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| Past Presentations at our General Meetings | At the General Meeting on February 9, 2008, Margaret Kranking gave a slide presentation, “Bringing Your Paintings Together with Color and Light” . Over 35 members attended. The others missed a real treat! | March 8, Barbara Nuss critiqued our work at the Davis Library in Bethesda. Over 20 members attended. | April 12 Rena Hoisington was canceled. Kay McCrohan, chair of the art department at Montgomery College, spoke on April 12. Over 30 SAA members and guests enjoyed the presentation and accompanying slide show. Kay's talk was about not creating art in a vacuum, not letting titles pigeon hole you and the importance of playing in the creative process. She feels that exploring different mediums allows an artist to stretch beyond limiting labels and develop more fully. Her latest work is the culmination of work in printmaking, paper art and metalsmithing techniques. | Sumita Kim, future chair of the art department at Montgomery College, spoke May 10 Her lecture, “One Has to Forge One’s Own Path,” offered us an introspective journey through her art. Professor Kim spoke of two forces that face most artists: the need to follow one’s artistic instincts and desires and the struggle between the demands of everyday life versus your art. She explained that pain, struggle, control and self-doubt are motivating forces behind her work. Her abstracts, in particular, illustrate a soft visual texture in contrast to the harshness and reality of life.
Her latest work is comprised of soft sculpture. She is currently incorporating photography as another medium to express her art. | David Little spoke at our June 14 General Meeting at the Davis Library A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Fine Arts, he was awarded a Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship and has received grants from Baltimore City and the Maryland State Arts Council. His imagery involves the exploration of the human figure and its juxtaposition with architectural structures in environments that he creates from his memory. Twenty seven members attended
| SEPTEMBER 13, AT DAVIS LIBRARY: LIETA GERSON ( BY POPULAR DEMAND) PRESENTED PART 2 OF COLLAGE MAKING. A HANDS-ON PROGRAM!!! 40 PEOPLE ATTENDED. |
OCTOBER 11, PROFESSOR ED RIGGS 2:00 to 4:00, Montgomery College,Rockville Campus, TC Building, Room 148 The first Photoshop session we had a couple years ago was enjoyed by all. Click for a map, parking and directions to the room.
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Over 20 members attended the Photoshop session with Professors' Riggs and Johannsen It was titled "Corrections and Adjustments to Improve Digital Photographs" This was photo correction, hands-on, for our members using Photoshop. We were given a photograph on each computer, and with Professors' Riggs and Johanssen guidance, members learned to crop, color correct, and sharpen the photo. The handouts are now on this website. Click here for the color correction handout. Click here for the sharpening handout. We all thank you both for your efforts, your caring, your enthusiasm...!! | NOVEMBER 15, SEDAKIEL GEBREMEDHIN Over 20 members and guests attended this enjoyable afternoon 
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Sedakiel Gebremedhin was born in Ethiopia. In 1999, his family immigrated to the United States. Shortly after moving to the U.S., Sedakiel began attending the Maryland College of Art & Design, where he learned about such artists as Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns. This experience helped him learn new ways to modernize Ethiopian artwork. At the Maryland College of Art & Design, Sedakiel received the Chairman of the Fine Arts Award, an honorable mention and the Dean’s Choice Award. In June 2005 Sedakiel successfully completed a solo art show in Washington, DC. Approximately 250 VIP guests attended, including members of the business and diplomatic communities, the DC Mayor’s office and professors from the School of Art & Design at Montgomery College, which was previously the Maryland College of Art & Design. The show included works of art that dated from 1999-2005. After a short stint away from school, Sedakiel returned to the School of Art & Design in 2007 and received a 2008-2009 Montgomery College Foundation Scholarship to continue his studies. He is currently developing a portfolio and will attend a 4-year art institute. ALSO ON THE PROGRAM WAS DAVID EPSTEIN, MFA, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN MONTGOMERY COLLEGE, TAKOMA PARK CAMPUS. HE SPOKE ABOUT THE NEW ART FACILITIES AT THE CAMPUS.
JANUARY 10, PAT ZANNIE Tips on Creativity and Shortcuts to Composition This was the title of Patricia Zannie’s presentation at the January 10th meeting of the Senior Artists Alliance. This was a hands-on presentation where everyone made one or two collages with bits of paper and string. The presentation began with Ms. Zannie’s statement: “ I believe creativity is a universal, innate ‘human‘ process, and that individuals are unique and precious, having the capacity to develop themselves and express their own experiences of and in this life.” She uses bits of papers from all over the world. She uses glazes, wax, varnish, and found objects to create her collages. She says, “For me, Collage is the Jazz of the visual art forms”. She shared her passion with us. Patricia Zannie is a firm believer that creativity is a part of all of us and should be allowed to blossom. Some of her suggestions for freeing ourselves to be creative are: - Don’t force your work. Go for a walk and let the creativity “bubble up”.
