Portrait Painting

Come Craft with us at either the MLK Library or the Kogod atrium of the Portrait Gallery. There are generally knitters/crocheters/needle workers in both places. Our success has made us a fairly large group so we are meeting in both places on Saturdays. Don't let the lack of RSVPs stop you, they aren't required, nor is membership to our group. Bring your project and join a boisterous group of crafters in first floor of either building.

Expect a fun afternoon of drawing and socializing with like-minded artists! Although each Session is 3 hours, feel free to drop in as your schedule permits. This is a casual gathering, and we know that people might only be able to stay a little while -- drop in, and stay, as long as you are having fun, and as your day allows. **Note: about RSVP's, please respect the RSVP process. If you RSVP YES, you are commited and we are all looking to seeing you. If your plans change however, that's OK, but please be courteous and change your RSVP to NO. We are reaching the headcount limit regularly now and it is rude to take a spot and not relinquish it if your plans change... Respect others; don't be rude. Thank you for your cooperation**. All skill levels are welcome -- this is not a competition. This Group and all its Events are intended to be in equal parts, Drawing/Art AND Socializing. As such, conversation is expected and encouraged. ***However, in all cases, please refrain from discussion of Political topics.*** Our goal is enjoyment, in the form of drawing together while socializing, and political conversation is too polarizing for that to happen. We are looking forward to seeing you there! **Note (in parting): Be aware, and keep in mind that our group, meeting as it does at Starbucks, depends on this business's generosity for the space it allows us. As such, please make a point of purchasing something from the business to express our appreciation as a group using their facility. If you are experiencing hardship and can't afford a modest purchase, get my attention discreetly, and arrangements will be made with no judgment whatsoever. Thank you for your understanding... Michael (your host)**

No plans for Valentine's Day? Come join the Arlington Jaycees at the National Gallery of Art! Stop by to enjoy one of DC's most iconic museums, mingle with new people, and enjoy some food after. We will be meeting in front of the main museum entrance at 1130am. The museum is easily accessible via the Smithsonian metro for those that don't live in the district. We will plan to spend about 1-2 hours at the museum and finish off the day with lunch somewhere in the Warf or Chinatown areas, location TBD based on interest. Pleas feel free to use the comments or message us to communicate if you can't find us.

• What we'll do Learn how to take great pictures BEFORE you go on that expensive trip! And we will teach you how to use your camera IN THE FIELD, not in a classroom! Join our standard Monuments and Memorials workshop, offered Wednesdays and Saturdays, in which the instructor takes you to some of DC’s most popular attractions: White House, Lafayette Park, the Einstein, Lincoln, Korea, and Vietnam Three Servicemen Memorials, and finally to Union Station, where you learn to make all the moving people DISAPPEAR! Remember, it was Confucius who said: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do, and I understand." At Washington Photo Safari, we help you "do " and understand! That is why our motto is "See. Click. Learn." This $71 Safari (a 20% discount from the regular $89 price) begins with a 45-minute travel photography orientation, giving you basic tips in composition, F-stops and shutter speeds, portraiture, and interior photography. While you are taking pictures, you receive hands-on guidance on how to make those images even better! Advanced and smartphone photographers will appreciate the instructor’s extensive knowledge of the best camera angles in DC. This is suggested as a preliminary course before taking special safaris. Open to any photographers at any skill level with any camera, phone, or tablet. Transportation from site to site is provided by the instructor. • What to bring camera and all lenses • Important to know travel, architectural, portrait and street photography techniques

Join us for a cozy and creative Paper Portrait Craft Night hosted by Sip Happens! In this guided workshop, you’ll create a unique paper portrait of someone you love—or yourself (self-love absolutely counts 💕). Whether you’re coming with your partner, a friend, or solo, this event is all about relaxing, connecting, and enjoying the creative process—no art experience needed. ✨ What’s included: • All craft materials provided • Step-by-step guidance • A relaxed, fun, and welcoming atmosphere

