Transformations: (02/2010-05/2010)

The past three months have been quite a journey for us: starting up a new business and simultaneously renovating our space. Below is a sequence of our progress from the end of February until last weekend's grand opening party. Thanks to all of you who have helped us along the way. - G+S

712 Caroline Street was formerly known as "The Christmas Shoppe" for the past 18 years...Carpeting was removed - floor repaired, and new flooring installed.The suspended reception desk was our friend's idea - keeping the space open and casual.

Scarlett's dad flew back from Mississippi for a week to help with the kiln shed.I'm giving the contractor's "hang loose"...
The photos (above and below) courtesy of Desio Studios - Opening Week!Thanks to all friends, family and fans of PONSHOP

PONSHOP Summer Class Schedule on Google Calendar

We will be offering classes for children and adults in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Graphics throughout the summer. For a detailed class description and registration form, Click Here
Use the navigation buttons below to scroll through the months:

Gabriel Pons at Caramel: May 21, 2010

I'm excited to announce that I'll be showing select work at Caramel in Washington, DC this month. The opening reception is Friday, May 21 from 6-8pm.

Smart, sophisticated, and stylish, Caramel offers unique clothing and accessories for men and women you won't see on everyone else. The U Street boutique features international, national and local designers, as well as eco-friendly fashion and vegan accessories.

Caramel
1603 U Street, NW Washington, DC
(202) 265-1930

Grand Opening Party: Friday May 7, 6-10pm

We're excited to continue to participate in Fredericksburg's monthly "First Friday" art walk. Come and check out the new spot Friday, May 7 from 6-10pm.

The PONSHOP Storefront 04/15/2010: The Doors Are Open

April 15, 2010 was the official first day of the PONSHOP storefront being open at 712 Caroline Street in Downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. Below are some pics of our new space. Thanks again to all of those that have helped in the renovation/relocation over the last six weeks and thanks to all our friends and fans who paid us a visit over the past week.

As mentioned before, our Grand Opening Weekend is Friday and Saturday May 7-8. The opening party is Friday May 7 from 6-10pm. If you are around town, come on down and check it out!

Photo (above) by Jarrell from Dweeblifestyle.com

PONSHOP's retail shop includes fine art, ceramics, art tees, skateboards, jewelry, and eco-minded accessories.

In many ways, the shop feels like our old apartment in Brooklyn - "railroad" type layout right on street level, and a back porch area.

The studio space will double as our classroom. This snapshot above is from our "Skate to Create" workshop. These students are designing their own skateboard graphics to be applied on a skateboard deck using stencil techniques.

Urban Decay Show Announced

I am pleased to announce that I'll be taking part of "Urban Decay" - an exhibit of Custom Vinyl and Lowbrow Art at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA. The show runs from April 28 through May 9 and the opening reception will be on Saturday, May 1. The opening reception promises to be jam packed full of spectacle with a number of the featured artists (listed below) doing live demonstrations on vinyl toys and canvas. Do Check it Out! For more info, Click Here

"Urban Decay" is an exhibit organized by the Workhouse Arts Center and Spaghetti Project.

PONSHOP Opens April 15 / Grand Opening in May

We'll be opening our doors at the new location (712 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA) on Thursday April 15. The "Grand Opening" of PONSHOP will be on "First Friday" May 7th.

Scarlett took some heat from the municipality about building permit issues last week, but all that's been resolved and we're moving forward...

"Where's the pictures of the new space?" Well you'll just have to wait until we open the doors. (and I think I left the camera down at the shop too). In the meantime, we still have a lot of work to do: complete the kiln shed, finish the reception desk, arrange furniture, augment the lighting, and arrange all the inventory and artwork.

"Reunion" Series (detail), 9"x9", mixed media on paper

I'll be happy to finally put down the power tools and get to business on the biz-ness of the shop. Until then we shall double our efforts to ensure that we have our act together. See you there. -G

Intro To Street Art: March 2010

March 2010: My "Intro To Street Art" student needed very little introduction to using wheat paste collage, markers, and spray paint to create her own 2-foot by 4-foot masterpiece. Savant a.k.a "Sam" (16 yrs) not only had an opportunity to use new tools and media to express herself, she also got some tips on practicing her lettering, cutting stencil patterns and using spray paint. Check the images below to track her creative process:

After covering her board with collage materials found in comic books and magazines, Savant drew and cut a 4-foot long pattern to be used for the first layer of spray paint.

Once she sprayed her background and "Sam" Stencil, she returned to the painting with a thick marker to highlight elements in the collage.

Her stencil "signature" turned out quite well considering we had to spray it in 35 degree weather...Good Job!

Gabriel Pons holds art workshops for children and adults monthly. For a current listing of PONSHOP classes, Click Here.

Mixed Media Class: Winter 2010

February 2010: Even the countless inches of snow didn't stop some dedicated students from taking a group lesson with PONSHOP last month. I met with students for an hour every week for a Mixed Media Workshop that included collage, painting, stencils, and drawing with markers. Below are some snapshots throughout our sessions.
Nice work kids!

Barrett (8yrs) laid down a thick background of acrylic paint before adding a U.F.O stencil and some collage.

Corbin (8 yrs) drew some fantastic creatures over her painting and collage.

Harrison (8yrs) explored writing his name a variety of ways before adding magazine cut outs and drawings.

There's nothing more satisfying than to see my students hard at work. Well Done!

Scarlett and I are excited to take on new students for this Spring at our new location. For a current listing of PONSHOP classes, Click Here.

End of an Era / New Beginnings

Diego stands in the studio formerly known as PONSHOP at LibertyTown Arts Workshop.

March 15, 2010. We've officially moved from our space at LibertyTown Arts Workshop and will be opening the doors to our new storefront on Thursday, April 15. Scarlett and I would like to thank all our colleagues at LibertyTown for their support and friendship over the past five years. I couldn't help but get a bit nostalgic as I was taking work off the walls. When we set up shop in 2005, we were new to town and full of aspirations to make a difference as artists in the community and today I realized that we've surpassed our expectations by taking our studio to this next step.

Will we still be teaching classes? Yes. Will we continue to pursue our respective crafts? Yes. Now we're going to have a retail dimension to our space which hopefully will engage a whole new audience in Fredericksburg.

PONSHOP is now at 712 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Special Shout out to those that have helped us over the past two weeks of our renovation/move/installation: Andy P., Chris A., Jeff G., Jessica G., James H., Joshua J., and the many more students/fans of PONSHOP that I'll wrangle in before all is said and done. Muchas Gracias to the Pons and Suhy Families - my brother(s) Chris and Didier, Scarlett's sister Grissell (whose visage graces the left storefront window in the pic above), and our parents who continue to encourage and help us achieve this dream.

Scarlett shot a photo of her sister in 1994(?) which became the inspiration behind the "Baila Baila" painting and this paper post up.

"Soul Providers" Exhibit: March 2010

Fellow co-op artist Ana Rendich and I are the featured artists for the month of March at Art First Gallery. "Soul Providers" offers up a collection of work inspired by our personal experiences and insights. Click Here to preview some of the pieces from the exhibition.

This show has significant importance since it will be my last exhibit with Art First Gallery before I depart the co-op to focus on the new PONSHOP location. Please come out to the opening reception this Friday, March 5 from 6-9pm. The show runs through March 28.

Art First Gallery, 824 Caroline Sreet, Fredericksburg, VA.

PONSHOP is on the Move

Scarlett and I are excited to announce that we’ve acquired a storefront in Downtown Fredericksburg (712 Caroline Street), and will be moving from our studio at LibertyTown this month to have our doors open in our new space in April. The PONSHOP mission remains the same – creating and educating through our respective arts, however we’re expanding to accommodate a retail dimension which will offer up artisan made and eco-friendly items for all. This has been an aspiration of ours since living in New York and we’re happy to be taking such a big step. On behalf of Scarlett and I, we’d like to thank all of the people that we’ve worked with and supported us over the past five years and look forward to strengthening the arts community in Fredericksburg. The new PONSHOP location opens April 2010.

March Art Show Announced

I'm excited to announce that I'll be exhibiting at Art First Gallery with fellow Co-Op artist Ana Rendich. "Soul Providers" will run for the month of March with the Artists' Reception on Friday March 5 from 6-9pm.

Right now, I'm in the thick of it - working hard to make this a really rich and interesting show. We hope to see you there... -G

Arts in Support of Haiti

Scarlett has designed 20 limited edition votives to help raise funds for Habitat for Humanity in Haiti. She has titled the piece “Port-au-Prince Cathedral”. The 100 year-old cathedral in Haiti is also known as the “Cathedral of our Lady of Assumption” and has been destroyed in January's earthquake.

"Port Au-Prince Cathedral" commemorative votive, (top view)

"Port Au-Prince Cathedral" commemorative votive, (front view)

The votive is 5” in diameter and its design is inspired by elements such as the rose window and the tower from the cathedral. Each ceramic piece will be signed and numbered and is $50.00 each. 100% of the proceeds is being donated to Habitat for Humanity and will go to Haiti's relief effort.

If you are in Fredericksburg you can come by the PONSHOP at LibertyTown Arts Workshop and leave your donation which will reserve your votive. You may also mail us a check, made out to scarlettwares, for $50.00 to:

LibertyTown Arts, Attn: PONSHOP, 916 Liberty Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

(Please add $10.00 if you would like your piece mailed to you anywhere in the USA.)

Scarlett is making these ceramic pieces currently,so please allow 6-8 weeks to complete this series. Each piece will be glazed in a Satin White Glaze. We will let everyone know as soon as they are finished and you can come by the PONSHOP to pick them up or we will be more than happy to mail them to your doorstep.

For more information please contact Scarlett at spons@scarlettwares.com

Thank you and our hearts go out to the people of Haiti.

Scarlett and Gabe

"I Believe in Mr. Grieves"

"Neptune's Daughter", mixed media on wood, 18"x14.5", SOLD

February, 2010. Scarlett heard this report that our music tastes are most acute and malleable up until we're 20 years old. If that's the case, then I'll be listening to the Pixies when I'm eighty years old. Th above painting was inspired by a Pixies song - the lyrics go: "...what's that floating in the water oh neptune's only daughter i believe in mr. grieves"

"Neptune's Daughter" is on exhibit this month at Art First Gallery (824 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA) as part of the themed "Portraits" show. Check out this all member exhibit. Opening Reception is Friday, February 5, from 6-9pm.

Gallery Hours: 11-7pm Mon-Thurs, 11-9pm Fri-Sat, 12-7pm Sunday

Digital Art Revolution Book Release: March 2010

Here's some exciting news for the New Year - author Scott Ligon's book Digital Art Revolution is due to be released internationally in March of this year and I'm excited to be one of the contributing artists to the publication.

Digital Art Revolution "is not a book that teaches readers to process photos in order to mimic various styles from art history. This is a book that familiarizes the readers with the fundaments of the visual language and then shows them how to apply these principals to digital art. It demonstrates the possibilities inherent in the medium and guides readers towards developing their own unique voice." -Scott Ligon

Check out the Digital Art Revolution site and buy the paperback on Amazon.com right here.

More Small Works...

Medusa (mini series) , spray paint on wood, 5.5"x6", $30 each

Masked Villain (mini series) , spray paint on wood, 5.5"x6", $30 each
(left) MONO queen (mini series) , spray paint on wood, 5.5"x10", $60
(right) Grasshopper #2 (mini series) ,mixed media on wood, 5.5"x10", $60

Small Works like these are currently on display at LibertyTown Arts Workshop, PONSHOP Studio, and Spaghetti Project (1025 Caroline Street, Fred-burg). Check 'em Out!

We're Still Working...

The recent snow has not turned down the heat at the studio - The PONSHOP is open until Christmas and there's still work to be done.
Hours: 10-6pm on the 23rd, 10-3pm on Christmas Eve, 10-5 on the 26th.

Big Holiday = Small Works

The Muse #4 (queen and conqueror), mixed media on paper, 10"x10" framed, $125

I'm pleased to share the latest small works paintings. They are on display in galleries around Fredericksburg, Virginia and our studio for the month of December. Enjoy!

The Muse #2 (illuminated ones), mixed media on paper, 10"x20" framed, $250

The Muse #5 (become the becoming), mixed media on paper, 10"x10" framed, $125

MONO Lion (mini), 16"x10" spray paint on wood, $125

The New Hieroglyph (Mini), mixed media on wood, 5.5"x10", SOLD

The Lost City #1(Mini), mixed media on wood, 5.5"x10", $45

Hush #2 (Mini), mixed media on wood, 5.5"x10", $45

Grasshopper #1 (Mini), mixed media on wood, 5.5"x10", $60

The Muse #3 (in love with love), mixed media on paper, 10"x20" framed, $250

Scarlett's Latest Work: December 2009

Below are some of the latest things to come from Scarlett's studio time:

Button Scarves. A Wool and Acrlylic Blend knit with handmade ceramic button. $40 each.

Ceramic Snowflakes The season's favorite in infinite designs $12 each.

Rocket Ship Cookie Jars. 12" tall spaceship of fun $80.

If interested in purchasing, please contact us online: shop@ponshopstudio.com