- Do something different.
- There is no such thing as perfection, so don’t seek it.
- Be open minded
Patricia Zannie’s suggestions for composition were many that we have heard before: Use contrast - light and dark - warm and cool - complements Think about boundaries by integrating them shape-to-shape, color-to-color. She showed us a collage where every boundary had been outlined in zigzag dark ink. Triangle shapes can become the lines of perspective
Ms. Zannie is an enthusiastic artist who thoroughly enjoys her art. Her collages of thousands of bits and pieces are amazing. The forty or so members present enjoyed her excitement and their own projects. "Creativity and the philosophy and techniques of Cezanne, Matisse, Gauguin, and other rebel Master Artists who developed the concepts of Modern Art are the cornerstone of my intuitive approach to Art. The Japanese understanding of “Satori” or enlightenment permeates my personal and professional commitment toward Life as the “Greatest Art.” It is within this context that I have chosen to be a collage artist and to share this satisfying experience with my students." | FEBRUARY WAS PROFESSOR OKIM February 21st, Professor Komelia Hongja Okim – Artist Extraordinaire
On Saturday, February 21st, the Senior Artists Alliance had the pleasure of listening to Ms. Okim tell us about her art. Ms. Okim attended Ewha woman’s University in Seoul, Korea and Indiana University in Bloomington. First she was a textile major and then she moved into metallurgy. When Ms. Okim came to Montgomery College she taught weaving before teaching jewelry making which she does currently. The Alliance was treated to many pictures of Ms. Okim’s sculptures, table pieces, and jewelry. Many of her pieces are abstract landscapes which include figures. Several of her works show wheat fields and mountains. Other pieces were wedding sets and coffee pot sets. Her sculpture includes many with figures in motion. Hair is blowing in the breeze.... Her work is usually done in silver. Some work has gold fused into the silver. She has experimented with various ways of creating patina. Her works can be large. Often she then reproduces the large work as smaller brooches. She has some bronze work. Most of her work shows the Asian influence. She described framing methods that she said were Korean. She has printed digital images on silk, mounted the silk and then attached silver figures to the mounted silk. Extraordinaire! Ms. Okim’s work is in private, corporate, and museum collections both here and in Korea. |
| MARCH 28, 2009, PROFESSOR MICHAEL FARRELL A painter, his subject was "From Realism to Abstraction (and back again)". 25+ members attended - this was an exceptional afternoon!! And you can click for the writeup that has been posted in preparation for this presentation. Edgar Degas once related about his relationship to art, "I have spent my life in trying-out. Fortunately, I never found my manner." Montgomery College Professor Michael Farrell exhibits Degas perception but argues, "I'm still seeking." And seeking is what he demonstrated at SAA's March 28th meeting and discussion. Michael, brought up in NYC with two loving parents, became infatuated with art in high school, later in college. Although he majored in economics, he enrolled in art courses, especially 19th and 20th century modern art, to satisfy his need for expression and the knowledge which comes from related art history books. By way of his father, an accountant who was financial manager at the American Museum of Modern Art, he had unique access to our modern art and some of the living artists of our time. Michael demonstrated to us that he is infatuated with landscapes, which he drew with outstanding graphic exactitude, true colors, and of "photographic" quality. (See example below). While studying for his M.S.A., Michael's instructors and critics were not excited about his art, in fact they discounted it as being too simplistic, exacting, non-abstract, having no "inner meaning." Still trying to "find his manner" Michael painted still life images, though these still did not provide his critics with satisfaction. Michael likes to quote artist Fairfield Porter, "As the wholeness of life eludes control, so the wholeness of art eludes the control of the artist. The realist thinks he knows ahead of time what reality is, and the abstract artist what art is, but it is in the formality that realist art excels, and the best abstract art communicates an overwhelming sense of reality." Hence, Michael was caught between the two; he knew that it was time for his process of discovery to begin anew. Michael continued to be influenced by landscapes but painted in an abstract surreal way, offering simplicity and subdued texture to communicate beauty and meaning to the viewer. He is an advocate of Diebenkorn Thiebaud in that one must, "explore the duality of perceptual and conceptual information" in his art. Today Michael continues experimenting, learning about the unique qualities of painting, for example, on plastic Mylar. In addition, he's experimenting with cardboard rubbings. These offer him a new approach, dimension, depth to the manner of his art. He quotes John Berger from Ways of Seeing, "The world is full of information, but paintings are silent and still. They exist in a different kind of time." Hence, Michael pointed out