The W.A.S. meeting will be held Wednesday, March 12th at the Wellington Community Center, 12165 West Forest Hill Blvd. As always, there will be a meet and mingle beginning at 6:30pm with a raffle and fabulous art and art related prizes, with the proceeds going to the Wellington Art Society Scholarship Fund. Also of interest is our Member Spotlight for members to show recent work and tell about their upcoming shows and artist development.  The general meeting begins at 7:00PM with the presentation and demo to follow. The evening’s events are generally over by 8:30. Guests are welcome for a $5 fee.

Durga Garcia

Durga Garcia is a published, internationally shown, award winning and merited photographer of fine art images and portraits. Her images can be found in numerous public and private collections. She is a South Florida based freelance professional photographer of projects, art for artists and portraits with several long-term projects and books to her credit.

“Artisans” by Durga Garcia

Durga brings a most uncommon background to her pictures with a past that has her living in many countries and across America, working as a racehorse trainer, steeplechase jockey, equine veterinary paramedic, certified art appraiser, yoga teacher and member of the U.S. International Pistol Team.

Durga has parlayed her years of experience as a certified art appraiser into a special talent for conveying those nuanced details. Durga teaches photography at the Armory Art Center; leads monthly photo-talk-walks at Jonathan Dickinson & MacArthur Beach State Parks; lectures on photography for Artist and Photographic groups; hosts a blog of tips and tricks of the business for photographers and is currently writing a “Your First Photography” book. 

“Last Cypress Tree” by Durga Garcia

Ms. Garcia states, “I strive to make an image that people want to look at closely. To notice subtle nuances, created with light and shadows. My fine art images rarely show identity, have a timeless quality, with often the unexpected, gestures, textures, emotions and are hopefully thought-provoking.”   

“As We Are” from Durga Garcia’s SOLO Exhibit at NAWA Headquarters in New York City

Durga’s work is being highlighted in a SOLO show this March at the N.A.W.A Gallery, 80 Fifth Ave, NYC, March 5 – 28, 2014, titled “As We Are” .  More information about this exhibit is listed below.  She is also taking part  in an International Invitational show, The MALAFOCO PROJECT, Montevideo, Uruguay, March 2014.

“As We Are,” a solo show of the works of artist Durga Garcia, opened March 5, 2014 in the intimate N.A.W.A. Gallery. The show is an assemblage of Garcia’s conceptual photographic work including her earliest and memorable dark series “Until Ever After,” her ongoing Allegorical series, and a selection of recent conceptual commissioned portraits.  The connecting theme is female figures and earthy tones with subtle shades of meaning, making the images sensuous and often thought-provoking. ” 

“Garcia discloses her mastery of the photographic medium as well as versatile, playful nature. Reflecting the eerie genre of her inspiration sources, these photographs interpret one of the most elaborated themes in art.”    –Art Critic Ana Bambic Kostov, ArtAscent Magazine December 2013

 When asked how this show came about, Durga tells The Rickie Report: “I was standing in the National Association of Women Artists Gallery last November, looking at their logo, thinking I can (photographicly)  do that!   Three months later, my N.A.W.A logo inspired work is the frontis piece for my first solo show, As We Are, and it is at the       National  Association of Women Artists gallery on 5th Ave in NYC, during the National Association of Women Artists 125th anniversary year!  This really is more than I dreamed of, I am so excited!”

Durga Garcia’s “Artisans”

Durga’s work can be seen locally in a current group show at the Amory Art Center, “Faculty Exhibit” Feb 21- March 22, 2014.  In addition,  50 of her portraits of working dogs will be shown at Palm Beach College, “BARK” Invitational Exhibit, Fall, 2014 . The photographer’s website is www.durgagarcia.com

Re: “As We Are”-  Solo Exhibition, Durga Garcia  at the  National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (N.A.W.A.) . The exhibit runs through March 28, 2014.  Gallery Hours:  Tuesday through Friday, 10 am – 5 pm. The Gallery is located at 80 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1405, New York, NY 10011.  For more information please call 212-675-1616   or e-mail: office@nawa.org, 

As always, the evening is for artists and art lovers to hear about all of the exciting projects and initiatives that WAS is involved in and to find out how to participate.

Currently the WAS Member Art Show at the Gallery at City Hall features 17 artists and 36 works of art. The Village and Wellington Art Society will host a “Celebrate Creativity” Artists’ Reception  on Tuesday, March 25,from 5:30 –7:00 at the Gallery at City Hall with a demo, Meet the Artists, door prizes, and refreshments. The WAS Member Art Show continues through April 30.

The new WAS Members’ Art Showcase beginning March 11, at the Wellington Community Center, lower level is sure to inspire people of all ages who  visit the Community Center. A wide variety of mediums and techniques reveal  the creative artistic expressions and mastery  of our members. The WAS Showcase will continue through mid-June.  Additionally, the Wellington Community Center displays WAS art, original works that are available for sale and are rotated every three months.

WAS is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, its mission is to educate and encourage originality and productivity among its members and area youth through programs designed to further the advancement of cultural endeavors in Palm Beach County. For more information, visit their website, www.wellingtonartsociety.org  or wellingtonartsociety.blogspot.com

Founded in 1981, The Wellington Art Society is open to artists of all mediums and patrons of the arts, providing both local and regional artists the platform to share their work, learn more about their craft and serve the community through their art. The Wellington Art Society is open to any resident in Palm Beach County.

Rickie Leiter, Publisher

The Rickie Report

P.O.Box 33423

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420

Rickie@therickiereport.com

561-537-0291

Horan collaborates with his subjects to photograph them in a setting that immediately tells the story of their connection to Yellowstone’s wilderness.  Yellowstone National Park covers the largest geothermal area in the world, a super-volcano, and is home to geysers, grizzlies, wolves, eagles, elks, and huge herds of wild buffalo. This project has involved over 40,000 miles of car travel (the Park covers three states) and has been entirely self-financed on a shoestring.

“Wolf”

Steve has photographed a range of subjects: a naturalist guide sleeping in an abandoned wolf den, a super-volcano expert near ancient lava flows, and a wolf skin-wrapped biologist who has led the re-introduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park, to name a few.

“Fish”

Crocker is listed in “Best American Essays 2013,” and was nominated for a Pushcart prize. Her warm and empathetic text will help us get to know these unusual people.  Since 2005, it has been Horan’s focus to work on long-term projects that engage and stimulate the viewer, creating a personal connection with each subject. Horan, trained as a photographer, has worked in many genres but finally found a kind of photography that unites his passion for community and its connection to the natural world.

“Horse”

Since February, 2012, Horan has been working on a new series of another diverse and unique ecosystem: the rapidly expanding arts scene in Lake Worth and Palm Beach County. He plans to create “environmental portraits” of the cultural scene, choosing a wide range of subjects from art patrons to bohemian street artists. The “Lake Worth Artists” project is expected to evolve over several years and will include visual artists, dancers, musicians, patrons and collectors of art.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT:

Steve Horan tells The Rickie Report, “My goal is to engage the viewer by creating photographic series of life in North America that are contemporary and unusual. My photography captures an ambiance, whether it is Lake Worth street-painters; portraits of Yellowstone National Park people; bikers at Daytona Beach or on the ground with grassroots presidential campaign workers”.

Steve Horan’s photography has been exhibited across the United States and Canada.  For more information about his freelance photography please contact  Steve  (406) 224-5177 or  email  info@stevehoranphotography.com.  Please visit www.stevehoran.com   www.palmbeachculture.com  or http://shoran.zenfolio.com/

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