by hand by WPA member artists. Items range from $4 to $250 (most under $100, many items under $25)

Participating member artists: John M Adams, Beth Baldwin, Tom Block, Maureen Burns-Bowie, Cynthia Connolly, Charles Farmer, Sandy Gold, Alex Goldschmidt, Julie Hart, Linda Hesh, Rebecca Kallem, Kathleen Kelley, Erica Orgen, Project Dispatch, Susana Raab, Lisa Rosenstein, Amy Carmichael Smith, Jerry Svat, Claudia Vess, and Robert Weiner.

The Icebox will be open till December 21. Hours are 11am-5pm and by appointment. Special shopping event December 21, 6-8pm.

Saturday and Sunday December 5 and 6, 11am – 6pm
Studio 4903 Holiday Show
4903 Wisconsin Ave, NW 2nd Floor Washington, DC

This highly-anticipated annual show features the fabulous residents from Studio 4903, who specialize in jewelry, graphic design, and painting. They have also invited a few artists to join them, including Ellyn Weiss. She will be displaying some of the “virus” prints she made this summer, along with some new encaustics and perhaps a tar piece or two.


Thursday, December 10, 6-8pm
Opening of Pandora's Box
The Target Gallery @ Torpedo Factory Art Center
105 N. Union St, Alexandria, VA

Target Gallery presents Pandora’s Box; an exhibition that had artists create a visual interpretation of the Greek Myth and express how it relates to modern times. The exhibition is a visual interpretation of Pandora’s act of releasing woe (and hope) upon humanity. On December 10, there will be a reception to meet the artists from 6-8pm and to hear the juror’s remarks about her selections at 7pm. The show closes on January 10, 2010. The juror for the exhibition is Landria Shack, former curator with Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Silver Springs, MD. She chose 37 works out of approximately 150 submitted for her review. Keep an eye out for "Stimulus" artist J. Ford Huffman's piece.

Friday, December 11, 5-8pm
Reception for Friend Request: Mid City Artists + 12 Friends
Art 17| Coldwell Banker| 1606 17th St, NW, WDC

Participating artists include: Sondra N. Arkin, Chuck Baxter, Jim Cassell, Robert Dodge, Thomas Drymon, Bill Harris, Harriet Lesser, Charlie Jones, Doris Kennedy, Bridget Sue Lambert, Lucinda Murphy, Juan Palomo, Mark Parascandola, Zade Ramsey, Ron Riley, Fabian H. Rios Rubino, Deborah Saks, Nikolas Schiller, Nicolas Shi, George Smith-Shomari, Clara de Soto, Isabelle Spicer, Trish Tillman, Ellyn Weiss.
Show runs from December 7, 2009 - January 29, 2010.

Saturday, December 12, 2-6pm
Fine Arts and Crafts Holiday Show at the Gateway Arts District
3814 34th St, Mount Ranier, MD

Support local artists and crafters and get your holiday gift shopping done in one spot during Gateway Arts District's Arts and Crafts Holiday Show. This show will feature a diverse array of fine art and spectacular crafts...sure to put a smile on the face of any gift recipient. Multiple locations.
The Sinel/Stewart/Weiss studios will be among the many in Mt. Ranier, Brentwood and Hyattsville open to the public, including the Washington Glass School, Red Dirt, Flux and pretty much everybody in Ellyn Weiss's Mt. Ranier hood. Sinel/Stewart/Weiss Studios is at 3706 Wells Ave, Mt. Ranier, in the back building of our complex. We’re just two blocks from the DC line, so suburb-phobes have no excuse...unless you're on your way to the OPEN HOUSE at NKG (noon-6pm)!

Artist Feature 11 : Molly Brose

Local artist Molly Brose is best inspired while engaged in the making of her art, taking chances along the way. Molly started out as a jewelry maker after college, and gradually returned to her childhood love of making art. The subjects chosen for Molly’s lyrical pieces consist of anything that speaks to her intuitively, from an old photograph to a phone conversation. According to Molly, “it’s gotta be worthy of a song.”

NKG has two new pieces by Molly on view right now. Both “Good Together” and “The Girl He Chose” [pictured below] feature Molly’s meticulous drawings on a smudged background of watercolor and conté. “The Girl He Chose” allows the viewer to see the subject through a zoomed-in lens. “Good Together” shows two people on horseback inside a more defined diamond shape, with a red circle overlapping the picture plane. Both backgrounds are scratched more than her previous works, and greater emphasis is given to the paintings’ linear properties (done in watercolor and graphite).

Molly’s new work continues to sparkle like precious jewels, worn as a personal ornament to remember where they came from, and where they are headed. Stop by and see them if you haven't done so already!

Looking Ahead...

January has come and gone, and February is well under way. With the start of spring right around the corner, it seems appropriate to introduce talented, emerging artists into the local art community. From February 27 thru March 23, Nevin Kelly Gallery will host a traveling exhibition featuring the winners of the National Society of Arts and Letters’ 2007 arts competition. This competition was open to young artists (ages 18-29) who work in water media on paper. Local artist Jenny Davis, a previous NKG exhibitor, won this year’s $10,000 national first prize for her watercolor work entitled "Portrait of Tess” (pictured above). The winning works of the other 18 local chapter competitions who competed for the grand prize will also be on display.

We will host an opening reception at the gallery, 1517 U Street, NW for the National Tour of Works by 2007 NSAL Water Media On Paper competition winners on Thursday, February 28, 2008 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Please stop by and see this notable exhibition!