“Bluebird” by Dana Ellyn, 9″x12″, acrylic on canvas; “Lark Bunting and Common Bobwhite” by Matt Sesow, 16″x20″, mixed media on canvas
>> Tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at Flashpoint Gallery the 5×5 Public Art Project will spotlight curator Richard Hollinshead and his project Magnificent Distances. The five artists he chose to participate in 5×5 all come from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England and bring an outsiders perspective of DC. Register here. Free.
>> Thursday evening at The Textile Museum offers a glimpse into a modern Japanese marriage with the screening of A Honeymoon in Hell: Mr and Mrs Oki’s Fabulous Trip (Ôki-ke no tanoshii ryokô: Shinkon jigoku-hen) as a part of Bento Box Office, the first PM @ The TM event of the year. While I don’t speak Japanese the preview is rather amusing and you can rest assured that there will be subtitles. Starting with “Hapi Hour” at 6 p.m. guests are invited to enjoy a drink and then venture inside to check out the current exhibitions on display in the museum: Woven Treasures of Japan’s Tawaraya Workshop and Sourcing the Museum. You can then stop by the craft table and create your own cherry blossom pin. The film starts at 7 p.m. in the garden of the museum so make sure you bring a blanket. Tickets are $15.
>> The Washington Project for the Arts will be hosting two screening of Experimental Media 2012 a video program that explores the contemporary landscape of data flow, perception, and exchange between systems. The first screening will be held tomorrow evening at The Phillips Collection at 6:30 p.m. Curator Jonah Brucker-Cohen will be on hand and one video will be awarded the 2012 Kraft Prize for New Media. The second showing will be on Thursday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Artisphere.
>> For many people creating art is something they would like to do but the cost of materials and classes puts it out of their reach. ArtSpace DC works to provide affordable art classes for people in Shaw and this Friday they have an exhibition opening that will showcase large scale, wearable, and small framed fiber works created by fiber artists and students from the community. Fibres: Formed Of Such Thread will explore twelve years of the threads of community, friendship, laughter, and love. The opening reception will be from 6 to 8 p.m. and if you can’t make it then you’re welcome to join in a Fiber Circle from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1 or if you’ve never done it before there will be a Fiber Arts class on Tuesday, May 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. Space is limited for the circle and the class so make sure you RSVP to DC.Artspace@gmail.com, subject line: Fiber Circle or subject line: Fiber Firsts, to save your spot.
>> Have you been wanting to check out some of the art installations included in the 5×5 Public Art Project but don’t have a way of getting to them? Well you’re in luck! On Saturday the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will be conducting a bus tour that will visit ten of the installations. The tour will begin and end at Arena Stage and will take place from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. If you’re interested in the tour an RSVP is required to Mary Beth Brown at marybeth.brown@dc.gov with 5X5 BUS TOUR in the subject line and your phone number in the content of the message.
>> Remember when you were little how exciting it was when you’d get a letter or birthday card in the mail? Or when you’d go on vacation and spend ten minutes trying to decide which postcard represented South of the Border well enough to warrant stamping it and sending it to your BFF? This Saturday at the National Postal Museum you’ll be able to create a special piece of paper-based mail to send to someone special or just yourself, which I may have done while visiting Puerto Rico two years ago. What? Anyway, from noon to 3 p.m. join the Letter Writing Social and get your creative juices flowing. Stamps are available for purchase or just bring your own.
>> After the 5×5 bus tour you’ll have plenty of time to change and get yourself out to the Greater Reston Arts Center for the opening reception of PLAY which features the work of six artists linked by imagination, fine craftsmanship, and a childlike engagement with materials and concepts. If you’ve got time earlier in the day Calder Brannock will be showing Alone, an ADVENTURE Residency Program from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The opening reception will run from 5 to 7 p.m.
>> Also on Saturday evening is an opening reception for The Birds and the Bees: A Swarm of Recent Paintings by Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow at Adah Rose Gallery from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. There will also be live music by Demivolt and Walker Road.
>> Looking to get your hands dirty this weekend? The Del Ray Artisans have just the thing, a two-day clay portrait workshop which will introduce you to using an armature and clay to to sculpt a human head. Lectures and demonstrations will be given by Rick Jones, the instructor. The workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Registration is required; $130 for DRA members; $140 for non-members.
>> Continuing the Japanese theme from earlier in the week the National Gallery of Art offers two films as a part of its Japanese Divas series with Early Summer on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. On Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Tokyo Twilight will be shown. Films are shown in the East Building Auditorium.
