Inside “No Holds Barred”
The term, “No Holds Barred” comes from wrestling–it means that a wrestler can use any hold in order to beat his opponent. This approach encourages the attitude of “don’t hold back, just let go”. This is the attitude Pamela Underhill and Rusty Lynn employ in their art making.
The challenge of no holds barred is to get judgements out of the way, allowing for intuition, hunches, hints or bumbles to lead to the spark of creativity. It may start with a stroke of color, an object, a shape, or an impulse of the hand. It is the ability to encourage the vital energy of art, rather than kill it with perfectionism. It allows the creation of art that surprises, shocks, teaches, disturbs, and invites us into new places where the Spirit comes alive.
NO HOLDS BARRED starts with an invitation to focus the energy and channel the urges of artistic creation, while letting the unknown stay in the lead. Come join us as we let creativity guide our journey.
Deconstructed Harp, Pamela Underhill
Artist Reception: Friday January 15, 2016. 6:30pm – 9pm.
Artist Workshop: Saturday January 30, 2016. 10am – 3pm. Box sculptures merge the expression of freestanding sculpture with the containment of a framed art piece. In this workshop, you will learn how to create stunning personal sculptures from supplies you already love. Attendees will be provided boxes and supplies. You may also bring your own supplies if you choose.
About the Artists:
Totem, Pamela Underhill
Pamela Underhill – Having developed her artistic skills in San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s, Pamela is drawn to the work of abstract expressionist, feminist and indigenous culture revivalist art. At other times, she works with maps and landscape plans to see what human patterns emerge. She has worked in schools for a number of years, directly with children on collaborative art projects, in the hopes of instilling a positive voice in their heads about creativity.
“My art has always been embedded in everyday experiences. I seek to understand my place in the world as a consumer while learning how to honor our suffering planet. At other times I work with maps and landscape plans to see what human patterns emerge. I call my work with maps and landscape plans, and seeing the human patterns that emerge, Exploring with Sculptural Collage”.
Suspense, Rusty Lynn
Rusty Lynn – Rusty earned a BA degree from Macalester College with a major in Fine Art and a minor in Humanities. He earned a Master of Divinity from McCormick Seminary and a Master of Social Work from Catholic University. He was ordained to an arts-community ministry, and then served parishes in Christian Education and leadership development. As a social worker, he worked in the AIDS Program at Whitman Walker Clinic, as a pastoral counselor in private practice, and with the Center for Pastoral Counseling of Virginia. Although Rusty put his art-making aside for most of his years in ministry, he made use of many creative and artistic approaches in his work with people. When he retired from full-time active ministry in March 2008, he was “amazed at how much zeal for making art sprang to the forefront of [his] life”. Rusty lives in Arlington with his husband Ed and their cat Thaddeus.
“My art comes from deep inside where memory, hunch, and the not-yet-known exist. I use a variety of supplies to create paintings, collages, box sculptures, and free-standing sculptures. Creating excites and nourishes me. My intention is to stretch toward images my deep self chooses to reveal, and I am thrilled to see what emerges. The core of all my art is a strong belief that the Spirit leads me when I get out of the way”.
Alexandria All City High School Art Exhibition 2020 →
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