Bloomington Watercolor Society

Minutes of the BWS Meeting

2012-01-11T17:42:00.001-08:00

January 9, 2012

Members inattendance:Evelyn Alwine, Bob Anderson, Candi Bailey, Patti Brundle, Bob Burris, Ria Collee, JeanneDutton, Linda Endris, Bob Ferguson, Jacki Frey, Charlotte Griffin, Sue Haverstock,Carla Hedges, Sue Kim, Cathy Korinek, Margret Kingrey, Kriste Lindberg, NancyMetz, Nina Ost, Diane Probst, Meri Reinhold, Carol Rhodes, Deborah Rush, JoanneShank, Deloris Schneider, John Shelton, Bob Thrasher, KathyTruelove-Barton, Betty Wagoner, JoanneWeddle, Tricia Wente, Donna Whitsitt, Vi Working, Cassidy Young.

Guests in Attendance: Paula Ionescu, Sherry Redman, Tony Lubarsky

The meeting wascalled to order at 6:15 p.m. at the First Christian Church in the Great Hall onthe second floor. 2012 BWS President, JeanneDutton, asked members to greet our 3 guests who are all area artists.

Jeanne thankedthe Hospitality/Cheer chair, Jo Weddle and her helpers, Evelyn Alwine and JanBritton, for arranging formeeting refreshments. Refreshments wereprovided by the executive board. JoWeddle passed around a signup sheet so that members could volunteer to providerefreshments during the rest of the year.

The minutes ofthe last meeting (November 14, 2011) were available on the Blog and noadditions or corrections were found from the members in attendance. The membersaccepted the minutes unanimously as written.

The Treasurer's Report was read by Carol Rhodes, Treasurer, and was acceptedwithout vote.

Reports

Shows Chair, Tricia Wente told the members she had negotiated with MiahMichelson of Bloomington City Government to have the BWS member show at CityHall again next year. The show will bein November and will be called “We Paint the Springs and other Things.”

Tricia handedout brochures for applying to become a member of the Hoosier Salon to thosemembers who were interested. It isanother way for members to show their work.

Paint-Outs will be planned and scheduled by the Executive Board this yearand a host for each event will be sought to coordinate the paint-out. A final full schedule will be distributed atthe February Meeting. Tentatively, thepaint out schedule is:

· April 21 Hilltop; Host: Charlotte Griffin

· May 19 TC Steele

· June Meadowood

· July The Mongolian Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Center; Host: SaraSteffey McQueen

· August---No paint-out Too Hot

· September 23 French Lick as part of the BWS Conference

· October 13: Lower Cascades Park; Hosts: Kriste Lindberg andBetty Wagoner

Sites andsuggestions were offered by Betty Wagoner, Candi Bailey, and Meri Reinhold, andthose will be saved for backups or 2013.

Activities/Workshop Chair, Deloris Schneider, showed off a posterdetailing the BWS workshop that is being arranged for March 31, 2012. The teacher will be Judy Moore Mudd and thetopic will be portraits. The class willbe limited to 15 students and will be located at the First Christian Church.

Brushstrokes, Nancy Metz is looking for someone to take on the task ofproducing Brushstrokes. Anyone who would like to learn a little aboutblogging and creating a newsletter is invited to volunteer. Nancy said she is willing to share theresponsibility, at least in the beginning.

Programs Chair, Cassidy Young will be putting together the programs for2012. The members submitted a lot ofgreat ideas for programs when they were asked in the Fall of 2011 and she willbe looking for members who have teaching talent in those areas.

Publicity Deborah Rush has offered to re-do the BWS rack cards that arehand-outs to people to tell them what BWS is.

Scholarship Committee Chair, Jeanne Dutton gave a brief overview of theactivities so far. Fruitful meetingswith the Foundation for Monroe County Community Schools have occurred and it isprojected that a scholarship of $300 will be offered to a local student who isenrolling in art at an accredited college. The Scholarship will be disseminated in Fall of 2013. Details will be presented to the board and tothe membership in the next two months.

Old Business:

Notecards: Margret Kingrey reports that all packets of BWS notecards havebeen distributed and that retailers report that they are almost out ofinventory. Nina Ost motioned that BWSreprint the set of notecards from last year and defer the creation of a newset. Kathy Korinek seconded the motionand the membership agreed. Margret saidshe would take on that task. CarolRhodes reported that BWS does make money through sale of these notecards.

BWS Gallery: Charlotte Griffin reported that the on-line gallery ofmember’s work has progressed to the point that it probably should go live,which means it will be linked to the BWS Web site. Those members who want their works to beincluded should submit their works to Charlotte as soon as possible. She will be sending out an email to describewhat needs to be provided and what the rules on the types of work that shouldbe submitted.

