Mixed media painting, Sunflowers by local artist Jo Fleming, was on sale this weekend at the Art on the Green show. Photo by Reena Singh.
Dozens of works of art, ranging from paint to glassblowing, took over the village green last weekend.
Great Falls Studios [GFS] held their Art on the Green Spring Show and Sale on Saturday and Sunday at their newest show location.
“We’ve outgrown all the other venues in town,” said GFS founding member Laura Nichols.
Many of the visitors came because they were curious why there were white tents set up on the green, according to event organizer Linda Jones.
“The reason we chose this weekend is because we’re having the first Concert on the Green tonight,” she said. “This is great, because one of our aims is to nurture Great Falls as an artful community. We’re very excited about this new venue.”
A handful of the 27 artists were showing with GFS for the first time.
“I met a lot of really nice people and had a lot of really interesting discussions,” said Bob Schroeder, photographer.
He sold several photos that weekend - the most popular being lions and a pair of elephants that he photographed in Africa during his retirement travels.
“I wanted to get a sense of what other people thought, kind of getting a meter of what other people liked,” he said.
Painter Karen Rose joined the studio a few years ago but recently wanted to start selling her work.
“I only expected to hand out business cards this weekend, so I was surprised that I sold a couple of paintings,” she said.
Like Schroeder, Rose valued the feedback she got. She said many of the visitors commented that her paintings were a homage to the Impressionist era.
“This has really been motivational,” she said.
Robert Maclay’s very first show selling blown glass creations was in December. Since then, he has joined Great Falls Studios. The spring show was his first with the GFS.
“The customers have been very inquisitive, which is great,” he said. “I can go on about glass all day.”
His interest in glassblowing was sparked when he saw a demonstration during a fourth grade trip to colonial Williamsburg. About two years ago, he received a six-week glassblowing class as a present from his mother.
“This has been a very successful weekend,” he said. “I lived in Great Falls my entire life, so it’s good seeing faces I’ve seen before.”
In addition to the annual studio tour, which will take place Oct. 17 through 19, GFS also has an annual holiday show. This year’s show will be held at the Barns at Wolf Trap on Dec. 13 to 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit http://www.greatfallsstudios.com/index.php.