Artomatic - My Picks

I finally got to take a look through all the floors at this year's Artomatic, and have my picks ready! These are in addition to the "Bloggers' Night" profiles I did the other week. In no particular order, they are:

(note: I will be adding more photos next to artists, and possibly some commentary, but wanted to get this up in case anyone was planning on visiting soon and wanted my 2¢)

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Jeannette L. Herrera (9 NW A2) website: http://www.bluefacekiller.com/

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Sherill Anne Gross (5 NE D4) website: http://www.sagworks.com/

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Dana Ellyn (8 SW A5) website: http://www.danaellyn.com/

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Gregory Ferrand (11 NW A4) website: http://www.gferrand.com/

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Anna Nazaretz (6 NW A3) website: http://www.annanazaretz.com

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Novie Trump (10 SE D5) website: http://www.novietrump.com/

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Gina Tibbott (10 SE D7) no web site listed

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Sean Hennessey (7 SE C5) website: http://www.wheresmycoffee.com/

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Rania Hassan (7 SE C5) website: http://www.goshdarnknit.com/

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Marcie Wolf-Hubbard (11 SW B5) website: http://www.hubbardsfinearts.com/

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Shanthi Chandra-Sekar (10 NW A3) website: http://www.shanthic.com/

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Sean Welker (7 NE D3) website: http://www.secretworm.com/

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Alexandra Michaels (10 NW A4) website: none listed

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Ismael Carrillo (8 NW B4) website: http://www.ismaelcarrillo.com/

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(I am separating photography because 1.) I am a photographer, and 2.) photography rarely moves me, so I think these artists deserve special props!)

Photographers that I think are worth a look:

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Jennifer Foley (12 SE C7) website: http://www.jfoleyphotography.com/

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Erica Riccardelli (11 SE D6) website: http://www.ericcardelli.com/

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Joanna Knox (11 SE C7) website: http://www.joannaknox.com/

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Darren Smith (9 SE D7) website: http://www.honfleurgallery.com/

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Scott F. Speck (5 SW A7) website: http://www.scottspeck.com/

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Tracy Lee (11 SW A5) website: http://www.tracyleephoto.com/

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Artomatic 2008 - Meet the Artists Night Holgas

This past Friday was "Meet the Artists Night" at Artomatic. Because I attended Meet the Artists Night last year, I knew that 3 hours of staying in my 12 foot exhibit space was going to be absolute murder. I'd get bored, start wandering around, and not actually get to meet anyone who came to my display. So my strategy this year was to bring a Holga setup and make photos of visitors to my space. And guess what? Time flew! People were reluctant at first to let me photograph them, but as the night wore on, everyone loosened up and had fun with it. Most of the images you see here are of other artists who came to visit, but some are of non-artist visitors too. If you see yourself here, feel free to leave a comment. Heck, you can leave a comment even if you are not pictured here. I shot a lot of people that night...

Thank you to everyone who allowed me to Holga them! I hope you like the results as much as I do!

Artomatic 2008 - Bloggers' Night

This past Saturday, I had the great pleasure of participating in Artomatic 2008's first annual Bloggers' Night. Angela Kleis organized the gathering, and kudos to her and everyone else behind the scene who made this possible and provided (and guarded from vultures!) the Uno's Pizza for all of us before we began our evening of art gazing.

(Above: Jennifer Beinhacker talks with one of the bloggers (and me!) during our pizza hour before the art tour)

What is Bloggers' Night, you might ask - put a bunch of artists and a bunch of bloggers together in a space. Have artists talk about their work. Have bloggers blog about it. Partly this stems from the fact that there's soooooo much art at this year's event that it can be daunting to wade through it all. As a blogger AND an artist, I talked about my art and also took some photos and mental notes to provide a starting point in what will be an ongoing look at Artomatic. My hope is to get a series together to highlight some spaces that I've come across that I think are worth a look.

So, on to the participating artists...

1. Jennifer Beinhacker [12SW A5]




Jennifer is a collage / assemblage / mixed media artist. Her wall has been dubbed "the lime green beast" by fellow artists. She is showcasing a "blood" series. She does not always know where her piece is destined to wind up when she begins, but creates as the spirit moves her.

2. Paul Roe + Cyn Rudzis / Britishink [12]

(Above: Paul and Cyn at work - the tattoo parlor is fully functional. And what a view!)

In the corner of the penthouse of Artomatic 2008 lies the Victorian Tattoo Parlor. It is decorated impeccably, and it's occupants can be found dressed in Victorian garb on the weekends (jeans and t-shirts during the week though!). Paul can explain all about tattoos and the history behind them in his British accent (hence the BritishInk name). These guys know their stuff, and all work is custom designed for each client (nothing off the wall here!).

3. Jack Whitsitt [8SE D6]





Jack's installation for this year's AOM is fascinating on many levels. He explains that his work is really two different pieces depending on how you look at it. From far away, you see a 6 foot self portrait. Up close, you see a couple of different small self portraits repeated over and over at different densities to create the larger piece. The code used to create this piece was written and generated by Jack himself, tying in his coding background to the visual nature of the piece. I love the use of space, lighting, and just about everything here. If you see this, make sure you follow the arrows on the ground to view both aspects of this piece.

4. Michael Auger [8NW A4]





Michael sports his trademark style of offbeat artwork that is whimsical and at times freakish. The thing that really makes these pieces unique is the lighting - these are showcased under black lights to show how they glow! Michael uses a special type of acrylic paint to achieve this look, and carries a battery powered black light to accentuate each piece during the daylight hours.

