THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606280212
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: 59 lines
A $20,000 wrought-iron queen-size bed will take center stage at the Potrafka Gallery next week.
Patrick K. McNamee, a Richmond artist, has been working on the elaborate showpiece for several years.
``I haven't seen it recently, but it was a beautiful piece when I saw it, and he's been working on it since then,'' gallery owner Wayne Potrafka said. ``It will be displayed in the glass entrance of the gallery.''
A two-person show featuring wrought iron by McNamee and blown glass by Brad Pearson, also of Richmond, will open July 7 at the gallery.
``This is potentially the most exciting show we have ever featured,'' Potrafka said. ``It has great appeal to those interested in decorating and will feature a type of work seldom seen in our area.''
Some of the pieces in the show are joint creations, including hand-wrought and blown-glass lamps. The two artists recently began designing custom lighting.
McNamee, a Wisconsin native, moved to Virginia in 1983 to attend Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received a bachelor of fine arts degree. In 1990, he took an apprenticeship in Chicago with William Valerius, a master blacksmith. He returned to Richmond in 1993 to open McNamee Studios.
Pearson was graduated cum laude in 1993 from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied glass, metal, ceramics, art history and furniture design. He says that his background ``provides a unique approach to glass that draws from historical references in all media, not just glass.''
Pearson attended Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, where he studied with Flo Perkins, a prominent Southwestern glass artist. He designed and built most of the equipment used in Pearson Glass Studio, which became a full-time operation in 1995. He specializes in large sculptural vessels and paperweights.
Pearson recently received first place at the annual Shockoe Bottom Arts Center Juried Show in Richmond, one of numerous awards he has received in recent years. In 1992 he received honorable mention in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program.
Both men show their work in galleries on the East Coast.
They will be honored at an opening reception at Potrafka Gallery from 1 to 5 p.m. July 7. Their work will be displayed through July. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Also, next Sunday at 7 p.m. Potrafka Gallery will present a concert by ``Stronger Twin,'' a duo comprising Karen Hatch, a singer and songwriter, and Steve Mendez, a percussionist and songwriter.
The two musicians teamed in late 1995. Hatch, a former member of Bongowania, was doing a solo act at the time. Mendez is a former member of the Shrieking Sheiks.
They have performed together at Whitehorse Pub, Taphouse Grill, Cogans, and Coffee, Tea and Sympathy.
Admission to the performance is $5 per person. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Pieces combining wrought iron by Patrick K. McNamee and blown glass
by Brad Pearson will be on display through July at the Potrafka
Gallery. by CNB