Looking back (2015) looking ahead (2016)

As I get ready to announce our new schedule for 2016 (tomorrow!),  I first wanted to take a moment and reflect on all that we (all the artists/students who work here) have accomplished in 2015. Sometimes it feels like there’s never enough time to do everything we want to do, but looking back I realize we actually did a lot! As I scan through photos from this last year, I am reminded of all the great classes, workshops, and events; numerous mosaic workshops, two figure sculpture weekends, classes in pysanky , watercolor, leaf casting, photography, and calligraphy. Also, summer mini camps for kids, student front gallery shows, opening parties, the Rappcats mural project, the RAAC Art Tour (including Candace Clough’s cat couch -an event in and of itself!), Tom’s weekly painting and drawing sessions, kids’ workshops and lessons. Each of these events and happenings contain a wealth of great moments of discovery (and of course, a little frustration at times too, it goes with the territory). It is truly amazing though to think about how much creativity has flowed through this place! Best of all is the sense of community that has developed while we work and create together-aaaand now I am going to get emotional.  Tom and I love having the studio here in Flint Hill, and we are so grateful for all of you, who come and participate, making it the wonderful place that it is: a place to work, to learn, to make and share our art.

So, here we are, New Year’s Eve 2015.   Cheers to you and yours. We should drink a toast (alcoholic or otherwise) to all of our future creative endeavors. Let’s go 2016.

New Schedule is up! HERE (more info to be added later)

 

New Class Listings are Up and Ready!

Early evening snapshot of the studio during the Friday painting class.

We’re excited for this season’s schedule of classes and workshops coming up in September and October.  Always looking for new classes to offer, we have two completely new workshops happening at the studio this September.

Intro to Photography with Cameron Harrington on September 19th. I first saw Cameron’s work in the Rappahannock News and was so impressed with the beautiful black and while photograph that was printed. As it turned out Cameron was looking for a chance to get involved with teaching so it was a no brainer to invite her to do a class at The Studio School.  Snapping photos, be it with our smart phone or digital camera, has become so easy and common these days, but if you are interested in going a little deeper into the art of photography, being able to think more about composition, lighting, and some of the technical aspects, this is a great class for you.

Another new class being offered this fall is Intro to Calligraphy (Flexible Pen).  Ken Edwards lives locally, and is a chemist by profession, but has a passion for calligraphy and is extremely knowledgeable. Calligraphy can be a useful, as well as a very rewarding art form, and this class will give you all the information about the tools and skills you will need to practice.

Of course, there is more. On September 12th we have Candace Clough offering another Glass on Glass Mosaic Class, this time using a lantern as the base. I can’t wait to see the results, all lit up from inside!

Later, starting off the first weekend of October, Charles ” Flick” Flickinger returns for another workshop doing figurative sculpture. Animal Portraits in Mosaic is on October 10th, Pysanky with Nina Shepardson on October 25th, as well as the usual painting classes with Tom Mullany are continuing on Thursday and Friday evenings. And more variety of classes for children this fall with children’s classes after school, as well as private lessons being available. Lot’s to choose from this season!

Check out what’s available, and sign up for a class, or two!

Classes and Workshops

For Children and Teens ( workshops/private lessons/birthday parties)

Full Calendar

 

Mosaic Works Show on view. Registration open for fall mosaic classes.

As the summer winds down and thoughts turn to fall ( and all things pumpkin flavored), we thought it would be fun to put together a show of some of the mosaic artwork that has been inspired and/or completed during the mosaic workshops here at The Studio School. Mosaic Works is now hanging in the studio gallery space featuring the work of teacher Candace Clough and her students, Jacque Towner, Patricia Reid, Renee Nolan, Sue Gabbay, Brier Clough, Sara Moore, Kim McKiernan, and Polly Scoville. It is great to see all these wonderful pieces hanging together. Many techniques are represented: animal portraits, leaf mosaics, mosaics using pottery shards, and mosaics using the glass on glass technique. If you are in the area, please come by and see the show!  I’ll be in the studio later today (Saturday, August 8) from 3pm-5pm, and again Monday, August 10th, 10am-noon.

We are so lucky to have Candace Clough as an instructor. She has been teaching mosaic with us for about two years now and her classes are among our most popular.  We will offer several of her workshops this fall including a Glass on Glass Workshop on Saturday, September 12th, an Animal Portraiture in Mosaic on October 10th (Columbus Day weekend), and in November she will be offering a Groutless Mosaic Ornament Workshop on the 14th.  Hope you can join us for one of these! Check out the Mosaic Workshop page here.

Midsummer Studio News

Summer finally feels in full swing here at the studio. We’ve hosted several kid’s art mini camps already including the first session of work days on the Rappcats Mural Project.  Last month we had a wonderful Leaf Casting Workshop with Candace Clough, and we held our 2nd Creativity Jam/Open Studio on June 29th. Of course, Tom’s painting classes continue through the summer on Thursday and Friday nights, and I continue to offer private lessons to children on request.  No worries, there’s still time to get your art on and creativity flowing before the rush of fall begins! Some important dates are coming up. July 14th -15th -16th, 9am-11:30 Work continues on the Rappcats mural. Ages 8-12 July 18th- Animal Portraits in Mosaic with Candace Clough, 9:30-4pm July 21st- Art Mini Camp  9am-noon July 23rd- Art Mini Camp 9am-noon July 26th- Watercolor Journaling-Nature’s Inspiration with Carole Pivarnik, 1pm-5pm  Message me here if you have any questions or want to sign up for a class.  A Fall schedule is in the works. We are adding some wonderful classes and hope to have our most varied and robust schedule yet!

