art | ARLnow.com

Published August 11, 2014 at 11:00AM

Among farmers’ market attendees, corporate commuters, and bar-goers in Ballston last Thursday night (Aug. 7), something else stood out. Two new interactive art displays debuted on Ballston’s sidewalks in the forms of beach chairs and Craigslist poetry.

The brightly painted chairs on the corners of Fairfax Drive and N. Taylor Street, Glebe Road and Wilson Blvd, and in Welburn Square encouraged passersby to sit back and consider rising sea levels. Outside of A-Town Bar and Grill, the jumble of words pulled from Craigslist and projected onto a screen piqued the interests of pedestrians.

Events

Artists with Disabilities Display Their Work

By ARLnow.com

Published August 6, 2014 at 3:30PM

The show is called “Making Their Mark: Art Brut,” and highlights pieces from artists with disabilities from ServiceSource day centers, a non-profit disability resource organization. It is put on in partnership with Purple Art, an art therapy program that works with individuals with disabilities and with military members and their families.

“Sometimes, I feel like Van Gogh,” artist Andrew Ross told ARLnow.com. “Music and art go together with me. I enjoy making both of them, they are big part of me”.

Around Town

Military Art Therapy Studio Planned for Crystal City

By Morgan Fecto

Published July 29, 2014 at 4:30PM | Updated July 29, 2014 at 6:03PM

(Updated at 6:00 p.m) A walk-in studio art facility for veterans and active-duty service members plans to open Oct. 15 in Crystal City.

Alexandria-based The 296 Project launched a Kickstarter on July 24 with a $30,000 goal to fund the 1,100-square-foot space, which it calls “A Combat Veteran’s Healing Place.” The studio will be located in a retail space at the Shops at 2100 Crystal Drive.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 16, 2014 at 9:05AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:47PM

Tom Sarris Dies — Tom Sarris, proprietor of former Rosslyn restaurant staples like The Covered Wagon and Tom Sarris’ Orleans House, has died. Sarris died in Arlington on Saturday at the age of 89. [Dignity Memorial]

Sparket Launches Today — Crystal City’s arts and crafts market, dubbed the “Sparket,” launches today on the sidewalk in front of 1900 Crystal Drive. It will open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The market is run by the same management company that runs the flea markets at Eastern Market and on U Street. [Crystal City]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 11, 2014 at 9:45AM

Caucus Date Set for Treasurer, School Board — Arlington Democrats will hold a caucus the evening of Monday, Aug. 4 to determine the party’s nominees in the special elections to replace Treasurer Frank O’Leary and School Board member Noah Simon. The caucus will be held from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. [InsideNova]

Comeback for Crumbs? — The Crumbs store in Clarendon and across the country closed this week, but could a comeback for the cupcake company be imminent? A group of investors is planning to provide financing for the bankrupt Crumbs Bakeshop Inc., and that could revive some of the company’s stores. [Washington Business Journal]

Events

Transgender Navy SEAL Hosts Crystal City Art Show

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 7, 2014 at 11:00AM | Updated May 7, 2014 at 6:36PM

Alexandria-based nonprofit The 296 Project will host a gallery show and silent auction at Gallery Underground (2100 Crystal Drive) of U.S. Navy Senior Chief Kristin Beck, a transgender, 20-year veteran of the Navy whose art “kept her from suicide on more than one occasion,” according to a press release for the event.

Beck, who took part in seven combat deployments with the SEALS and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, was diagnosed with PTSD and a 90 percent disability rating.

Around Town

Busty Mermaid Carving Cut Down

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 5, 2014 at 1:30PM | Updated May 5, 2014 at 1:48PM

File photo

The mermaid carving along Lee Highway that drew national attention when it was put up for sale in 2011 has been cut down.

The statue had been up in the front yard of Leeway Overlee resident Paul Jackson since 2004. In 2011 Jackson hoped to sell the statue for $3,000, with the requirement of the buyer “slicing her off and returning her home.” He apparently didn’t find a buyer, as the statue, which was built out of a dying, 100+ year-old ash tree, remained in the yard.

Around Town

ArtFest 2014 to Kick Off Friday

By Courtney Battle

Published March 25, 2014 at 5:00PM

ArtFest 2014 will be held at Fort C.F. Smith Park (2411 24th Street N.) and will run from March 28 to April 4. Festival-goers will be able to enjoy an ongoing art show and attend workshops and demos, according to the organization’s website. This marks the 12th year the Artists Alliance will hold ArtFest, which is free and open to the public.

The Hendry House, a historic 20th century mansion on the park grounds, will host the art show throughout the week. In addition, artists such as Jackie Afram and Fran Simms will conduct workshops on painting with oil bars and watercolor.

Around Town

Rosslyn Unveils Building-Sized Photo Installation

By ARLnow.com

Published March 13, 2014 at 3:40PM

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District today officially unveiled a gigantic photographic mural that has been temporarily installed on the side of a building near the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Lynn Street.

The 6,000 square foot photo is “the largest photographic print on the East Coast and bigger than the scoreboard at Nationals Park,” according to the BID. It is a “tranquil depiction of crape myrtle trees that [photographer Frank Hallam] Day snapped during a month-long photographic study of Rosslyn.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 7, 2014 at 9:30AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:47PM

Former Sheriff Sentenced for Shooting — Former Arlington County sheriff’s deputy Craig Patterson has been sentenced to six years in prison for a fatal shooting in Alexandria. Patterson shot and killed 22-year-old Julian Dawkins, a driver for the Shirlington-based PBS NewsHour, during a late-night confrontation in May 2013. Patterson was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in December. [Washington Post]

Metro Track Work This Weekend — Track work on the Blue and Orange lines this weekend will result in trains running every 16 minutes, instead of the normal daytime service of a train every 12 minutes. [WMATA]

Events

Canned Food Sculpture Exhibit Opens in DCA Tomorrow

By Ethan Rothstein

Published November 1, 2013 at 10:00AM

The displays will be built tonight (Friday) starting at 5:00 p.m. Competitors will have seven hours to construct the sculptures and they will be in DCA’s baggage claim levels in Terminals B and C until Saturday, Nov. 9.

After the displays are taken down, all of the canned goods will be donated to the Arlington Food Assistance Center. The sculpture competition is sponsored by the Northern Virginia chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Around Town

Photos: Warhol’s Silver Clouds Exhibit Opens

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 13, 2013 at 4:30PM

Pop artist Andy Warhol’s famed Silver Clouds exhibit opened at Artisphere with a celebratory bash Thursday night.

Attendees got to play with the floating, metallic balloons in Artisphere’s Terrace Gallery. There are more than 150 of the carefully maintained “clouds,” which are on loan from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.