Brookland Holga

this is the last holga image from the brookland sketchcrawl in may. technically this is the first holga i took that day, and this is the corner of 12th and newton NE streets, underneath the CVS overhang. the sketchers all went their separate ways to sketch and arranged to meet at the CVS, and i was there earlier than most... so i whipped out the holga for the remainder of my time there. 12th street is the main drag in brookland, and there were a lot of signs, letters, numbers, and various other things we're probably supposed to be paying attention to. i like jumbling them all up together in my images. ;-)

Franciscan Monastery, Brookland DC Holga #2

this is the second holga image from my latest dc sketchcrawl outing, again taken in the franciscan monastery gardens in brookland, dc. i tried to showcase the architecture a bit more in this one, and i was immediately drawn to the door labeled "private". i find myself photographing doors and fences a lot with my holga work, and while part of the appeal is the aesthetics of these details, there is a psychological intrigue as well. i don't know what it is, but i always want to open doors that tell me i am not welcome there. ;-)

Franciscan Monastery, Brookland DC Holga

this is one of several holga images i made during the latest sketchcrawl on may 15 (#27, for those in the know) where we walked around the brookland neighborhood of dc. one of our stops included time in the franciscan monastery gardens, which are huge and gorgeous - definitely worth a visit whether you are religious or not, as it is a very peaceful and pretty place to chill out and enjoy being outdoors. the mosaic of mary in the center of this image was one of many pieces of art i found throughout the gardens, and you can also see the architecture to some degree in the photo.

it is official: i love brookland, and want to live there someday!

Union Station - Washington DC

I shot this image months ago, but am just now getting around to posting it. It was taken just before my volunteer shift at Artomatic, and Union Station's metro stop is just before the one I needed to exit to get to the show. I was early, so I decided to get off the metro early and do some shooting in a different neighborhood. This is from underneath the covered outdoor area of the station looking out. Union Station is a neat place to photograph, and I don't stop there nearly enough. Too many places, too little time!

You'll be able to see a real print of this and many other of my new works at my solo show at the Greater Reston Arts Center this coming January, for sure!

Artomatic - Tonight!!!

Artomatic is DC's biggest art event. It opens today! Dont miss it!

Its free!
Its metro accessible!
There will be a bar and a cafe!

1200 First Street NE
Corner of First and M streets NE, next to the South entrance of the New York Ave. metro station.

My display of new Holga work is on the 9th floor, just off of the elevators in section A4 NW.

I will be there tonight for the opening, and also next Friday from 7-10 PM for Meet the Artists night. Hope to see you there!


Hours are as follows:

* Wednesdays and Thursdays: 5 pm – 10 pm
* Fridays and Saturdays: 12noon – 2 am
* Sundays: 12noon – 10pm
* Mondays and Tuesdays: Closed

Phil Nesmith, My Baghdad. This Saturday

Okay, so I stole this post directly from Sean Hennessey's blog. But I had to share. I'll be at this opening, and I highly recommend you all see it too!


Phil Nesmith, Soldier, 2007, dryplate ambrotype (sandarac varnished silver emulsion on black glass)

Phil Nesmith, My Baghdad
January 12 to February 16

Opening Reception, Saturday, January 12: 6-8PM
Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street NW

Irvine Contemporary is pleased to announce the opening of Phil Nesmith’s first solo exhibition, My Baghdad, a series of photographs shot in Baghdad and produced on glass plates using a dry plate collodion process. A set of editioned C-print enlargements from the glass plates will accompany the unique images in the exhibition. Opening reception with the artist, Saturday, January 12, 6-8PM.

Contemporary photographers have frequently recovered earlier photographic processes to reinterpret image making and familiar genres of photography. Chuck Close’s daguerreotype portraits, Sally Mann’s wet plate collodion images, and Adam Fuss’s combined daguerreotype and photogram images have become part of the visual language of photography today.

The wet plate collodion process in the history of photographic images is inextricably connected to American Civil War photographs and to the look and feel of these images in our cultural memory. Phil Nesmith has recovered this early process for representing and reinterpreting photographs taken in Baghdad during the current war in Iraq. His new series of images are at once haunting, personal, and reflect back on our cultural memory of images in wartime.

See Phil's blog HERE.

Opening Night!

Fragments & Ashes opened last night to a great reception, and was the first showing of more than a handful of my Holga works at any given time. All together, I displayed 27 individual pieces at the Dumbarton Concert Gallery. I had to edit out quite a few, but in the end I would rather do that than crowd the work, so it all turned out well, and I thought the show looked amazing. Thanks so much to Jen Whitney for helping to organize and hang everything!

I want to thank everyone who came out to see my art show on opening night. Without you, the show would not have been nearly as fun. Aside from all those people I didn't know, a lot of my friends came out to support my first solo show in the DC area, and that made it extra cool. I would name you all, but am afraid I'd leave someone out, so I won't do that! And thanks to those who bought my work as well. I hope you enjoy displaying the photos as much as I enjoyed making them!

ArtDC.org Exhibit - Today! (10/13)

Info is below. See you there! - Erin

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artdc.org Exhibition at U Street Space

WASHINGTON, D.C.—artdc.org, a Washington, D.C., artist’s forum, presents “Art in Transition Continued” on Saturday, October 13, 2007, in the future Greater Goods building, 1626 U Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Doors open at noon; an art party is 6 p.m. to midnight.

“Art in Transition Continued” is the continuance of a group art show held in 2005. For the first show, “Art in Transition,” 27 Washington, D.C.-area artists displayed their work in four transitioning commercial spaces in Silver Spring, Md.

This year’s show is in the future home of Greater Goods at 1626 U Street, NW. This “empty” building provides the perfect opportunity for an organization such as artdc to host its own art show. Jesse Cohen, founder of artdc.org, explains, “Transitional space provides an opportunity to develop grassroots art shows, which currently aren’t available through existing spaces.”

The participating artists are: Steve Mead, Antoinette Wysocki, Jodi A. Patterson, John N. Grunwell, Dan Rosenstein, Alexandra Zealand, Alexandra Silverthorne, Kim Reyes, Emily Berl, Christie Ortiz, Rhett Rebold, Raju Singh, Steve Loya, Stephen T. Hanks, Matthew Best, Graham Meyer and Adam Eig.

“A unique feature about this show, aside from the great art,” Cohen says, “is that the artwork was selected by an external jury member who does not have ties to artdc.org artists.”

Mark S. Waskow, art collector and founder of the Waskomium in Burlington, Vt., is the juror for “Art in Transition Continued.” The Waskomium is a collection of contemporary art.
Waskow selected the work of 17 artdc.org members (there are more than 1,500 members of artdc.org). Pieces include 2-D, 3-D and installation art.

“He (Waskow) juried the art from artdc.org’s online gallery,” Cohen says of the selection process, “based on the idea that you can experience the presence of a work of art through its image.”

A fellow artdc.org member recommended that Waskow jury “Art in Transition Continued” because of Waskow’s support for the development of art communities.

Through events like “Art in Transition Continued,” artdc.org initiates artist discovery, encourages art discussion, advances creative development and promotes art collection, with the goal of developing movements in Washington, D.C. artdc.org provides virtual real estate for artists and art organizations. artdc.org aims to bridge the communication between artists of all mediums, galleries and collectors. With this goal in mind, the aim of artdc.org is to develop face-to-face relationships in addition to those in the virtual world.

Crafty Bastards!

This past Sunday, I attended Crafty Bastards! in Adams Morgan / DC for the second year in a row. The weather was great, and when I was there, it was packed full of shoppers. My vendor friends tell me this was very good for them, so I'm hoping sales were good for everyone across the board.

I saw many of the same vendors as last year, along with some new ones. It's getting very competitive to secure a spot as a vendor at this arts & crafts fair because it's known as one of the best around. I'll name a few vendors that caught my attention!

1. Sean Hennessey - Sculpture and mixed media: Sean is a friend from ArtDC.org, and this is his first time showing at Crafty Bastards. But I always love seeing his work in person. He's recently begun casting glass in addition to concrete, so it makes for some interesting pieces.



2. goshdarnknit - Rania Hassan: Rania was at last year's fair, and I mentioned her on the blog back then. But the work is still an interesting look at the blend between craft and fine art, while still being something that could be displayed in a gallery. I especially like the "Knit" series.



3. Woolarina - Fibers and knitting: There was a lot of this type of work at the fair, but I found theirs to be the most appealing. Lots of great colors and textures in a wide variety of products from hats, scarves, and other knitted wares, plus yarns for those who like to knit themselves. Check out their hand-painted yarns and fibers!



4. Alita's Jewelry - These guys had the coolest jewelry made out of hardware like gears, wrenches, forks, bolts and a bunch of other metal items. They don't seem to have a web site outside of their Crafty Bastards listing, but perhaps I was not looking hard enough? In any case, here's a photo:



5. Saint Bob and the Happy Little Trees - This display wins the award for the tent that freaked me out the most. All items featured famed PBS painter Bob Ross. Yeah. Freaky.



6. Rebound Designs - Caitlin Phillips was at last year's show as well, and I noted then that these bags made of old books certainly are crafty. Just a very cool idea and execution.




7. Damned Dollies - Again, another vendor I mentioned last year. There were a lot of t-shirt vendors at this fair, but these were the ones I would want to buy. No, I didn't buy one then and there (again!), but plan to shop on the web site at some point soon to find my size in the style and color I want. The downside of the fairs is that if you get there too late, you risk not finding what you want in your size. :-(



8. Rob Ullman - Rob was at last year's festival as well, as he is an illustrator for the City Paper. I relayed the story last year on the blog of how we went to Kent State University and I was a huge fan of his comic in the Daily Kent Stater - but that I had never met him while we were there. Well, after I met Rob for the first time last year, I acquired some of his newer work, as well as an anthology of his comic strips from the Daily Kent Stater! So cool! I stopped by the City Paper booth to say hi to him again this year, and I still think his work is incredible.

One of Rob's City Paper cover Illustrations:



So that is my rundown of this year's fair. I hope everyone had a good time, and if you missed it this year, definitely plan to go next year!