5. Angela Raincatcher [8SW A7]





Angela is showcasing 10 digital collages that represent a spiritual mission that she has embarked on. In the Kabbalah, the Sephiroth represent the archetypal man. Each force has an opposite, a balance point, and need to be considered. Each collage represents one of these opposites.
(wow, I hope I got all that right! If not, someone please correct me!)

6. Kerri Sheehan [7NE C3]





Kerri is making a departure from her usual photography at this year's Artomatic, and is instead choosing to exhibit sculpture. The four faces are all cast from the same mold, and 3 of the 4 are wearing bandages over their eyes. The fourth is bandage free, but eyes are closed. This piece reminds me of recurring dreams I had for a while, centering around various themes of blindness and losing my vision. Maybe I'm biased in that way, but what is art, if not something that can reach out to someone else out there...?

7. ME!!! Erin Antognoli [9NW A4]



Okay, what can I write about my own work? There's my artist statement on my art site HERE, but that doesn't really address as closely the work I am showing at Artomatic this year. In 2008, I started to focus more on making portraits in my signature style with the Holga camera. I miss the human factor in my personal work, and am trying to bridge the gap between my cityscapes of the last few years and my more commercial wedding and portrait work. I started the original Holga project to make peace with DC, and now am expanding on that by embracing the people.

And that's all for part one of my look at Artomatic 2008. Check back, because I will be noting a few other exhibits / artists with each visit to give readers a starting point if they plan to visit and want to know which are my picks!

Artomatic - Meet The Artists Night

This Friday, 7-10 PM, is "Meet the Artists Night" at Artomatic. I'll be there, in my space on the 9th floor just off the elevators on the West Side. Possibly with a Holga setup to make some photos of those who visit my space. Stop by, ask me some questions... and get Holga-ed!

The official press release is below, and see this post I made last week for more details about address and hours and whatnot. I hope to see you there!

"David (Crash)" is one of the photos you can see in my space this year.

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Ever wonder how artists come up with ideas? Or how they create their sculptures or paintings? Make plans to come out to Artomatic on Friday, May 16, for Meet the Artists Night, when many of this year’s Artomatic participants will be on hand from 7 p.m.–10 p.m. to talk with visitors and show off their works.

This year’s Artomatic has more to see than ever before. Ten floors of work, including ceramics, sculptures, installations, paintings, fiber works, murals and photography are on display, and in many cases, the work is for sale.

Visitors on Meet the Artists Night will be able to sample the fun, creative energy that is Artomatic. A full schedule of free events is planned for Friday, including films, dance, poetry, music and even fire dancing. Live music will kick off at 6 p.m. and run through 1 a.m., with performances by James Stephen Terrell, Movimiento, Collider, DJ Sequoia and others.

Artomatic artists are encouraged to throw a mini-gallery opening in their space on Meet the Artists Night and to be on hand to answer questions about their work. Due to legal restrictions, no outside alcohol is allowed at Artomatic at any time. Both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages are sold at Artomatic’s first and 11th floor bars.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic is the Washington, D.C., area's one-of-a-kind multimedia arts event. About 700 visual artists and 300 performers are participating in this year’s Artomatic. Presented in collaboration with the NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID), Artomatic 2008 is expected to attract more than 50,000 visitors during its five-week run. The event is being held at the Capitol Plaza I building, which is located at 1200 First Street, N.E., just one block west of the New York Avenue Metro station, in Washington, D.C.

For a full list of all Artomatic activities, visit the online event calendar at www.artomatic.org/event. The site also contains a catalog of artists taking part in Artomatic with images of their work as well as videos and music from performers.

For directions and hours, call the Artomatic infoline at 202-339-9007. Visitors are strongly encouraged to take Metro to Artomatic.


About Artomatic: Artomatic is a creative community that collaborates to produce and present a free arts spectacular. Participation is open to all, from recognized artists to undiscovered talents, who work in a variety of arts forms. In partnership with the development community, Artomatic transforms unused building space into a playground for expression, serves as a catalyst for community growth in up-and-coming neighborhoods, and helps to grow our creative economy. The nonprofit Artomatic organization is headed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.artomatic.org.

Metamorphosis - Sasquatch to Spider Monkey

Because the weather is getting warmer (until this weekend, it was!), we decided to give Maurice his first major haircut of the year. It's at this time when people start to ask us if we got a new dog, and what happened to that shaggy one we used to walk. Or, rather than speak, they simply gasp with shock and awe that there was actually a dog underneath all that fur. He is indeed the same creature we adopted a little over 5 years ago. Here is a before and after photo, side by side for comparison:



But, because I could have used a dog double, I will back it up with the process:



















See the full slideshow with lots more photos HERE. The first half are taken by me, and the first photo you see me in onward were taken by Andy.

We didn't actually leave that poof on the end of his tail, but we always joke about doing frou frou things with Maurice's fur because once, before we figured out that we did a better job grooming him than the groomers, we took him for a haircut. What we got back was this strange cross between a poodle and a... I don't even know. It was bad, so we just broke out the clippers and did it ourselves. And we've given him all his haircuts ever since.

So, now Maurice is spunky and full of energy, which means he is nagging me a whole lot more than normal. But that's okay, he'll be a lot happier once the hot weather hits... cause I'm sick of all this rain already!