Artomatic one week left

 Yesterday Keith and I went to see the Sketch-crawlers at Artomatic and visit the unseen galleries of art. We had fun but still didn't see it all. Here are a few highlights of things I enjoyed and photographed to share.

artist asked visitors to take a plastic soldier and photograph it and send him the shots... to add to his creation

Jeff Wilson  oil on copper plates of tornados

Christian Tribastone's display of cool drawings with white highlights

Keith admiring Jacqui Crocetta's work we both liked 

Todd Gardner's self portraits as various clowns were fun

Yelena Rodina has some sweet story book style paintings

The Saturday sketch crawlers of Washington DC Urban sketchers

Artomatic continues

We have had a good run this year for Artomatic. I completed my third and final required volunteer shift last night. Two weekends ago at "Meet the Artist Night" Keith and I enjoyed talking with lots of visitors about our work. They came from all over  Houston, TX sent a couple of school teachers just arrived for a Capitol visit who were very interested in my sketches.

 I worked a volunteer shift on Sunday the 10th at the front door of Artomatic which was lots of fun. I greeted all the visitors who, like me, were a little surprised to find a big bicycle race circling the neighborhood which had shut down many streets.

I wish I had known this bicycle event was coming, I might have been there just for that but I was committed to work all day. It's an annual event this Arlington series of races I stumbled on once before when I dropped by the Apple store a few years back. It was a perfect weather day for racers on the back top blue skies and lots of fresh air and low humidity from the north.
I went by the 8th and 9th floors after my first  volunteer shift at Artomatic and here are a few  imagesw of my favorite artworks from those floors.

faucet growth 

cool sculpty coral like growths dripping from faucets! 

this pottery reminds me of the sea corals and grasses 

Matt Hollis floral sculpture

Nils Henrik Sundqvist print in metal frame

James Halloran from April's "Art in the Berg" show had a great wall display

Pat Goslee was brave painting the walls orange then hanging her abstract paintings over such powerful color

I haven't been able to go tour Artomatic yet but next Saturday June 16th at noon is a big Sketch-crawl DC  tour I am going to attend.  Only two weeks left now before it all closes up for good. 

OPENING NIGHT

18 images and an artist statement make my wall complete

 We arrived about 6:30 and just made it in to the second public parking garage to find a space before the crush of visitors to Crystal City on Friday night too them all away. Artomatic opened at 6:00 but we were in the rush hour crawling across the city so we didn't arrive on time. The line was long at the door but somehow we managed to pass it by going in the loading dock doors at the back of the building we used while installing the show.

Keith and I standing by his work taken by a beautiful cartoon artist from across the room.  Urvi Metha

The second floor was tidy and lots of artists were there standing near their work ready for guests to arrive. We did our last minute installation of our artist statements on the walls by our work. Then took some photos and chatted with some of the other artists while waiting on our friends to arrive and visit our shows. Keith spotted my buddy Douglas Kingsbury first and he was alone and not sure he was ready to take in the whole building full of art but asked if we knew others in the show he might know... Having not seen the whole show yet I just pointed out a few friends I knew were in the exhibition. We had a nice visit and he went on to tackle the next floor.

Other guests and visitors we didn't now began to pass through and stop to talk. Met a couple from Alabama who loved my prints and were excited to hear that I also quilt! We shared a few quilter's stories. I got a nice tip for a "jelly roll" quilt to try so I am off to search YouTube to see what it is later today. Over the course of the night we had a good flow of visitors friends and art acquaintances complementing our efforts and creativity. It was rewarding to hear the praise. One fellow told me that he had seen my wall of work featured on Huffington Post Washington DC edition and Keith found his work on the Washington Post Weekend section slide show. So we were lucky to be in the visual line up of media this time around. We saw Molly Ruppert and Christina her daughter for a few minutes and Dwayne Franklin my friend from Baltimore who stayed late after work to see the big show. He wandered in late looking overwhelmed and a little burnt out from all the rooms of art he had visited. He managed to find us and was "done" with thoughts to return and revisit to see more but he had seen enough for one day.

  Christian Tribastone the guy who makes Sketch-crawl Washington DC happen every two or three months and a very nice art teacher who draws on brown paper with black and white media stopped by to see us. Love his art and I am looking forward to my chance to get up to the 9th floor and see his work, check the link on his name to see his blog posts of drawings and fun art give aways he does in the streets of the city.

Keith talking with Tomás Tarr the glass lamp-work artist who helped us secure our spaces on the first day. 

Keith's piece is best seen up close! All those details of sawed off and painted red stick ends and the spindly yellow craspedia bobbing over them make a wonder when you get in close. I was so glad he joined me at Artomatic this year it would have been lonely without his support and company. By 9:15 we were spent and tired from a long day and packed it in to get out and leave some parking for the people still trying to get in. Missed poet Dan Vera and Peter Montgomery our neighbors by a few minutes. They found our work and as I suspected Narcissus Poeticus print was a favorite for the poet!

