Our "Intro to Street Art" Workshop gave students an overview of the history of Graffiti and Street Art and provided instruction on using spray paint and paper stencils.
Student Work 2013: Intro to Street Art
Students honed their stenciling and spray-painting skills in this series of three 1.5 hour workshops. Instructor Gabriel Pons lead the class in developing their designs, cutting paper stencils, and perfecting their spray-painting. Working on various media, including wood panels and vinyl records, students leave the course with a work of art and the knowledge to continue making on their own. Below is a selection of photos from our 2013 series of "Intro to Street Art" classes:
Want to be introduced to the street art? Come join us at PONSHOP with your ideas and we will supply all materials, instruction, and history of street art. Click Here to view our current class schedule. For further questions, contact PONSHOP.
FAMCC Art Outside the Box Summer Camp
Gabriel Pons of PONSHOP partnered with the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center for a three-day summer art camp from July 15-17, 2013. The theme of the camp was "Art Outside the Box". Students were instructed to draw upon the city's rich history and built environment to create a collaborative mixed media mural to be installed on the William Street facade of the museum. Throughout the three days, Pons gave the students a background of the history of graffiti and street art and coupled their activities to "interrogate" the cityscape of Fredericksburg. What is the message of the signage that we view in the streets day to day? How can students express themselves using only text or only imagery? How can we reinterpret historic themes in a new way?
Below is a chronology of the workshop sessions. Students used wheat paste to collage imagery and maps relating to the city of Fredericksburg on six wooden panels. They were encouraged to explore writing their names using different styles and methods. Pons gave students a tutorial on how to design, cut, and spray various stencils and students then collectively painted the six panels using spray paint, acrylic paint and stencils. The completed panels were installed in the existing window wells of the museum. Thanks to Janelle Kennedy, interns Caroline Fogg and Dani Payne, and the staff of the Fredericksburg Area Museum for contributing to the success of this workshop. Special shout outs to our campers for the week. They're excitement and genuine enthusiasm made the project worth while. Good Job Students!
Urban Decay 4: Opening Reception June 8, 2013
Saturday June 8 marked the opening night of “Urban Decay 4” at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia. This is the fourth year of “Urban Decay” and PONSHOP is excited to be one of the sponsors for the opening reception again this year. The exhibition was curated by Urban Art Syndicate and focused mainly on lowbrow and contemporary art and music. The evening kicked off with a panel discussion focused on the influence of Hip-Hop music on visual art. Speakers on the panel included professional Hip-Hop dancer Kenny Wells and artists: Gabriel Pons, Jack Labadie, and HKS181. The reception included live musical performances by Thrive, Kenny Wells, Lightspeed Rescue, and Expansion Radio. Artists HKS181, Kevin Rodrigue, Jeremy Gann, and Inh Nguyen collaborated on murals in the outdoor quad area, with each canvas being raffled off at the end of the evening.
Special thanks to Deb Yarrington of UAS and Amy Lust of the Workhouse Arts Center for their curatorial, promotional, and organizational expertise. Also a big shout out to All City Print and Design as well as the Urban Decay 4 volunteers who kept the evening’s events running smoothly. Urban Decay 4 runs through July 28.
2012 Art Attack Fredericksburg
September 8, 2012 marked the first annual "Art Attack Fredericksburg" event. Local and regional artists took to the sidewalks of Caroline and William streets, set up their own outdoor studio, and created art for all to see. Visitors watched as artists sketched, painted, created sculptures and pottery pieces. In addition, live performances by belly dancers and musicians added to the street scene. After the day's tour of duty, the artists attended a picnic hosted by LibertyTown Arts Workshop.
Conceived by Bill Harris and Gabriel Pons, the mission of Art Attack is to show how incredibly rich this area is with talented artists and to showcase them doing what they do best. Art Attack recruits included as many as 60 artists ranging in ages 13 to gracefully gray. Below are just a handful of photographs from the day. To find out more about Art Attack Fredericksburg, visit the Facebook Page. There is also a video piece on Art Attack on Fredericksburg Live.com.
"June Group Show" Announcement
PONSHOP is excited to welcome a new-featured artist, Julie Maida, to the gallery. Creating everything from functional home goods to prints and paintings, her use of strong colors and elegant line work are sure to enhance any space. Also in the gallery are works from owners Scarlett and Gabriel Pons as well as signature paintings by Joshua Barber, Nicholas Candela, Jeremy Gann, and Ginger Huebner. Bringing an original touch to photography, Adam DeSio and Stephen Graham will have their latest images on display.
Join us Friday, June 1st from 6-10pm for a special evening of local art and enjoy the company of art lovers alike.
Opening Reception: Friday, June 1, 6-10pm
Exhibition Dates: June 1 - July 1, 2012
2012 G40 part 4: Murals
Below are some pics from my last visit to Richmond during April's G40 Summit. We had a chance to check out a handful of the recent murals painted throughout the city by the likes of Angru Woebots, Pixel Pancho, Lelo, and Gaia to name a few. Enjoy!
2011 G40 2011 - Part 3
httpv://youtu.be/0sA_ed9UYlc Below are more pics from the 2011 G40 Uncapped Live Show organized by Art Whino, Brightest Young Things, and Vitamin Water. We took the whole family up to the exhibit to take a look. Thanks to microWave Project for inviting me to participate in this event and big ups to girlsrockdc.org for hosting a great music workshop that afternoon (see above video of Diego on the mic).
World Water Day: Saturday March 19, 2011
I'm excited to have contributed to Fredericksburg's first annual World Water Day event coming up this weekend. Our amigos, Friends of the Rappahannock, asked if PONSHOP would pitch in to promote water conservation within local communities. I did up a barrel with spray paint one fine morning and called it "Agua".