**Masterpieces in Real Life – DC Art Brunch Series** Inspired by this [Deconstructing.AI article](https://deconstructing.ai/blog-1/f/where-america-keeps-its-masterpieces), this series visits the most important artworks and objects in Washington in small, relaxed Sunday outings. We’ll look closely at several works, share the human stories behind them, and then continue the conversation over brunch nearby. Not a formal tour—just curious people learning to see together. I'll share a little background on the art and venue pairing for each outing. Here's the proposed itinerary for our first tour at the National Gallery of Art and the current (free) exhibitions while we are there. [A Measured Walk Through the National Gallery of Art](https://deconstructing.ai/blog-1/f/a-measured-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-art) SCHEDULE & PAIRINGS **1) Leonardo & Vermeer – The Quiet Room** **Sunday, 12:30–3:30** **Art:** • Leonardo – *Ginevra de’ Benci* • Vermeer – *Woman Holding a Balance* • Bonus: Monet *Japanese Footbridge* **Meet:** National Gallery West Building, Constitution Ave entrance **Brunch after (3 min walk):** **The Smith – Penn Quarter** – bright, easy tables, good for groups **Masterpieces in Real Life #1 – Leonardo & Vermeer** We’ll begin where Washington quietly keeps two of the most intimate paintings in the world. Leonardo da Vinci’s *Ginevra de’ Benci* is the only Leonardo in the Americas, yet it behaves nothing like a celebrity. The panel is small, moody, and slightly wounded—its lower edge trimmed centuries ago, taking Ginevra’s hands with it. What remains is a face suspended between confidence and doubt, framed by juniper leaves that pun on her name. Nearby, Vermeer’s *Woman Holding a Balance* performs a different kind of magic: a domestic scene so still you can almost hear the dust settling. The scales may hold pearls or nothing at all; scholars still argue, which is part of the pleasure. The National Gallery’s West Building is the perfect stage for this slow kind of looking—marble floors that encourage quiet footsteps and skylit rooms that make even hurried visitors lower their voices. We’ll wander from Leonardo to Vermeer and then to Monet’s luminous bridge, tracing how artists turned light into a language. No lectures, no exams—just stories about missing hands, hidden pigments, and the surprising ways these works ended up in Washington instead of Florence or Delft. After the gallery, we’ll walk a few minutes to **The Smith** in Penn Quarter, a bright brasserie that feels like the cheerful cousin of the museum: high ceilings, good bread, and tables made for lingering conversations. Over brunch we’ll compare first impressions—Did Vermeer feel calm or unsettling? Is Leonardo’s Ginevra shy or simply unimpressed with us?—and let the art continue to do what it does best: start arguments among friends. *** \*\*\*\*\* Coming Up Next\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ### 2) Van Gogh / Degas / Rodin – Bodies & Minds **Sunday, 12:30–3:30** **Art:** • Van Gogh *Self-Portrait* • Degas *Little Dancer* • Rodin *The Thinker* **Lunch (4 min walk):** **Oyamel** – lively but not loud, great sharing plates *** ### 3) America in Objects **Sunday, 12:00–3:00** **Art & Objects:** • Star-Spangled Banner • Greensboro Lunch Counter • Julia Child’s Kitchen • Ruby Slippers **Lunch (2 min walk):** **Carmine’s Penn Quarter** – easy large tables *** ### 4) Flight & Moon – Fragile Futures **Sunday, 12:30–3:00** **Art/Engineering:** • Apollo 11 Columbia • Wright Flyer **Lunch (5 min walk):** **Cafe Riggs** – calm, elegant, conversation-friendly *** ### 5) Memory in Stone – Evening Light Edition **Sunday, 1:00–3:30** **Art:** • Lincoln Memorial • Vietnam Memorial **Lunch (before walk – 12:00):** **Tonic at Quigley’s** – reliable, close to Mall *** ### 6) The Hope Diamond & the Stories We Invent **Sunday, 12:30–3:00** **Art:** • Hope Diamond • Geology hall **Lunch (5 min walk):** **Old Ebbitt Grill** – classic DC, easy meet point *** ## FLOW OF EACH EVENT **12:30** – Meet outside museum **12:35–2:00** – Slow look at 2–3 works **2:00** – Walk together to lunch **2:10–3:30** – Brunch/lunch + conversation

Join us for an afternoon of chess in a fun and relaxed setting. Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome! Club boards are provided. Bring your own clocks or use Chess.com's Chess Clock app. We generally meet in the blue room, which is to your right after entering. If we're not in the blue room we're at the far left near the beer tanks in the back corner.

