Posts by Tom G

“Creating the Perfect Mats and Frames for Your Artwork”

Our own Eileen Yeager has vast experience in matting and framing and will share her knowledge with our group at the Thursday, April 7, 2022 in-person meeting, at 7pm at Christ’s Lutheran Church, 5330 Old Logan Ferry Road, Murrysville. This is our first in-person meeting since March 2022. Arrive early if you want to socialize.

Eileen’s demonstration addresses the following issues facing most artists:

Are you overwhelmed with all the mat and frame choices available?
Through design, we will determine what the best look for each project is.
Do you want to have a professional framing presentation for your artwork?

Come to the April 7, ESAL meeting and I will teach you tricks your local framers use – and what I do.

If you are ready to save money by learning how to mat and frame the proper way for your artwork, I am teaching Matting & Framing Workshops at the Greensburg Art Center in April and May. I will also be offering smaller classes at my home in Murrysville in the near future.

At the April ESAL meeting, I will discuss the following:
• Fundamentals of matting and framing. Why do we frame?
• Design principles – creating harmony among all the elements
• I will bring matted and framed artwork samples to show design principles.
• Choosing the correct materials. Both museum quality and regular materials are shown and discussed.
• Designing your own project. Selecting mats and frames.
• You can bring a piece of art, and I will bring mat color samples so you can put your new knowledge to our goal of Making the Artwork the Star!

ESAL, composed of photographers and artists working in all media, aims to foster arts and crafts and to educate, inspire and encourage artists and patrons in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs.

Show & Tell December 2021 Demonstration

Our November 4 ESAL meeting will take us on the path in Stevo Sadvary’s life that has led him to becoming a full time mosaic artist.  We will join him in his Squirrel Hill studio as he enlightens us on the vast variety of creative works in which he engages.  Here is a summary of the facets of this versatile artist and his interesting bio:

“A passion for art and pleasing clients.” That’s what makes Stevo so Stevo-licious. Whether dreaming up whimsical weavings or piecing together magnificent mosaics, Stevo is the rare artist who manages to be both highly creative and very accessible.

Stevo Sadvary, who grew up in Washington county and studied weaving and textiles at Edinboro University and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh, has lived in Pittsburgh since 1989.  And his creativity bubbles over into all sorts of other interesting areas, from painting to songwriting to web designing.

Yet Stevo’s enduring fascination with tile and glass forms the real body of his work – and his success.  He has completed numerous private mosaic commissions ranging from kitchen backsplashes, floors, showers, house number plaques, and fireplaces to pet portraits, schools, corporate lobby art, and commercial signage – in areas ranging from Puerto Rico to Florida and Maryland.  Stevo’s spirited nature is also evident in his many public art pieces throughout the Pittsburgh area.

For several years, Stevo’s name was on a commercially popular, signature series of hand-knit sweaters. His tapestries, scarves, knit hats and hand-woven rugs add color and texture to the lives of many customers.

Like the artist himself, Stevo’s work is fun, yet stylish. Creative, yet professional, his joy in creating distinctive pieces is always balanced by his sensitivity to clients. These qualities, little by little, bring Stevo closer to his self-confessed goal: “Making the world a happier place.”  He is a true genius matching unusual color combinations together in his mosaics and fiber art.  They appear to dazzle with life and joy.

When Stevo is not working on commissioned art he keeps busy in his Squirrel Hill studio.  Serving as both production workshop and showcase gallery, the studio is a magnificent light-filled space located on the uppermost floor of the landmark Morrowfield building’s parking annex. This is where Stevo has pieced together many mosaic motifs in glass: mirrors, fish, flowers, still-lifes, abstracts, trains, sailboats, icons, nursery art, flower pots, trivets, tables, butterflies, Pittsburgh bridges, stars and suns.  Most of this work is displayed on his website, stevosphere.com.     

mosaicstevo@gmail.com

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Exploring Painting with Marci Mason at the October 7 ESAL meeting.

No matter what medium you might choose, Marci will open your eyes to making the two dimensional page come to life in simple three dimensional shapes!  We will  once again welcome Marci Mason, award winning artist and talented instructor for a live painting demonstration. 

Her demonstration is entitled, “Three Pears Still Equals Three”.  Viewers may simply watch the magic unfold or prepare ahead and paint along with the master.  Those who chose the latter will need the following materials:

colors needed….sap green, cadmium yellow, cerulean blue, burnt umber, cadmium red, black and white.

Sketch the perimeters of the pears and spoon on a quarter sheet of watercolor paper.

We will also use table salt.

Marci says, “Join us for this live zoom class and paint a great fall fruit picture. I’ll show you how to make the pears look like you can pick one up to eat and a few simple brush strokes make a spoon shine!”

ESAL members will gain great insight from our presenter, Becky Sciullo of Artisan Advantage, at the upcoming ESAL meeting.  Becky will enlighten us as to ways to receive recognition and appreciation for the wide variety of works of art we members create.  She has outlined the following topics she will cover during the zoom presentation on Thursday, September 2, 2021, at 7:00 pm.

May Guest Artist Tom Mosser Tom Mosser is Sure to Inspire! May 6 ESAL Zoom Meeting – Tom Mosser is Sure to Inspire! Another great opportunity awaits ESAL members this Read More

April Guest Artist Bernie Wilkie Presentation of his best community murals. The first of April will begin with a visually inspiring presentation for ESAL members. Bernie Wilkie will return to Read More

We are in for an informational treat this month as our own tech guru, Tom Gallovich, expands our knowledge with a fascinating demonstration of Digital Drawing techniques.   As he will point out, these programs, including the digital watercolor programs, amazingly mimic the actual watercolor and art experiences.
He will enlighten us with a discussion of some of the cutting edge programs available on the market and demonstrate their amazing capabilities.  Tom is eager to demonstrate the possibilities of the newly released program, Rebelle 4, that is easier to use than Photoshop and that can produce amazing finished art works.  

February Guest Artist Linda James The president of the Colored Pencil Society of America Linda James may well live in Michigan, but she will be Zooming in to our February Read More

Be sure to join us for this opportunity to expand your knowledge of the art world, share time with other familiar artists, and enjoy an uplifting opportunity and break from the current difficult times we are experiencing.

October Guest Artist Brandon Lacina Trafford-Digital – Computer Repair – Imaging Services ESAL’s October 1 Zoom Presentation Featuring Brandon Lacina, Founder of Digital Trafford ESAL’s October 1 Zoom presentation is Read More

September Guest Artist Blogging for A Visual Art Business About Becky I’m Becky Sciullo, and I am an art marketing consultant. I help artists at different levels in their careers Read More

March Guest Artist Rewind-Reuse Center and Workshop ESAL hosts Export’s Rewind-Reuse Center and Workshop director as first speaker for 2020 East Suburban Artists League hosts Val Wilson Paulisick, director of Read More