Check out Hurkamp Park in Fredericksburg, VA this Saturday, March 19 (9am-noon) to see more artist-painted barrels contributed by community as well as a "build your own rain barrel" workshop, and more.
Click Here for the Friends of the Rappahannock Facebook page.
Fredericksburg's World Water Day is a Family Friendly Free Event.
Hello Brooklyn!
The Pons family took a quick jaunt to Brooklyn, NY last week to visit some old friends and show our boys a bit of our old neighborhood from years back. Below are some snapshots from our trip!
Carroll Street: the old crib in a neighborhood of brownstones...
Southern Hemisphere (Australia) meets Northern Hemisphere (North America): thunder is made.
I miss Prospect Park - awesome tunnels and such...
The "international four" (left to right): Loochie Loo, Mad Cappy, Monster D, and Lady ZD...
We stopped by DUMBO on the way out to check out some paint on walls...(some call it art!)
Diego was too inspired and got up on that right quick with his personal stash of markers...
Thanks to Wendy and Adam for a memorable trip - we hope you enjoy the rest of your trip around the globe.
Street Art Workshop: July 2010
July, 2010. My student, Marielle, took a 3-session workshop with me and we worked on taking her drawings (above) to the next level. Below is a sequence of those classes. Good Work!
We enlarged her drawing by 400% and she worked with the print, cutting out and painting it.
She collaged on a 2-foot by 4-foot panel and then used wheatpaste to glue her paper print on. After hitting it with some spray paint and acrylic paint (below), she was done.
DetailPONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as Ceramics and Drawing for adults. Our classes run throughout the summer and through the fall. For a current class schedule, Click Here.
Street Art Workshops: April 2010
April 2010 ushered in my first students at our new space at 712 Caroline Street. I had the pleasure of teaching two returning students who were more than eager to break the studio in with some spray paint action. Below are some highlights from their sessions. Nice work guys!
Nick loves skateboarding and The Misfits, so he decided to kick out a skull theme on his board.
Finn (above) is a frequent PONSHOP student. This time around he brought along a side project of his own: a custom made helmet inspired by the XBox games he's into. I helped Finn prepare and prime the helmet so that he can apply his own stencil designs.
Finn also likes to draw quirky characters like the "Afrobot" above. Take Saturday Night Fever and mash it up with Lost in Space and this is what you get...
PONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as Ceramics and Drawing for adults. Our classes run throughout the summer. For a current class schedule, Click Here.Intro to Street Art Workshop: July 2009
July's "Intro to Street Art" workshop boasted some of the hardest working students to date. Not only did they bring fresh new ideas to the table, they also worked overtime on their pieces to take them to the next level. Nice work students!
Trey did a contemporary take on the traditional silhouette figures using collage and stencils.
He paints up the background during the final session...
Detail (click image to enlarge)
Mira created a cool "Twilight Zone" style cat using spray paint and stencils.
She sprays on the final layer of black onto the stencil (above).
Detail (click image to enlarge)
Josh came to the first class full of ideas, enthusiasm, and a whole kit of tools at the ready. His piece (above) was executed with wheat paste collage, acrylic, and spray paint with stencils.
Josh's sketches and notes (above) kept his work on point and on schedule...
Detail (click image to enlarge)
For a current PONSHOP Class Schedule, Click Here
"FRESH" Workshop: May 28, 2009
May 28, 2009: I gave a Street Art Workshop at the Torpedo Factory to wrap up the month's "FRESH" exhibition at the Target Gallery. Below is an account of how the afternoon's project went. After the workshop, I participated in a round table discussion with Cory Stowers of Words Beats & Life and fellow artist Marissa Botelho about contemporary graffiti.
9 Door panels were donated to the target gallery for the project - one side included this "Exploit" graffiti piece.
The other side of the doors were tagged up - this was to be our canvas...
Moments before the workshop began: Max and Jeff help keep things running smoothly...
The content of our collage was based on the life and legacy of civil rights hero Charles Houston - represented here in a 30"x40" cardboard stencil.
Students layered the existing panels using collage images and text and applying them with wheat paste.
As the panels filled with imagery, other students cut stencils.
6 Panels were taken outdoors to be hit up with spray paint and stencils.
I gave a brief demonstration on techniques and safety tips for using spray paint.
Students then took turns applying spray paint to their stencil designs.
After the panel discussion, participants were encouraged to tag the walls outside of the gallery.
The completed mural on display (click image to enlarge).
Some details (click image to enlarge).
Special thanks to the staff at the Target Gallery and Torpedo Factory. Thanks especially to the participating students for their enthusiasm and hard work. Scarlett and I also want to thank our PONSHOP crew - Jeff Gulick and Max Harvey for their help in assisting us that day.
Upcoming Show: "FRESH"
I'm excited to announce that one of my paintings will be part of a group show at the Target Gallery in May. "Fresh" An Exhibition of Urban Contemporary Art will include 29 paintings selected from a national/international pool of artists.
The Target Gallery is one of the feature exhibition spaces in the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. I'll be heading up for the reception on May 14. Hope to see you there! - G
FRESH: An Exhibition of Urban Contemporary Art
May 6-31, 2009 Reception: May 14, 6-8pm Gallery Talk: 7pm
Target Gallery, 105 N. Union Street., Alexandria, VA 22314
PONSHOP in the Press
One of the writers for "It!" magazine, a weekly teen feature in the Freelance Star, met with me several weeks ago to talk about the trajectory that Street Art and Graffiti have had over the past few years. With artists like Banksy and Shephard Fairy becoming household names, does that mean that the public will be more receptive to having their streets adorned by anonymous artists? Click Here for the full story.