AAC

STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC

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I am pleased to announce that my monotype  STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC will be on view from February 28, 2020 until April 11, 2020 at the Abington Art Center as part of the American Color Print Society’s Members Spring Exhibition. There will be an opening reception from 2 until 4 on Saturday, February 29th at the Abington Art Center, 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046

About 3 ½ years ago I was diagnosed with Stage Four, or metastatic prostate cancer. While there is no cure or any prospect of one, there are medications (side effects included) which may slow the progression of the cancer for a while. I would like to believe that, on a personal level, I have done, and am doing, everything possible to deal with it in a thoughtful, rational manner: a will has been drawn, powers of attorney executed and a place in a continuing care retirement home secured, and that I am making the best use of my time. Until STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC, however, I had not addressed it as an artist. STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC is a hard plate monotype which, with its red-orange/black palette is probably a more accurate emotional representation than a medical or scientific one. Since I have no idea what a lesion actually looks like, nor any particular desire to learn, I am going to rely on emotion, abstraction, and artistic license. Matted and Framed to 14” x 24”.

Dark Moon Rising in the 2018 Abington Arts Center Annual Juried Show

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2017

I am very pleased to announce that the juror, Martha Gyllenhall, has selected my piece, DARK MOON RISING, to be part of the 2018 Annual Juried Show at Abington Art Center. DARK MOON RISING is a 21” x 21” wall hanging consisting of 26 hand built and smoke fired stoneware tiles. The tiles were smoke fired over a 28 hour period using a mixture of hard and soft wood chips as the firing medium. The Show will open on Friday, November 9, 2018 with a reception from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., and will run through January 4, 2019. The Abington Art Center is located at 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 10946.

Papermaking

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2016

I’ve been thinking for awhile about using hand made paper in my print making and collage work, and while I have made paper before, I hadn’t for several years. So I just finished taking a 3 hour workshop entitled “Plant Fibers for Paper Making” from Winnie Radolan at the Abington Art Center, which proved to be  a very good introductory and/or review workshop. The pieces shown above, using Ginko leaves and milkweed are a couple of my workshop pieces. I’m going to continue working with using fibers such as day lilies, daffodils, hosta, corn husks, et al, and incorporating those papers in my print making and collage work.

16th Annual Will’s Creek Exhibition One Cubed

Will's Creek Exhibition - One Cubed

I am proud to announce that my found-item sculpture “Laminations of a Chocaholic” has just been accepted by jurors Amanda Jiron Murphy, Director of the Hamiltonian Gallery of Washington, DC and Jessica Beck, Assistant Curator of the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh for the Allegany Arts Council’s Will’s Creek Exhibition, “One Cubed,” which opens September 12 at the Arts Council’s Saville Gallery in Cumberland, Maryland.  The entirety of the artwork, including the frame or supports, must fit inside a 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot volume or a 1 foot by 1 foot area. “Laminations” will be on display for approximately one month.

The opening reception will be Saturday, Sept. 12 from 6 to 8 pm in the Allegany Arts Council’s galleries at 9 N. Centre St., Cumberland, MD. This event is free and open to the public.

Laminations of A Chocaholic

Laminations of a Chocoholic

“Laminations of A Chocaholic“ is my attempt to answer the age old question: “OK, now that I’ve eaten the chocolate, what do I do with the wrappers?”  “Laminations” references the design elements of the piece and word plays on the lamentations over the absence of chocolate.

“Laminations of a Chocaholic” has just been accepted by jurors Amanda Jiron Murphy, Director of the Hamiltonian Gallery of Washington, DC and Jessica Beck, Assistant Curator of the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh for the Allegheny Arts Council’s Will’s Creek Exhibition “One Cubed“ which opens September 12 at the Arts Council’s Saville Gallery in Cumberland, Maryland.  Check this post for more information.

Great Grandad Was a T-Rex

Great Grand Dad Was A T-RexThe evolutionary line between a T-Rex and a chameleon may be direct, but it’s not directly straight!  This ink drawing is on display through tomorrow at my show at the Abington Arts Center. If you have not yet had a chance to come out and see the display, now is your last chance to see this show!

The Whimsical One-Liners are a series of original one-of-a-kind ink drawings. They are not prints,photographs, or digital images. Each One-Liner has two elements: verbal and visual. The verbal element is the classic description of a one-liner: a quip, a bon mot, a pun, or an observation, while the visual element is that the drawing is literally a one-liner – a single line that never crosses itself. It is the combination of the two elements that make them Whimsical One-Liners.

After tomorrow, all remaining works will still be available for sale.  Keep an eye out for the launch of my Etsy store soon!

What Canary?

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The Whimsical One-Liners are a series of original one-of-a-kind ink drawings. They are not prints,photographs, or digital images. Each One-Liner has two elements: verbal and visual. The verbal element is the classic description of a one-liner: a quip, a bon mot, a pun, or an observation, while the visual element is that the drawing is literally a one-liner – a single line that never crosses itself. It is the combination of the two elements that make them Whimsical One-Liners.

This slightly-guilty looking feline is one of the works currently on display at my show at the Abington Arts Center and is available for sale for $100.