Public Art: Caroline Street Fence

Gabe is one of six local artists to participate in Fredericksburg’s latest Public Arts Project. “Beautify the Burg” entails adorning a section of Caroline Street’s 800 Block with six large art panels. The project was unveiled in a public ceremony on Friday, July 2 at 6pm. Below are some pics from the ceremony (and more).

Left to Right: Milvi K. Gill, Gabriel Pons, Brandon Newton, Jay D. Anderson, Bonnie De Lelys, Elizabeth Seaver, Kristi Zerull, and Pat Thalman.

The unveiling took place on June 2nd, 2010

Scarlett and the boys struck a pose in front of my panel.

"Grasshopper #3", mixed media on wood, 40"x56"

"First Friday" Live Painting Demo/Raffle

We're excited to announce that to celebrate July's First Friday Art Walk at PONSHOP, I'll be doing a live painting demonstration from 6:30-9:00 on Friday, July 2. Buy a raffle ticket for a chance to come home with the painting created that evening. Raffle Tickets ($5 ea. $20 for 5) can be purchased in advance at PONSHOP (712 Caroline Street) or via email: shop[at]ponshopstudio.com.

Progress Photos: The Upward Spiral...

I've been working on a public art piece for Downtown Fredericksburg. The "Beautify the Burg" project incorporates six local artists' work to be installed on Caroline Street (800 Block next to Bangkok Cafe). This project is made possible by a grant awarded to the Fredericksburg DRMI on behalf of a Public Arts initiative by the city's Department of Economic Development Authority, and the Fredericksburg Arts Commission.

Below is the progress of the 40"x56" panel I've been working on. The participating artists are Jay D. Anderson, Milvi Gill, Brandon Newton, Elizabeth Seaver, and Kristi Zerull.

The centrifugal writing are words both inspired by music lyrics and other things bouncing around in my head when I paint. I've been getting back into incorporating handwritten text - something I haven't done since my last sketchbook in 2008.

Classic Gabe Pons work process - spend all this time writing and then cover it up with paint...

I also cut a 2-layer stencil for the painting: a 36" round labyrinth pattern.

One of the PONSHOP summer interns, Sidney, helped me cut and "bridge" the stencils.

"Grasshopper #3" detail
So What does the finished painting look like? come to the public unveiling on Friday July 2 at 6pm.

Street Art Workshop: May 2010

May's "Intro to Street Art" students, Noah and Rickey, jumped right into their projects by practicing their lettering on a small scale then mocking up their boards with a couple passes of spray paint. Noah (pictured below) used freehand and stencil techniques to complete his composition.

Rickey (above) experimented with a variety of different colors before finalizing his "Rico" piece.
He also used paint pens to give an outline to his letters. Below is a pic of his original mock up.

detail w/classic crown motif

PONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as Ceramics and Drawing for adults. Our classes run throughout the summer. For a current class schedule, Click Here.

More pics from the Grand Opening Party...

The evening of May 7, 2010 was the Grand Opening of PONSHOP at 712 Caroline Street. Family, friends and fans paid a visit to check the spot and enjoy fine art, music, and refreshments during Fredericskburg's "First Friday" Gallery Walk. Below are more snapshots from the evening. Pics courtesy of our good friends Kimberly Morris and Adam Desio.

DJ Mudfoot held it down on the wheels of steel

Scarlett and fellow local artist Kathleen Walsh

(left to right) Ryan of Nightmare Inc., Arlene of Spaghetti Project, Sean Donlon and Ashley

Edgar of Spaghetti Project (far left) kicks out sweet clothing via Chief Rocka Industries.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to support our efforts at PONSHOP. We will continue to host events every first Friday of the month.

"Hive Mentality" toddler tees in the shop

June 2010: in paying tribute to the swarms of bees (literally) that were on our ceiling the night of our grand opening, we're issuing the "Hive Mentality" tee. This graphic is derived from the "Hive Mentality" painting I did back in 2009.

As of this date we only have them in kids' size 4. Do want one?, then give us a shout: shop[at]ponshopstudio.com and let us know! We ship to everywhere on planet earth.

"Hive Mentality" kid's tee (size 4) $20 at PONSHOP 712 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virgina.

Skate to Create: April 2010

Spring ushered in another motivated crop of students for the PONSHOP Skate to Create class. Students Savant and Megan got creative, worked hard, and most of all had fun during this workshop. Below are some pics from April's class. Good work ladies...

After a debriefing on the history of skateboard graphics as well as showing students some examples, students got right to work sketching up their designs.

From sketches, we "translate" their designs into stencils, so that they can articulate (and hopefully repeat) their graphic.

Savant cut up this intricate pattern with a drippy form for her deck.

Megan's skate deck mixed up several layers of tiger stripes for a 3-D effect.

We continue to teach classes to both children and adults in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Skateboard Design, Architecture and more. For a current PONSHOP class schedule , Click Here.

Street Art Workshops: April 2010

April 2010 ushered in my first students at our new space at 712 Caroline Street. I had the pleasure of teaching two returning students who were more than eager to break the studio in with some spray paint action. Below are some highlights from their sessions. Nice work guys!

Nick loves skateboarding and The Misfits, so he decided to kick out a skull theme on his board.

Finn (above) is a frequent PONSHOP student. This time around he brought along a side project of his own: a custom made helmet inspired by the XBox games he's into. I helped Finn prepare and prime the helmet so that he can apply his own stencil designs.


Finn also likes to draw quirky characters like the "Afrobot" above. Take Saturday Night Fever and mash it up with Lost in Space and this is what you get...

PONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as Ceramics and Drawing for adults. Our classes run throughout the summer. For a current class schedule, Click Here.