Approx. 5 or 7 miles mostly on sidewalks. This (almost annual) hike will approximate the route that President Lincoln took from the White House to his summer “cottage” on the grounds of the Old Soldier’s Home, with a few detours to recreate something of the greener routes that Lincoln rode 100+ years ago. We’ll also visit the Adams Memorial in Rock Creek Church cemetery. The Cottage offers an informative guided tour which I encourage participants to take at 1pm. There is also now an option to do a “landscape tour” of Lincoln’s Wild Home, a self -guided app-based tour of 1.5 miles around the grounds. There are fees for both. The Cottage tour is $15. The walking tour is $10 unless you also buy the guided Cottage tour, when it is $7. Advance registration is available through the website: [https://www.lincolncottage.org/visit/](https://www.lincolncottage.org/visit/) I suggest that anyone considering this outing go to the website. There is also a very informative small Museum in the Visitors Center. I will lead us from a new start area on the north side of Lafayette Park across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. There will be stops for commentary along the way. Going north we will go past the Cottage and on to Rock Creek Church Cemetery and the Adams Memorial. \*\*\*We then return to the Visitor Center at the Cottage where the official hike will end. \*\*\*This will allow those who want to tour the Cottage to do so and/or to take the “Lincoln’s Wild Home” walk. It should not be difficult for hikers to retrace their steps to return to the White House area primarily using Georgia Avenue. You can also go to the Georgia-Petworth Green line Metro (.75 miles) to return downtown or can go a bit further to connect with the Red line at Ft. Totten. I suggest that hikers bring a brown bag lunch or snacks to eat near the Cottage or consider a local restaurant. *Bring a photo ID*, which may be needed for entry to the Visitor’s Center and also to take the walking tour. Always have water, comfortable clothing and shoes. Given the amount of snow/sleet/water the ground has been enduring, I strongly suggest waterproof shoes and maybe even a hiking stick. A $2/person voluntary donation is requested. Your donation funds SCPRO leader training and administrative costs. Donate in cash (exact change) at the trailhead. The meeting time and place (to accommodate the wider perimeter for the President’s security) is: **9:45 a.m. at the northeast corner of Lafayette Park at H Street NW and Madison/15th St. near the Thaddeus Kosciusko National Memorial.** Lafayette Park is sometimes cordoned off; sometimes not. Though not necessary to participate, if you wish to become a Sierra Club member to help save our world, click “join” on the Virginia Sierra Club website: [[http://www.sierraclub.org/virginia](http://www.sierraclub.org/virginia)

Join us at our annual **Valentine's Day Party** to celebrate in Style! We have a beautiful private room at Clyde's in Gallery Place, DC! Saturday, February 14th, 7-10 PM Clyde's Gallery Place 707 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 Attendees will get one free drink (beer, wine, or juice/soda). Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Tickets are refundable through Jan. 31st. The restaurant is a two-minute walk from the Gallery Place Metro stop.

The topic for February is "Transitions" Speak Easy: true stories, told live. The idea is simple: an audience, an open microphone, and great stories. Hilarious, gripping, poignant- it's up to you. Audiences are invited to come to listen or come to tell as folks from all corners of Columbus offer their stories live on stage! Held at Wild Goose Creative's warm, intimate space, this night of tales occurs on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 pm, show starts at 7:00 pm. Please arrive early if you want to tell, as we generally only have room for a limited number of tellers, and the sign-up sheet has a tendency to fill up fast. Formed around the idea that people need stories--they're what hold and draw us together--SpeakEasy celebrates the strangeness and commonness of being human. And in a world of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, and more . . . it gives people a real, breathing, in-person way to connect. The night is geared for true stories of all kinds, taking the best tales told around kitchen tables, in darkened pubs, on the street corner, and at late-night parties and giving them an audience. Speak Easy is also a great outlet for performers, writers, and artists looking to share their favorite stories and perfect their skills. We strongly encourage tellers to please tell the story rather than read it so we keep within the spirit of good storytelling and stay engaged with the audience. All are welcome. Hang around after the show for a drink and build community!

Looking for a creative night out that isn’t boring or corporate? Come hang out at **The Arcane Foundry** for an open candle bar and a 3D print paint and sip! Choose something from our 3D-printed shelf — *think ceramic paint-and-sip, but way cooler and with custom models we print in-house.* Or head to the candle bar and pick your fragrances to pour your own **pillar candle or container candle**. Sip complimentary tea, enjoy bakery snacks, and **BYOB wine or beer** while you paint, pour, and make whatever the hell you feel like making. No experience needed — this is all vibes, fun, and meeting new people while creating something you’ll actually want to take home. Starting at a very low price of $10 and up for paint and sip (Includes use of community paints, paint pallet, paint brushes) Monster and Fantasy Fidgets $10 75mm Resin Fantasy Models $25 Garden Gnomes $12 32mm Table-Top Miniatures $10 **Candle Making** (includes vessel, your choice of wick, wax, scented oil, labels and lids) 5oz Glass Jars $18 8oz Candle Tins $28 12oz Glass Candles $38 12oz Amber Jars $45 16 oz Skull or Jack o Lantern Candle Mugs $60 (Limited Edition!) \[www\.thearcanefoundry\.com\]\(The Arcane Foundry\) **All materials included. You just bring yourself (and your drink of choice).** **Payments accepted:** * Cash * Venmo: @Daclaud-Lee * Cashapp: $DaclaudL * PayPal: daclaudlee@gmail.com

