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11 women artists take AIM at Lorton
The women of AIM (Artists in Motion) are true believers in the adage that there is strength in numbers. Eleven in total, ranging in age from 46 to 72, they are living proof of it.
The women – all accomplished artists in their own rights, many with other careers – discovered the creative, validating power of working as a group, sort of by chance.
Each woman, seeking a place to develop her art and professionalism a few years ago, found herself working side by side with the others at Max 21, a group created by internationally known Reston artist Brenda Belfield at her Artworks Gallery & Studio in Reston.
“We all gravitated there, and we wanted to keep the synergy,” said AIM spokeswoman and representational painter Cheryl Parsons, 62, of Reston, about the AIM's formation.
“It’s unique to have 11 women who click so perfectly – artistically, socially, personally,” despite their diverse approaches, said AIM member Gennara Moore, of Reston, who paints bold abstracts.
“And because of the chemistry, you don’t have to hold your tongue when critiquing,” she added.
Reston resident Frances Rowan, an editor for decades before becoming a working artist, credits the group experience with stimulating her “creative juices.”
Rowan, at 72 the oldest member of AIM, said her career as an artist truly started with membership in the group. Her work, she noted, is not only getting better, but also edgier.
Another potent motivating force fueling AIM’s “motion” is its imminent move to a studio at the new Workhouse Art Center at Lorton, which is scheduled to open to the public sometime in the early fall.
“I was fortunate to have fallen in with this group of people,” said fellow AIM artist and Great Falls resident Mary Ellen Mogee, 59, a policy analyst for 36 years with a Ph.D. in political science.
“Being around good artists makes you better; being at Lorton will be like being at art school,” she said.
AIM is one of only two artist co-ops juried into Lorton and the only group of painters. The other is Studio Fiber Arts, a group of professional artists working in contemporary fiber art.
AIM member Susan Sikorski – an abstract painter and multimedia artist, as well as a level four Ikebana teacher and a National Garden Club accredited judge – said she finally “found out what I wanted to be when I grew up at 55,” in part, because of AIM.
They are an “incredible group of women,” whose life experiences give what they do depth and spirit, she said.
A Fairfax Station resident, Sikorski also was juried into Lorton as an individual studio artist. It was not easy, she said of the process in which 20 separate pieces were evaluated.
Lorton’s studios will be open to the public seven days a week, and artists are required to occupy them whenever Lorton is open so visitors can observe them at work.
“It will be an exciting place to be. So much will be happening, and to be around other artists all the time [will be wonderful],” Parsons said.
For more information on each AIM artist, click here.
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