2020-2021 Meetings & Programs
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NOTE: Due to COVID-19 gathering concerns and restrictions, our meetings this year will be held virtually (via Zoom or similar methods), or in large public museums or outdoor venues where social distancing is possible.
Plans for our programs and how or where we will meet are still being developed. As those plans are solidified, our website will be updated. |
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2020-21 Program Summary
Scroll down for program details
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Meetings are usually held at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 1101 Forest Ave., Richmond, VA 23229, beginning at 11 AM and going to about 1 PM, unless otherwise specified. |
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Friday, Sept. 18, 2020
Pre-recorded YouTube video available 9/18/20 |
Robyn Ryan: Her Art Journey and Body of Work
Robyn Ryan, a water media painter and sculptor who focuses on animals and nature, will present to JRAL via a pre-recorded Zoom session and available for viewing on the JRAL YouTube channel. She will focus on her art journey and share some of her body of work. Learn more about Robyn on her website robynryanart.com. "I resonate with the saying “Paint what you love”… This is reflected in my favorite artistic themes related to animals and nature found in my native Virginia. My travels also inspire my artwork. I work in series which allows me to develop a body of work around a theme or idea over time as I explore conveying my intentions. My “Fleeting Glimpses” and “Equine Muse” series continue to evolve and my Equine BronzeSculptures continue to captivate my attention! My newest series is titled “Set Free” and explores visual metaphors related to my own freedom journey." - from Robyn Ryan's website |
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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020
Beginning at 1:00 |
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden-Mini Paint-Out & Photo Op
Members will visit Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, with highlights to include the M & T Bank: Wind, Waves and Light—Art in Motion installation by American Sculptor George Sherwood. This installation includes 13 large scale stainless steel sculptures throughout the Garden that move & change with the wind. Members may paint, take photos or just stroll while staying socially distanced and wearing masks. The garden is currently restricting a maximum of 100 visitors at a time to a 2 1/2 hour window, in 30 minute increments for entry. Find out more about Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden at www.lewisginter.org. Sign up with Gigi Vranian by October 2nd so we can see how many guest passes we might need for non-members. All attendees must also contact Lewis Ginter at www.lewisginter.org/visit-planner to reserve their entry ticket for 1:00 or later for Oct. 16th. There is no ticket fee for Lewis Ginter members, and while we will try to utilize complementary guest passes for non-members, there may be a ticket charge if that's not possible. Anyone painting/drawing must not impede walkways or setup within a garden; if painting in the Conservatory, bring a drop cloth.
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Friday, Nov. 20, 2020
12:45 start, then in 15 minute increments |
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities
Members will visit the VMFA exhibit of Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities in groups of 10 starting at 1:00. Tickets are free for museum members; non-member tickets are $16. Learn more about the exhibit at www.vmfa.museum/exhibitions. Sign up to attend by November 5th by contacting Gigi Vranian (vraniangigi@comcast.net, 893-4396 or 337-3720). If a VMFA member, please include your membership #. If not a member, please send your $16 check payable to JRAL to Elizabeth Hood, Treasurer, 808 Dover Bluff Place, Manakin Sabot, VA 23103, to be received no later than November 10th. (Note: sorry, but no refunds can be made after November 12th.) "Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities offers a rare opportunity to experience firsthand the material culture of Ptolemaic Egypt, a golden age of human creativity in science as well as the visual and literary arts. Exciting film footage and photographs illustrate underwater expeditions and dramatic rediscoveries, as deep-sea divers solve a thousand-year-old mystery through archaeological research and innovation. Visitors will encounter these findings firsthand and witness a story that continues to unfold through ongoing excavations. Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities tells a riveting human saga of grandeur, complexity, wealth, and power, reminding us of the potentially devastating effects of natural disasters and the vulnerability of even the mightiest of human civilizations." - from the VMFA website |
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Friday, Dec. 18, 2020
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Season's Greeting Card Virtual Exhibit
Our annual holiday luncheon will not be held this year due to the health safety restrictions of the pandemic. Instead, we will feature a celebration of Season’s Greeting cards from JRAL Members, to be published on the JRAL website and in Art News. Images of your holiday card in JPEG format should be send to Gigi Vranian by Dec. 11th. More information will be coming soon on how to submit your cards for the virtual exhibit, but get started on this year's card! |
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Friday, Jan. 15, 2021
Zoom Meeting starting at 11:00 a.m. |
Rita Kirkman: Pastels That Glow
Rita Kirkman, a nationally recognized and award-winning pastelist based in Texas, will be demonstrating her unique pastel painting process that focuses on using color temperature and value to creates glowing paintings. She is well known for her animal paintings, although she also paints other subjects such as landscapes and portraits in pastel, as well as charcoal/graphite portraits. She is a Signature member of the Pastel Society of America and an Eminent Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies. Find out more about Rita at www.ritakirkman.com.
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Friday, Feb. 19, 2021
Zoom meeting starting at 11:00 a.m. |
Juana Levi: Presentation on "Guernica"
Juana Levi, an instructor at Lifelong Learning Institute in Chesterfield, will be presenting a Zoom overview and discussion of Pablo Picasso's "Guernica". 
"What would be the best way today to protest against a war? How could you influence the largest number of people? In 1937, Picasso expressed his outrage against war with “Guernica,” his enormous mural-sized painting displayed to millions of visitors at the Paris World’s Fair. It is a painting that still feels intensely relevant today. This ... will cover the history of “Guernica” and the complex imagery Picasso used to depict the horrors of war. In his own words from the time, “Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war against brutality and darkness.” – from the Lifelong Learning Institute website
Find out more about the Lifelong Learning Institute at llichesterfield.org . |
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Friday, Mar. 21, 2021
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Institute of Contemporary Art: Exhibit Kandis Williams: A Field
Members will visit VCU's Institute of Contemporary Art to see Kandis Williams: A Field. More details coming later on our visit. "Kandis Williams: A Field will feature a new, site-responsive commission by Kandis Williams (b.1985, Baltimore, MD), an artist, educator, writer, and publisher based in Los Angeles, CA. Williams’ work utilizes collage, printmaking, video, and performance to address racist theories and philosophies. With themes like surveillance, cannibalism, and exoticism, Williams upends logics born out of anti-Blackness to counter the consumption and fetishization of Black bodies. Williams’ commission for the ICA will merge for the first time the artist’s work in visual art, publishing (CASSANDRA PRESS), and performance, transforming the gallery into a space for reading images, text, and the body. Lo-fi publishing initiatives, conversations, and exchange of materials will allow for the dissemination of content outside of the gallery." - from the ICA website Find out more about the exhibit at icavcu.org/exhibitions/kandis-williams-a-field. |
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Friday, April 16, 2021
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To be determined
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Friday, May 14, 2021
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Annual Artist Challenge: The Medium is the Message
The theme for our 2020 artist challenge is "The Medium is the Message." With the medium of your choice, do something new! Try a new medium, a new technique, a new surface, new tools or whatever, as long as it's new to you, and share what you learned with other members. For more information, click here. Our guest critiquer is to be determined. |