Alice Marie Gravely

St Michaels, Maryland, USA

Artist -Alice-Marie Gravely

An art critic from a Washington, DC newspaper wrote, "Gravely likes to surprise you with the unexpected - what she did last week is different this week." In a work that desires classification, her work can be described as contemporary abstract expressionism. She creates her printed fabric tapestries and editions of intaglio, woodcut, and linoleum. She creates her prints in her studio in St. Michael's, Maryland. Oil and acrylic paintings along with three- dimensional wooden pieces are produced in a Bethesda, Maryland workshop. Gravely doesn't like labels and won't be boxed in.

Alice-Marie had a twenty-year career as a video/film producer and communications manager for telecommunications corporations. She participated in the launching of satellites from both Cape Canaveral, Florida and in Kourou, French Guiana in South America. In her spare time, she hand colored black and white photographs. Somebody suggested she take art lessons so she attended classes at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. She also has attended workshops in intaglio printmaking with Keith Howard of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Gravely holds a Masters degree from Johns Hopkins University in liberals arts.

Alice-Marie discovered this is a great time to be an artist. Along with paints and brushes, her camera and computer, and found objects, she keeps enhancing her vocabulary in the language of abstraction. Juxtapositions would be a good word to describe a typical Gravely exhibit. Although mainly a printmaker who creates monoprints and limited editions of five, she also works in oils, acrylics, and creates three-dimensional boxes.

Her Photography plays an important part in her work. She often uses photos to generate sketches of ideas. With today's computer technology, Alice-Marie with manipulate her photos in Photoshop and create negatives. These are used to make printing plates. She then prints black and white or creates four negatives to produce color. She editions in sets of ten but prefers making monoprints.

Gravely also explores the traditional printmaking techniques such as woodcuts and linoleum. Symbolism and nature are frequent inspirations. She favors vibrant colors and strong lines. The freedom to work in a variety of media is a vital requirement

Alice-Marie Gravely is a former President of the Foundry Gallery in Washington, DC and served as President for the Maryland Printmakers organization.

For further information: www.amgravely.com