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HomeWorkshop Photos.2 Year Anniversary--Hurricane KATRINA !!!!AKUA INTAGLIO Inks4 Color Intaglio Etchings!ETCHING CLASSES WITH JOHNDelaware Printmaking ArtistsNew Weekend WORKSHOPSBuy my work--Shows, Talks, Activities!Page 2Page 3Maine MemoriesPage 5- Lighthouse etchingsPage 6 MezzotintsPage 7 EtchingsPage 8 ItalyPage 9 -My Studio pageAn introduction to some Printmaking techniquesLinks
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I was pleased to have been the Featured
Artist on the Milton Art Guild Web Site for the month of February 2007.
________________________________________ I am participating in the Maryland Printmakers Print Show at the University of Maryland in Salisbury, Maryland in October, 2007! ______________________________________ I am participating in the International Mezzotint Society Print exchange. This is an artist exchange with other mezzotint printmakers from all over the world! This is one way that allows all of us to see what kind of work others from all over the world are doing.
_______________________________________ I will be participating in the elegant art show at the Darlington Art Center in Pennsylvania in this next month. __________________________________________ The Dynamic MARYLAND3 TEAM OF Printmakers is having a group show at the ARTS ACADEMY in Easton, MD December 2007! This is an excellent opportunity to see and purchase etchings, giclee, mixed media, drypoints, acrylic photogravures, and more! Come see the stunning works by this award-winning and internationally renowned threesome:
----JOHN SWEENEY--------ALICE-MARIE GRAVELY-------------JOHN C. MURRAY--- _______________________________
Rose and I have moved just outrside of Milton, DE. Part of the basement has become "The Man-Cave", appointed with luxurious furnishings so that this Artist may be renewed physically, and refreshed intellectually. Studio---is where the PRESS is! and it is next to the MAN-CAVE. New press means NEW AND BETTER ART!!! February 24 is an art show sponsored by the Milton Art Guild and to be held at the Milton Fire department. (Sooo glad this show is indoors!)
Look elsewhere on my website for scheduled classes and workshops down here in Delaware. I will be teaching at the Rehoboth Art League and at the Millsboro Art League. Very exciting stuff...and Delaware deserves to have access to this quality printmaking instruction.
A new art movement is afoot. Details are being crafted. A new website is being born, three Maryland artists are behind the new movement. A treatise is about to be released. Watch http://maryland3.com as it all unfolds and evolves before your and the worlds' eyes. Exciting stuff!! ---------------------------------------------------------- I will be teaching workshops and classes in the near future. I am looking for a studio and the opportunity to link up with other printmakers in Delaware. Drop a line to me if you are interested in printmaking! And visit http://delawareprintmakers.org ---------------------------------------------- Now I am an official member of the Millsboro Art League, the Rehoboth Art League, and the Milton Art League. Sussex county Delaware simply exudes art from every corner! --------------------------- Weekend before last I did the Milton Sidewalk Show after having joined the Milton Art League. Great event, great people, even sold two pieces! Think I am going to like this area a lot! ----------------------------------- I have Moved! Rose and I sold our house (and everything in it!) and have moved to Sussex County, Delaware. We are renting a condo by the beach while looking for our next house, and learning how to become "beach people". Real easy lesson. Been here 2 weeks and already did an art show. I will soon be offering all kinds of printmaking classes through the Rehoboth Art League in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware--a wonderful and beautiful place to do art. Call them for details- Meanwhile, my Delaware mailing address is:
PO BOX 924 Bethany Beach, DE 19930
======================================= I will be offering the Apprenticeship Printmaking class again at the Montpelier Arts Center in April. Email me if you are interested and I will provide details. ------- Rose and I became Grandparents for the first time on February 15!! Olivia was born to Tiffany and our son Jeff of Cape Cod, MA at 9:15 a.m. 7lbs 2 ounces. 20 1/2 " long. Everyone is fine. Jeff was in the delivery room for the entire birth process....brave kid!
