Hill
Rag December 1999
ART WORKS: Capitol Hill Resident Judy Wood
Brings Art Home For The Holidays
By: Mary Masters
A
CPA by profession and an art lover by passion,
Capitol Hill resident Judy Wood has literally
opened her home to provide affordable an
to new and seasoned collectors in a setting
that shows the enjoyment of living with
art.
Her
105 year old Capitol Hill Brownstone is
nestled in a row of historic Victorian homes
on 9th Street NE. On the day of our recent
interview, I found her seated at a large
Italian marble table created by one of her
show artists, glancing ever so often at
a small black box with an antenna to check
on the morning's stock market. As w' sit
in her living room filled with anists' wares
Wood is simultaneously day trading and hammering
out a press release for her next Art Works
show. She is surrounded by her eclectic
art collection. A huge tapestry hangs on
the wall and colorful paintings are strategically
placed over the mantel of the antique fireplace.
This
entrepreneur created Art Works after recently
arriving in Washington, DC from Atlanta,
where she spent 25 years in public accounting,
the last 15 years operating her own CPA
firm. After hosting art shows in Atlanta,
she decided to bring the idea to Washington,
DC. “I searched around to find a way
to combine my business experience, my skills
of a lifetime and my love of art, "
Wood told me. “And Art Works is the
perfect combination.”
Woods
is celebrating the success of her first
year with this show featuring the work of
30 artists. The show presents a diverse
group of mediums which include painting,
art jewelry, mixed media, photography, art
clothing, utilitarian pottery, sculpture,
textiles, pastels, outdoor metal sculpture,
watercolors, and native American jewelry.
There are items in all price ranges.
Art
Works, located at 13 9th St. NE, runs through
Dec. 12, weekdays from 4 pm to 8 pm and
Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm.
Talks by individual artists are scheduled
for 6 pm to 8 pm on Monday, Dec. 6—silversmith
Sonda Allen of Turtle's Webb; on Wednesday,
Dec. 8—abstract artist Sheila Crider;
and on Thursday, Dec. 9—mixed media
painter, Stevens Carter. Friday Dec. 10,
a fund-raiser for Community of the Ark,
(COTA) will feature music and a talk by
the Executive Director of COTA, John Cook,
and a chance to meet with the group's four
resident artists. COTA is a community of
artists with disabilities that, under the
tutelage of the Corcoran's adjunct professor
Rex Weil and artist Stephanie Sove-Ney,
have created vibrantly colored artworks
in their own style using professional quality
an materials.
All
of the sales from the COTA artists from
the Dec.10 benefit will go to the COTA and
10% of all other artists sales on that day
will also be donated to the community.
Growing
up in Jacksonville, Florida, Wood found
inspiration through her father who was a
medical doctor and successful businessman.
"1 learned from him not to be afraid
to trv anvthing and that you can be whatever
you want to be," she said.
What is art? "It is an expression of
our very highest self, it comes from our
verv core, our very being and it is a privilege
to see that." beams Wood. For more
information call Judy Wood at 202-548-4848
or e-mail her at jwoodcpa@bellatlantic.net.
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The
WGG Newsletter, Spring 1999
Through
the Plasticity of Metal: Silversmithing
in Ireland with Brian Clarke
By Sonda Tamarr Allen
Have
you ever been unhappy with your current
level of technical skill and longed to learn
a new technique from a Master?! Well, last
August I took a break from my artistic life
of isolation and production flew to the
Emerald Isle to study with Master Silversmith
Brian Clarke. After my flight from BWI to
Dublin, Brian met me at the train station
in the picturesque village of Rathdrum;
and thus began a marvelous adventure in
which I ate, drank and made friends, but
above all learned more about my craft.
In
the tiny village of Ballinaclash, Brian
runs the metalsmithing workshops while his
wife, Yvonne Bergin, a textile artist, is
the general hostess and takes care of the
lodging and cooking for the students (vegetarian,
vegan and carnivore alike). In general,
every student has his or her own room with
beautiful views of the Irish countrvside;
three meals a day are served in a lovely
dining room overlooking the flower garden,
and on most days Yvonne surprised the students
at the daily tea' break with delicious homemade
sweets, biscuits and cakes.
The
Workshop was, as they say in Ireland, 'Brilliant'.
It consisted of two weeks of hands on training
in the Plasticity of Metal. In the first
two days we raised a bowl with a stand,
utilizing a method of crimp raising developed
by Brian Clarke in his more than 30 years
of experience. This method involves using
Delron mallets and steel stakes designed
and made by Brian. After two days of intense
work, I had an amazing copper bowl with
a bronze stand. Brian cheerfully informed
the class that this exercise is the basis
of silversmithing, 'and wasn't that easy?'.
Meanwhile I, who hadn't lifted a hammer
any heavier than a ball-peen or goldsmith's,
was wondering where my right arm had gone.
