Hello Archway Fans!

My show has been up close to a month and I hope you have time to look at it online, at the gallery by appointment, or at the gallery on weekends during our new limited hours. I hate to blow my own horn, but I got to admit this is some of my best work to date. I think there are some special pieces in this show and if you have had time to check it out, I hope you think so too.

A few pieces have already sold and, hopefully, there will be a few a more. I was incredibly pleased when the artwork installed as it looked even better with the gallery spotlights shining on each piece. I was worried that the show might look disconnected and somewhat disjointed because I do so many different processes but Harold Joiner, one of our resident gallery curators, pulled it all together. It turned into a show that I could only hope for after all the years of artmaking.

My art does not tell stories, make political points, or any other kind of statements. What I want is for you to enjoy the colors and movement of each piece. I want you to be uplifted and happy when you look at my art, and I want you to never tire of looking at pieces once hanging on your wall.

The show is mostly glass and steel but there are a few stand-alone wood pieces. I especially enjoy the wood pieces because it reminds me of my many years of making foundry patterns; I am pleased that I still have the skills I acquired some 50 years ago and still have the thought process to do the job.

Turning a doodle in my sketchbook into a 3-D piece of art is something I have always enjoyed. Doing the engineering and the machine work, as well as the finishing, is always a fun challenge! Sometimes it is a pleasure and other times it is just a great disappointment which goes on the shelf under the table for another day.

My mind is never at rest! I am constantly thinking about new projects regardless of whatever else I may be doing. I am a maker and always have been. My whole life I planned to have a place where I could work and have the equipment to make any project imaginable. After much work, my studio is just that kind of place.

I attend workshops and am constantly learning a new process. In my opinion, to be great in art you must keep learning and growing daily. You must challenge your skills on every project you create so every new piece is different and better than the  last piece. I am always looking forward to my next creation and, hopefully, my collectors feel the same way by continuing to collect and enjoy the fruits of my artistic labors. Creating is a way of life; I plan to be creating until the very end.

There is Another Garden combines two of my life-long loves: art and gardening; art came first and, seemingly, naturally.

​Trained as an architect, I saw garden design as an essential part of fashioning a holistic environment - the inside and the outside, the built and the natural, the planned and the organically evolved. It wasn’t until I reached my adult years that I found myself really wanting to garden. The art side of it inspires me; the science side of it challenges me. In the beginning I found it is easy, but only if I could get the plants to do exactly what I want them to do! Deciding that Dollar Pennyroyals are a good-looking ground cover was a comforting acceptance. Ah, but the challenge was part of the fun. After I decided that it was all going to be just one big experiment anyway, everything was good.

​It is rather lovely to note that there has been an increase in people doing jigsaw puzzles during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Obviously puzzles have not lost their power to entertain people either singly or in groups. Even the ‘rich and famous’ are secret puzzlers. Amie Tsang in her New York Times article said, “Patrick Stewart once called the world of jigsaw puzzles a “secret society.” She even mentioned that the Australian Prime Minister has announced that jigsaw puzzles are an ‘essential item’ during ‘lockdown’ and that people are allowed to leave their homes in order to procure them. Images of puzzle pieces being laid out methodically across nations, possibly first the edge pieces and then working with groups of colors or patterns come to mind. There are strategies to consider!

Archway Gallery had a fantastic and successful 2013, thanks to all our friends and patrons. 2014 greets us with an exciting show in our front gallery, featuring works from Harold Joiner and Judy Elias: Fifty Shades of Green.

Fifty Shades of Green is a perfect art exhibition to be held during the winter months. Imagine sunshine and warmth. Nothing enriches a viewer more than the radiance of sunlight in beautifully painted canvases. And Providence has brought together Judy Elias and Harold Joiner to make it happen. Both paint outdoor environments, and this show chronicles their achievements.

Judy Elias is a plein air painter who travels the world to find the subjects of her inspiration. Because she works on site, her paintings are usually completed in one sitting. The canvases are small and precious. They facilitate armchair travelers, and beckon the viewer to come close to appreciate them. The paintings are framed in gold, and are hung as if they are in a fine old home.

Harold Joiner finds much of his subject matter in the nature preserves and state parks of south and central Texas. The flora and fauna of a locale are his focal point, and he is drawn to include bodies of water within his imagery. He uses sketches and photographs record the scene, but the paintings are created in his studio. The end result are exquisite landscapes that capture the beauty of Mother Nature. Joiner's iconography is refreshing. His treatment of the interplay of vegetation against the water's surface are visual delights.

Wow, this is a busy month at the gallery!  The first item to mention is our featured show by John Slaby - Inappropriate for Public Space.... a must see!
For more information on this fine exhibit, upcoming events and Archway artists' news, here is our November Newsletter.

Lots of good news, starting with our featured show, which will be on view till November 1, 2012.  Click here to see our entire newsletter!

September is already proving to be a very busy and productive month, starting with our featured show, Perspectives X2. Do come join us this Saturday for the opening of this beautiful show.  To read our September newsletter, click here.  

Note that two names were left out of our newsletter announcements - Mary Lee Gray and Shirl Riccetti who were also juried into the show, A Heroine's Journey, at the Printing History Museum.

This month we are thrilled to showcase the artists who were accepted into our 4th Annual Juried Exhibition.  With juror, Julie Farr, who is the Director of the Houston

Center for Contemporary Craft Museum,  248 pieces of art came through the gallery doors, with a final 47 chosen to be in the show!  Click here to see winners and other details along with further news about our gallery and our artist-members.

Here is our June Newsletter.  Christie Coker is this month's featured artist, with a colorful theme inspired by music - Musicality.  Come join us for the artist's opening reception, Saturday, June 2, 2012, from 5 to 8 p.m.

We hope you enjoy reading about all of our artists and their achievements, as we love to share with you.  Thank you for supporting Archway Gallery and local, Houston area artists!

Pretense II investigates disguise, deception and their role in identity.  
Trudy Askew's recent paintings portray the surreal human circus.  "We all populate this vast theatre, this house of mirrors, where things are not as they appear."  The actors that she creates identify themselves one mask at a time, by concealing their identitiies and establishing new ones.  These performers invite the audience into the big top with them, barely pulling back the curtain to reveal the artifice behind the show.  As observers, the response is bittersweet.  The play casts the "brave face" we hear in public under a new spotlight, revealing the fragility of this mask that conceals and protects our new personae.

Archway Gallery members are pleased to be part of this year's Juried Open Exhibition.  John Slaby had three of his submitted works accepted (they are awesome). Last year's First Place Prize winner Sherry Tseng-Hill is also back in the runnning.  Jim Adams, our 3-D metal artist is also among the finalists.  

Wade Wilson of Wade Wilson Art was this year's juror.  In a nutshell, he is the quintesential curator of shows and a judge of exhibitions.  This year's showing will be held at 1600 Smith (formerly Continental Center I), 1600 Smith,Street, Concourse Level, (Parking garage on Howe Street).

A rare event to enjoy an intimate setting and wine-tasting with one of Archway's most creative and beloved artist, Becky Soria.  You are invited this Friday, May 4th, 6:00 pm at Nos Caves Vin. The location is 2501 Wraxton.  Due to the limited space your RSVP is appreciated.  The artist will begin her talk at 7 pm.

Cookie Wells will be participating in "References to the Real World". It is an exhibition of figurative art at the Museum District's Eye Center and Carolyn Garcia Gallery.  The opening reception is Saturday, May 19th, 5 to 9 pm.  The show is curated by Patrick Palmer, Chair and Dean of Glassel School of Art.  The reception will be benefitting the Houston Area Women's Center.

