Monthly Archives: December 2011

Keyword: Philadelphia Art

Laurentiu Todie, The One @ Art Ability Bryn Mawr Rehab Center

Laurentiu Todie, The One @ Art Ability Bryn Mawr Rehab Center

Laurentiu Todie, The One @ Art Ability Bryn Mawr Rehab Center, Malvern, PA.

DoNArTNeWs finally appears on page one in Google for the search term “Philadelphia art blogs“, thank you very much!   DoN has written more than four hundred reviews, interviews and promotions about the Philadelphia regional art scene for DoNArTNeWs.  The most frequently accessed pages include the term “Philadelphia art” in the web site statistics, “art” is the number one search term.  Philadelphia art is a search term that thousands of people are investigating because the Philly art scene is, as Mayor Michael Nutter stated at the West Collects press conference, “Strong!”  Great art has become synonymous with Philadelphia because of the high end cultural institutions like PMA and the innovative neighborhood artist enclaves, clubs, alliances and collectives that pervade the city and the region, creating an amorphous idea of what is Philadelphia art?  Is it the great art speak that PAFA teaches it’s students?  Is it the gritty allure of Fishtown, Northern Liberties or Germantown and the satisfaction of getting in early on something bohemian, eclectic, outrageous or controversial?  Is Philadelphia really the sixth borough of NYC?

Art is strong and vibrant in Philadelphia with wonderful resources but DoN has heard institutional leaders say the majority of public dollars get directed to the top tier while smaller groups compete for shrinking grant money and must endure its grueling paperwork.  Rachel Zimmerman of InLiquid, one of the oldest artist profile websites of its kind in Philadelphia, told DoN this past Summer that artists have three jobs: making art, selling art and the job to pay for buying art materials.  Artist Gregory Prestegord told DoN there are more like seven jobs to get to what he calls “a state of meditation“, the time he actually gets to spend making art, a broad circle of activities, many unrelated to art production, must happen to get to the moment of meditation when art appears out of seemingly nowhere. Art and the creative economy is enormous in Philadelphia, the competition for money is daunting, yet artists keep pushing against the obstacles and work hard to be known as a Philadelphia Artist, the second most popular search term for DoNArTNeWs‘ Philadelphia art blog.

Search Philadelphia art, who knows what you might discover?

Happy New Year!

LoVe

DoN

Read more about Art Ability at Philly.SideArts art blog and DoNArTNeWs art blog.


www.DickBlick.com - Online Art Supplies

Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center – Mixed Media Art

Beverly Kohn, Resting Deer, Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center - Mixed Media Art

Beverly Kohn, Resting Deer, Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center.

Beverly Kohn, Resting Deer, Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center - Mixed Media Art

Beverly Kohn won Honorable Mention in the category of Fiber Arts, Glass and Fine Crafts at the Art Ability Exhibition.  The gorgeous piece of a fiber wrapped deer feels so modern, like Jeff Koons or DuChamp, not crafty at all but using simple, nostalgic materials and shapes, the sculpture mixes media in a delightful and desirable design.  Click the thumbnail for a close up.

Elizabeth Core Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center - Mixed Media Art

Elizabeth Core Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center - Mixed Media Art

Elizabeth Core at Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center.  The balance of color, hue, tone and textures mingled with sophisticated pattern and composition is exuberantly engaging.

Sriharsha Sukla, Cuttack, Orissa, India, Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center - Mixed Media Art

Click the thumbail to check out Sriharsha Sukla, Bombay 01, collage.  The artist lives in Cuttack, Orissa, India, and has been a part of Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art & Fine Craft @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Center for many years, submitting fascinatingly detailed collages, so painterly and naturalistic they appear photographic from a distance.

“The Art Ability Program at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital is a year-long program which serves as a showcase for, and celebration of, artists with disabilities. Through art, we hope to inspire patients to reach beyond their limitations, and to encourage people with disabilities to explore their own creativity.

Established in 1996, Art Ability includes the following major components: an annual international juried exhibition and sale of art and fine crafts produced by individuals with disabilities; community outreach and education opportunities including satellite exhibitions and interactive demo days; our permanent collection of artwork and the incorporation of artwork into the patient experience; and a corporate art acquisition program.

The Program’s goal is to foster a better appreciation of people with disabilities through the achievements and stories of our artists. As art enriches their lives, we hope their creativity, talent and exuberant spirit will enrich your life.” – Art Ability

Read DoNArTNeWs report about Allen Bryan, Art Ability Artist

Read more at Philly Side Arts

Photographs by DoN Brewer shot exclusively with
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Jeff Stroud, Photographer @ Galleria Deptford

Jeff Stroud, Spring Bud, Photographer @ Galleria Deptford

Spring Bud, photograph, Jeff Stroud, Galleria Deptford, Deptford Municipal Building, 1011 Cooper St., Deptford, NJ, December 2011.

“I just started to notice how intricate the buds are on the trees as I was passing them by while I was walking, I didn’t realize.  So, I was walking with the camera and as an artist, I thought these are worth taking pictures of, it’s very detailed, there’s a lot of detail that we don’t see on a normal basis.”  Jeff Stroud‘s photograph, bathed in natural light from a convenient skylight is at once impressionist and representational, a sense of the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. “This is actually shot at my home in Magnolia, there’s woods that surround the house and the energy of it, Nature’s always changing.  I was using an 18 to 55mm lens and I just get very close to the shot.”