that not only the artist but the viewer must put his or her own voice into the painting. Michael loves light, its colors, its' tones. He loves to look at and consider the beauty of landscapes, yet has learned to understand the abstraction hidden within. He loves the exactitude of photographs, but has learned to train his visual memory to look deeper into reality. He loves to concentrate on the excitement of one form or technique of painting. However, he realizes that to maintain his yearning for growth, the new and different, that change is necessary. Michael keeps learning techniques; his artistic perception does change and mature as he matures. Michael is excited about what he does. His outlook is fresh, airy and truthful to his inner desire of searching for his manner. Professor Farrell is truly a positive example of a work in progress. Contributors, Arlene Polangin and August Spector |
APRIL 18, 2009, GEORGE J. E. SAKKAL Click the picture for his website ... look at his bio, resume, collages, and his "My Opinion" tab 
MAXIMISM
NOUVEAU COLLAGE In 1912 the French artist, George Braque, created the first fine art paper collage. Braque's accomplishment was revolutionary. His innovation ushered in a new era in art. The monopoly technique of painting with a brush was now permanently altered. | 
The paper collage changed forever the regard for the use of the traditional paint/brush stroke process as the means to produce art. Fifty years later in 1962, with the creation of my first collage, I discovered a process to apply paper so that the finished work appears to be painted… equivalent to the paint/brush stroke process, this furthering the use of paper as a fine art medium. |
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MAY 2, 2009, SAM NOTO At his home in his sculpture garden Saturday, May 2, 2009, at 2:00 pm 417 Hillmoor Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20901 Directions from the Beltway:
Route 29 Colesville Road Road North
Cross University at first light
Third street after University turn right at Lorain
Continue about .8 mile to Hillmoor where the street goes right
Third house on the left, park on the street (avoid steep driveway that is difficult to back down) (301) 593-8546, FAX (301) 593-0426, Cell (240) 893-7827 e-mail samnoto@aol.com web www.samnoto.com  | "The struggle with limits is actually the source of creative productions" - At his home in his sculpture garden m 417 Hillmoor Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20901Directions from the Beltway:
Route 29 Colesville Road Road North
Cross University at first light
Third street after University turn right at Lorain
Continue about .8 mile to Hillmoor where the street goes right
Third house on the left, park on the street (avoid steep driveway that is difficult to back down) (301) 593-8546, FAX (301) 593-0426, Cell (240) 893-7827 e-mail samnoto@aol.com web www.samnoto.co The approach to making sculpture that serves me best is one of sensing and evolving an idea. My intuitive approach to sculptural form, design, and content usually results in a more direct expression of my vision. I am a maker of objects. The materials I choose that respond to any space my be metal, stone, water, or light. I strive to establish a stable intimate garden presence, a point of interested, intended to act as a visual settling point from nature’s chaos. My desire is to design and develop objects that establish a visual relationship with the surrounding environment. In the making, the practical aspects are taken into consideration that is low maintenance and reasonable rates. |
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| JUNE 20, SAA MEMBER BONITA TABAKIN Since 1982 Bonita Tabakin-Latterner has exclusively studied color, shape, and contour figures. In 1965 she interned with Picasso who caused this path. Later she exclusively focused on where Color lives and how it moves in the universe under L. Colbert Dubois and has intuitively worked with pure color to advance healing. Her extensive research reflected famous scientists, medical doctors, and surgeons proved her intuition and experiences accurate. Through an interactive presentation, she's inviting us into the whirling swirling irresdescent jeweled luminous soft 4rth world creations which have sparked her recovery and turbocharged others. All adults are welcomed. She's invited a scientist who is also a journalist in this field and a medical doctor involved with building a $39 + million facility for advancing supplemental healings under one roof to assist in the question and answer phase of this knowledge. |
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, SAA MEMBER MURRAY STEIN MURRAY STEIN WAS BACK IN TOWN FOR THE SUMMER AND DEMONSTRATED HIS TECHNIQUES FOR PRODUCING HIS AWARD-WINNING SEGMENTED WOOD BOWL TURNINGS. As an artist, Murray says multi-colored wood is his palette, his chisels are his brushes and his lathe is his easel. During his talk, he passed around partially assembled pieces of segmentation, so the class could see the steps taken in building up these unusual vessels. The technique lends itself to replicating Native American pottery, which are his favorites, but he also has a collection of hi-tech UFOs equipped with electronics, as well as an ‘International Collection’ consisting of replicas of vessels from all over the world.