WOW!! We are absolutely thrilled!! Olivia (Livy) is beautiful! See the page on this website dedicated to our "Livy" photos. -------- Sunday March 12 at around noon the Maryland Printmakers will be holding their Spring meeting. At The Carriage House, on the second floor, on the grounds of the Montpelier Mansion, Laurel, MD. Light refreshments. I will be giving a mezzotint demo, and make a print using AKUA Intaglio ink on my newly created copper plates. --------------- I am holding a monotype workshop in Easton, MD at the Gourment Gallery. We are using non-toxic waterbased AKUA Kolor inks. This should be a lot of fun! There may be room for one more- call Sheryl Southwick, Gallery owner, at 410-763-7077 for details, directions, and availability of a slot. Cost is around $25, starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday March 19, 2006. ----------------- The February 11 and 12 Acrylic Photopolymer Gravure workshop was a real success! Lots of learning, comeraderie, and excellent prints were the result of this 2 day experience at Montpelier Art Center. All done with non-toxic chemicals and methods! -------------- January, 2006 I was pleased to have given a talk about my experiences as a Red Cross volunteer after hurricane Katrina and Rita in Waveland and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi decimated those areas. The group was a local Laurel, MD social organization. My photo binder now has about 125 8x10" color photos to show. Wonderful to have shared all these experiences with such a fine and interested group of folks. --- December 2, 2005- Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser / Auction: held at Gourmet Gallery in Easton, MD. The event was hosted by Baton Rouge, LA artist Sheryl Southwick. Very impressive to see "standing room only" conditions in the gallery throughout most of the evening. Arts ae alive, well, and heavily supported here in Easton, Maryland. I met folks coming into the gallery to bid on art for sale, and helped by telling of my experiences with the Red Cross working on Hurricane Katrina / Rita recovery efforts. I brought my binder with more than 100 8x10" color photos, which really spoke louder than my words. Most often heard quote: "...This is much, much worse than New Orleans, why doesn't the media show Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Pass Christian, and the other destroyed Mississippi towns? They keep showing New Orleans which is nowhere near this level of devastation!...". I agree. I also wonder why. Have we forgotten already??!
Stop by the delightful Gourmet Gallery--21A N. Harrison St. in Easton, MD 21601. It is a quaint little town loaded with gems of activities and sights. ----- November, 2005- Spoke to Mayor and City Council at University Park, MD. Showed my photos of the damage from Katrina, and in that way helped a community group obtain a comittment for funding to assist a couple of homeless families relocated to this area. ============= October, 2005- OK--so I did go down to Mississippi. Ground zero. For three weeks or so. Worse than New Orleans. See my 2 Katrina pages added to this website for some photos and how you can help. A fifty foot wave hit Bay St. Louis and Waveland. In those 2 hours of water and wind, Waveland went from being a town of 8,000 to a town with 5,000 homeless. I mean, their houses are literally gone. Not just flooded...GONE! And today those people are living under tarps, plywood sheets, or backpacker tents and using camping gear they either had or acquired. It looks like Hiroshima or Nagasaki after the bomb went off there. Literally everything is broken or missing. All that remains of town hall is a 6 foot piece of a wall and a solitary bent flagpole. 91 municipal vehicles were destroyed. They had 92 total before the hurricane. It's not like they can just clean up and repair stuff; all that's left is bare ground where the buildings, houses, condos, and stores used to be. The media mostly has ignored these towns because they have no fancy reputation, casinos, or bars. The spotlight has constantly shone on New Orleans which largely escaped hurricane damage. They got flooded, but the structures are still there. I really hope these two towns are not forgotten. I really hope you understand these folks are just exactly like you and me. I talked with hundreds of them face-to-face. I worked with them getting them emergency money through the Red Cross. I heard their stories of loss--loss of everything they owned, and worse: loss of close family members. Loss of parents and brothers and sisters. It is so real when you sit across from these folks, and have a face to attach to the disaster. And a name. No longer simply a news show that can be turned off when it becomes to real or intense. I listened, hugged, and cried with so many of these folks. They need all the help we can give. I was at Bay St Louis and Waveland, within a mile or so of the water. They were still finding bodies when I left a week and a half ago. The worst of events brings out the best of the human spirit. Please do whatever you can.
Sept 11, 2005- Probably going to Katrina-stricken area for 3 weeks with the Red Cross. Training on Wednesday. Polished up my 40 year-old combat boots! Like an old friend, still comfortable...even have the little indentations from my toes from long ago. And snakes can't bite through them! Hate snakes, gators, biohazards, and mosquitos...but can't stand to sit here and watch all that stuff happening on TV. (Also went down to Florida City in 1992 for Hurricane Andrew. Katrina is worse, and more complicated, but share some similar problems). Red Cross and Salvation Army is there...do what ever you can.
End of August- Travelled Down East to Maine! Kennebunkport, Biddeford Pool, Little Sebago Lake, visiting friends and relatives. Also attended a friend's wedding on a farm! Picked 17 pounds of Maine blueberries and made a bit of jam...excellent! Gave a bunch away, and we are still set for the rest of the year. Being the eldest of seven boys, there is always something going on within the family when we go to Mass.. Mom and Dad live over in Marshfield Hills, brother Steve and Georgia are in Green Hahbah (Harbor), brother Craig and Ginny are in Marshfield right on the golf course, Fred and Jayne are in Marshfield, brother Jeff and Sally are in Scituate and are building the Largest House in the whole town! The garage is the size of my house! My Irish brother Doug and Lisa are living in Ireland. Doug is a certified artist, and over there artists are treated as national treasures. (We need to learn some of that stuff here!) Son Jeff and Tiffany live over in Plymouth. Brother-in-law Dave lives in Tyngsboro. We live in Laurel, MD. Makes no sense.
When we returned, we drove to Deep Creek Lake, MD to visit Jerry and Carolyn, our longtime friends. Jerry taught me how to make Artisan Bread...no machines used in this one! Came home, and Saurday night went to the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, MD to see and hear Dan Hart, clinical psychologist turned fulltime singer/songwriter. Very witty and clever words and some absolutely excellent acoustic guitar! Most entertaining! So nice to be home.
August 7, 2005 - Maryland Printmakers show at the beautiful Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD. Don't miss the reception from 1 until 4 p.m. More than 35 printmaking artists are participating in this juried show. Call 240-314-5004 for recorded directions how to get there. Please stop by!
July 2, 2005 - Rose and helped Anne at her art booth at an outdoor show in Lewes! Thanks to all who stopped by and said "HI!!"
June 11, 2005- Visited our friends, Gary and Anne Hanna in Dagsboro, Delaware. Anne is a noted and accomplished watercolor artist. Gary is a prize-winning and widely published poet. I won the drawing from Reynolds Wolfe, appraiser and rep for Cuban artists who was at the show. After enduring a very hot day, drinking tons of water, and visiting all the artists, we packed up and came home. Glad to report that Anne had very good sales for the day! This was the first show for the newly-formed Milton Art League, and I will be joining this fine group as a member next month.
While there, Denise Dumont, a Lewes, DE. plein-aire artist visited us with her friend, Brent. Denise has a studio in Lewes--we will see it when we return in July!
April 26, 2005 - Visited Spring Hill Lake Elementary school in Greenbelt, MD and talked to around 90 students as part of their "Career Week" program. I told them about my work as an artist, showed some of my prints and etching plates, and answered a lot of questions! The kids were very well behaved and attentive to the program. Wonderful fun and a great way to spend some time talking to so many future artists!
April 12, 2005--Dr.
David Crown and DebOrah Cohen visit to D.C. area and my studio! It was an immense pleasure to have a visit
with my friends and fellow artists from Gainesville, Florida. We enjoyed a pleasant lunch at nearby Patuxent
Greens Golf Club, and then toured the three galleries and my studio at Montpelier Cultural Arts Center in Laurel, Maryland. David
is the founder and Director of the International Mezzotint Society, which provides a focal point and forum for mezzotint
printmaking artists from all over the world. Print exchanges have been absolutely the best! (Second only
to the members I have had the pleasure to meet) These member exchanges have allowed me to acquire a small collection
of exceptional mezzotint prints from some of the finest artists to be found anywhere. There are very few artists pursuing
mezzotint because of the great deal of physical effort required to prepare the plate and then scrape and burnish the image
into the copper. I was greatly honored and pleased to have spent some time with these fine and most creative folks.
David is truly a "Renaissance man of the arts", with a talent and zest that goes beyond anyone else I know. Looking forward to the next visit! April 3, 2005--Demo I did a printmaking demonstration for Belaire, MD Girl Scout Troop 2055 that stopped by my Montpelier Studio for a tour and visit! 14 Girl Scouts and 5 adult leaders! They are working on their Art merit badge, and hopefully this experience will help them achieve this badge. These are the future artists and printmakers, and it is always a pleasure to introduce them to what printmaking is all about.
AKUA- Intaglio / AKUA-Kolor is featuring me on their web site and in their newsletter! I cannot begin to tell you how flattered I am to have this honor! Thanks, AKUA-Intaglio! Visit their site: Click here or paste into your browser window: http://www.waterbasedinks.com/newsletter.html ========================== Alice-Marie Graveley had an Exhibition:
March 25-April 8 2005 (These are the times when demonstrations will be held at Pyramid Atlantic-just across the street).Or by appointment. There will not be a formal Opening reception. For appointment: contact Lisa Tayerle 301-962-0830. This show will be listed on the SGC web site and cards will be printed to place on the Maryland Printmakers table at the conference
March- April 2005- I will be at the Southern Graphics Council Conference in Washington, D.C. - The Maryland Printmakers, Inc. will have a table at the hotel Vendor Show area where work from members will be shown, applications for membership may be obtained, and copies of the BIG and very collectable "In Print" Newsletter will be available for you while they last! This special edition newsletter features more than a dozen interviews with curators and directors of galleries and museums in Washington, D.C. Shireen Holman is the guest editor, and those familiar with excellent writing will certainly appreciate her exemplary efforts. Please stop by our table--I would love to meet you and talk about...what else??...Printmaking, of course. The SGC conference is a marvelous opportunity to network with others and find out what is new in printmaking.
February 17, 2005 - Featured speaker at the Kiwanis Club meeting in Riverdale, Maryland. I was so very pleased to present a talk about printmaking and show examples of my prints and the copper plates that make them. A wonderful group of people with whom it was a pleasure to spend the evening.
January 31, 2005- I am thinking about offering a beginner class in classic mezzotint. This means hand-rocked copper plates that are scraped and burnished to produce the beautiful imagery. Next, a print will be pulled from your plate. Learn the techniques, about inking and ink preparation, wiping of the plate...everything to get you started. We will be working on 2x3" copper----small is easier to learn on. Email me (johncmurray@verizon.net) or call if you are interested in my offering this class. (Very limited class size). - John
November 30- I was so very pleased to have been the featured speaker at the Beltsville Rotary Club meeting. The talk was about etching...as if you couldn't guess!
NOW is the time to sign up for my 2005 Etching Classes! Call 301-953-1993 for details.
December 5, 2004: Sunday December 5, I and most of the other artists at the Montpelier Arts Center will held an open studio. Gifts of Art priced at under $100 were featured. Offerings included my brand new line of color and black and white note cards! All kinds of imagery from the whimsical "DinkyToons" to beautiful enhanced digital images from my travels up and down the East Coast. Stop by: these cards are STILL specially priced. Many people like to frame them for their beauty, or give them as gifts. My cards are all individually signed to ensure their thoughtful uniqueness.
September-October 2004- My Low Toxic Printmaking Apprenticeship etching class ended with succesful prints by all! We are using the etchant Ferric Chloride, enhanced with anhydrous citric acid for etching the printable image into the copper plates. This chemical combination is called the "Edinburgh Etch", and is both quick and clean etching and minimally harmful to humans. This is an excellent opportunity for you or anyone interested to learn simply tons of information and techniques. I have spent years putting all this printmaking information together, and am a proven excellent instructor. We all have our gifts--one of mine is the ability to take complex concepts and techniques, and make them easily understood in simple, plain terms. I did this in the telecommunications industry for many years, taking students from zero knowledge to near expert in very short time frames. I dealt with people in other cultures, coasts, and countries with a good result every time. If you really want to learn and have some fun, consider joining my class. No secrets: all information is freely shared! Call the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission for details and enrollment. I am at the Montpelier Arts Center, off Route 197, then Muirkirk Road in Laurel, Maryland. (301) 953-1993.
September- MD Printmakers show at the W.C.A.C. Gallery in Hagerstown, MD. Title of the show: "Hard Pressed". What an outstanding show! I am so proud to have been a part of this one. Some of the best work I have seen yet. Thanks to Eli Pollard (Gallery Manager) for doing so much to make the show and two receptions a smashing success. I have entered my excellent 4"x6" mezzotint "Mariner's Friend".It is a sextant and includes insane levels of detail. See the image on the home page of this site. Below are a couple of photos from the show.
