Artomatic 2015 Artwork, Post One:

The first piece of art I saw upon entering Artomatic was Die Antwoord by Michelle Lauren. As a Die Antwoord fan and someone who has seen them in concert multiple times, I was excited to start my Artomatic day off with this piece of Yolandi and Ninja!


To the left of this piece is the controversial "The Last Buffet" in which Lori Ulmer-Hanson has depicted Brad Pitt as Jesus with disciples such as Van Gogh, Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Elvis, John Lennon and even The Pope. I'm going to go ahead and give this piece credit for the dream I had about Brad Pitt later that night. The post-it notes surrounding the piece showed everything from support to outrage, everything a piece of art like this should invoke. I appreciate the take on The Last Supper and chose to see it as a commentary on today's society. I don't know where the post-it notes came from, but what an interesting alternative to a book!

I found Karyne Messina's glass sculptures to be not only beautiful, but soothing to look at. Check out her site for more info and a great gallery of photos of her work!

Moshe Yagho's intricate wood sculptures hardly seem believable. The attention to detail and the tiny pieces that go into the work show a level of skill and dedication to the medium that can sometimes be hard to find. I bet Moshe has no problem completing puzzles!


Davide Prete, an Italian native, hails from my alma mater, Corcoran College of Art and Design and had not only beautiful sculptures on display, but also intricate jewelry. Molto bello!

Artomatic 2015:

I spent most of Artomatic 2015 out of town getting my yoga teaching certification but I managed to catch it the very last day! I spent over 4 hours trying to capture as much artwork as possible to share here. Artomatic is a relatively short event running around 4-6 weeks total (with months of planning before hand!) so being able to capture so many amazing pieces to share has always been on my to do list once Artomatic starts. Normally I try to post during the event to help promote not only the event but the artists as well. Hopefully having my posts coming after the event this time will help viewers become more interested in the process of the next event from beginning to end! I saw some familiar artists (and friends!), some with wonderful pieces I had the pleasure of blogging about previously, and some with new work I was very excited to see! With everything from quick sketches that really tell a story, to hand made musical instruments, Artomatic is an amazing event and I hope to take part in the next one!


My involvement in Artomatic: I had the amazing opportunity to spend over 65 hours at Artomatic@Frederick in 2011 and then to be one of the small team of people who ran Artomatic@Frederick in 2013, spending over 300 hours there from start to finish. I also ran Artomatic DC's Zombie Prom in 2012 and I showed my own art at each event. It was a life changing experience for me so I love to share the experience of Artomatic with others! 

About Artomatic: Taking place (this year, as the location changes) in Hyattsville, Maryland, Artomatic describes itself via the Artomatic.org site as: “Artomatic is a non-profit, volunteer-run 501(c)3 orginaztion that organizes and hosts a large arts festival occurring every 12-18 months in the DC metropolitan area, usually in a commercial location slated for demolition. The event is unjuried (first-come-first-served) and showcases creative work in visual art, music, film, performance, and fashion. The 2012 Artomatic attracted about 1700 artists and performers and over 70, 000 visitors. We also license other events in other locations, such as Artomatic@Frederick, held in Frederick, MD, and are currently expanding and building out licensing program statewide and internationally. Artomatic’s mission is to create community, build audience and expand economic development by transforming available space into a playground for artistic expression. Artomatic is guided by a volunteer Board of Directors and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. See more about the volunteer teams that make Artomatic possible.” as well as saying, 

“Emerging and established artists present their work side by side and have the chance to work and learn from one another. The diversity of artwork and performances attract the proudest range of people, providing a forum to build institutional connections. Artists, organizations and visitors come together and illustrate the energy, vitality and strength of the arts to impact the community.” 

Time for some artwork! 

Artomatic 2012 Artwork, Part Four:

If you're coming to visit Artomatic I'd estimate based on my experience today that each floor will take about an hour to power through and up to two hours if take your time. That being said, I spent hours looking at art today! I focused mainly on the 8th, 2nd and 3rd floors which is where most of these photos come from. I'll be back again tomorrow and then on Saturday (for Zombie Prom from 8pm-10pm!) so check back soon!

I have been trying to leave notes in guest books for artists I plan on featuring here. It may be a couple of days before I get everything posted. Honesty I want to feature every artist who is a part of Artomatic. Every space has it's own amazing differences but there are also so many similarities throughout the building. It's wonderful how so many people can come together and share what goes on in their minds. I haven't come aross one space I wasn't drawn to in some way.

Again, please feel free to comment, share, repost (with proper credit) and make sure featured artist's know their work is being enjoyed. Thank you!



Some of my favorite work so far has been from Rob Chester. I strongly urge you to see his work in person. Even the room itself is inviting to explore. The camera phone photos don't do the texture and depth justice! Here is an example of some of the amazing work Rob has on display at Artomatic.

 

 

I stumbled upon a dark room and was instantly intrigued. What I found inside was an incredibly soothing room with artwork unlike any I have seen before. I really like Phaeton Arts' work! Once again the photos don't do the artwork justice in the slightest. I would greatly encourage you to take a look at the artwork in it's Artomatic environment. The depth is lost in my camera phone photos and the colors are more vibrant, the room more soothing in person.

 

 

Jeff Kollins has a really complete space, and by that I mean his work and his layout really go hand in hand to create a visually appealing and welcoming Artomatic site. Whimsical yet still captivating on a deeper level, Jeff's work should really be seen in person at it's full size.

 

Valentina Xavier has captured the beauty of old world art in her photography. My favorite piece being a friend of mine! 

 

Claire Reintgen's work caught my eye from afar. I love her triptych and her cyanotypes should be looked at closer. Beautiful, soothing colors.

I found the work J Louise Evans has chosen to display very dreamlike. Shapes that can be interpreted as friendly or hostile yet somehow familiar, organic and alive like a childhood dream that has stuck with you into adulthood. I wonder what her inspiration was! I am very drawn to them.

Glass work is something I am barely familiar with. With no concept of how these amazing pieces of art were made I found myself wondering how Michael Janis came to work in a medium that is so foreign to me and seems so difficult, how even and finished the pieces look and what the inspiration behind 'The Dimension of Memories' was. Absolutely stunning attention to detail without being so precise that it detracts from the work. Again, pieces that should be viewed in their full larger state. I tried to get a closer photo but the detail really must be seen in person!

Mary Catherine Starr and I share a love of yoga it seems. She has even painted one of my favorite poses! Nostalgic work that I as a nostalgic person felt a familiarity to.

Often enough when artists create art using Alice in Wonderland as inspiration it comes off flat, forced or overworked. This is not true for Brittany Sims. Brittany's work is captivating in a "tell me more" way, as if the viewer was meant to be Alice herself lost in Wonderland. I found myself very interested in examining the piece of Alice in the tea closer. The dream-like yet finished quality of Brittany's artwork gave me a sense of how Alice must have been feeling during this part of her adventure in Wonderland, confusion, discombobulation possibly even panic, much unlike the Disney version most of us have come to know. Her art is very enjoyable to see in the space itself which furthers the sense of the viewer being Alice, large and small.

Artomatic 2012 Artwork, Part Three:

It's no secret that I love encaustic work. I find the medium itself soothing. It smells good, it feels good to work with but wow is it hard to get it to do what I want it to do! Kevin Milstead does not seem to share this problem with me!

 

For me Nancy Hacskaylo's encaustic work has it all.  Encausic, symmetry, the circus. I really love the work she is displaying at Artomatic. While someone may look at Nancy's work and feel a sense of dread due to the clowns, as a circus lover I look at it and want to know more of the story. The organic feel of her art works well with the crisp transfers, a technique I have certainly not mastered yet!

 

 John Grunwell is not only an amazing artist he is an incredibly friendly and helpful person. Without John's help I don't think my space (which is across from his) would have been put together in time for Artomatic's opening! John not only has his work displayed on the 9th floor once, but twice. He is also a mural artist and if you like his smaller pieces you'll be blown away by the larger one!  

Jeremy Arn's cityscape instantly caught my attention. I love the use of the monochrome color to highlight the shapes that make up the city. It brought me back to watching Dark City when I was younger, a sci-fi movie where the film noir-esque city and its residents is shifted and moved around at night. So simple yet so beautiful. I really like this piece! 

Artomatic 2012 Artwork, Part One:

I didn't catch this artist's name, but I'll be looking for this space again. The pages on the wall are so soothing! I love the idea of book purses, especially really good books!

 

Featured Artists:

Please repost the link my blog to any artists who have been featured in it. I would love for them to know how much I enjoyed viewing their work! Feel free to leave comments as well. Hopefully the artists will see them!

I have tried to include the name of each artist before their work, but I didn't catch all of the artist's names as I was taking photos until I realized I'd like to keep up with them. If you know the name of an artist I have posted please leave it in the comments so I can add it, also feel free to add your/their space numbers and floor if you know it so others can find them at Artomatic 2012 or even artist's websites that link to the artwork. Thanks!

Shameless Self Promotion:

My Artomatic flyers and business cards came in today. Think I have enough?