Happy Holidays

As of the week of Thanksgiving the Workhouse Photographic Society has reorganized, changed its name to the Workhouse Photography Group, and moved into a new gallery space at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton. We are now located in Building W-16 in the Vulcan Gallery on the first floor. There are eight very talented photographers in our newly formed group. The new gallery is a bright space with two separate "rooms" and our first show is a "small works" exhibit. The eight (very) small black and white prints I have on display for this show include photographs from New Mexico ("Santa Fe Wall" above) and Texas, as well as four from a figure workshop I attended this year in the Virginia countryside. Our gallery is open normal Workhouse hours: Wednesday-Saturday 11:00- 7:00 and Sunday 12:00-5:00. Our building will be closed from Christmas through New Year's.

There is also another "small works" exhibit in the remaining galleries on the first floor of Building W-16. This show includes works from most of the artists who have studios at the Workhouse (100+-) working in all artistic mediums. I have five photographs in this show, including "Yucca In The Sun."

The second floor of W-16 currently displays donated pieces from 90+ Workhouse artists. On the evening of Saturday, December 12 the Collector's Showcase Fete D'Etoile will take place and patrons who purchase tickets ($150 each or $175 per couple) will take home a work of art of their choice. Food, drinks and music will be provided for the evening event, which takes place from 8:00-11:00pm. For more information visit http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddz3k33s_0ghz877hj.

My photo "Afternoon Storm," (which is one of the donated works for the Collector's Showcase) has been chosen, along with 12 other works from this show, to be in the Workhouse 2011 Calendar. On Saturday night at the event the Best In Show from these 13 works will be announced and will have a prominent spot on the cover of the calendar. I am very honored to have been chosen to be in the calendar from such a talented collection of artists. The juror was Maureen Littleton of Maureen Littleton Gallery in Georgetown. "Afternoon Storm" also won first place in the advanced print category by judge and nationally-known photographer Frank Van Riper at the Vienna Photographic Society's November competition. Now I must give you a little background on how I happened to catch this shot. I was leaving the Workhouse one afternoon and the skies were stormy and getting darker by the second. Something caught my eye to my right and it was the most amazing sight; the late afternoon sun was shining on a barn but the sky behind was dark. I pulled over, picked up my camera (unfortunately only a five megapixel point-and-shoot which I use in my residential appraisal work by day), struggled to get the car door open due to very strong winds, and tried to steady my camera all the while shooting through a chainlink fence!

Before I sign off, another of my photographs is hanging at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria in the current month's all-media show at the Art League. I have attempted to get this image into their shows two times previously...and I guess the old adage is true "the third time's a charm." It is titled "Paris Alley" and is of an alley (French word allee) of trees which lead to Napoleon's tomb in the Dome Church of the Invalides in Paris.

I have been feeling the need to travel and hopefully will have some new images to report on soon after the New Year. Happy Holidays to all and I wish you and your loved ones good health and much happiness in the New Year.

Most Recent Exhibits And Other News

"Scapes - The International Landscape Show" was on display during the month of August at the Art League of Alexandria on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory in Old Town. The show was juried by Nora M. Heimann, Chairman of the Art Department of Catholic University. My photograph "Abandoned" of a long-forgotten sailboat on the shores of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands was one of the chosen works for this annual show.

The current month's All-Media Show at the Art League entitled "Interaction of Color" was juried by Patrick Craig. My image "Sante Fe Colors" from a recent trip to New Mexico was one of the 138 accepted by the juror out of a total of 652 works submitted, and will be on display (and offered for purchase) through Monday, November 2. Mr. Craig is a Professor of Art at the University of Maryland, www.patrickcraig.com. I have been a member of the Art League for a year now (July 2008-July 2009), and since I was juried into at least three monthly shows during that first year I am now eligible to display and sell works in their Bin Gallery throughout the current year. In the Bin Gallery art works in all mediums and in varying sizes are on display - all available for purchase. In any given month I now have one framed photograph hanging and six mat-only photos on display in the bins.