Jeff Stroud‘s photography is part of a group show in the halls of the Deptford Municipal Building in South Jersey, he is represented by eleven photographs.  Jeff brought an extra photograph with him to get help from curator Pauline Jonas in editing and she decided to include them all. The annual photography show brings together work from a diverse group of regional artists that Jonas intuitively pulls together from her wide network of resources. “I met Pauline through the Salem County Arts League, I showed with them a couple years ago, which is all kinds of artists and I met Pauline through them.  People that I know from the Salem County Arts League had show’s here (at Galleria Deptford) and I came to see them.”, said Jeff.  “And then Pauline invited me to be in this show.”

Jeff Stroud, Born With, Photographer @ Galleria Deptford

Born With, Jeff Stroud, photograph.  Jeff is a member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia and will be a featured artist at the group show in Cafe Twelve in early 2012.

Jeff Stroud, Born With, Photographer @ Galleria Deptford

Jeff Stroud, Photographer @ Galleria Deptford

December 5 – February 1, 2012 – Reception December 11
Photography by:
Nancy Fogel and Diane Abell of www.dustydogdigital.com, Rona Golfen, Derek Jecxz, Kelly Lynd, Jeff Stroud, Arlene Wilson and her husband, Tony Wilson
.  And Design Concepts by David Smith.

Read more about Galleria Deptford at Philly Side Arts.

Read more about Jeff Stroud at Side Arts.

Photographs by DoN Brewer shot exclusively with
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Thoughtful Frog, Sheryl Yeager at Art Ability International Juried Art Exhibition

Sheryl Yeager, Thoughtful Frog at Art Ability Bryn Mawr Rehab Center

Thoughtful Frog, Sheryl Yeager, pastel on paper.

Sheryl Yeager won First Prize for Works on Paper, an award in memory of Jaqueline Van Handel, presented by Jeanne B. Fisher at the Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art and Fine Craft made by people living with disabilities.  Even though Sheryl usually shows her work in western Pennsylvania, three years in a row Sheryl and DoN have met up at the Patron’s Reception, a swanky event with fine food and wines for collectors, supporters and artists.

I guess they like frogs?“, Sheryl said to DoN, commenting on the top award she received for her enchanting pastel drawing of an amphibian.  Sheryl Yeager develops strong color fields which resonate pleasantly, the strong shapes and descriptive drawing evoke the wonder of finding a frog on a sunny pond, a happy sensation.  Creating a good pastel is not easy but to rise above the competition in a crowded field of gorgeous contenders, presentation is key, Sheryl’s balanced mat and contemporary framing present the art beautifully.  The genuine good vibes emanating from the image may have had a touch of magic for the judges, too.  Sheryl tipped off DoN that she is producing a line of greeting cards featuring her animal art.  Sheryl Yeager states in the impressive catalog Art Ability produced that, “She loves the texture of pastels and the artistic control she gains from it.  She enjoys drawing animals because it makes her feel free and one with nature.”  That’s what Thoughtful Frog made DoN feel like, too – at one with nature.

Art Ability is in the Bryn Mawr Rehab Center in Malvern Pa, there are hundreds of artworks created by people living with disabilities on display, the center is warm and welcoming – it’s a rehab center, they’re very friendly – and is free and open to the public daily.  Supporting the efforts of the Art Ability team by buying artwork benefits not just artists like Sheryl Yeager but yourself; being present in a place of healing, sharing smiles and seeing art from the perspective of artists facing persistent challenges is life affirming.  Art makes a great gift.

Photographs by DoN Brewer shot exclusively with
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Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art and Fine Crafts @ Bryn Mawr Rehab, Malvern, PA.

Allen Bryan, Art Ability 2011, Bryn Mawr Rehab Center

Allen Bryan, digital photograph collage

The Art Ability International Juried Exhibition of Art and Fine Crafts show at Bryn Mawr Rehab Center in Malvern is an annual event that DoN looks forward to for many reasons.  First, Art Ability is a great art show with outstanding work by hundreds of artists from 35 states and seven countries in all kinds of media from painting, drawing, collage, mixed media, sculpture and DoN‘s personal interest, photography.  Secondly, this is the third year DoN has been included in the show, “light beings (Lorraine and Charles)“, an abstract landscape photo dedicated to my late Great Aunt and Uncle, was selected by the esteemed panel of jurors from hundreds of entries.  DoN is honored to be included in the annual exclusive art event, being featured in the excellent glossy catalog and to be treated to a wonderful evening of dining, meeting artists and collectors at the Patron’s Reception held November 5, 2011.

Photography is well represented in the show, when DoN delivered his piece to Bryn Mawr Rehab he got a sneak peak at the art intake and right away was taken with several large photographs by Allen Bryan.  The wide aspect ratio and densely detailed dream-scapes have all the feel of reality but with unnatural elements, transitions and oblique views, kind of like waking up from a dream.  Indeed, the photo collage Open Box Story won Best in Show, the Charles W. Hennessy Artist Award with proceeds from the Charles W. Hennessy Art Ability Endowment Fund, selected by judges Teresa Jaynes, John Ollman and Ingrid ShaffnerDoN spoke with the artist at the reception and he confirmed the surrealist work is created with his own photographs which he expertly manipulates with Photoshop, the large format print and subtle frame are exquisitely crafted.  The photo above is not the winning piece but if you visit his website, or better yet go to the show which is free and open to the public daily through mid January 2012, you will experience a masterful artwork that will confound and intrigue the senses.

Read more about DoN‘s Art Ability experiences at Philly.SideArts and watch for more reports about this expansive art exhibition.

DoN Brewer

Photograph by DoN Brewer shot with:

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