Falls Church Arts Hosting Plein Air Demonstration

By GINA CACECI
Falls Church Times Staff

March 12, 2010

If you’ve ever wondered about what it takes to paint outside, but were afraid to ask, Falls Church Arts is hosting a discussion and demonstration about plein air painting that will answer your questions on Sunday, March 21, at 1:30 p.m. at ArtSpace, 410 S. Maple Avenue.  The fee is $5 for members of Falls Church Arts (FCA) and $10 for nonmembers, payable at the door.  Space is limited.  Register by email at info@fallschurcharts.org

Two award-winning plein air painters, Bill Abel and Denise Philipbar, will show and tell about the equipment and supplies needed to paint anywhere, especially outdoors. (Plein air is defined as the open air, especially the daylight of outdoors.)

After discussing plein air painting in general, Bill and Denise will break the group into two sections to demonstrate some of the specifics of plein air painting with watercolor (Abel) and oil/acrylic (Philipbar).The session is a good way to prepare for the Plein Air Festival that FCA is planning to hold later this spring.  For more information about the March 21 demonstration and the planned festival, check www.fallschurcharts.org

MARCH Student Calendar Winner: ‘Town Decades’

March 1, 2010

This month’s winner of the Firstfriday Student Calendar Art Contest is Jonathon Babington, 16, from George Mason High School.

Previous years’ calendars were produced and mailed by the City to all residences. The City’s budget shortfall precluded that this year, so the  Firstfriday organization took over the contest and created an online calendar. View the whole calendar at ww.firstfridayoffallschurch.com/On_Line_Calendar.html.

The theme of the student art contest this year is “Change in the City of Falls Church.” Each month the Falls Church Times features a winning student’s art work.

Finally — A Real Art Gallery for the Little City

By GINA CACECI
Falls Church Times Staff

February 23, 2010

Some 300 people turned out for last Friday’s opening night reception for the PHASES art show. Finally, thanks to the multi-use ArtSpace facility at 410 South Maple Avenue, the Little City has a “real art gallery.”

FCA President Jim Lynch noted that the PHASES show is a great collaboration of Falls Church Arts and Creative Cauldron, both nonprofits who call ArtSpace home. Much of the artwork on exhibit will be incorporated into the set for “Many Moons,” the James Thurber story that is being adapted for the stage by Creative Cauldron.

There are 134 works of art by 70 artists — all local and all members of Falls Church Arts — on display at ArtSpace Falls Church.

An Artists’ Reception is scheduled for FIRSTfriday, March 5, from 6-8 p.m. Many of the artists will be in attendance to discuss their work.

The PHASES show continues weekends through March 21. See www.FallsChurchArts.org for details about gallery hours and free parking.

PHASES Show Opens February 19 at ArtSpace

By GINA CACECI
Falls Church Times Staff

February 15, 2010

The opening of a permanent home for the arts in Falls Church City brings new possibilities, including combining theater with an art exhibition. That’s what is happening in February and March, when the art show Phases becomes the backdrop for the James Thurber play “Many Moons.”

Phases, Falls Church Arts’ 7^th annual show and sale, opens Friday, February 19, at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue. Opened last summer, ArtSpace houses FCA’s permanent gallery in its lobby. For this huge all-member show, FCA will use all of ArtSpace to exhibit some 120 works by 70 local artists. The Phases opening features a reception from 7-9 p.m.

A FIRSTfriday Artists’ Reception is scheduled for Friday, March 5, from 6-8 p.m. The show continues on weekends through March 21. Phases is an all media show, so the art will include paintings in oil, pastel, acrylic, and watercolor, as well as photographic images and more. See www.FallsChurchArts.org for more information.

In conjunction with the Phases show, Creative Cauldron will present the James Thurber play “Many Moons,” and the art exhibit will become part of the set for the play.  “Many Moons” is the story of a princess who falls ill from eating too many raspberry tarts, and asks for the moon to help her feel better.  For more information about “Many Moons,” see www.CreativeCauldron.org

Creative Cauldron and Falls Church Arts share ArtSpace as their home. Creative Cauldron has taken on the lease and operational responsibilities, and FCA supports the venue by scheduling events and activities that complement the programming of Creative Cauldron.

For the previous six years, Don Beyer Volvo was the site of the FCA show, as it had been the only available space large enough to accommodate the hundreds of people attending opening night.

“The FCA All Member Show has become a Falls Church City tradition, and we’re thrilled to invite everyone to our new home at ArtSpace.  Thanks to the hard work of so many people, and to the talents of our artists, Friday’s opening will be a great celebration of our community” said Marty Meserve, Show Co-Director.

Falls Church Arts is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 with the goal of insuring that the visual and performing arts are a part of the cultural environment of the city of Falls Church and the surrounding area.

FRIDAY 2/19: FCA Art Show Opening

Phases, Falls Church Arts’ 7^th annual show and sale, opens Friday, February 19, at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue. Opened last summer, ArtSpace houses FCA’s permanent gallery in its lobby. For this huge all-member show, FCA will use all of ArtSpace to exhibit some 120 works by 70 local artists. The Phases opening includes a reception with light refreshments from 7-9 p.m.

An Artists’ Reception is scheduled for FIRSTfriday, March 5, from 6-8 p.m. The art show continues on weekends through March 21. Phases is an all media show, so the art will include paintings in oil, pastel, acrylic, and watercolor, as well as photographic images and more. See www.FallsChurchArts.org for more information.

100th FIRSTfriday in the 100-Year Snow

February Calendar Winner: ‘Dream of Rainbow Tree’

February 1, 2010

February’s winning picture for the Falls Church Student Art Calendar is by Ying Liang, 15, a student at George Mason High School. The title is “Dream of Rainbow Tree.”

The theme of this year’s art contest is “Change in the City of Falls Church.” Each month, the Falls Church Times will showcase the corresponding winning calendar entry.

View the winning calendar cover and read about the student art Read more

Art Exhibit at Cosi Restaurant? Well, Why Not?

By BARB GARREN
Special to the Falls Church Times

January 20, 2010

Eager to hike, fly fish, or visit one of our national parks? At least in your dreams? Yellowstone National Park awaits you through a photography exhibit at Cosi Restaurant, 513 West Broad Street.

The Cosi exhibit follows a show of the same photos held recently at Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital, as part of the Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program.  Display of art work, both canvas paintings and photography, is used there for the enjoyment of the patients and their families in the lobby and waiting room areas.

The pictures in the show are all of Yellowstone National Park — its scenery and wildlife.  The photographer, Len Tillim, is fortunate enough to live in an area where recording these singular spectacular images is possible. He presents them to enjoy, to wonder, and to dream. They serve to remind us never to forget the fragility, beauty and uniqueness that was but for an instant and now becomes an indelible part of our lives.

Tillim has been capturing images for almost 40 years. As a professional underwater photographer and SCUBA instructor, he photographed the “water world” on his adventures. Many of the images found their way into magazines like Ocean Realm, Discover Diving, Business Week, and Reader’s Digest. They also provided a window to the sea through which he led his dive students and gave them a way to find adventures of their own.

Tillim lives in southwestern Montana with a pair of Newfoundland dogs. When not fly fishing, guiding snowmobile tours or exploring with his dogs, he is seeking out those timeless images with his camera. He can be found photographing them throughout Yellowstone National Park and at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana. Most recently, he has photographed grizzly bears in Alaska.

For more information on Tillim’s show, call 703-627-6430 or tbgarren@yahoo.com.  More photos can been seen at  www.whimsicalwilderness.com.

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