Some classes have limited openings, click on link to learn more about class & how to register:

• Free Fall Art Lecture – Goya: His Life and Art Tuesday September 29   7:00pm – 9:00pm
• Nature Journaling Workshops – Inclusive Technology for  Nature Journaling October 3rd
• Free Fall Art Lecture – Japanese Prints Tuesday October 6th   7:00pm – 9:00pm
• Nature Journaling Workshops – Innovative Technology for  Nature Journaling October 10th
• Annual Membership Meeting October 18th 2-4 pm
• Member’s Art-Inspired Book Club October 27th

We will be having an in-person annual meeting on October 18th from 2 to 4 pm in the Member’s Gallery. We hope you can join us as we review our 2025-2026 fiscal year and elect our new board members. 

Candidates for Board Positions

For President: Carrol Morgan

Carrol Morgan grew up in Dumfries, Virginia. She received her BFA degree from Richmond Professional Institute (Virginia Commonwealth University) and her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Mary Washington College (University of Mary Washington). Additional studies include seminars of the Getty Center for Education in the Arts at the University of Cincinnati and at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI; Art Educators’ Forums at the Savannah College of Art and Design; and studies with Tony Sheets, Dave Daniels, Willie Crocket, Steven Walker, Sara Poly, Diane Tesler, Johnny P. Johnson and Cathy Ambrose Smith. Carrol served as the chair of the King George Art Guild Bi-Annual Art Show for 20 years and is a member of the North Windsor Artists. She is a long-time member of The Fredericksburg Center of the Creative Arts (FCCA), and has served as the Curator of the FCCA Frederick Gallery exhibitions for 16 years. She is an advocate for the arts and art education. She taught art in King George County Public Schools for thirty-four years and taught adult and children’s art classes for local arts organizations.

For Curator: Shanna Aberle

Shanna Aberle is a Virginia-based multidisciplinary artist and gallery professional. Originally from Marysville, California, she spent seven years in the U.S. Coast Guard before earning her B.L.S. in Studio Art with Departmental Honors from the University of Mary Washington, graduating summa cum laude in 2024 with minors in Contemplative Studies and Business Administration.

She currently serves as Collections Manager and Gallery Administrator for UMW Galleries, where she manages a collection of approximately 7,500 works, overseeing their storage, care, inventory, and lending. Her responsibilities also include exhibition administration, artist coordination, artwork selection, installation, campus displays, and gallery operations. She works closely with the gallery director, supervises gallery monitors, and assists with gallery interns. Since joining the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts in 2024, Shanna as served on the Exhibition Committee and Frederick Gallery installation team. She progressed from assisting the gallery curator to serving as Co-Curator, with experience in jurying, exhibition planning, artist coordination, and installation. She previously served as curator for The Class: If You’re Asking the Question, You Already Know the Answer, in collaboration with Carole Garmon and the UMW Galleries.

Alongside her gallery and curatorial work, Shanna maintains an active multidisciplinary studio practice. Her first solo exhibition, Boundaries and Spark, opens November 6, 2026, at the FCCA Members Gallery.

For Member’s Gallery Chair – Celeste Johnston

Through the years Celeste has worked many places and joined my organizations driven by where she lived. The recurring kinds have usually involved people, plants, animals, art and history.

She managed a dental office in Fairfax and also worked as a veterinary assistant. In Williamsburg she worked as marketing director for Fort McGruder.

Where ever she has lived she joined the garden club and is now a member of the Garden Club of the Northern Neck. She has an associates degree in Horticulture and flower design.

Art is her real passion. She graduated from the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Design now at George Washington University as a Certified Botanical Artist and Illustrator. She teaches botanical art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and several places on the Northern Neck.

History threads through so much of the work she’s done. It is difficult to know art without knowing history.

She was a guide at James Monroe Museum and Library, James Monroe’s daughter was a Botanical Artist. She has also worked as a guide at Kenmore. Given her experiences she believes It seems so fitting for her to be a member of FCCA.

For Publicity Chair – Devin Curry

Devin H. Curry is an artist and educator based in Virginia. She holds an MFA in Painting from the University of Tulsa and a BA in Anthropology from Florida Atlantic University. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and community spaces across the United States and has been featured in New American Paintings.

Education

2019 MFA, Painting, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
2010 BA Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL

Experience

2021 Present – Associate Faculty, Post University, Waterbury, CT
2021 Present – Fine Arts Educator, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Drawing & Painting, Richmond, VA
2019 – Teaching Assistant, Design II, The University of Tulsa, OK
2018-2019 – Adjunct Professor, Drawing I, The University of Tulsa
2017-2019 – Teaching Assistant to Mark Lewis, The University of Tulsa
2016-2019 – Gallery Assistant, Alexandre Hogue Gallery, The University of Tulsa

For Art Education Chair – Diane Rohman Moser

Diane Rohman Moser received a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Fine Arts and a Master of Art Education degree from Frostburg State University. She went on to earn a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University with a concentration in Printmaking.

Diane has spent over twenty years teaching Art. Much of that time was with Stafford County Public Schools. Diane has taught every grade in both public and private schools from pre-K to High School AP Art. She has also worked as adjunct faculty at Allegany Community College and Frostburg State University. Diane was a Board member and Island Coordinator for the Hawaii State NAEA chapter. She recently volunteered as a docent at the Chrysler Museum of Art, where she served on the Education Board.