Cookie is also excited to announce her participation in the "Mixed Messages" exhibition.  It is the signature collaborative event of Women In Visual and Literary Arts (WIVLA).  The opening reception is Saturday, May 5th, 6 to 9 pm at Betz Gallery located at 1208 West Gray.  The show runs until May 12th.  The literary component will be held on Tuesday, June 19th at the Museum of Printing History located at 1324 West Clay at Waugh.

Michael Bise, a local Houston artist, won this year's Hunting Art Prize.  The Hunting Art Prize is historically the most generous annual award in North America for painting and drawing with an only and first prize of $50,000.  Archway's own Anita Nelson was among this year's finalists of this prestigious selected group.  The announcement was made at the invitation-only gala held on April 28th.                       

Kay Sarver has recently completed a mural at Jefferson Elementary School for their Carson Reading Room.  The generous donation was made by Dr. Ben Carson through the Carson Scholars Fund.  The school is one of only three in the Houston area that was given this generous opportunity.

Trudy Askew, donna e. perkins and Kay Sarver will be part of a group show at Buchanan Gallery located at 220 25th St. in Galveston.  The opening will be Saturday June 2nd, during ArtWalk.

For more info go to www.buchanangallery.com
 

Jim Adams and Larry Garmezy have new installation pieces that were purchased and installed at Invesco's Greenway Plaza offices.  Special thanks to designer Denise Gaspard for her impeccable taste.

Veronica and James have new pieces at Galeria Regina.  The opening reception for this month's showing of Lorena Morales'  "Shadows" - Ephemeral Realities is Saturday May 5th, 6 to 9 pm.  The show runs until July 1st.
The gallery is located at 1716 Richmond.  For more information, call 713 523-2524. 

Also, these two are showing at Paula Siegel's Mixed Emotions Fine Art and Framing Gallery at the Decorative Center Houston.  5120 Woodway, Suite 111, just north on Sage St. 

For more info go to www.mixedemotions.com or call 713 871-9666.

Three of Jim Adams' sculpture pieces will be placed at the City Hall of Houston. "Untitled 17", "Siblings" and "Tango" will be on an extended showing in the lobby.

An open invitation is extended to all sculptors and 3D artists to become part of this new interactive and supportive group.  The main objective is to open up communication and possibilities in the public and private collection domain.  It also intends to exchange technical and creative ideas. 

Your fearless leaders in this new endeavor are Archway Gallery's own member Andrea Wilkinson (aclayworks@yahoo.com) and Nell Gottlieb (nell.gottlieb@gmail.com). 

Please contact them for future dates and with your thoughts and ideas about this new and creative collaboration.

We are proud to announce our Fourth Annual Juried Exhibition for 2012.  This year's partner is ARTreach.  This organization supports the development, funding and delivery of specialized art programs and services to under-served populations including children at risk, the elderly and disabled in Fort Bend, Harris and Walker counties. Programs are developed with many collaborative public entities to support a successful outreach to neglected populations.

This year's jury process has changed to reflect the similar process as that of  The Big Show at Lawndale Art Center.  The artist must deliver the actual artwork(s) with their entry fee to Archway Gallery on July 2nd or 3rd, 10 am to 6 pm.

This year's juror is Julie Farr.  She is the Executive Director of the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.  She was trained as a fine art photographer and has a wide range of past professional experience.  Ms. Farr currently participates in the Texas Commission on the Arts as well as the Visual Arts Review Panels and the Program and Services Committee with the Houston Arts Alliance.

For a prospectus please go to our website to print one or stop by the gallery to pick one up.  

For more info click here.

Archway's own donna e. perkins is once again and faithfully leading this month's Archway Readers.  This next gathering will be held on Thursday, May 10th, 6 to 8 pm. Donna has led this group of local journalists, writers, playwrites, and poets for many years and Archway has gladly hosted the events.  The readings are open to the general public for the creative types looking for an audience; and those that want to be part of the audience to hear first hand some of these creative types in their community 

For more info contact Donna at donnaeperkins@att.net