SEPTEMBER 12 AT THE DAVIS LIBRARY The Business of Art with Nannette Clapman Blinchikoff
Attention Artists: If you want to learn how-to promote yourself and how-to market your art in today’s arena, this is the lecture for you! Nannette is a sculptor and author of Promoting Art with Integrity. She uses her Five Steps of Promotion to offer perspectives from both the artist and gallery point of view; and provide countless ideas, practical exercises, and ways to adapt mainstream sales techniques to help the artist become more professional. Books will be available for purchase at the event ($20).
Nannette Clapman Blinchikoff finds her self-worth through her art. She has created it, taught it, critiqued it, lectured on it, and wrote books about promoting it. This part of her identity is both invigorating and fulfilling. Her sculpture can be found in public and private art collections and has been seen in numerous local, national, and international exhibitions, since 1972. She began researching promotional options for artists in 1983. Her business-of-art books, lectures, workshops, and private-tutoring sessions are useful tools for artists interested in marketing their art. After earning her Bachelor of Science (1975) and Master of Education (1984) degrees from Towson University, she used her master thesis as the basis of her Promoting Fine Art books. Promoting Art with Integrity, Nannette's most recent book, offers perspectives from both the artist and gallery point of view, while providing countless ideas, practical exercises, and unique methods to adapt mainstream sales techniques to help artists become more professional. Visit Nannette's web site at www.ncbenterprises.com to see excerpts from Promoting Art with Integrity.
October 10, 2009, at the Davis Library with SAA member Bruce Blum SAA member Bruce Blum, "Photographs on Canvas - Amplifying Quality Snapshots". Bruce Blum is in his seventh decade of photography -- always an amateur. He started to exhibit again in 1990, and has done well. Always a black and white photographer, he expanded to color in the mid 90s and used Photoshop to print his color images. He started shooting in digital around 2000, moved from small point-and-shoot to an SLR, and turned exclusively digital several years ago. He will give a short and a long answer, the latter including more than you may want to know about digital printing. Click for Bruce Blum's web site. |
NOVEMBER 14 SAA member David Pellish discussed his unique kinetic art., 2:00 at the Davis Library.  |  |
| Introducing a New Direction in Contemporary Art - David Pellish Sixty years ago when I was in graduate school, I experimented with various materials and techniques to produce a sense of motion in art. Since my retirement in 1994, I have returned to focus on technology and tools in order to update my original concept. The results have been artwork that incorporates dynamic designs creating visions in motion. Traditional wall art is static and the artist uses color and designs to develop an imaginative work. For example, in landscape images the artist leads the viewer's eyes down a path or brook within lines merging towards the horizon. Sculpture is three dimensional and the viewer moves around the piece to gain different perspectives on the work of art. My goal was to add the element of motion to engage the observer into interacting with my wall art. I achieved this goal without the use of mechanical devices. The motion is created when an observer moves his or her head slightly from side to side.
