25th Annual Spring GFAA Show at Kentlands Mansion

The Gaithersburg Fine Arts Association (GFAA) will be holding its 25th Annual Spring Juried Show at Kentlands Mansion from April 1, 2011 through May 30. 

An artists' reception and awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 between 7 and 8:30 pm. 

The judges will include Michael Sellmeyer, Associate Professor of Art at Montgomery College.

"I have taught studio classes for seventeen years and bring this experience to judging art exhibitions," he said. "Being confronted with a large amount of art all at once, and then decide on awards, can be a daunting task, but I base my decision making on three main attributes: creativity, visual interest, and technical competence for the specific medium."

Sellmeyer is Associate Professor of Art at Montgomery College on the Rockville Campus and teaches Two-Dimensional Design and Color Theory courses.

More than just a membership club boasting 80 members, the GFAA provides educational and promotional opportunities to participating artists. Although it is based in Gaithersburg, its members exhibit all over Montgomery County, reaching out to a wide community base. Among them are visual artists and art teachers at local universities and public schools.

"It's an opportunity to network within the art community in Montgomery County," said Holly Buehler, GFAA Publicity Chair. "A lot of our members are in different groups. This is our big show of the year."

Buehler added that members contribute to the GFAA newsletter and that people like Sandy Fritter, President work very hard to make the membership organization beneficial to participants.

Ongoing learning opportunities within the GFAA expose new and emerging artists to the basics of the trade. Members hold workshops on how to build and design a portfolio, how to write an artists statement and biography and how to publicize artwork online through a website and other social media outlets.

The group holds monthly meetings on the second Thursday of each month to reach out to experienced professional artists and make their expertise available to its members. The meetings are held at Stedwick Community Center in Montgomery Village at 7:00 pm.

Jordan Bruns, Gallery Manager and Instructor at The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery in Glen Echo, Maryland spoke on Abstract Representation on March 10. According to Bruns, his lecture focused on approaches to painting, specifically "how old masters evolved their style into more abstract and meaningful paintings." 

Other past speakers in the lecture series have included Bill Mapes, a portrait artist who invited GFAA members to share self-portraits with him and other members, and Rawligh Sybrant, a photographer who shared the latest advances in digital technologies with artists. Among others, the GFAA board reaches out to Torpedo Factory, Montgomery College, and Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery affiliates to complement its activities in Gaithersburg. Once a year, its members submit a group of paintings to the Annapolis State House, where they remain on exhibit during the winter months.

"The goal of this exhibit is to display community arts within the state of Maryland," said Buehler.

Other major exhibits include an annual fall show at the Unitarian Church in Rockville, which according to Buehler "opens up an avenue to display and sell artwork" for GFAA members. The GFAA is a secular organization and holds no religious affiliations.

To find out more about the GFAA, click here.

To find out more about the show at Kentlands Mansion, call the following number: 301-258-6425.