Mary Anne Durnin

Annual Studio Tour

Mary Anne Durnin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:26:50 +0000

Gallery VIII & Friends are hosting their 8th Annual Studio Tour November 5 & 6, 2011. This year the tour features 13 artists creating in various media – watercolors, acrylics, printmaking, jewelry, sculpture, & glass. Please stop by my studio to visit and see my latest works. It’s a fun weekend for artists and visitors!

Click here Studio Tour to view a map and list of artists.

Sea Waves

Mary Anne Durnin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:14:06 +0000

Reminiscent of the sea, the champagne bubbles formed when glass is fired have inspired me to create these tiles. These are my latest creations, as I learn more about the properties of glass and how I can form artworks using it. The tiles are small, 4” X 4”; restrained by the size of my kiln and encouraging my learning process.

Untangled

Mary Anne Durnin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:15:37 +0000

As you can see by the objects above, the time came for me to get untangled. I had spent the better part of the past 10 months creating Zentangles. I’m still doing some; but my focus has turned back to fusing glass. I now have a small kiln to help me in learning how to create art by melting glass. The beautiful, bright, clear colors remind me of the watercolors I have created for so long. My goal is to turn glass into small watercolor paintings – tiles, small dishes. Time will tell whether I succeed. The learning curve appears to be a bit steeper than I anticipated; but I’m having a lot of fun doing it.

Inspirational Zentangles

Mary Anne Durnin — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:55:40 +0000

A selection of my “Inspirational Zentangles”, prints & note cards, is being offered for sale at Two Hearts Catholic Books & Gifts in Plano, TX. The owner, Sandra Rodman, is a lovely person. If you are in the area, stop by to visit with her and explore what the store has to offer.

Inspiration

Mary Anne Durnin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:29:30 +0000

After talking with a friend, recently, I was inspired to embark on a new Zentangle project. I am now creating a series of Zentangles that are meant to be inspirational. They begin with a significant word that I surround with “tangles”. I’m “hoping” that they will inspire many others.

Chris Durnin Photography

Mary Anne Durnin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:41:46 +0000

My very talented grandson, Chris, has a new web site ChrisDurnin.com. He earned a BFA in Photography at UT Arlington in 2010. Chris is currently working as a substitute art teacher; looking for a permanent position; and building his wedding photography business. Please take a minute to look at, and enjoy, his work.

Beading Retreat

Mary Anne Durnin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:39:28 +0000

Bejeweled

This past weekend I attended a beading retreat. It was a treat for the senses! There are so many talented beaders in Texas; some of the work was exquisite. I learned new things and came home with inspiration for many new projects and new beads to accomplish them. As you can see by my latest Zentangle, my inspiration flowed to other media.

Turkey!

Mary Anne Durnin — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:41:50 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you enjoy your day. However, that is not the Turkey I have in mind. My husband and I spent 2 weeks travelling through Turkey recently. What a glorious land – so full of history and magical sights. We’ve travelled to many parts of the world; but this took us a bit out of our comfort zone. We didn’t know what to expect. The people were all friendly & gracious throughout the country. In Istanbul, nearly everyone we encountered spoke English. It was challenging to learn to bargain for everything we wanted to purchase. This doesn’t come naturally to us.

Being an artist, I am very visually oriented. The things that had the biggest impression on me were the minarets soaring into the sky above the mosques. I worked on a Zentangle while there and included it above for you to see. There are many paintings running around in my head. I will need to decide which to paint that will convey the most meaning of the time and place for me and my viewer.

I also posted my favorite photo above . Of the 1100 photos I took, this one appeals to me the most. It turned out to be a good composition; but, more than that, it reminds me how lovely it was to lounge on the beach along the Mediterranean in Antalya, Turkey.

7th Annual Studio Tour

Mary Anne Durnin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:00:51 +0000

The 7th Annual Gallery VIII Studio Tour will take place November 6 & 7. I hope you will stop by to see my new works. I’ve dabbled in fused glass and created many Zentangles, along with other jewelry and paintings. A list of participating artists and a map of studio locations can be found on our web site – Gallery VIII.

Award Winner!

Mary Anne Durnin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:05:59 +0000

What a thrill it was for me to receive an award at the Southwestern Watercolor Society Exhibit for my painting “Wash Day #3”! It is such an honor to be selected, along with all the other accomplished watermedia artists, by the juror Katherine Chang Liu. This is a milestone achievement for me. Am I inclined to look to this as a sign to continue experimenting with gouache? I think so!