[ RRUC Home ]

Fine Arts at River Road

October-November, 2006: Diverse Media by River Road Members

On the recommendation of the Building Planning Group, the Fine Arts Committee did not plan any art shows for 2006. However, with the construction delay, we were faced with bare walls for quite a few months. As part of our effort to beautify the Fellowship hall and Foyer spaces during this interim period, the Fine Arts Committee organized an exhibit of art from some RRUC members and friends: Elke Jordan, Gwen Lewis, Pauline Siple, and JoAnn Clayton Townsend. Purchased art can be taken immediately. (The artist will replace it, if possible.) This show will run until about the end of November.

We hope that this interim solution will provide interesting works to beautify our walls, while making it possible to change plans quickly if we need to. We appreciate the tremendous job that the BPG is doing for all of us and are trying to work within their guidelines.

— Don Martell and Evelyn Jacob, Fine Arts Committee co-chairs

Elke Jordan is a long-time member of RRUC who began quilting in 2000, inspired and coaxed by RRUC quilter friends. She was drawn to quilting because it lets me play with colors and geometric designs, which she loves to do. After attending a week’s residential training program with quilter and former RRUC member Judy Trager in 2003, Elke found her eyes opened to the possibilities of surface design. Since then she has been adding appliqué and beading to her pieced backgrounds to enhance the three-dimensional effects. 

Elke belongs to the Nimble Fingers and PM Patchwork guilds and also participates in a private quilting group of friends who meet to share their quilting experiences and provide inspiration to each other.

Gwen Lewis specializes in black and white documentary photography, including landscapes, architecture, and people. She focuses on the beauty of change over time as shown through the effects of light and shadow, as well as expression; she is also intrigued by texture and other elements of design. Gwen loves black-and-white photography because it so strongly reveals form, design, expression, and pattern by removing the distracting dimension of color. Black and white photography also can render on paper a larger range of light and shadow simultaneously.

Gwen has studied photography at the Field Museum in Chicago, Glen Echo's Photoworks, Montgomery College, and the Santa Fe Workshops. Since 2000 she has exhibited in over 40 shows, 28 of which were juried at galleries. Gwen has had solo shows at the Bethesda Library, the Kensington Park Library, and the River Road Gallery. Gwen's web site is at http://mysite.verizon.net/montlewis.

Pauline Siple is an internationally shown artist who creates contemporary-style paintings, monotypes and etchings. Her imagery is inspired by nature, travels and social issues. She starts with a concept and develops it according to her inspiration, using color to create tension and move the eye through the painting. Pauline also uses patterns and shapes that work together to create exciting visual spaces.

Pauline received Bachelor of Fine Arts (1978) and Master of Fine Arts (1982) degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. While living in Europe, she studied painting in Germany, France, Italy and Hungary. Pauline's work has been exhibited in juried and other shows overseas and in Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. She is an associate artist at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA.

JoAnn Clayton Townsend retired recently as Director of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board at the National Academy of Sciences and began painting full time. Through her life she has lived in seven countries and always has found time to pursue her love of painting.  She is a member of the Foundry Gallery in Dupont Circle and has exhibited widely nationally and internationally.  Painting with multiple layers of acrylic paint, she notes that abstract art is demanding on the viewer but frequently reveals more about the painter’s emotions and aspirations than more realistic painting.  She also has an exhibition at the Arts Club of Washington during the month of November 2006.

We invite you to participate!

Are you interested in fine arts at RRUC? Whether you'd like to show your work or join the Fine Arts Committee, we welcome your participation and have provided some information to get you started.

[ RRUC Home ]