Our monthly meeting will be Sunday Feb 15th 1-4 PM This will be held at 4049 Garrett W Dr, Columbus, 43214 This is off of Olentangy River Rd, north of Riverside Hospital. This is the home of one of our members. Everyone is welcome - beginner to expert. This is a casual folding session. People will teach a few models.

Join us for something different as we get together to see EPIC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT! While researching his 2022 film, director Bas Luhrmann came across and compiled rare and previously unseen interviews and videos of Elvis in concert to create “one of the most exciting concert films you’ve ever seen!” Here are details, a trailer and our plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: Part documentary, part concert film, the latest from director Bas Luhrmann is a follow-up to his 2022 film starring Austin Butler. While researching the film, he came across 68 boxes of previously unseen interviews, concert performances and outtakes from previous films. A combination of offstage and onstage Elvis, comes a film that “befits the magnitude of Elvis as a performer but also offers deeper revelations of his humanity and inner life." It is written/directed by Baz Luhrmann (ELVIS, MOULIN ROUGE, THE GREAT GATSBY) and stars the legendary Elvis Presley! TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmqWusmzp0k BUZZ AND ACCLAIM: The film screened at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival where it was the runner up in the category People’s Choice Award for Documentaries. Next Best Picture says, “Certain to energize longtime fans and generate new ones for generations to come, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a masterwork of montage.” And according to the NY Post, whether you have a room in the house devoted to Elvis or not, this truly “Epic” concert film is an energizing experience!” PLAN: We’ll plan for a pre-show bite at nearby BRAVO around 5 or 5:30pm followed by a 7pm-ish showing on one of their larger screens. Once showtime is announced, advance ticket purchase is advised. Please list your seat number in the Comments below. Exact showtime and meeting details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer. Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

**⚔️ Introduction to Wargaming & Painting Miniature Soldiers at The Arcane Foundry ⚔️** Join me in **The War Room at [The Arcane Foundry](https://share.google/S5i6DYJnJteHWeKtd)** for a laid-back evening of hobby talk and tabletop fun! For just **$15**, you’ll get a **3D-printed regiment of 20 high quality resin models** of your choice to paint — a **$40 value!** Bring your creativity, relax, and let’s make something awesome together. **Choose one from Below:** * 20 Orc Warriors * 20 Empire Soldiers * 20 Dwarf Warriors * 20 Elf Spearmen Step into a world where strategy meets artistry — and where every painted figure tells a story of battle, honor, and imagination. Join **Daclaud** at **The Arcane Foundry** for an evening that introduces newcomers and enthusiasts alike to the timeless craft of **tabletop wargaming** and **miniature painting**. My own journey began with a fascination for fantasy — knights in armor, grim and hardened warriors, and monstrous creatures locked in epic battle. That passion led me to **Dungeons & Dragons**, where I painted my first **Basic Heroes set** and felt the spark that comes from bringing a character to life in miniature form. Not long after, I discovered **Warhammer Fantasy** and **Warhammer 40,000**, and I was hooked. The vision of vast armies clashing across the table — each unit meticulously painted, each story unfolding through dice and imagination — became my creative obsession. During this event, we’ll explore the **origins of wargaming**, from its early military simulations to the richly detailed worlds of modern tabletop battle systems. You’ll learn how to **build and customize your own armies**, paint your first figures, and experience the joy of turning strategy and storytelling into a hands-on art form. Whether you’re drawn by the lore, the hobby, or the thrill of commanding miniature legions, this introduction will open the gates to a world that has captivated hobbyists for generations. **🎨 RSVP today and join us at The Arcane Foundry — where every brushstroke and battle tells a story.**

Join us for a casual chat over coffee & tea at Grandview Grind! Come out and meet some new people, enjoy your favorite drink, and make some new friends!