Deck the Walls, an annual holiday exhibit at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, offers shoppers unique paintings, drawings, handmade jewelry, colorful ceramic mosaics and wooden handmade bowls from more than 50 Maryland artists.
David Ashman, Annapolis fine-art photographer, contributes photographs from three different series focused on Irish, Maine and uninhabited landscapes.
Most subjects come as a surprise to Ashman, he said.
“A potential subject really has to stand out … It has to be something that I have not seen before, or not seen in a particular light or at a particular angle,” Ashman said about his work.
He said his hand-printed gelatin silver process, the most common process for making black-and-white photographs from negatives, offers viewers rich details in shadows, bright whites and all shades of gray in between.
“They provide a visual depth that cannot be obtained by other photographic printing processes. In the black-and-white world, I have to properly compose by placing light objects in front of dark and dark objects in front of light to create visual separation and contrast. It is a very important concept,”Ashman said.
“I believe that the viewer is prone to an enhanced interpretation of a photograph with the absence of color,” he added. “The viewer can create his or her ?own? story without color biasing the experience.”
Pieces in Deck the Walls are priced from $55 to several hundred dollars with the majority of works between $100 and 150, said Donna Anderson, the Maryland Hall?s director of marketing and development.
“We really want the public to have the opportunity to purchase works of art at affordable prices. It benefits the community as well as the artists,” she said.
» Deck the Walls
» Where: Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase Street, Annapolis
» When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, through Dec. 16
» Info.: 410-263-5544