The process of raising a flat sheet of metal
is magical, but it ain't easy!
The
remaining week and a half was spent defining
and finishing my own projects: a small chalice
and three spoons. Brian's workshops are
master classes. There are no more than 6
students at each two week course so there
is a great deal of individual attention
and instruction. After the first two days,
we took a trip into the city of Dublin,
where Brian took us to the National Museum
of Ireland to see ancient, medieval and
modern gold and silver pieces, (one of Brian's
sterling silver coffee post is featured
in the permanent collection there), the
Designyard (the leading gallery of metal
arts in Ireland) and several tool shops.
On the weekend, we took a trip to New Grange,
a five thousand year old underground passage
tomb in County Meath where we were actually
allowed inside to see the spiral stone carvings!
In the middle of the second week, we went
to the Kilkenny workshops in County Kilkenny.
These workshops are artists' galleries and
working/selling studios set up in the stable
yard of the Medieval Kilkenny castle. There
we met other fine craft artists in various
media including pottery, textiles, paintings,
gold and silversmithing.
Among
the many good things about my Irish adventure
was the opportunity to meet other metals
people. In the workshop, I met Konstantin
Hofelmaier who was a master goldsmith from
Germany. He shared information on Etruscan
chain making and granulation. Meryl Hutchinson,
from England, had come to metal through
a degree in ceramics. Babette Rittenberg,
from New Orleans, maintains her own studio
and had worked with Thomas Man. Patricia
Russell, from Oklahoma, was a beader who
wanted to incorporate chasing into some
of her designs. I have been making jewelry
for the past seven years and thoroughly
loved the break from crunching out production
items, both for the skilled artists I met
and for the chance to do challenging and
original work and being able to be one with
a piece of metal.
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Sonda
Tamarr Allen
A Midsummer Night
Tutti i Sensi Kunst und Wein
Vom
30. Juli bis 7. August 1999.
Wir laden Sie zur Eroffnung und einer Kostprobe
kalifornischer Weine am Freitag, den 30.
Juli 1999 von 19.30 bis 21.30 Uhr herzlich
ein.
Sonda
Tamarr Allen, wurde 1967 in der Bronx, New
York/USA, geboren und hat ein eigenes Studio
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Sonda
Tamarr Allens Arbeiten sind wertvolle Kunststucke,
die immer auch Ausdruck ihrer Liebe zur
afrikanischen Geschichte sind. Sie beschaftigt
sich intensiv mit den klassischen Techniken
der afrikanischen Goldund Silberschmiedekunst.
Ein wichtiger Hintergrund fOr die Arbeiten
ist ihre Kenntnis uber Funktion und Gebrauch
von Talismannern und Fetischen in westafrikanischen
Kulturen. Zu sehen sind Armreifen, Ringe,
Ketten, Ohrschmuck und Broschen. Besonders
reizvoll sind einige Gebrauchsgegenstande,
wie zum Beispiel Tafelsilber.
Diese
Prasentation findet im Rahmen der Ausstellung
,,Eine Reise nach New Yorki~ der Malerin
Dagmar Winkler statt.
Tuffi
i sensi * KeldenichstraGe 23 Dusseldorf-Gerresheim
Galerie 0211-286050 ~ Biiro 0211-232249
Fax 0211-234445 ~ Mobil 0171-9710396 Offnungszeiten:
Di, Do, Frei 17.00-18.30, Sa 10.00-13.00
Uhr und nach Vereinbarung
Sonda
Tamarr Allen
A Midsummer Night
Ausstellung
vom 30. Juli bis 7. August '99 Ausstellungseroffnung
am Freitag, den 30. Juli um 19.30 Uhr.
Sonda
Tamarr Allen, 1967 in der Bronx, New York/USA,
geboren, ist in Baltimore, Maryland und
Humbolt, Tennessee, aufgewachsen. Wahrend
ihrer Schulzeit entwickelte sie ihr Interesse
fur Geschichte, Literatur und Poesie. Spater
belegte sie auf dem College Psychologie
und Geschichte und schloss diese Ausbildung
auf der Howard University in Washington
D.C. mit einem Master Degree fur afrikanische
Geschichte ab.
Bereits
auf dem College beschaftigte sich Sonda
Tamarr Allen in einem Wahlkurs mit der Schmuckherstellung.
Aber erst wahrend des Abschlusses auf der
Universitat entdeckte sie ihren intensiven
Wunsch, kreativ zu sein. 19921994 absolvierte
die Kunstlerin ihre Goldschmied-Ausbildung
bei Jamal Mims in der Sun Gallery Goldsmiths
in Washington D.C. Spater folgten Kurse
fur Schmuck-Herstellung am Maryland Institute
und in den Jahren '9g und '99 jeweils einmonatige
Silberschmie de Workshops bei Brian Clarke
in Wicklow, Irland.
