First Friday Artist: Angela M. Carter

First Friday Artist: Angela M. Carter

by | Sep 26, 2023 | artwork, citizen architect, community, First Friday, Harrisonburg Architect, Local Leaders, Office Culture

On Friday, October 6th from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening featuring artist Angela M. Carter! Angela is a multi-talented artist with many works – published, spoken, performed, and visual. Join us to view her exhibition “Rewaken (to become awake again)” and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community.

First Friday Artist Angela M Carter.

Bio:

Angela M. Carter is a mom, author, poet, novelist, motivational speaker, spoken word performer, visual artist, and advocate/activist. She is the owner of 2nd Avenue Press, and is the author of Memory Chose a Woman’s Body (unbound CONTENT, 2014) and a forthcoming book, Love is the Dying Dog (2023). Angela is a 2014 Pushcart Prize nominee, nominee for the 2015 Virginia Library Literary Award (poetry), and has been featured in a multitude of venues, including The KGB Club in Manhattan and Busboys and Poets. Her publications include Silver Birch Press, Deep Water Literary Journal, Whurk, Vox Poetica, the Plath Poetry Project, Premiere Generation Ink, City Lit Rag, The Word Ocean, Worst Week Ever, Our Stories Untold, Gutsy Living, and several anthology publications. Angela is the Programs and Initiatives Manager for JMU X-Labs.

Rewaken (to become awake again):

Medium: Abstract acrylic and ink paintings on canvas, various sizes.

This show embodies a transition from treading to floating atop the turbulence life has recently handed to me, and finding newfound gratitude in the aspects of my life that I feel blessed to have: motherhood, new beginnings, self-love, art, literature and acceptance.
This is my new beginning. My rewakening.

Rewaken poster by Angela Carter for her First Friday gallery opening event.

This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.

Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!

First Friday Artist: Cassie Martin

First Friday Artist: Cassie Martin

by | Sep 25, 2023 | artwork, citizen architect, community, First Friday, Harrisonburg Architect, Local Leaders, Office Culture

On Friday, October 5th from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening at The Depot featuring artist Cassie Martin! Cassie is a talented mixed media artist with skills in a wide variety of mediums, including ceramics, which she will be showcasing. Join us to view her powerful vases that “give voice to those who felt like they couldn’t speak” and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community.
First Friday artist Cassie Martin.

Biography:

Cassie Martin is a mixed media artist with contemporary practices, skilled in a wide variety of mediums in the two-dimensional form and three-dimensional form. She is currently a senior at James Madison University pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts with a painting and drawing concentration, a General Business Minor, and an Art History Minor.

Artist Statement:

These vases give a voice to those who felt like they couldn’t speak up. I sent a question to many of my female friends asking what is something they wanted to say but didn’t at the time whether that’s because of a bad relationship, work environment, or just a situation. The first vase has the responses. The second vase represents how those words were silenced, so they are in Morse code. The final one shows the opportunity women have to empower each other.

A portion of a vase by Cassie Martin. There is a crack in the pottery with an imprint of a kiss overtop. Vase by Cassie Martin imprinted with words. Three vases by First Friday Artist Cassie Martin. vase with morse code
This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.

Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!

Big Brothers Big Sisters Mini-Golf for Kids’ Sake 2023

Big Brothers Big Sisters Mini-Golf for Kids’ Sake 2023

by | Sep 20, 2023 | community, Office Culture, team

This past Friday The Gaines Group team in Harrisonburg had the privilege of supporting the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) through some competitive mini-golf. It was a beautiful afternoon to get out into the sunshine to compete against each other in some (mostly) friendly competition.

Aimee, Deborah, Mariya, Jarod, and Asha at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Mini-Golf fundraiser.

This year our team split into two groups to compete for the lowest combined group score and a group lunch out. Team one, Par Vacation, was led by Interior Designer Jarod, with the dynamic marketing duo Charles and Asha. Team Two was led by Designer Mariya, Architect Deborah and Designer Aimee. Highlights include two hole-in-one’s by Mariya who backed up her smack talk, one hole-in-one by Asha which earned her a free dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme, an embarassing amount of 7-strokes on a hole, and two balls fished out from the water. In the end, though it was close, Team Par Vacation pulled out the win by 5 strokes. 

Jarod puts the ball during mini-golf.

Regardless of the score, we were thrilled to be a part of this event and support such an amazing cause! For more information about BBBS check out what you can do to get involved in your community!

Sometimes Being an Architect is a Roller Coaster

Sometimes Being an Architect is a Roller Coaster

by | Sep 13, 2023 | architecture, Charles Hendricks, Office Culture

The job of an architect can be an emotional roller coaster. You get the opportunity to walk with your clients to hear their goals, dreams, and aspirations for their new home (or business), feeling the excitement. Then the fun begins as you translate all the challenges, stretches, and opportunities into a cohesive design. We get to use our analytical side to process the information and constraints and our creative side to create a beautiful and functional design solution. This is architectural design, walking with your client through their dreams, grabbing the parts of the dream that matter the most, and creating a holistic design solution that brings it all together. You invest emotionally in their design as you sculpt their dream home, and when you get it right, you feel joy.

We recently designed for clients that had a very specific vision for their dream house. Their vision was centered around how they wanted to feel in the space that is sacred to them. Yes, they had some very specific aesthetic goals as well, but merging those aesthetic goals with a sense of softness and modesty was key to the final design. Working through the process we found an architectural language to define spaces and captured the right feel. We walked with our clients on their land, listened to their hopes and dreams, gathered inspiration, discussed goals, and developed a design concept. We absorbed their emotional connection and goals, developed the design concept, gathered feedback, and modified – multiple times.

bonus room with couch and chair. Light during golden hour streams through the window.

Once we had the right feel of space, we started working through the building science implications. The design demanded delicate details to achieve the right finished product. While designing with empathy is an important tool we use on a regular basis, a focus and understanding of building science, structural design, and material knowledge allow us to create beautiful, durable, healthy, and energy-efficient buildings.

outdoor seating area, sun setting over mountain view

This idea of creating / designing dream homes (businesses) can be challenging because dreams tend to continue to unfold as opportunities can better be seen (first draft of the floorplan) and room sizes and shapes start to form. As an architect you are often the one left to remind everyone involved that there is a budget that goes along with the dream. You are the one that has to break their heart when the budget doesn’t match the dream. You act as the sounding board for ideas, bringing your own and evaluating others. Years of experience, training, education, and trial and error feed your sense of design.

While I have heard many times that someone has an “eye” for design, there is no replacing years of experience and knowledge. The process of design relies on a “feel” for the right solution. It requires an emotional investment to get it just right. Sometimes you are in a state of joy and sometimes you are struggling to hit a budget emotionally strained.

First Friday Artist: John A. Hancock

First Friday Artist: John A. Hancock

by | Aug 23, 2023 | artwork, community, First Friday, Local Leaders, Office Culture

On Friday, September 1st from 5:00pm-7:00pm, we are thrilled to host a First Fridays Gallery Opening at The Depot featuring artist John A. Hancock! John is a talented artist who wears many hats, including Studio Artist, Urban & Plein-Air Sketcher, Artist-Teacher/Artist-Mentor, Independent Curator, & Consultant. Join us to view his exhibition opening, “Interrupted Landscapes: Studies & Compositions,” and to enjoy food, refreshments, and community. RSVP for this event on Facebook here.

Below, John shares about his work and journey as an artist.

First Friday Artist John a Hancock

To see more of John’s work, check out the links below:

Websites:

https://www.johnahancock.com/

https://visualasides.wordpress.com/

https://sketchingalways.wordpress.com/

 

Instagram:

@hancock_john_a

 

Resume:

Link to PDF attachment

Bio:

 

About the Artist

Born in 1956, I have lived throughout the Southeast and Midwest (from Atlanta to Wichita, from the east coast beaches of Florida to the piedmont and mountains of Virginia). Before moving to Virginia in the fall of 2000, I had begun my career as an artist/professor in eastern North Carolina. Besides making art and teaching, I take an avid interest in walking through old neighborhoods and the countryside. I really enjoy bird watching, reading, and cooking. In my active parenting years, I had a bit less time for bike riding, playing chess, attending concerts and plays, and working on community service projects. Now those are finding their way back into my life.

 

Professional Background and Service

I began my serious study of art as a teen in adult-professional classes. I later received my B.F.A. in Art from Valdosta State University and later completed an M.F.A. in Painting at East Carolina University.

For more than 35 years I worked in both community arts management and as a full-time college art professor. Even before retiring, I had begun to teach adult sketching classes and workshops both locally and within the region. In the past few years, I have had the privilege to be invited to teach sketching workshops in Chicago and San Francisco and around the country.

 

About The Art Work

I work outside often, avidly sketching rural and urban spaces. sometimes the image is a wide vista; other times it a view of an intimate detail of nature. Sketching informs my later work in the studio; I also find that it frequently stands on its own as completed works of art.

Most of my artwork has been created by drawing and/or painting on paper or panels using mixed aqueous and dry media. Over the past decade, I expanded my drawing to the use of installation scale, Mylar. Whether working on Mylar, paper, or panels, I seek to do so with a passion for nuanced and powerful mark-making, color, and design.

 

Recent Exhibitions, Publications, Awards, and Honors

In the past few years (2020-23) I have had several solo exhibitions including one in the Lula B. Rackley Gallery at Barton College (NC) and the Arts Council of the Valley (VA). Other recent exhibitions have included shows at Troy University (AL), Mary Baldwin University (VA), North Carolina Wesleyan College (NC), Elizabethtown College (PA), and the Nichols Gallery (NC).

In the past few years, I have been featured in two publications, 100 Southern Artists, by E. Ashley Rooney, Schiffer Press and The Natural World: A Postmodern Perspective, Mt. Saint Mary’s University.

This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.

Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!

First Friday Artist: Delaney Westwood

First Friday Artist: Delaney Westwood

by | Jul 26, 2023 | artwork, community, First Friday, Local Leaders, Office Culture

On Friday, August 4th from 5:00 pm-7:00 pm, we are excited to feature artist Delaney Westwood! Delaney is an experimental fluid acrylic artist who brings depth, meaning, & beauty into homes with her beautiful abstract works. She also works as a Real Estate Agent in Harrisonburg and believes that “when designed with intention and presence, custom pieces can transform a space and foster a sense of peace.” We are looking forward to hosting this talented artist, and we invite everyone to visit the event page to RSVP here. Check out her biography below to get to know more about Delaney before the gallery opening.

Artist Delaney Westwood

Bio:

Born & raised in the Shenandoah Valley, Delaney Westwood is a fluid acrylic artist and member at OASIS Fine Art & Craft in downtown Harrisonburg. She considers herself an “experimental” artist because of her deep reverence for the process and passion for exploring new techniques. It is her mission to create inspiring artwork that brings forth a sense of inner knowing akin to the healing transmission of the natural world.

To see more of Delaney’s art and read more about her mission, visit her website @ paradoxflowart.com.

art by Delaney Westwood
art by Delaney Westwood
art by Delaney Westwood
art by Delaney Westwood
"Shenandoah in Dreams", a piece of art by Delaney Westwood

This event is free and open to everyone. Snacks and refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there! See the event page and RSVP here.

Each month we host a new artist in our building’s 2nd floor gallery at the Chesapeake Western Depot at 141 W. Bruce St. (second floor entrance is on Chesapeake). Artwork will remain on exhibit through the month. Come view the show anytime and get a tour the Depot! We will have food and drink available!