We all had a great time.   The turn-out was wonderful! Art lovers poured in throughout the evening to celebrate our student’s work, free food and be a part of our awards ceremony.

Each year, after everyone works hard creating all of this wonderful work,  they are reminded to invite friends and family.   Afterall, this is often their first show.  Family support and pride, is always a joy to see : )

And friends celebrating one another is also the best : )

We were thrilled to see our Provost, Dr. Haggray : )

She has attended all of our shows, since she took office here, and is an avid appreciator of everyone’s works.

Dr. McClellan, our Alexandria Dean of Liberal Arts is a long-time  supporter of our art program, students and department events.  He’s come to nearly every show for so long that I presume, that  ‘decades’ would be the appropriate time frame descriptor.

Our two jurors were Nikki Brugnoli and Jon McMillan.

Nikki Brugnoli, our 2D Juror, is the Assistant Graduate Programs Coordinator, at George Mason University.

Our 3-d juror this year, Jon McMillan, is the Assistant Professor of Ceramics at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

They not only determined this year’s award winners, they were kind enough to come and hand out the award certificates.

The best part of the show is watching the surprise on our students faces.  They work so hard all year and rewarding them is inspiring.

After the list of honorable mentions, which included:

Sophia Woolston, D’Arcy Dean, Allen Beland, Daniel Rivas, Nala Ktzleb, Nora Drake, Mohamed El-Haddad, Lyle Priddy and Wesley Walker, we had our 3rd place prize, which went to Ireen Clayton-Jones for her piece “Nyquil Haze”

Our second place prize went to Christopher Tait, for his “Artifacts”

With our first place award going to Miyuki Matsuoka.

Her ‘Warriors’ made out of clay,  were thoughtfully conceived and wonderfully executed.

After the wards ceremony, there was plenty of time to enjoy the art and celebrate one another.

Mohamed Elhaddad won an honorable mention for his photo and string work.

A beautiful painting always brings great pride.

Stacy Slaten is so proud of her students!

It’s a great show as always and we can’t wait to see what the students produce next year!

So much Art to take in.  Hopefully everyone is inspiring the next art maker.

Pete Van Riper, our advanced drawing teacher, was thrilled to see the works, and our Dean, Dr. McClellan and Jessica Gardner were loving the entire reception.

The faculty are always big fans of everyone’s work.  Stacy and Jessica did a great job getting their students involved and working on the show.

Supportive friends are the best!

The show will be up until May 4th, 2018!  Come on over to see the art, the new building and perhaps say hello to us, at the new Fine Arts Office, in room 342.

Post by: Britt Conley,  Fine Art Department Studio Assistant

 

Crowns was proposed as an exhibit examines the transition that occurs while “crossing into motherhood,” as a “monumental shift in a woman’s life” The exhibit not only addresses how women’s roles shift when they become mothers, but also who they are as women and artists.  The role on motherhood can be all encompassing and does not come with an easy path for most.   As artists, the eight women visually reflect, “on their experiences in the currents of motherhood.”

The “Crowns” tour is being spearheaded by NOVA’s own, ceramics faculty, Jessica Gardner.  She has been driving around setting up and striking each show at every new location.  The show began it’s first showing at the Ann Arundel Community College’s Gade Gallery from January-February before traveling to  exhibit with the National Council on Education of Ceramics Arts (NCECA) conference which were on display at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Homewood, where is was on display in March.  It’s next stop opens on April 3rd at the Foster Art Gallery at Westiminster College, in New Wilmington, PA.  The show goes through August 3rd.  From August-October the show will arrived back in the area at the New Gallery for Contempoary Craft at NOVA’s Woodbridge Campus.  After that the show travels to the DuPont Gallery at the University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, VA from October 25th-December 2nd.  After that it’s off to NOVA’s Manassas campus.  There is bound to be more additions to the list before the exhibit gets to The Canton Museum of Art in Canton Ohio from November of 2019- March 2020.

Jessica is not only the organizer of this grand tour, she is also one of the artists.  Jessica explains her art, “has traditionally been a subtle reflection of the introspective nature and self-assessment that form the pillars of my personality…and then I had children.

Suddenly, my tendency toward diplomacy in life and in my art gave way to exhaustion and turmoil. This body of work reflects the simultaneous elation and emotional erosion that coalesced into my experience of motherhood in modernity.”

The other seven artist’s include:

Stephanie DeArmond, who’s work, “explores language, taking slang phrases, colloquialisms, and snippets of over heard conversation and abstracting them into sculptural form, where meanings are revealed and obscured through typography and letter forms.”  Her description is clearly evident in her teapot, shown below.  He adds, “In this way, it memorializes everyday language in a larger-than-life forms, functioning like signage, oversized tchotckes, or the doodles in a notebook.”

The third artist, Carole Epp, states,  “Since beginning, this body of work,” (originally) from 2005, “…has evolved in different ways, both thematically and visually. The impact of having my own children and working with imagery of children and childhood has propelled the work into a more personal realm wherein issues of motherhood, identity, and child-rearing have become part of the larger discussion of the work. My aim with this work has always been to find a space of dialogue for issues of political and social relevance; to tap into the humanity behind the headlines, to address concerns we face in day to day life, and to create an active desire for change in our world. “

Janis Mars Wunderlich’s work, “expresses the complexities of intimate relationships in traversing the trials and triumphs of our human experience.  As we grow and mature,” she expounds, “we gain awareness of our sexuality, passions, instincts, and desires to form intimate associations in our transition from childhood into the role of adult and nurturer.  Through this growth our weaknesses, dependencies and vulnerabilities are revealed, and our experiences and relationships transform us as we gain maturity, charity, wisdom, and strength.”

Kate Fisher thinks of her art as, “as domestic art: it is either for or about the home.  I make work to be used in daily life or to reference utilitarian objects. The kitchen, in particular, is a home’s command central, where we congregate, nourish ourselves, and share our histories and culinary traditions. My mentors instilled in me the importance of creating a domestic environment that enhances personal research and understanding of clay and self. By using, washing, touching, and serving others and myself from handmade objects, I complete the circle of craft. This practice continually informs the work I make and the work I won’t make.”

Summer Zickefoose, describes her work as addressing, “the middle of nowhere; observed from an interstate. The sticks, the hicks, the mind-numbing boredom. The absence of culture, of progress, of significance. The rural American landscape is often the setting both literally and figuratively for my investigations as an artist. This landscape is representative of its human counterparts and their codes of language, ethics, traditions, and behavioral traits. As with any archaeology, there is the place, its culture, and the objects and

materials used by that culture. I believe that these objects and materials hold within them a multitude of secrets.”

Rhonda Willers ponders experience.  “A poetic power manifests itself in silence.  Strength and subtlety intertwine during our encounters with the contemplative. Using these deafeningly subdued experiences, I explore metaphoric and physical relationships with my ceramic vessels, drawings and mixed media works that allude to sacred rituals.”

The final artist,  Eva Kwong, says, she searches,  “for the interconnections between things in the world, similarities as well as the differences.  I am interested in the concept of one in many and the many in one.  My hybrid art forms are influenced by my observations of the natural world and what I experience in my life.”

For more information on Crowns, contact Jessica Gardener at JGGardner@nvcc.edu

Post by: Britt Conley,  Fine Art Department Studio Assistant