Trees by Richard Suib.
The Great Falls Studios Tour-- which also features painters, jewelry designers and experts in other media--has become known as a fascinating and family-friendly experience, an all-too rare opportunity to meet artists face-to-face in their own creative habitats and learn how art is produced. Visit www.GreatFallsStudios.com for more information about all the artists on the Tour. You can download a map and brochure to plan your visit, or simply pick one up at any stop on the Tour. Hours are noon-5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
Great Falls Studios is a consortium of more than 100 artists who live or work in Great Falls. Since 2003, its goal has been to promote and support local artists and to make the Great Falls community a more artful place.
The Tour is sponsored again this year by Sun Design Remodeling, and one of the tour stops will feature one of their recent remodeling projects, plus the work of two Great Falls Studios painters. Sun Design is an architectural design-build firm that brings visions to life for owners of fine homes in Northern Virginia. Both organizations benefit from this association, building on the creative energies of their artists and designers to provide an important service to the community.
Eight photographers based in Great Falls are among 37 artists preparing for the Great Falls Studios Tour, an annual event that showcases the creativity of the community’s artists. The free tour to home studios of local artists, will be held Oct. 16-18.
“The large contingent of photographers in this year’s tour will be displaying images from Great Falls to Antarctica, providing tour visitors with a seminar on what it takes to make an extraordinary photograph,” says Robin Kent, president of Great Falls Studios, the local art group that manages the tour. “Whether your interest is traveling to exotic destinations, learning about nearby hidden gems or getting tips on the latest photo techniques, you’ll find it here. The photographers of Great Falls Studios have photographed in all seven continents and all 50 states.”
The eight shooters provide a breadth of experience, each a little different from the rest. They are:
Walt Lawrence has been documenting the landscapes, wildlife, and historical sites of Great Falls for more than a decade. His work epitomizes the photographic opportunities right here at home. He will be exhibiting his work at the Artists' Atelier, Stop 14 on the Tour.
Robin Kent is known for his dramatic images of Washington, D.C. More recently, he has journeyed from Mexico to the Antarctic Peninsula and will have just returned from Iceland with new images from above the Arctic Circle. His stop is 22.
Bob Schroeder is known for his ability to capture the spirit of place. He has climbed the steps of ancient ruins from Angkor Wat, Cambodia to Tikal in Guatemala, explored the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia and Havana, Cuba, and trekked across the Serengeti.
James Diedrich recently returned to the United States after living 30 years overseas in locations across Africa, Asia and Europe. He is co-author with his wife Darlene of the book, “Don’t Shoot the Giraffes,” an account of their seven years in Tanzania, with compelling images of Mount Kilimanjaro and the African landscape.
Both Schroeder and Dietrich will be exhibiting at a new stop on the Tour—State Gardens, located at 10106 Georgetown Pike, just west of the Fire Station, Stop 7. They are hosting four artists for the full three-day Tour—three photographers and a painter, Lorrie Bouhaouala. The nursery has pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, as well as flowering fall plants of all colors to bring cheer to the exterior of your home.
Also at the State Gardens stop is photographer Dee Leegett, who specializes in nature photography in the Great Falls area and around the country.
After completing a year-long certification program from Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts, Dean Souleles began teaching digital photography in his fully equipped home studio. His own photographic subjects include environmental portraits, mesmerizing landscapes, and striking rhythmic studies of color and contrast. His stop is 23.
Terri Parent’s work, best known for unique perspectives on everyday subjects, is exhibited in commercial galleries across Virginia. Parent’s stylistic approach ranges widely from classic photographic realism as can be seen in her lush floral studies printed on large canvases to unique abstract representations that strip away all but the basic elements of a composition. Parent will be at Stop #1, the Great Falls Community Library, where there will also be a display of work by each artist on the Tour.
Richard Suib's digital creations are based on photography, using digital processes, as would a painter, and rendering the images as giclée archival limited- edition prints. He has been widely exhibited in regional, national, and international galleries and has won many awards, chief among them the Presidential Design Excellence Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. For ten years he headed United States Information Agency’s Exhibits Development Division. Suib will be at Stop 4.
All the photographers will share tips for taking great photos, fun locations in the area for photography and more.