Category Archives: Art Studio

Make Local Art Happen with Olly Olly

By Posted in Art, Art Collecting, Art Gym, Art Studio, Collaboration, Crowdfunding, David Barr, Diana Adams, Eames Armstrong, Fairfax Art, Fairfax Virginia, Jackie Hoysted, Jessica Kallista, Mojdeh Rezaeipour, Olly Olly Tagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Big, big love and gratitude to everyone who helped make our first month at Olly Olly such a huge success! Thank you! Together we can make local art happen in really big ways!

Olly Olly opened on January 1, 2015. We hit the ground running by hosting Art Gym Studio Nights and providing full time studio spaces for three local artists – Diana Adams, David Barr, and myself. Seeing all of the art being created at Olly Olly is a constant inspiration. The open collaborative atmosphere is often electric and overflowing with ideas, and with artists spurring each other on towards new projects and creations.

Our first major event of the year, the opening reception for the art exhibition Bodylore on January 24, 2015 was packed with amazing art, artists, and art lovers. I am so very grateful for everyone’s support, encouragement, enthusiasm, and generosity! Olly Olly is a dream being realized with every artist and art lover who comes through the door!

For more opportunities to support local art and Olly Olly, from purchasing Art Gym memberships, jumpstarting your art collection with incredible local art bundles, to booking private dinner party events hosted by local artists, or even if you’re just feeling particularly philanthropic, please visit the Support Olly Olly page on our website. Thank you! xoxo

Olly Olly, a New Alternative Art Space, Opens in Old Town Fairfax

By Posted in Art, Art Gym, Art Studio, Community, Fairfax Art, Olly Olly Tagged , , , , Leave a comment

Happy New Year! Get ready to flex your art muscles in 2015! Olly Olly, a new alternative art space, is now open in Old Town Fairfax, Virginia. Dedicate time to your art and we’ll dedicate space for you to create it. Bring your latest artwork and create alongside other local artists in our open studios. Join us January 6 and January 13 from 6pm-9pm for free drop-in Art Gym open studio nights for artists 18 and older. Art Gym open studio nights are hosted by local artists Jason Davis, Jessica Kallista, Javier Padilla, and more. Space is limited. You can also sign up for special new membership rates for the Olly Olly Art Gym while supplies last. Visit our Support Olly Olly page for details about Art Gym memberships, plus tons of other super cool opportunities to get your hands on incredible local art!

Olly Olly Logo

Experimentation and exploration are at the core of every thriving arts community. We know that the artists we need in order to have a thriving arts community in Old Town Fairfax City are already here, but are often hidden away in their own separate studios and homes. Exceptional local and regional artists working in disciplines of painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, collage, appropriation art, performance art, installation art, conceptual art, street art, video art, and other bleeding edge media and practices need a dedicated home base that supports and challenges them to experiment and explore together.

Olly Olly is a call for local artists to come out from their hiding places to make and show their art in a nurturing, creative, community art space. Olly Olly is also a call to the community to come out, support, and benefit from an art scene that will help our community prosper and help to provide an authentic sense of community. Olly Olly will promote collaboration rather than competition and provide studios, an incubator space, and art gym for local artists, as well as a gallery, open studio, and event space.

We’re gearing up for a full year of exceptional arts programming in 2015. Create with us at Olly Olly, and make local art happen!

Olly Olly Curators --photo by Gopi Raghu

Olly Olly is located at 10417 Main St., 2nd Floor, Fairfax, VA 22030. We are currently open Tuesdays from 6pm-9pm, Saturdays from 11am-4pm, and by appointment.

Special thanks to Gopi Raghu for taking these fabulous photos of our open studio night this past November!

2014 Artist Member Exhibition at Greater Reston Arts Center

By Posted in Art, Art Studio, Exhibit Opening, Gratitude, Greater Reston Arts Center, Jessica Kallista Tagged , , , , Leave a comment

This Thursday, July 17 from 6-8 pm Greater Reston Arts Center, one of my favorite spots for dynamic contemporary visual arts, will host an opening reception for their 2014 Artist Member Exhibition. I’m pleased and excited that two of my recent collages have been selected by juror Helen Frederick for inclusion in this new exhibition. Please join me this Thursday, July 17 at Greater Reston Arts Center from 6-8 pm for the opening reception of this gorgeous exhibition. For more information about this exhibition and for a full list of featured artists you can read the press release here.

I hope to see you there! In the meantime, here’s a recent photo of summer fun with friends in my Fairfax art studio. Summer is under way, and I’m feeling blessed and lucky for all of the warmth and sunshine. I’m also feeling an abundance of gratitude for all of the art, community, family, friendship, and creativity that fill my life. Play, experimentation, collaboration, and interconnectivity are vital elements of creativity. I hope you enjoy some playful creativity today!

 

Fun with Friends in the Studio

Back Yard Studio Time

By Posted in Art, Art Studio, Jessica Kallista, Mixed Media Art, Mosaic District, Work in Progress Tagged , , , , , Leave a comment

I started this hot summer day early in the morning in my Old Town Fairfax studio, but also wanted to get some outdoor creative time in before the rain hits. I’m currently working on a set of 36″ x 36″ panels for the Mosaic District in Fairfax. Can’t wait to show you the finished pieces. Here’s a look at the work in progress so far.

Plus, summer back yard studio time requires the perfect summer music. Here’s my latest favorite for summer song of 2014. Rain or shine, I hope you enjoy this day!

 

Making Sense in an Art Mess

By Posted in Art, Art Studio, Collage, Free Art Friday, Gratitude, Mixed Media Art, Work in Progress Tagged , , , , , , 5 Comments

Even with my new studio space I’ve still been experimenting, creating, working, and pretty much making a huge art mess in my home “studio” space…AKA the dining room. Thanks to a tip from a fellow collage artist, I’m working with a new process lately that involves heat sealing my collage elements together on mostly wood substrates. I’m also experimenting with large format pieces. A friend was kind enough to find a couple doors for this new phase of my collage work. One of the doors became an incredible table for my studio. I have so much gratitude for all of the amazing and generous artist friends in my life.  I’m also very grateful to share with you a few work in progress images of how the other door is coming along. This door is 24″ x 80″ which is truly a departure from my usual work. Moving back and forth from the tiny 4″ x 4″ creations that I’ve been putting out into the world each week for Free Art Friday NoVA and this large door collage has been an inspiring challenge. I’m happy to be able to have such a range of projects on which to work every day. And as you can see, the studio is quite a mess. It makes sense to me and allows me a certain level of nonstop freedom as I create. What about you? Do you need a mess around you to get your creative juices flowing? Or is a tidy studio space more inspiring to you?