Category Archives: Works on Paper

Art Sphere at Jed Williams Studio

Kristin Groenveld, Art Sphere at Jed Williams Studio

Kristin Groenveld explained to DoN, “Art Sphere is a non-profit education program for low income youth here in Philadelphia. It started in 1998, it’s a grass roots organization that works with all volunteers and we focus in on educational art programs that actually make a difference in neighborhoods.”

Kristin Groenveld, Art Sphere at Jed Williams Studio

“At the Jed Williams Studio we’re exhibiting artwork on the theme of envelopes and, this is a version of the theme that I’m doing, but we do do in West Philly with students for years. We use envelopes as a metaphor for getting good news, getting bad news, and how we deal with it in our lives. And we also do that similar theme with the oysters and the oyster shells and how we make a pearl out of that piece of sand that really hurts us or irritates us in our life. With the intention of trying to transform difficult times into positive times.”

Kristin Groenveld, Art Sphere at Jed Williams Studio

Kristin Groenveld continued on, “That’s the magic of art for me and for Art Sphere. Other things Art Sphere does is we clean out neighborhood parks, we remove all the trash, remove broken glass, paint over graffiti, paint murals, and then we paint everything from benches to trash cans to make it really fun to go spend time there.”

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer

Reborn/Reconfigured – Rosalind Bloom Paintings and Works on Paper

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Reborn/Reconfigured Rosalind Bloom Paintings and Works on Paper

Rosalind Bloom describes the title and theme of her show Reborn/Reconfigured this way, “All of the pieces are made from pre-existing bits of this and that. That either belongs to work that I triaged out of inventory or found material that I have saved thinking that I would use at some point. That includes fireplace ash, dried leaves, some of the pieces I stained with tea…so it’s all things that existed in the world in one form and I’ve transformed, they’ve been reborn as something else, into a new life.”

Reborn/Reconfigured Rosalind Bloom Paintings and Works on Paper

“They are the parts of old paintings, for me it’s always been about transformation and how things change from one state to another. I’ve gone back to what was my way of working for many, many years where I don’t have an over-riding concept or narrative, I’m allowing myself to just play. Each piece becomes whatever it wants to become.”

Roz continues, “The two series that came before this series, there was a theme, a narrative, a concept that kind of dictated the way things would go. I didn’t do that this time…I have given myself permission to just let it be, to play and whatever happens, happens.”

Reborn/Reconfigured Rosalind Bloom Paintings and Works on Paper at Da Vinci Art Alliance Gallery, 704 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA – click here for dates and hours.

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer

Gesshel at Jed Williams Studio, Printmaking Demonstration

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Gesshel at Jed Williams Studio, Printmaking Demonstration 8/22/2012

Philadelphia artist Barbara Gesshel is a printmaker who combines excellent drawing skills with multiple printmaking processes. Old planks of wood become reliefs carved with images of nature in reverse, an old headboard is repurposed and carved away to reveal a family portrait, mono-prints become statement pieces…at Jed Williams Studio, 615 Bainbridge Street, Gesshel will demonstrate several printmaking techniques tonight, August 22nd, followed by refreshments and question and answer session. You may get a chance to even make your own print plus you will get a preview of Gesshel‘s upcoming solo show at Jed Williams Studio in October. Tickets are $7.00

Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012

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Soldenise Ramos-Gonzalez, Pink Self Portrait, acrylic, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012

The Philadelphia Sketch Club is America’s oldest artist club established in 1865, for the past twenty-eight years the historic club has honored Philadelphia High School art students with an exhibition of work selected from all of the High Schools in the city. On February 19th, 2012 the awards ceremony and closing reception took place in the historic gallery and more than twenty awards were presented to Philadelphia High School art students or their teachers. The generous awards included monetary awards for the top winners and the many memorial awards, wonderful gift packages of art supplies for honorable mentions made the presentation go on for almost thirty minutes, and a wonderful reception with tons of food for hungry teens. Congratulations to all the artists from DoNArTNeWs.

Emanuel Rodriguez, Living Room, Best in Show, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012

The High School Art Show at Philadelphia Sketch Club included 149 works of art for the jurors to select from. Mina Smith-Segal, Lois Schlachter and Joseph Winter spent hours winnowing down their faves but with 22 awards almost of the schools took home prizes. DoN was impressed by the high level of craft and presentation, even without frames many pieces were appropriately matted to best effect.

Ada Anderson, Self Portrait/Woman, Digital Photo Award, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012

Ada Anderson told DoN her teacher pushed her to take her Photoshop skills to the max, sending her back to the computer to refine the photo over and over; Ada took her original self portrait then used the star paintbrush tool to decorate her scarf, layers of rainbow gradient are subtle mimics lens flare. Digital Photo Award well deserved.

Linda Lvea, Travis Balker, acrylic, Kimberly Neubauer, John Frusciante, acrylic, Catherine Cordoza, Steve Jobs, acrylic, Tara Downey, Steve Buscemi, acrylic, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012. The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, Graphic Arts Teacher Jeff Evans

Maisum Shami, Cast Drawing, conte, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012, Dick Blick Award

Miranda Gibson, Chair/Space Study, mixed media, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012

Dorothy Roschen, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 28th Annual High School Art 2012

Special thanks to all the donors of awards, volunteers for hanging the show, food donations, committee co-chairs Debra Cooperstein and Dorothy Roschen, Jaqueline Barnette, Jaqueline and Richard Kunin, Mina Smith Segal, Norka Shedlock, Catherine Bath, Joanne Bosack, William C. Patterson PSC President and Executive Director Richard W. Fink, III.

Dorothy and the team begins work of this project in September to present a wonderful example of the state of the arts in High School. Expressing creativity and ideas through the arts is essential for young people to learn in order to communicate more effectively in the adult world. The skill of being able to draw is underestimated in society. Support the arts by helping the Philadelphia Sketch Club 29th Annual High School Art Show even bigger and better, in only takes volunteer time to make a big difference in a young artists life.

Photographs by DoN Brewer
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Johanna Inman

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Johanna Inman, CFEVA Introduction 2012, The Galleries at Moore

“I’m so excited about this group!”, said Amie Potsic, Director of Career Development at CFEVA, to DoN at the V.I.P. reception 2/1/12 for Introduction 2012 in The Galleries at Moore. “I think they’re fantastic and they’re all really go getter, hard working artists. Which you have to be these days.”

“We are absolutely thrilled, we have six new artists who begin this month and they’re beginning the two year fellowship with us and we have a really talented group. A great variety of mediums, styles and backgrounds but everything really makes sense together. I think quality somehow makes everything hang beautifully together. That’s a defining quality of CFEVA artists is the level of craft is always really high, the level of intention in their work is really strong.”

“Johanna Inman has wonderful photographic work that she actually creates without a camera. These are all created from flatbed scanners. Her father has an antique book collection he’s had for years and years (which she scans) and that’s why you have this level of detail and why it’s so flat at the same time. It’s just incredible how much detail she gets out of the image, the same with the book on the other side with a full page spread, those are all made on a flatbed scanners. She has a number of bodies of work, where she takes real objects rather than photographing them she uses scanning technology.”

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), in cooperation with Moore College of Art & Design, presents an exhibition by the new Career Development Program Fellows. A highly selective fellowship with only a 2% acceptance rate, these six artists represent some of the most promising talent among emerging artists in the region: Leslie Friedman, Daniel Gerwin, Rebecca Gilbert, Kay Healy, Heechan Kim, and Johanna Inman.