Creativity Jam

This weekend on Saturday, May 9th, we are hosting the studio’s first ever “Creativity Jam”!  Like an open house, all are invited, but everyone is encouraged to stay awhile and mess around and get creative with some studio provided art materials or bring your own project and work here. Or meet up with friends and work on something together.  Coloring, knitting, collaging, stencil making, whatever floats your boat.  We’ll have music playing, and possibly even some live music. We’re also going to try out our new digital projector and project some videos on a large wall, maybe even on an outside wall?  We’re expecting a range of ages, from 14 on up. Doors open at 7:30. $8 covers any and all the amount of time you want to stay and be here. Some drinks and snacks will be provided as well. Hope to see you here!

New Schedule is Up

Lots of great workshops coming soon! Mosaic, watercolor, landscape painting, bookmaking, lots of kid’s classes for this summer are planned and more will be added soon. See a list here.  Let us know what’s your interest!  Suggestions for other classes are welcome!

A new season is upon us!

Hello! Although the blog part of this website has been quiet lately, our studio has been continually active! Throughout these last few cold and snowy months, we’ve been firing up the wood stove, and warming up the studio. Students have been painting, drawing, sculpting, watercoloring, doing mosaic, and all manner of other creative endeavors.

New classes will be announced soon, along with summer camps, and workshops. I will be posting more often in this spot, and will keep you informed best I can!

Open House @ The Studio School / Mullany Art Studios

Studio News: Fall Open House and New Classes Now EnrollingHello! Coming up on August 29th from 4 pm-7pm we’re having an Open House. Everyone is invited (bring a friend!) It’s a great chance to visit the studio, meet some of the instructors, check out our new class offerings, and view a show of work by some of our students (by the way, we have some extremely talented students!). We hope you’ll come by and visit and maybe even sign up for a class or workshop that day!

In the meantime, check out the page of new classes and workshops here and some after school classes for children here. I’ll be adding more as time goes by. Let me know if you have any questions-

KerrieM

Fall Classes and Workshops

Arts and Crafts for Children

New Winter Classes Enrolling Now

Well! Looks like I am long overdue for a blog post ( yikes, last one was 7 months ago!).  I was certainly going to post something special on our studio school’s first anniversary, but that came and went last September.  Then, I  planned to post a new year’s blog, recounting all the wonderful things that have been going on in the studio over the past year, but now the time for that is almost past too.  The good news is the reason I haven’t been posting is because we’ve been so busy with classes, making art, and managing Tom’s growing sales this past year.  So, no complaints from me. The studio, and the studio school, are thriving and we’re loving it. I do hope to post more often here. I will be updating some sections of this site over the next few days- including adding a lot of pictures of all the great artwork that has been generated in classes and workshops over the past one and a half years.  Also, I do tend to post more often on facebook so if you would like to keep up my posts there, go and like our studio’s facebook page.

I will also be posting about Tom’s latest commission that he is in the process of painting right now. Very exciting !

In the meantime- I will direct you over to our class schedule and hope that we will see you soon in the studio!

Adult classes and workshops

Youth and Teen Classes

Two Angels on Display in Gallery Shows This Month

Tom  was invited to be in two gallery shows this month, and coincidentally, both wanted to feature sculptural pieces he did in the 1980’s, and both pieces represent angels made of steel and scrap metal.

The first piece called ” Angel with Uzi” (above) was completed in 1986 and is now being included in a show entitled : Washington Art Matters: 1940’s-1980’s, held at the Katzen Arts Center, at American University, from June 15th -August 11th. This show is based on a book with the same name written by Jean Lawler Cohen, Elizabeth Tebow, Sidney Lawrence, and Benjamin Forgey. It is an honor to be included in this show of some 80-90 DC artists.  After graduating from the Corcoran in 1985, Tom had numerous one-person shows in DC, some at Walker, Ursitti, and McGinnis Gallery in the Shaw neighborhood, and then later at Troyer, Fitzpatrick, Lassman Gallery on Dupont Circle. He participated in several group shows at the Washington Project for the Arts as well.

“Angel with Uzi” was purchased by Washington art collector, Herb White.  (see 1989 Museum and Arts article ) As it turns out his estate can no longer keep this piece and has it for sale. If interested, please contact us.

Another angel sculpture that is being exhibited this summer is called Iroquois Angel and/or The Spirit of Victory. This sculpture was part of Tom’s larger installation called Drums Along the Niagara, which he made during his stay at New York State’s Artist-in-Residence Program at Artpark, in Lewiston, NY, in 1989.

Artpark was a great program that invited artists to spend 4-8 weeks during a summer to work on a proposed installation on site, which also allowed for the public to view the artists in action.

Tom’s piece consisted of three main parts: a winged figure on top of a column of oil drums, a pyramid made of oil drums, and a stone well, complete with a medusa head sculpture and a functioning fountain, all placed on the top of a plateau, near the Niagara River.

The figurative part of the installation was found years later at Artpark, in 1997. It had been too large for Tom to transport home so he had had to leave it behind. It was all but forgotten, until Irene Rykaszewski and Eva Nicklas of the Lewiston Arts Council found it, stored on the Artpark property.

Through much effort and dedication, by many people ( see news articles below), the sphere and figure part of the piece were eventually restored and installed permanently in the Joseph Davis Riverfront State Park in Lewiston in 1999.

A large photo of the original Artpark installation will be part of a show called 40 for 40: 40 Alumni Artists for Artpark’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, opening July 1, 2013, at the Lewiston Council for the Arts Center.

See some of Tom’s other sculpture here.