On 2nd floor one of our favorite sculptures Edmund van der Bijl 

He painted the soiled rug black covering up some cool designs he painted below the black. We figure he ran out of time waiting on the black to dry so he couldn't do the detail work over again before they threw us all out last weekend. 

Pretty artist watching her neighbor explain a glass and ceramic mosaic to a small redheaded boy

Xavier Malina's moving lights box was a favorite in a dark room 

hallways decorated with the fabulous spray paintings of street artists

Finally Artist Nicholas Zimbro seen here talking about his work. My favorite artist including the collage behind the paintings and drawings on the first floor. We saw him on our way home.  

Lots more of Artomatic is open and waiting to be explored. It is fun to see all the good and crazy art installed and well worth a few hours of your time if you are anywhere near by, make a point to drop in and find your favorites and post a few for us to see on your facebook or somewhere.

connecting the rose stars with white fabric in between has begun!  

Now it is time for me to get back to my quilting projects...

Ready Set Go ... Artomatic 2012

The walls are painted, the pictures framed and hung, the name is in place. All that remains is to go and enjoy the shows. Artomatic 2012 is billed as a thousand or more artists in one Crystal City retired office building running May 18th through June 23rd and this year's Artomatic is using about 8 floors of an 11 story building to display art of all sorts.

I was so excited last weekend when Keith and I finished hanging, painting, lettering our displays that I began looking around to pack up and I began visiting with other artists in various stages of completion. So excited I forgot to take photos of our finished installations. I have a few to share from Keith who was trying to get pictures casually as I rambled on with my roommate Beth and neighbor Kathrine who were both finishing up.
The opening is tonight and some sources say there are only 500 visual artists this year and about that many again performers and other types of art events. It is always exciting to have a newly painted wall full of my artworks to share in the joy with so many other artists is worth any pain and cost of doing this event. Tonight marks my fourth time as an Artomatic artist in the past 12 years.

central part of my exhibition display

The grand opening is tonight 6:00 PM to 1:00AM at 1851 South Bell Street Arlington, Virginia about a block from Crystal City Metro-rail station. My work is on the 2nd floor in space 0121. It is in a room at the north west corner of the building. Keith Stanley is near by also on the 2nd floor in an open room spread out on the floor. Directions are listed here on the Artomatic.org website http://www.artomatic.org/visit/directions

Keith pulling off electrical waste to prepare his wall.

Beth hanging her papers on the dark blue wall

Soon as my work is done greeting guests I will be touring and photographing my favorites at Artomatic 2012 to share with you readers who are so far away that you can't come see for yourselves.

the next step

my wall on 2nd floor NW corner room. 

view of the front court yard and entrance to Artomatic 2012 from my room on the 2nd floor

Window walls of the room

This past week after the site selection at Artomatic 2012 we are working to prepare our gallery spaces. I am using a wall in a room that was a bland office white and I quickly decided I wanted a cooler neutral to back my display. Last weekend I went to the paint store and selected a number of grays then mid week I took the samples and a few of my framed sketches to the room and tried them out. I narrowed it down to a light and dark gray. Dolphin or pebble gray. In the end I decided to go with the lighter gray to keep from making the wall too dark and gloomy behind my flowers.

two samples against the carpet and moulding along the floor

samples and the some of the art against the wall 

Soon as I made up my mind I went right back to the paint shop and got a gallon of pebble gray flat paint, roller set and drop cloth and threw them in the trunk of the car. Mission accomplished. I also found I need to get more frames to fill that wall up with sketches. Friday I had a hard time getting motivated to get up and out of the house to go paint the wall. Eventually I made it over there about 3:45 PM and discovered that parking in the local garage was free after 4:00 PM so my slow start on the painting project went to my advantage. It was busy but not crowded in the building and loading dock. Much to my surprise my roommate was there painting her walls. I had some company for the first half of the job before she had to leave for a meeting on the other side of DC.

I taped all the edges and fixtures with blue tape, laid the drop cloth,  brushed the edges and began rolling the wall. 

It went quickly and the wall seemed to drink in the paint as if it was recently painted. We have been told this building was department of defense or maybe it was US Army who just moved out and the building owners plan to demolish the whole building after our show. Seems wasteful to me but maybe it needs remodeling for a new client or maybe they are going to build taller office or apartment buildings in this area.
Anyway it sure suits our needs this month as it is with a little tweaking.

first coat done and roommate had to go to a meeting before she got her blue wall finished

same view with the over head lights turned off

finished wall ready for installation of my sketches as soon as I get the art ready to hang 

Next step is to choose which of my sketch prints I am going to show and in what arrangement on the wall. I want to invite friends and fans to come to the evening opening May 18th. It should be a blast to visit even a few floors of this huge art museum of contemporary Washington area artists displays. All the artists will be there that night to kick off the beginning. Metro is just around the corner so no worries about parking and if you can't come the first night it will be open Wed. through Sunday day and night and is always FREE!