Photos From Art and Ale 2014

 

Paintings by Apryl Altman in foreground, Diana Dellos in background.  

Art and Ale 2014 has been a success!

With perfect weather, beautiful works of art from talented artists, Timothy Seaman’s intriguing music as soundtrack for the day, and a steady supply of delicious food and Alewerks award winning brews; the stage was set for something for all visitors to enjoy.

Jean Hess and Apryl Altman

David Lewis

Betsy Minney

Jason Hillegas

Jessica Lloyd

Janis Wood

Barb Hodson

Timothy Seaman

Bob Mandala

Pottery by Dennis Orton

Quilts by Barb Hodson

Pottery by John Watters

Miniatures by ML Brei

Dianne Spearman and Genevieve Brei manage a booth of work by several artists. Jewelry by Elizabeth McCoy

Paintings by David Lewis

Our artists, the reason to celebrate our festival, filled our clubhouse and grounds with their latest work.

Denis Orton

From paintings to pottery, quilts to jewelry and sculpture, we enjoyed the color, texture, form and feeling which art brings to our lives.

 

Barb Hodson

We have a strong community of artists in Williamsburg.  And many active in our Williamsburg arts community are also our neighbors, or our former neighbors, here in Kingspoint.  We are happy to have the opportunity to to meet and visit with them, and to view and purchase their current works, right here in our own Kingspoint Clubhouse.

 

Jean Hess has strong ties to our Kingspoint neighborhood.  Her work remains on permanent display in our clubhouse.

 

We also have a strong community of volunteers.  We appreciate the support of so many willing neighbors who helped make this event possible. 

Working together, we created a memorable and successful day. 

“Thank you!” to all of the friends, family, neighbors, and visitors who shared some part of the day with us.

Judy and Dee helped serve our dinner

ML Brei

Carrie serving lunch

Kids’ Zone

Grilled chicken was the star of our dinner

Kids’ Zone offered children the chance to create their own works of art

Our kitchen hummed with activity all day.

Young artists at work

Timothy Seaman visiting with volunteer Kim Storms.

Brian was our chief cook at the grills

These photos are courtesy of Yuko Molineux, Anne Allen, and Elizabeth McCoy.  As photos continue to come in, we will continue to post them to this site.

 

Bob Mandala

Wire Tree Sculptures and Wire/Gemstone Pendants

http://www.bobmandala.com

My entrance into the art world did not begin with art classes or the love of sculptures.  It began when I saw a wire tree in a gallery in Portland, ME, and was captivated by the work.  While I was excited about the work, the price tag was off-putting and I wondered to myself (and to my wife), “I wonder if I can do that?” and my journey began.

When I returned home to Williamsburg, I visited one of my favorite art meccas, ACE Hardware, purchased what I thought I needed, brought it all home and immediately started my new project.  Well, I immediately realized that my skills needed considerable honing.  While a picture of the wire tree was firmly cemented in my mind’s eye, communication to my hands seemed to be a bit, well, severely misinterpreted.  My first attempt was tragic but my enthusiasm was not dampened.

I visited another well-known art institution, The Internet, and found others who produced varying styles of trees made of wire, some with beads, others with elaborate bases, and still others that had a distinctive Eastern flair.  I studied them, but determined that I would have to develop my own style using materials that I would discover along the way.  Through many experiments and missteps, I came upon a style much like I use today – simplicity.

The four primary tree designs are Oak, Willow, Aspen, and Windblown..  I primarily use 20gauge “dead-soft” copper or silver plated wire in shades of gold, silver, bronze, copper, and multi-toned.  The bases have evolved from clay and wood to slate and natural stones. I use two methods, wrapping and/or twisting to achieve the trunk and branch affects.  The trees are 100% wire; no other materials are used for strength or form.  It takes between 40-60 yards of wire per tree, depending on the style and size, and between 8-14 hours of work over a period of two-three days.  The trunks are embedded into the base by way of a personally drilled hole into the medium at a depth to provide substantial support, anchored with a metal piece inside the hole and finally cemented to avoid any possible loosening, under normal circumstances.

My pendants are gemstones wrapped with the same wire used on trees. 

Styles are still evolving, but simplicity is my goal – letting the gemstone quality be the main focus with wire as an accent.

My journey into art has been an exciting experience, not only for the personal accomplishment of actually creating pieces that might be appealing to others, but more importantly, I have made new friends whose work I admire and I have a significantly elevated appreciation for the creative process.  Now when I see a painting, a drawing, a photograph, a sculpture, handcrafted jewelry, or other work of art, I better understand the journey that an artist must have taken to get to the place to create.  I understand now that the journey is not a quick trip, takes many detours along the way, and is a very valuable part of our culture.

All images are used with the permission of the artist, and remain the property of the artist.  No images may be copied, printed, or used in any way without the express permission of the artist who created them. 

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