As an ongoing member of the Vienna Photographic Society (VPS), photos that have won awards at our monthly member-competitions (where we bring in outside judges) are eligible to be entered into the final group show at the end of the year (our year runs Sept-June). My image "Morning Bath" won a second place ribbon at our final competition which was judged this year by Judy Switt, www.nvacc.org/Switt.html. A print of this image was also recently purchased by a regular patron of the Workhouse Arts Center where I am an artist-member.

Another photo, "The Jewelry Maker," taken while in New Mexico in June won a first place ribbon in the first member-competition of our current year at VPS.  I really can't say that it was the photographer who made this image stand out, as it was the subject and her "story" that made the portrait.


Finally, back to the subject of the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton. The Workhouse Photographic Society has (temporarily) moved out of their home in building W-6. We hope to soon be moving into new space on the first floor of the main gallery building next door, W-16. We are in the process of forming a new cooperative and we hope our first show will be hung in time for Black Friday, an event hosted by the Workhouse for the day after Thanksgiving. This event is from 9:00-5:00 and includes live music from 2:00-4:00 by the Potomac Jazz Project. Patrons are encouraged to mingle and shop and tickets for the “Workhouse Gift Raffle” will be available for $5, allowing for the opportunity to win gift baskets and prizes valued at $350 or more (contents of the baskets include original works of art and private lessons with a Workhouse artist).


If all goes well in forming the new photography cooperative, I hope you will visit us in our (proposed) new home in the Vulcan Gallery, named after one of the Workhouse benefactors. As in our former space, we plan to change our shows every six-to-eight weeks. It's been a terrific first year for the Workhouse Photographic Society and while we have lost some of the original members we have gained new talented artists and will strive to jury new members in the months - and years - to come. Thanks to all who have visited and supported the Workhouse over the past year!

Current Exhibits and Recent Awards

During the month of July my photograph "Paris Park" (c2005CarolSimonsHuddleston) is on display in The Art League of Alexandria's All-Media Monthly Show entitled "Black and White." The show was juried by Catriona Fraser. Ms. Fraser is an international award winning photographer and the owner and Director of the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda, Maryland, http://www.frasergallery.com/. Her work has been exhibited widely in many galleries in Europe, Latin America and the United States. Out of the 506 entries, 124 were juried into this show.

Membership in The Art League is open to all and provides entry to a fellowship of over 1,000 artists with a wide range of exhibition and education opportunities. Member artists participate in monthly, juried exhibits - juried by noted fine art professionals from throughout the Washington area and beyond. Our engaging exhibition schedule makes The Art League Gallery an intriguing art space for gallery visitors in the DC metropolitan area to view original art of all media by talented artists from throughout Washington and the Mid-Atlantic region. Contact:703-683-1780, http://www.theartleague.org/.

My image "Secluded Morning" (c2009CarolSimonsHuddleston) has been chosen to be included in the First Juried Photographic Competition hosted by the Lorton Arts Foundation and Workhouse Arts Center. The juror, Ann Shumard, is Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Ms. Shummard joined the MPG in 1979 and has worked exclusively in the Photography Department since 1981. Prior to her appointment as Curator of Photographs in 2001, she served as the Department's Assistant Curator. Throughout her tenure, she has played an integral role in the development, research, and interpretation of the National Portrait Gallery's photography collection which now numbers more than 10,000 objects. The exhibit of juried images will be on display from July 29-August 22, 2009 in gallery W-16 of the Workhouse Arts Center, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton, VA, http://www.workhousearts.org/. The public is invited to attend an awards presentation and reception for this show on Sunday, August 9 from 2:00-4:00pm.

"Secluded Morning" has also been chosen to be included in a juried collection of contemporary art, American Art Collector, published by Alcove Books, Berkeley, CA. The publication (to be printed in Hong Kong in October 2009) includes works by over 300 artists working in both 2-D (painting, photography, printmaking, digital media) and 3-D (ceramics, glass, jewelry, fiber, metal, mixed media, wood). Now in its sixth year, 3,500 copies of American Art Collector will be mailed to galleries, collectors, and art consultants. Jurors for the publication are California College of the Arts painting instructor Howard Eige and Oakland, CA gallery owner Jan Christensen-Heller, http://www.alcovebooks.net/.

My photograph "Sunlit Balcony" was nominated for a BLACK AND WHITE Spider Award on October 19, 2008 in the Still Life category (Classification: Amateur). Celebrating its 5th year, Black and White Spider Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography.

The Awards are juried by the world's most prestigious curators, auctioneers, editors, and dealers of black and white photography, including captains of the industry from SOTHEBY'S, ARMORY SHOW, VII, TATE GALLERY, COMMUNICATION ARTS, PDN, FRATELLI ALINARI, HEFFEL FINE ARTS, and more. Nominees vie for 132 title awards representing the best work of the year. Receiving a Black and White Spider Award is an endorsement of distinction from the most trusted names in the business, http://www.thespiderawards.com/.

Lastly, members of the Workhouse Photographic Society (WPS), hung their new exhibit in our studio in Gallery W-6 at the Workhouse Arts Center on July 12, 2009, which will be available for viewing through September 13, 2009. Included among the ten new works that I have hanging in the exhibit are four figure studies in black and white, and two new color images recently shot in Santa Fe, the latter hanging in our "Small Works" display.

At the time of each WPS show change, one member hangs a solo show. Area photographer Jen Chappell is currently the featured artist at the Workhouse Photographic Society. There will be an artist’s reception Saturday, August 1st from 7:00 – 9:00pm and all those interested are invited to attend. Visit http://www.workhousearts.org/ for directions.

“Volume is a play on many levels,” Chappell says. “Each image has a sound quality and each resonates in its own way. Some are quiet (volume 3); some are quite loud (volume 10). I am showing a volume of work, cataloging my evolution and growth as an artist.

Introduction

Welcome to the blog for Carol Simons Huddleston where you can find out what projects I am working on, where my photography is being exhibited, which images I have sold, and which images of mine are being published. I envision this to also be a place where interested parties can view a selection of images grouped together from either my travels or events I have attended. I welcome your feedback on any and all content, thank you for visiting, and I hope you will return.


As a brief introduction, my love of photography initially came from my father, a mathematician by profession and amateur photographer all his life. As a result photography has been a constant in my life since I was young. Over the years my photography has evolved from the darkroom to the fast-paced digital age. I try to keep my images simple and governed by the theory “less is more.” I continue to learn and grow as a photographer and hope that my images influence others to see the world around them in a different light.


I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and have also lived in the San Francisco Bay area in Berkeley, California and in the Willamette Valley in Corvallis, Oregon. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, I have never lost my love of the outdoors, which will always be one of my inspirations. Initially my goal was to study architecture and I continue to be drawn to its details, which are so often captured in my photographs. I also love to travel and briefly lived in Paris - a city I will continue to visit and photograph again and again.


While photography has been one of my passions for over thirty years, my professional career has included ten years on Capitol Hill working for Congressman Charlie Wilson of Texas (yes, that Charlie Wilson), followed by four years floundering in the private sector, bringing you to my current status as a self-employed residential appraiser throughout the Washington, DC area for the past sixteen-plus years. Much of my time and energy, however, is now focused on my lifelong love affair with art, specifically photography as an art form and the desire to be a working artist. While I still have a lot to learn, photography is the common denominator which brings it all together for me, allows me to express who I am, and gives me a voice I may not have otherwise had.


I am currently affiliated with the Workhouse Arts Center, 9601 Workhouse Way, Studio 608, Lorton, VA 22079, http://www.workhousearts.org/. My photography is also regularly exhibited at The Art League of Alexandria housed on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandira.