Biography

Shela Qamer

Fine Art
(703) 757-5116

www.shelaqamerart.com

BIOGRAPHY

SHELA QAMER

9914 Rosewood Hill Circle, Vienna, VA 22182

Phone: (703) 757-5116; Email: shelaqamer@cox.net

Solo Exhibitions

2010 Solo Exhibition, Arts Council of Fairfax County, McLean, VA

2010 Solo Exhibition, Great Falls Public Library, Great Falls, VA

2009 Solo Exhibition, Barnes & Noble, Reston, VA

Selected Juried and Group Exhibitions

2009 Great Falls Studio, Group Show at Fairfax County Government Center, VA

2008 9^th Annual Muslim Women in the Arts Exhibition at the Montgomery County Executive Building- Rockville, MD

2007 The League of Reston Artists Exhibition at the Fairfax County Government Center, Fairfax, VA

2007 Islamic Arts Expo by National Islamic Arts and Cultural Foundation – National Conference Center, Lansdowne, VA

2007 artDC by League of Reston Artists, Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C

2007 8^th Annual Muslim Women in the Arts Exhibition at the Montgomery County Executive Building – Rockville, MD

2006 Painting selected for the C-Note Exhibition at The Greater Reston Arts Center-Reston, VA

2006 “Paint & Beyond” Fine Art Exhibition presented by the League of Reston Artists National Center Gallery - US Geological Survey-Reston, VA

2006 “13^th Annual Juried Exhibition” presented by the League of Reston Artists

Jo Ann Rose Gallery - Reston Community Center at Lake Anne-Reston, VA

2006 Women without Borders, Art League Annex – Old Town Alexandria, VA

Presented by Empowered Women International

Charity Fundraising with Paintings

2007 SOS Children’s Villages Fundraiser- Silent Auction, Bethesda - Maryland

2006 SOS Children’s Villages Fundraiser- Silent Auction, Bethesda – Maryland

2009 Friends of Pakistan Fundraiser – Silent Auction, Crystal City- Virginia

2006 Friends of Pakistan Fundraiser – Auction, Crystal City – Virginia

2006 Imran Khan Cancer Appeal Fundraiser – Auction, Bethesda, Maryland

2006 Development in Literacy Fundraiser – Auction, McLean, Virginia

2008 Development in Literacy Fundraiser – Auction, McLean, Virginia

Selected Private Collection

Private Residence – Great Falls, Virginia

Private Residence – Oakton, Virginia

Private Residence – Potomac, Maryland

Selected Publications

2010 Connection Newspaper – “Great Falls Library Promotes Art”, January 13^th, 2010.

2007 International Information Programs at usinfo.state.gov “Muslim Women Artists in U.S. Express Their Heritage and Beliefs”, April 20, 2007.

2006 Examiner – Artscapes “Women’s work, Immigrant artists start new ventures”,

June 10th,11th,2006; Pg 25.

Artist’s Membership

Great Falls Studios www.greatfallsstudios.com

League of Reston Artists www.leagueofrestonartists.org

Muslim Women in the Arts www.nmwia.org

Education

M. A. In Communication, George Mason University, 2004

B.I.S. in Organizational Management, George Mason University, 2002

Diploma in Interior Design, John Robert Powers, 1979

Artist's Statement

I find art as a creative way of communicating with my audiences through my paintings. When I am painting my goal is to create unique and vibrant pieces of art work that everyone can enjoy and use to further enhance their environment. The colors in our environment inspire me to translate my cultural perspective into meaningful pieces of art work. I enjoy doing more abstract paintings as they provide me with an opportunity for endless expression of my imagination and use of colors. I want my paintings to have a lasting impression on the viewer and let them interpret allowing them to use their own imagination or ideas.

Over the past 2 years, I have participated in several charity fundraising events organized by non-profit organizations. The events were very well attended by 300 to 400 people. My paintings were auctioned and it provided me with an opportunity to reach out to our diversified community members. Most recently my paintings were also selected for juried group exhibitions held in Reston and Alexandria, Virginia.

I usually start with very subtle ideas of how I want my paintings to be but at the same time I let the colors, space and lines dictate the end result as I try to make it interesting for myself and others. My focus is usually to maintain some sort of balance and rhythm in my paintings through the use of different colors, textures, materials and lines. At the end I feel very excited with what ever I have created as it gives me energy and motivation to continue with my expression of life through my paintings.

In the past years I have done paintings in charcoal, oil and watercolor. Although at present I am primarily working with a combination of hand made paper and acrylic paint. I find using different materials in my paintings gives me more freedom to explore and create unique pieces of art work.