Sonda
Tamarr Allens Arbeiten sind werivolle Kunststucke,
die immer auch Ausdruck ibrer Liebe zur
afrikanischen Geschichte sind. Sie beschaftigt
sich intensiv mit den klassischen Techniken
der afrikanischen Gold- und Silberschmiedekunst.
Ein wichtiger Hintergrund fur die Arbeiten
ist ihre Kenntnis uber Funktion und Gebrauch
von Talismannern und Fetischen in westafrikanischen
Kulturen. Ein Schmuckstuck zu entwerfen
und zum Leben zu erwecken ist fur die Kunstlerin
ein magischer Vorgang.
Seit 1995 nimmt Sonda Tamarr Allen an zahlreichen
Gruppenausstellungen in Washington D.C.
teil. Sie hat ein eigenes Studio in Baltimore,
Maryland und stellt ihre Arbeiten seit 1991
unter dem Titel ,,Turtle's Webb" auf
dem Eastern Market in Washington D.C. aus.
Die
Ausstellung bei Tutti i sensi, Dusseldorf,
ist Sonda Tamarr Allens erster Auftritt
aul3erhalb der USA. In ihrer aktuellen Ausstellung
sind Armreifen, Ringe, Ketten, Ohrschmuck
und Broschen zu sehen. Besonders reizvoll
sind einige Gebrauchsgegenstande, wie zum
Beispiel Tafelsilber.
Diese
Sonderausstellung findet im Rahmen der die
Ausstellung ,,Eine Reise nach New York"
der Malerin Dagmar Winkler statt.
Tutti
i sensi Kunst und Wein
Galerie
- Weinfuhrungen - Veranstaltungen rund um
die Themen Kunst & Wein
Keldenichstrasse 23 40625 Dusseldorf-Gerresheim
Telefon: Buro 0211 -232249 und Galerie 0211
-286050 * Fax 0211 -234445 Email denise_cezanne(~yahoo.com
Offaungszeiten:
Dienstag,
Donnerstag und Freitag von 17.00 bis 18.30
Uhr * Samstag 10.00 - 13.00 Uhr, zu den
Veranstaltungen und nach Vereinbarung
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The
Common Denominator November 23, 1998
‘Art Works’ to showcase 20 artists
By
ERICA WINTER Capitol Hill correspondent
Judy
Wood, an artist who moved to the Hill from
Atlanta one year ago, will open her home
to host the first "Art Works"
event Dec. 5-6, showcasing the work of 20
artists. The artists are from Washington,
D.C., as well as the United Kingdom, New
Mexico and Maryland. The collection will
include painting, photography, mixed media,
watercolors, art jewelry, pottery, clothing,
sculpture, quilts and more.
Sonda
Tamarr Allen, a silversmith and mainstay
at Eastern Market for the past seven years,
will be one of the featured artists at the
show. Having recently returned from a sabbatical
spent studying with a sliversmith in Ireland,
Allen has expanded her repertoire while
maintaining her distinctive style.
Allen,
who did a brief stint as a social studies
teacher after receiving her master of arts
degree in African historv from Howard University,
formed her business in 1992, naming it "Turtle's
Webb." "Turtle." she says
because "they're slow-moving, diligent,
persistent and always win the race."
Webb is the name of one of Allen’s
grandfathers He was a farmer who "also
built the Webbs, ever expanding and strong".
Allen
received her artistic training at The Maryland
Institute College of Art in Baltimore, at
Penlald School of Crafts in North Carolina
and as an apprentice for two years with
Jamal Mims, a metalsmith with Sun Gallery
Goldsmiths in Adams Morgan. Now she has
an apprentice, Heather Henry, working in
her Baltimore studio.
Allen's
designs are influenced by ancient African
and Asian themes. Her work, mostly earrings
with some hair-pins, rings, cuff links and
bracelets changes with the seasons. In spring
she works with copper, brass, and bronze;
in winter, silver, as well as custom work
in gold. To the metals she adds coral, shells,
small ceramic tiles, pearls and stones such
as turquoise, opals, and mother-of-pearl.
An
accomplished artist, Allen's work has been
sold in the Smithsonian Institution Museum
Shops and the Royal Ontario Museum Shops,
and displayed at The Studio 54 Museum of
Harlem and The Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Still,
Allen remembers the preferences of her most
loyal patrons and will buy stones with them,
as well as her art, in mind. See Allen's
new winter series every Saturday or Sunday
at Eastern Market on 7th Street SE, between
Pennsylvania and North Carolina avenues,
as well as at the "Art Works"
exhibit.
Wood
invites "artful holidav shoppers"
to her home at 13 Ninth St. NE from 11 a.m.
to 6p.m. Dec. 6 and 7.
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