New Business:
Kriste Lindberg announced that there is a need for someone to become the“Librarian” for the free/loan/share table. The job entails bringing in and taking home the objects for the table,be they magazines, books, DVD’s, etc., and then managing the sign-in/out ofthose things being loaned. BWS islooking for a volunteer from the membership.

Announcements:

o Joanne Shank invited members to be involved with others in theBloomington art community by attending any or all of three meetings beingscheduled this January.

· Thursday, 1/12/2012, 7:00 p.m. in the McClosky Room of the CityHall Building, The Visual Arts Guild will hold a planning session for future“Bloomington Open Studio Tours” where local artists open their studios forothers to see. The tour will also be anopportunity for artist's to sell their work at their studios.

· Tuesday, 1/17/2012, 5:30 p.m. at the Bloomington PlaywrightsProject the City of Bloomington Arts Commission will have a meeting andattendees can meet members of the Arts Commission, hear about the BloomingtonPublic Arts Master Plan currently underway, get tips on grant writing and preparingportfolios for public art competition submissions, and more.

· Monday, 1/23/2012, 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber of theCity Hall Building the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington will hold a meetingto elect people for their steering committee. Anyone may nominate someone to their steering committee but only membersof the alliance can vote on the nominations. People may become members by joining during the January 23^rdmeeting. Membership forms can bedownloaded at bloomingtonarts.org.

o Jeanne Dutton told the membership that a BWS member, DanAlexander, will be teaching a two day workshop at T.C. Steele. The subject of the workshop is Mixed MediaPortraiture using watercolor and pastel pencils. Interested parties should check out detailson the T.C. Steele website.

The meeting wasadjourned at 6:50 p.m. and attention was transferred to the evening's program byNancy Metz. Nancy gave the attendees abrief lecture about Identifying values in painting and guided members in creatinga 5 value scale using one color of their choice. Then Nancy handed out some photos of hatsthat were taken with photographer’s lighting that she encouraged people topaint using the 5 value scale.

Respectfullysubmitted,
Charlotte Griffin
BWS Secretary, 2012

Brushstrokes -- January 2012

2012-01-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

In this issue

President’s message

January meeting

We Paint … the Springs

Holiday party

Check this out

Treasurer Carol Rhodes, President Jeanne Dutton, Secretary

Charlotte Griffin, 1st Vice President Kriste Lindberg and 2nd

Vice President Betty Wagoner.

President’s message

by Jeanne Dutton

Hello, Fellow Artists!

It's 2012 and your executive board has met to plan out the annual calendar. It certainly looks to be a good and busy year, full of projects and fun activities, including paint outs and a workshop and, of course, the September conference at French Lick, We Paint...the Springs!

Thank you for trusting me to serve as your president. I would like to acknowledge the officers and committee chairs, and thank them in advance for their hard work.

Kriste Lindberg, 1st Vice President

Betty Wagoner, 2nd Vice President

Carol Rhodes, Treasurer and Conference Co-Chair

Charlotte Griffin, Secretary

Deloris Schneider, Workshop Chair

Nancy Metz, "Brushstrokes" and Conference Chair
Tricia Wente, Show Chair and Historian

Cassidy Young, Program Chair

Jo Weddle, Hospitality Chair

Deborah Rush, Publicity

The committees also have members who volunteer their time and energy, and it's the dedication of your officers and committees that keep BWS the wonderful, vibrant organization it is. Your support is gratefully accepted.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous - and FUN - new year.

Getting good values

Someone once said something like, “Values do all the work while color gets all the credit.”

During the program portion of this month’s meeting, Jan. 9, you’ll have a chance to test that premise. Bring your painting supplies, paper and one tube of paint (any color but yellow).

The January meeting is at 6 p.m. at First Christian Church on the corner of Kirkwood and Washington.

We Paint … the Springs

The current Ivy Tech catalog has a two-page spread promoting BWS’s Sept. 21-23 watercolor weekend conference. Go to www.ivytech.edu/cll, download the Spring 2012 Course Catalog and go to pages 8 and 9 for program and registration information.

You can register for the conference by calling Ivy Tech’s Center for Lifelong Learning at 1-812-330-6041. To make a room reservation, call 1-888-936-9360 and use Code 0912BWS to get the discounted $189 room rate.

Meadowwood catered the BWS Holiday Party, providing

enticing desserts as well as appetizers.

BWS celebrates holidays at Meadowwood party

Thanks to Evelyn Alwine, Sue Haverstock, Connie Brorson and Jeanne Dutton for producing a fun, memorable holiday party. Here are some pictures of the evening.

