Spring Into Art

A beautiful spring Friday was the perfect start for the ValeArts 15^th Annual Spring Art Show and Sale, as droves of art lovers and enthusiasts came out to the historic Vale School House today, to view what the ValeArts artists have been working on all winter.

The show, which will run through Sunday, features nine artists and more than 150 original works. Unlike some Virginia art shows, where artists from all over the country are on display, this show is designed to highlight local artists exclusively.

“Everyone is from Northern Virginia,” said Diana Eichler, one of the founders of the group. “This has always been a really great showcase for our artists and is always well attended by people from the area.”

ValeArts’ origin dates back to 1996, when a group of 10 artists and friends discovered the 1888 one-room Vale Schoolhouse was the perfect venue for showing and selling their paintings and works of fine art.

The show began in the fall of that year, but branched to a second date each spring because the artists found that there was plenty of new work to be displayed.

“When people work in the winter, a lot of their new work is very colorful and I think they tend to bring that out in the spring,” said Eichler. “The colorful paintings tend to accentuate the time of year.”

Winter is also a big time for classes and that’s usually the time that artists will explore new mediums.

“When you look at the spring show, often there will be departures by artists, and you won’t see the same old thing because somebody is trying a new medium or style and that’s what’s fun to see,” said artist Betsey Mulloy. “That’s what’s interesting about artists. They are a wealth of ideas.”

For Arlington artist Laura Barringer, the show gives her a chance to get her work out in the public.

“I don’t have a show space in my home and it allows me to come in and bring everything here to show,” said Barringer, who has been with the group for six years, and concentrates on oils, landscapes and still-lifes. “The show is a lot of fun and with Mother’s Day on its way, it’s a great place to find some great gifts.”

Kari Sebolka concentrates on large watercolors and has a number of great pieces in the show.

“I love the large watercolors. I don’t draw on the paper anymore, I just go straight with the brush onto the paper and have the real thing right in from of me,” she said. “This is a wonderful group. We meet when we are getting ready for the shows and it’s not very time consuming, but just a wonderful group of artists.”

In addition to the two shows held each year, the ValeArts club has meetings, sometimes get togethers to paint and they have built a strong camaraderie through the years.

Eight of the artists are permanent members of the group, and each show they invite a special guest or two. The show continues to also promote all original members of the group.

“We have different artists each time we have a show and that keeps the show vitalized,” Eichler said. “We have one guest star this time—Carolyn Koslow—and she is wonderful.”

The shutterbug Koslow added something to the show that it hadn’t really had before.

“Something that’s a little different about it, is that this is the first time that the show has really had any photography,” Koslow said. “Most of what I brought are photographs and a lot of them are abstract. They are very colorful, photographs of antique glass, some printed on brushed aluminum so it looks as if they are 3-D.”

Koslow said she was looking for a wider audience and jumped at the opportunity to be involved in the long-running show.

“This is a very well-known show and I was thrilled to be chosen,” the Herndon artist said.

The show will run from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. all three days and everyone is invited to come in and take a look around. 

“This is a way that we can bring a little art in people’s lives and they seem to enjoy it,” Barringer said. “It’s a great location and a great little community event that I think people look forward to coming to each year.”