Dave emphasized several times during his presentation that his goal is to inspire people to think of motion as another aspect of contemporary art. After his degrees in art and architecture, although he loved art, he practiced architecture with several government agencies emphasizing Bauhaus architecture, which eliminated any unnecessary pediments and fripperies, that is, free of unnecessary embellishment. He also explained the process he used to create this more intimate connection between the observer and the art. |
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Michaele Harringon was our guest speaker at the Senior Artists Alliance meeting on January 16, 2010.Over 40 SAA members attended. She talked about "critiquing your art work". Members who wanted to have their paintings, photos, prints or sculptures critiqued brought a work of art to the meeting.    All participating members joined in the discussions. This was a very interesting session. The speaker, Michaele Harrington, is best described is a practicing fine artist and art educator at colleges in the Baltimore-Washington area. She has exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally and conducts workshops in experimental water media. Her own work explores two and three dimensions, which express her interest in psychology, archetypes and personal symbolism. Best described as an "eclectic artist," Ms. Harrington presented a format with which to critique art using: five ELEMENTS OF DESIGN: LINE SHAPE VALUE TEXTURE and COLOR. She then discussed the Organization of these design elements into the PRINCIPLES OF HARMONY and PRINCIPLES OF VARIETY. Principles of Harmony include Repetition, Rhythm, and Visual Links while Principles of Variety include Factors, Difference (light/dark), Contrast (large/small areas) and Elaboration (detailed/simple). Ms. Harrington suggested deciding on a focal point and orchestrating a crescendo around your focal point (rest place) to hold people's attention (squinting helps to select that point). She mentioned that one should avoid putting the focal point at the edge of the work. Another aspect of creating art is the POINT OF VIEW which includes Balance, Proportion, Dominance, Movement, Economy (strip to the bare essentials), Space (generally avoid dividing in half), and Unity. Ms. Harrington noted that when all of the above elements work together to create a space, you have unity. This is the technical aspect of the art.  |
To Ms. Harrington's mind, creating art is a conversation between the developing art and the artist. She feels you reach a point where you must be willing to let the work exist on it's own. For her, a painting is never finished. She leaves a work alone for a couple of months, after it is 80% complete, and then looks at it again. The members present then had an opportunity to present one work each to Ms. Harrington to critique jointly with the audience using the principles discussed earlier and how they viewed the art.. The afternoon was thoroughly enjoyed by all present as indicated by the rapt attention , participation, and questions. Submitted by Arlene K. Polangin | | Several SAA members of Professor Poliszczuk's Montgomery College sculpture class went on his class day trip to the New York Sculpture Garden to view the Henry Moore exhibit. Turn on your computer speakers, then click for a video tour of the "Moore in America" exhibit by the Time Magazine art critic. When the video ends, either click the back arrow or the red 'x' at the top of your screen to return here. | |
September 25, 2010 A Hands-On Photoshop session at Montgomery College | Click here for the SAA pictures and Blog from the all-day session. | 
Professor Riggs |
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Saturday, October 16, 2010, Davis Library, with David Daniels, watercolorist
The SAA General Meeting, with the Washington Watercolor Society as our guests. Florence Gang announced ... Click to read about the General Meeting, and to find a link to David Daniels' interviews and videos showing him working in his studio. |  | "Capturing the spirit of nature and interpreting its beauty through my vision is what I love most about making art. The medium of watercolor is surprisingly versatile, which feeds into my drive to experiment with materials and methods. Borrowing from batik, I use a masking agent and multiple washes to achieve a range of effects, from delicate to bold. At times I add pastels to strengthen the depth of color, and almost always paint in a large format, which allows me to exaggerate my subject matter. It is an ever present challenge for me to elevate the medium of watercolor by using innovative techniques, all the while preserving the natural beauty of its transparency. Most rewarding is that simple smile of a viewer who has come face to face with the shimmering wing of a four-foot grasshopper." |
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November 13, 2010, Mira Hecht, an abstract painter and Corcoran instructor Click to read about our General Meeting with Mira Hecht, and to tell your fellow-members about it. |  |
May 28 General Meeting at the Davis Library, 2:00, 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda. Allen Linder, a sculptor and teacher at Montgomery College, gave a presentation. April 30, 2011 General Meeting at the Davis Library, 2:00, 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda. This was a presentation by Tamah Graber, a glass artist. Click her picture below to read her bio...  And click here to see her web site. March 26, 2011 General Meeting at the Davis Library, 2:00, 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda. This program was a presentation by watercolorist Susan Murphy; subject getting into a juried show. She runs ARTHOUSE, a studio and gallery in Sandy Spring MD. The Washington Watercolor Society joined us. Florence Gang introduced Susan Murphy who is a multi-skilled artist. When Susan decided upon a career in art, she designed and helped to construct an annex to her house that would be dedicated to art. “ARThouse is a teaching facility for the development of art professionalism.” She also turns out elegant picture frames, produces giclee prints or lithographic reproductions, and photographs client's art work.
Susan represents various artists and exhibits their work in ARThouse. Her own paintings have won awards at prestigious watercolor shows. She is an experienced juror and participates regularly in juried exhibits.
Susan received a warm welcome from the 12 members that attended the meeting. She shared with us her ideas of what it takes to get a work of art accepted in a juried exhibit. Try for an unusual subject for a juried show. Follow the rules for show. She stressed originality and do not use someone else's work whether it be a photo, off the internet, or out of a magazine. Juried shows must be your own idea and composition. She also discussed the elements of design and the principles.
The members were very interactive and Susan answered all of their questions and concerns. It was an informative afternoon and we missed all of you who did not attend. A note to all, if this is representative of the interest in Senior Artists Alliance, the group may have to fold. Please try to make every effort to attend future meetings. |
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