Great Falls Connection

For most days, Lochini Rumburg’s home is her sanctuary, a place where she can unwind from her work day in front of her easel.

Last weekend, however, was a chance for her and about 25 other artists to show off their art or craft in their space during Great Falls Studios’ annual studio tour.

“I had a lot of people come by Friday and Saturday,” said Rumburg. “I feel it gets you motivated to do more.”

She said she got a lot of feedback and compliments from the surge of visitors that came. The first visitor showed up promptly at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, leaving her feeling unprepared but excited. She said she even had one visitor express interest in commissioning her for a painting.

“I do this as a hobby, because I have a full time job,” said Rumburg. “It’s always brought balance to my life.”

Many of her paintings are landscapes of areas around Great Falls and moments she wanted to capture while traveling abroad. However, she dabbles in surrealism and is not afraid to experiment with colors and style.

She works as a systems architect during the day, working with computers and creating storage network designs.

“My true passion has always been art,” she said. “I’ve been painting since I was a kid.”

PHOTOGRAPHER Bob Schroeder spent the weekend at Great Falls Library, which was a starting off point for the studio tour visitors. One painting from each of the artists was hung in the community room so visitors can visit artists whose style appealed to them.

“Well over 200 people came through here this weekend,” he said Sunday, “Yesterday was the peak.”

All of his photographs that he wanted to exhibit were at the library as a part of a special rotating exhibit, so he was able to help visitors map out the self guided tour while showing off his own.

“There were a lot of repeat people here, which shows it has become institutionalized,” he said. “People anticipate it. They look forward to it.”

He said there were some visitors from Vienna and Maryland as well.

“It’s a good way to introduce the studio to the community as well,” he said.

Although many of the artists exhibited in their homes, some had a booth at Great Falls Studios on Walker Road.

Artist Ronni Jolles said this was her first year exhibiting outside of her home.

“People who have never seen my work before were able to see it because it is here,” she said. “It’s been good.”

Her work is unique because it looks like a painting if viewed online. However, she paints with colored paper gathered from all over the world.

“If you’re not in front of it, it’s hard to know what I mean when I say it’s made from paper,” she said. “I put down paper like I would paint.”

SHE TAUGHT ART in schools as a career, she said, with a strong concentration in D.C. middle schools. When she retired, she finally had more time to create her own art. Her work ranged from purple daisies along a stucco wall to rooftops created with corrugated cardboard for a cityscape.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s a very hands-on tactic.”

Jeweler Donna Barnako is another artist who began exhibiting after retirement. She creates unique jewelry with a steampunk influence from found objects.

“I had a yarn shop, and after I retired, I took a beading class,” she said. “Because I had a fiber background, it was a natural progression from there.”

Then two years ago, she took a metalwork class. She uses all three techniques in her jewelry, incorporating items like buttons, keys and watch faces that she finds in flea markets all over the world.

“I’m inspired by texture and color and all these things I find,” she said.

For more information about Great Falls Studios, visit http://www.greatfallsstudios.com.