August 12, 2004- Show Opening / reception at Touchstone Gallery This is a juried show, and I was so pleased to have one of my 4"x6" mezzotints accepted for the show! Susan Goldman was the judge. Touchstone Gallery is located at 406 7th St., NW, Washington, DC 20004
Completed Event- In June 2004 Gretchen Amazeen and I developed and delivered a printmaking program to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD. We worked with the art teacher and some art students showing how to make a drypoint print, and then let them actually make plates, ink them up, and print them intaglio style! A page on this site shows the excellent results that were obtained! - John
June 9, 2004- Touchstone Gallery I had a couple of my latest mezzotint prints in this show! Annex of Touchstone Gallery from June 9 through July 3, 2004. Touchstone Gallery is located at 406 7th St., NW, Washington,
DC 20004.
------------------------------------------------ I am honored to announce that I have been elected President of the Maryland Printmakers! Alice-Marie Gravely is a very hard act to follow, as she has set an excellent example and standard of leadership over the last couple of years as our President. Email me if you would like an application to join this fine group of printmaking and other artists. johncmurray@verizon.net ------------------------------------------------ May 15 and 16, 2004 - OPEN STUDIO!! A WPA/Corcoran Sponsored Member Event! I showed all visitors how my fine art prints are made! Demonstrations were ongoing all day. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Road Laurel, MD 20708 (Muirkirk Rd. at Route 197) -----------------------------------------------------------------------
April 12, 2004- Montpelier Arts Center- Gave a talk and printmaking demo for the Laurel Art Guild.
approximately 7 p.m. Explanation of the materials and methods employed in creating an intaglio print using low-toxic
alternative materials and chemistry.
March, 2004- Montpelier Arts Center- an informal "Drop-on-by" critique of new and "in-progress" work
by MD Printmaker members will be held in my studio. This is a positive, supportive effort on our behalf to improve the
quality of our work using peer criticism and suggestions.
March, 2004 the Montpelier Arts Center Show- Laurel, MD - One man show of my works
in the second floor library gallery. Thirty three pieces, ten mezzotints. Thank you all my friends, and supporters
for coming and making my show a smash success! Wonderful to see so many of you who thought enough of me and my work
to travel the great distances that you did.
March 2004- Participant in International Mezzotint Society's Mezzotint Exchange. A professional
artists opportunity to acquire and swap each of our mezzotint works with each other. My entry for this exchange is the
tuba shown on theMezzotint page of this site! Only 16 members from all over the world are participating. (Well, there are
only a few hundred mezzotinters in the whole world, anyway!)
April 27, 2004- Just received my package of some of the most incredible examples of mezzotint prints. They are
stunning! I will let you know what the website address is so you can see them all as soon as it is ready for viewing.
March, 2004- Participated in Md Printmakers show at the Foundry Gallery in Washington,
D.C. MIGOSH! It was estimated that six hundred folks stopped by on opening / reception evening on the
5th. Wonderful place to have a show- Near Georgetown and DuPont Circle. "First Friday" stopping point in the arts-walk route
in the "Arts and Galleries" section of D.C.
January through March 11, 2004 - Ellipse Gallery in Arlington, VA. Wonderful,
beautiful location for our show. Many MD Printmakers were juried in, and we all enjoyed the reception. I was interviewed
and a large segment of this interview was aired on Arlington,VA cable channel 61. I gave an explanation of how mezzotinting
was done, and pointed to my two entries as examples of the art form.
March 2004 - Career Day - Spoke to about 100 Eleanor Roosevelt High School kids
(Greenbelt, MD) in the Math section- I related the importance of math to even the life and career of an artist.
Discussed Fibonnaci, formulas, ratios, and demonstrated why they should learn mathematics well, because chances are excellent
they will need to use it at some (maybe unexpected) point in their lives. We also discussed ethics and excellence in
all we strive to do. What a great group this was to work with! Four months ago I spoke to more than 100 art students
at this same school, and they, too, were young folks that gave me great hope for the future. Absolutley wonderful young
adults! (See classroom photos below)
February 2004- Demonstrated and explained Printmaking to a professional women's club
in Laurel, MD. About 20 people were in attendance, and it was really an excellent learning experience for everyone.
And the hospitality was positively gourmet!  |
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