After living in Hawaii and traveling, she and her husband recently moved back to their home on the border of the Prince William National Forest. Diane took an early retirement option from teaching to spend more time making Art and developing an online business. Her shop can be found at KaiHinaCoastal.etsy.com.

Diane looks forward to working with Art education at The Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts. Please feel free to contact Diane with ideas and suggestions.

FCCA has received funding from The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River, to expand our outreach efforts by offering free, outdoor nature journaling workshops for the community. Programs will take place at FCCA and at the Crow’s Nest Research Center (CNRC) with support from environmental educators. In addition to general workshops, specialized programming — including nature journaling for the visually impaired — will promote accessibility and inclusion. By combining artistic expression with environmental exploration, the initiative encourages creativity, collaboration and community connection while increasing access to meaningful cultural experiences.

Classes are limited to 10 participants and require pre-registration.  You can register here.

Inclusive Technology for Nature Journaling – Oct. 3 10am – Noon FCCA
Instructor: George Meadows

Inclusive technology is technology that assists folks with learning disabilities to better access learning experiences.  In this class we will examine and work with different types of technology that can enhance the Nature Journaling experience.  The first part of the class we will discuss and practice the materials and techniques.  The second part will be outdoor practice in the FCCA garden.

Innovative Tech and Nature Journaling – Oct. 10 10am – Noon CNRC

Instructor: George Meadows

We will explore and practice the use of some innovative technology and techniques that can enhance your Nature Journaling experience. We’ll be looking at and working with:

• Instant cameras
• Thermal printers
• Tactile drawing boards for raised relief sketching
• Sonograms
• Tablets
• Lithophanes

Pottery and Nature Journaling – Oct. 17 10am – Noon CNRC
Instructor: Lawton Clites

Students will hand-build nature-inspired pottery mimicking organic textures using such things  as leaf imprints, tree bark, pebbles, and blooming flowers.  The designs will try to capture one or more of the different settings at Crow’s Nest including ponds, marsh, and forested areas.  The student-created pottery will be glazed and fired after the class.

Nature Journaling for Visually Impaired 1 – Postponed Date TBD
Nature Journaling for Visually Impaired 2 – Postponed Date TBD
Instructor: George Meadows

In this class we will examine materials and techniques that will enhance the nature journaling experience for the visually impaired. We will be looking at working with:

• Tactile drawing boards
• Raised relief images and 3D prints
• Creating mosaics with natural materials
• Magnifiers
• Voice recorders

Nature Journaling for Hearing Impaired 1- Postponed Date TBD FCCA
Nature Journaling for Hearing Impaired 2 – Postponed Date TBD FCCA
Instructor: George Meadows

In this class we will examine materials and techniques that will enhance the nature journaling experience for the hearing impaired. We will be looking at working with:

• Sonograms
• Voice to text
• Resonance speakers

Professor Allen Reamer’s 2026 Fall Art Lecture Series
Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA)
813 Sophia Street, Fredericksburg, Member’s Gallery – Garden level

Free – Open to Public — No registration required

Goya:  His Life & Art
Tuesday, Sept 22 & 29   7:00– 9:00pm

Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter & printmaker, who is one of the last of the Old Masters of painting, as well as the first of the moderns.  He was the first Spanish court painter, painting for the king & his family, as well as the Spanish nobility.  Goya is probably best known for his “black paintings” that were prominently black in color & in subject matter.  He is also well-known for his etchings & aquatints depicting the horrors of war.

Japanese Prints
Tuesday,  October 6   7:00-9:00pm

In this class we will discuss a brief history of traditional Japanese woodblock prints from the Edo period and later Meiji period.  We will see why this changed in the Taisho period.  We will cover how a print would come about during these periods: the tools & materials used, the carving process; and the printing process.  From there we will look at & discuss Japanese master print artists.

Member’s Art-Inspired Book Club

All members are welcome to join us as we read and discuss books that have an art or artist theme.  In March we read The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, in July we read and discussed Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and our next book is The Muralist by B.A.Shapiro.

The Muralist is a 2015 historical novel by B.A. Shapiro, author of the New York Times bestseller The Art Forger. It blends art history, mystery, and political intrigue, set against the backdrop of pre–World War II America.

The story follows Alizée Benoit, a brilliant young American painter working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), who vanishes in New York City in 1940 amid personal and political turmoil. Her disappearance is shrouded in mystery — not even her Jewish family in German-occupied France, her patron Eleanor Roosevelt, or her close friends like Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Lee Krasner know what happened B.A. Shapiro+1.

Seventy years later, Danielle Abrams, Alizée’s great-niece, works at Christie’s auction house and uncovers hidden, enigmatic paintings behind works by now-famous Abstract Expressionist artists. These clues may hold answers to her aunt’s fate B.A. Shapiro+1.

The narrative alternates between the past and present, weaving together the lives of historical figures and fictional characters. It explores the rise of Abstract Expressionism, the plight of European refugees denied entry to the U.S., and the moral dilemmas of artists in times of political upheaval B.A. Shapiro+1.

Shapiro’s novel examines:

• The intersection of art and history, especially the overlooked role of European refugees in American art.
• The power of art to challenge or reflect political and social forces.
• The personal cost of talent when it collides with historical injustice.
• The moral choices individuals make in the face of evil

Join us for the next meeting October 27, 2026, 7-9 pm in Members’ Gallery

For information: Contact Diane Moser at education@fccagallery.org

The Fredericksburg Arts Commission created a spotlight on us!