WSG gets the jump on Youth Art Month in A2

WSG Gallery is once again celebrating Youth Art Month in Washtenaw County by hosting Community High School students' work. The show is up thhrough March 25, 2012. Student work is hung on the front wall, so you can see it if you're passing the gallery on Main Street. You'll find paintings, photographs, drawings and mixed media pieces in the show.
Check out the mixed media photo collage by Claire Montino here.
For more information, visit our website at: http://www.wsg-art.com

Visiting artist, Lulu Zheng, opens show at BBAC

Marlee Hofffman's watercolors at WSG Gallery

A show of Marlee Hoffman's watercolors "Of the Water" opens at WSG Gallery February 14, running through March 25, 2012.

The reception is Friday, Feb. 17, 7-9pm.

Her new body of work is somewhat of a departure from her previous work, but certainly carries all the strength of it and is informed by her hand and her watercolor knowledge.

Hoffman has focused on water in this show. How is it that an artist can use a few pigments, dilute them, more or less, with water, apply them on plain white paper with a brush and take you somewhere absolutely marvelous? How is it that an artist can take your imagination and transport you riverside, lakeside...invite you to see how the light reflects off the river at that moment in time in her eyes/mind?

The piece above, The Yellow Leaf, captures a leaf floating on the river. A series of brush strokes, paint here, none there, white paper reflecting light.....a wash here, dry brush over there....dark color pulling you into the background - a gorgeous piece!



This piece, "Pink", depicts a Lotus in all its splendor - you can almost smell the citrus-like fragrance. The water in this piece is, of course, ever-present, but you have to look for it a little more. Look at that lovely bit in the foreground as the lily pad meets the water. The stillness of the lily reflection on the water, next to the ripple reflection of the leaf, and the mottled green of the lily pad, again, take you immediately to your last visit to a botanical garden, or your last canoe trip, kayak trip or visit to a tranquil pond.

Take a trip to WSG during this show and treat yourself to a little visual adventure in every one of Marlee Hoffman's stunning watercolor paintings!

Literary Arts Publication Now Available at Gallery

Third Wednesday Is Now For Sale at WSG

Check out the back of the gallery this week for a literary arts journal called Third Wednesday. It’s published quarterly.

Third Wednesday grew from a group of eight poets who met the third Wednesday of each month at the Ann Arbor Barnes and Noble bookstore and then at Borders, to read and discuss their own poetry. That group became the first Associate Editors of the journal.

The first issue was published in Fall, 2007. The magazine has become international, publishing literature and artwork from Canada, Great Britain, France, the Philippines, Uganda, Italy, Romania, Ireland, and more.

Editor Laurence W. Thomas is an Ypsilanti poet, teacher, and lecturer who has published 11 books of poetry, fiction, humor, and creative nonfiction and a number of poetry chapbooks.

The art of several WSG members and visiting artists grace the pages and covers of past and current issues of Third Wednesday. We plan to include more in the future.

For more information on the journal, the editors, submission guidelines, subscribing, etc., please visit our website, www.thirdwednesday.org . In addition to poetry and short fiction, we welcome high-quality black and white and, occasionally, colored artwork for covers. See the guidelines on the site.

We’re grateful to WSG for including our journal at the gallery.

Judith Jacobs, Art Editor

Nora Venturelli in Figure Show at Sisson Gallery

Visitors to the show opening Jan. 25, 2012 at Sisson Gallery, Henry Ford Community College will be treated to an all-star line-up of artists representing the figure in their work. WSG artist, Nora Venturelli will have 6 paintings from her "Vice Versa" series on the walls. These spectacular pieces layer drawings and studies of the figure on the canvas with a final, more voluminous figure anchoring the foreground. I love the way the pieces play with your perception of positive/negative space and figure/ground.
The pieces from Venturelli's "Vice Versa" series belong in a museum!

The show runs January 25 through March 16, 2012, with a reception Jan. 25, 6-8pm.

WSG artist, Valerie Mann, is keynote speaker, visiting artist at Saline High School

Gallery artist Valerie Mann was the keynote speaker and art project facilitator for the 1st ever "Art Day" at Saline High School, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. The art career day was organized by 2 moms who have daughters interested in art careers and/or interested in keeping art a vibrant part of their lives, if they major in another subject. Mann spoke to them about managing their 2 most important assets, their health and identities, to prepare for whatever career they choose. She encouraged them to find ways to manage stress in their lives, and added that making art was one way to do that. Her message of "art is really about problem-solving" was intended to open the students' minds to the importance of making art a part of their lives.
After her keynote speech, the students broke into 3 groups, rotating between a hands-on public art project with Mann, a panel discussion with recent Saline grads who've gone on to study art in college, and a "getting into art school" discussion with a few college reps. Read more and see the photos at this link: http://www.annarbor.com/news/saline-high-schoolers-explore-a-future-in-art/

new year/new work: Francesc Burgos at WSG

New for 2012 at WSG Gallery is a show of recent clay work by Francesc Burgos. New Year/New Work is on exhibit through February 11, 2012, with a reception Friday, January 6.

Burgos comes from an architecture background, earning an MFA in ceramics from University of Utah after a career as a commercial and residential architect. That background in structure has a significant influence on the artist's thought process as he sketches and refines ideas for his pieces. The platter (above) has what looks like a little village or grid of sky-rises in its center.


Pay special attention to Burgos' surface treatment. He uses a technique called "terra sigilata" to build up a surface that somehow celebrates the essence of clay - the earthy quality. Yet the finish is somewhere between matte and glossy and seduces the viewer into touching it....yes, touching the piece of art. The piece above has raised bumps, at once sophisticated in design and reminiscent of an ancient tradition of ceramic work.

Burgos was inspired into pursuing the study of ceramics by an exhibit of medieval Japanese ceramics. "The simplicity of form" was what grabbed his attention and imagination.

Stop in the gallery over the next 6 weeks and see where Francesc Burgos' imagination took him.
Read these older blog posts to see more of his work and read an interview, start with May 14, 2010: http://wsgartgallery.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00: