Reston Citizen

A new non profit, created by a large anonymous donation, will be drafting a master plan for public arts in Reston. In the original 1960 master plan, public art was included, but was largely ignored.
The new organization seeks to join the efforts of Reston Association, RCC, Reston Town Center Association, GRACE, and more. The Reston Times even quotes Ann Rodriguez president of Initiative for Public Arts in Reston, as seeing this project as having national impact:

[They] will work on creating a master plan for the initiative, which may serve as a national model for other communities, according arts council President Ann Rodriguez. The effort has even attracted the attention of the national organization, Americans for the Arts.

“They have indicated they’re going to be watching the process in Reston with wide eyes,” Rodriguez said.

IPAR will initially have a small board including representatives from existing organizations and local organizations. Many details have not been released, but one of their first projects will be implementing public art in and around the two new metro stations.
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Guys and Dolls, a 1950s Broadway musical comedy about romance in New York City will be presented by the Reston Players.  Opening night is October 26th at CenterStage. Tickets start at $17.

The Reston Player’s website describes the play as:

The perfect musical comedy! Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City, this oddball romantic tale soars with the spirit of Broadway, as it introduces us to a cast of vivid characters who have become legends: Sarah Brown, the upright, uptight “mission doll;” Sky Masterson, the slick, high-rolling gambler; and the beautiful Adelaide, engaged to “good ole-reliable” Nathan Detroit, her devoted fiancé of fourteen years, who is desperate as usual to find a spot for his floating crap game. The hilarious, fast-paced dialogue and a bright, brassy musical score take us from the heart of Times Square to the cafes of Havana, and even into the sewers of New York. Lady Luck will be your date, and we’ll take a bet that this will be one fun night at the theater! “This is why Broadway was born!”

The Reston Players present four productions a year, and have been doing so for 40 years. The organization exists to promote “Theatrical excellence and professionalism,” and has won several awards.

First it was newspapers using citizen journalists, now the Greater Reston Arts Center wants gallery visitors to contribute art pieces. Springfield artist Foon Sham will be presenting Flow: The Landscape of Migration, based on the basic Chinese elements, Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, and Wood.

Today the gallery at Reston Town Center opens for groups and visitors to take part of the exhibit. The Reston Connection was at GRACE on Monday and chatted with Foon:

“What shape it takes, I don’t know. It depends on you,” said Sham while installing his mountains on the red floor of the GRACE space on Monday afternoon, Sept. 24. “I’m looking forward to see what happens,” he said.

He will be coming back once a week to examine the constantly changing exhibit. He reserves the right to move some elements around, and “Hopes the red floor will be covered.”

This photo, entitled Blue Light Special caught my attention because of it’s overwhelming, but excellent use of colors.

Weather for Friday, September 14th: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. South wind between 7 and 15 mph.

Photo by: trickybits

This delicious looking meal was prepared at Busara, a Thai restaurant at the Town Center. I know from person experiences, restaurants are terrible places to photograph. But somehow he got the lighting and everything worked, to the point I could see this in a food magazine.

Weather for Thursday, September 13th: Increasing clouds, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming south between 6 and 9 mph.

Photo by: chrismilne

One of the things about Reston I love is it’s abundance of nature. This is part of my photography series called Urban Nature. I tried to grab shots for this series in Manhattan but that didn’t work out too well.

Weather for Monday, September 10th: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Calm wind becoming west between 4 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Photo by: Joshua Davis (articnomad)

This photos reminds me of the connection between humans and our built world. The geometry and non uniform shadow seen to further enforce this idea.

Weather for Friday September 7th: Sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 8 mph.

Photo by: Nikolai West

Animation gallery ArtInsights in the Reston Town Center will be hosting a new exhibit on Disney animated art from the 1950s. The display opens on Tuesday September 3rd, and is open until October 2nd. Items on display include Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and Tramp, and more.

ArtInsights is run by Michael Barry and Leslie Combemale who both have extensive experience in art. Collectors can buy art, or the casual viewer can see pieces from Disney, Warner Brothers, and other studios. They specialize in pre 1960s animation art. ArtInsights is located at 11921 Freedom Drive.

Reston based LeMay Erickson Architects took two Fairfax County Exceptional Design Awards, both for church design. Their merit award was for the expansion of Vienna Presbyterian church, in downtown Vienna. The firm expanded the building to 55,000 square feet, upgraded the sanctuary to sit 1000 people, and added more classrooms and administration office space.

They also took an award for their expansion work on Clifton Presbyterian Church, a historical building. Without altering the building structurally LeMay Erickson Architects added 30 seats to the sanctuary They also more than doubled square footage with an addition of a fellowship hall, kitchen, and classrooms.

The Fairfax County Exceptional Design Awards contain five categories. The awards are designed to “Recognize achievement in the total design of a building and site and to create an awareness of outstanding planning and design projects among design professionals and the general public.” The awards are sponsored by the Department of Planning and Zoning.