Art @ Work in DC

This month, I had the pleasure of participating in a number of workshops facilitated by Albus Cavus at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, part of the Smith Center for Healing & The Arts, in Washington, D.C. Albus Cavus -- a collective of artists who work to strengthen local communities through public art -- partnered with the gallery to bring empowerment and healing to a community affected by today's economic uncertainty. Hanging from January 13th through February 18, the Art @ Work exhibit features works from over 40 local graffiti-style artists who often collaborate with Albus Cavus, including Peter Krsko, Decoy, Jazirock, Chanel Compton, Aniekan Udofia, and Ben Tolman. Each piece is a unique commentary on the feelings behind the current US financial and unemployment situation.

The works covered a variety of urban art styles:  

To further bolster the connection between art and the local community, members of Albus Cavus led three onsite mural workshops in line drawing, stenciling, and painted collage. Over three weeks, the gallery was transformed into a working studio while more than 50 DC-area residents collaborated on a community mural. Like the exhibiting artists, we also reflected on and discussed our experiences in the current economic climate.

In some respects, life in the northern VA suburbs of DC has fared better than other areas of the country. Still, the ripple effect can be felt here. This past October, The Soundry -- the gallery/studio/cafe/boutique where I'd spent a lot of time over the past few years -- shut its doors. Our community lost a unique place for emerging artists finding their voice; for those artists to work on creative collaborations alongside more experienced artists until the wee hours; for young musicians looking for a place to rehearse; and for the public to finally learn that art isn't all about stuffy still lifes and landscapes. I'm coming to realize that, for me, art -- much like life in general -- is about risk. It's about putting yourself out there, pushing yourself to test the boundaries of your creativity, and then pushing through them. To express. To learn. Perhaps, even, to heal.

My recent mixed-media "Baby Canvases"

Sometimes, though, you can do all that -- and even more -- and still get knocked off your feet by the unexpected or the inevitable. That's what I was thinking the other week in the Stencil Workshop. So because of that, and the current unemployment rate of around 8%, I chose to work on an 8 Ball stencil. So many people these days seem to be behind the 8 Ball.

Others chose to incorporate different symbols. We also collaborated on a large stencil of Uncle Sam, and painted it to resemble the color of money.

Uncle Sam, first layer

Next layer

Community mural in progress

The following week, in the Painting and Collage workshop, Chanel Compton encouraged us to draw on our own neighborhood experiences in putting together a mini collage painting of our hometowns.

The base of my collage, inspired by life in NYC

My finished project

We then used collage and painting techniques to add neighborhood scenes to the community mural.

Mural in progress

The community mural will be unveiled tonight at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, 1632 U Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009. Afterwards, it will be donated to a DC-area school or community center as part of Albus Cavus' Open Walls project.

G40 Art Summit: Four Floors of Fun

The other week, we headed down to DC's U Street corridor to check out an event at the forefront of the District's urban art scene -- the second annual G40 Art Summit. Curated by Art Whino, and sponsored by vitaminwater, the monthlong event showcases a variety of genres, including aerosol art, stencil art, murals, wheat paste, skateboard art, customized collectibles, and 3D installations. Urban artists took over the former 25,000-square-foot Dept. of Transportation building on 14th street and transformed its four floors into a collaborative work of art. The event also featured live entertainment, vinyl record vendors, and live aerosol art demos outside the building.

Enjoy the highlights!

Even the stairwells were transformed...

... along with the restrooms.


My older daughter's favorite part of the exhibit was the hall of skateboards.

More fantastic mural art awaited on the upper floors.

There was just something about this painting by Charlie Owens that I loved. The original (seen here) had sold, but I was able to purchase a print. Can't wait to hang it in my studio!


G40 runs through June 17th, at vitaminwater® uncapped LIVE, at the corner of 14th and W. NW.

Urban Carnage!

Get ready to shake your cans, folks -- Art Carnage is going urban this Saturday night at The Soundry!


This month's indie adventure will feature over 15 artists and craft vendors celebrating graffiti, urban, tattoo, and pop culture. Just a sampling of the lineup: Ivan Collich, Sticky Comics, UC Studios, Melanie Newlon, Underground Tree Projects, BrigaBauble. In case that's just not enough for you, how about four hours' worth of continuous entertainment? Live music, performance art, rap, poetry slams, burlesque, hula hoopers, and belly dancing brought to you by Belladonna, The Neon Rush, and Kym Spins, to name a few. Plus, The Improper Imps of Improv will find out what happens when they step blindfolded and barefoot onto a stage with 200 loaded mousetraps. Did I mention that all of this creative chaos was absolutely FREE? (Well, after you fill up your tank at $6.04/gallon to drive here.)

Here's a look back at February's Art Carnage:

The sibs from Ten East Read. They'll be back this time, too, selling their awesome handprinted textiles.

Deb's erotic art

Natural bath and body products -- including the MAN line -- from Herban Lifestyle

Interactive performance art by Cloudism. (Um, I don't know, either, but where else could you find Zorro carrying around a mannequin torso to be tagged?)


Here's the part I'm looking forward to MOST of all. Drumroll, please....  Albus Cavus, an international collective of artists that creates interactive public art projects with local community involvement, will be sponsoring the event. The organization, with branches in CA, DC, and NJ, will be bringing in walls for LIVE graffiti demos at Art Carnage by local artists! Not exactly sure how they're going to do that, but it's definitely something to check out!

I've been busy making a slew of new Area 718 notecards, along with some more graffiti fusion headband designs, to feature at the event. Here's a peek at two of the backgrounds for the notecards:

Member artist Matt Riegner will also be at this month's Carnage, gearing up for his solo show, I'MPOSSIBLE, to hit the walls of The Soundry on May 13th. In line with this show, Matt and several local artists will give back to the community by donating their works to a silent auction. Forty percent of the proceeds will go to fund Albus Cavus' creativity-based programs here in the DC metro area.  I'll be mixing up some special 3-D graffiti fusion for the auction, so stay tuned!

March Madness

...and boy, has it been! We're nearing the end of the month, but March is still roaring over here. Below is my pathetic short list of excuses why I haven't been typing my heart out to you this month:

• I took an interesting freelance writing assignment for a trade magazine. Traveled around, conducted interviews, wrote the articles, and added on a few pounds in the process  -- all in the name of research, of course. 
• You'd be surprised at the amount of homework first graders get (at least at my daughter's school!)
• I haven't figured out how to clone myself yet. Advice is welcome.
• Volunteer commitments on my calendar seem to multiply faster than my laundry pile.
• I've been painting. Of course, I also accidentally painted my new cat turquoise while he was sleeping in the chair in my studio. (Good thing he doesn't mind water.)

This month, I decided to take a different approach to some new paintings in the Graffiti Reef series, by making them three-dimensional. I really wanted to play with the levels in these collage paintings, and used old Scrabble tiles and wooden pieces to make some of the collage pieces stand out. 

Merengue Marinade, 10x10 3D graffiti fusion collage painting on wood panel

In the Lion's Den, 10x10 3D graffiti fusion collage painting on wood panel. The lionfish is one of the 3D elements here. The lavender and red-orange "coral" is made from light molding paste.

Both paintings were featured in the March Madness exhibit, hosted by the Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA.  

Proceeds from all sales from the exhibit benefited the Target Gallery's 2011 outreach programming and the March of Dimes. 

More than 200 artists created work on 10x10 wood panels for the exhibit, which ran from March 17th through the 27th. The fundraiser helped raise money and awareness for the March of Dimes, and raise funds for the Target Gallery's community outreach programming. The Torpedo Factory sponsored an art activity on March 19th for children whose families benefited from the March of Dimes. This event helped raise awareness for the charity's annual March for Babies walk, to be held in May.

The Torpedo Factory also threw a March Madness Art Party on the 27th in the main hall outside the gallery, complete with games, a wing-off, DJ, prizes, and a live broadcast of the NCAA basketball game. What a great night!