Deloris Schneider

Jerry Harste

Jean Vietor

Kriste Lindberg with Rhapsody brush set, BWS's

gift of appreciation for her year as president

Phyllis Taylor

Sara Steffey McQueen

Sue Haverstock

Vi and Russ Working

Photos by Candi Bailey and Meredith Metz

Check this out:

Still life drawing fundamentals

Review by Nancy Davis Metz

Over the winter break, I came across a great article on drawing cups, pitchers, vases and other dishes – all elements of many still life paintings. For the first time, I understood how to achieve symmetry and how to draw a believable ellipse. The full article, “Constructing Vessels” by Sadi J. Valeri, appears in the January/February 2012 Artist’s Magazine. An abbreviated lesson on ellipses is available online at www.artistsnetwork.com/tamonlinetoc. Click on the January/February 2012 issue and then on the “Learn from Sadie Valeri’s detailed instruction on drawing the ellipse.”

If you want to recommend or review an article, book or dvd, please send a brief review (1-3 paragraphs) to nmetz@indiana.edu.

Brushstrokes -- December 2011

2011-12-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

President’s column

By Kriste Lindberg

The year is coming to a close and that means my reign as president is just about over. It’s been a pleasure working with you in this capacity. This is such a great organization. We have so many good people and do so many wonderful things – from programs at our monthly meetings to paint outs to the show and more. Not bad for a group of volunteers!

Probably my favorite event so far this year was the BWS Show 2011 at City Hall with the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District and benefiting the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. The show brought together our community’s natural resources with the arts for a win/win. Just seeing the paintings come in, talking with artists, and hearing their stories was enough to give me goosebumps. All had their own unique experiences. It’s a good feeling to know that we will be preserving them for the future.

I’d like to say a great big THANK YOU to all who have made this year the success that it has been. “It takes a village,, as they say (whoever “they” are – reminds me of an old Monty Python skit). At any rate, I look forward to serving as 1^st Vice President next year.

Hope to see you at the holiday party.

Holiday Party

Remember the Holiday Party Monday, Dec. 19, at Meadowwood, 2455 Tamarack Trail. The party starts at 6 p.m. Bring your Artist Trading Cards.

At the November meeting,

Jerry Harste shared ATC ideas.

"Playground in Spring" by Deborah Rush

We paint … Parks!

The 2012 Spring/Summer Bloomington Parks catalog will feature Deborah Rush’s “Playground in Spring” on the front cover. Deloris Schneider’s “Neighborhood Park” (Highland Village Park) and Diane Probst’s “The Hidden Jewel” (Leonard Springs Nature Preserve) will be inside the program.

These paintings and 42 others were displayed in the City Hall Atrium in November as part of a BWS/Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department joint venture. BWS members randomly drew the names of city parks properties in the fall of 2010 and then had one year to explore and paint their parks. Show chair Tricia Wente said two paintings have sold, and participating painters may have another opportunity to display their work.

At the show’s closing reception Dec. 2, Miah Michaelson, Bloomington’s assistant economic development director for the arts, announced the paintings chosen for publication in the spring program catalogs. Also receiving recognition from the Parks Department were Barbara Hawkins, who painted “Where the Fun Begins” (Allison-Jukebox Community Center); Nancy Davis Metz, who painted “Griffy Lake”; Cassidy Young, who painted “Third Street Park”; Dan Alexander for “People’s Park”; and Tricia Wente, who painted “Winslow Vignettes” (Winslow Sports Complex).

We Paint … the Springs

Reserve your spot now for a watercolor weekend at the French Lick Resort Sept. 21 to 23. We Paint … the Springs offers classes and workshops that will inspire and instruct beginning to advanced artists.

Beginners will have a full day of interactive demonstrations on watercolor tools and techniques. Each participant will create several small paintings during the day; paint, paper and brushes will be provided.

For intermediate and advanced painters, Saturday offers options of three educational sessions in the morning, and the choice of two afternoon workshops led by professional Hoosier watercolor artists, William “Bill” Borden and Cathy Hillegas.

Sunday will feature a plein air Paint Out for artists in all water media. Judging will take place in two categories, beginning/intermediate and advanced/professional.

The conference is sponsored by Bloomington Watercolor Society in collaboration with Ivy Tech Bloomington Center for Lifelong Learning.

To register for the conference, go to ivytech.edu/cll or call the Center for Lifelong Learning at 812-330-6041. For Friday-Sunday, the cost is $179 if registered before April 15; $199 after April 15. It includes Saturday education sessions, the Sunday Paint Out, one breakfast, two lunches and two happy hours.

Saturday only registration is $169 if paid before April 15 and $179 after April 15. It includes Saturday educational sessions, one breakfast, one lunch and one happy hour.

Sunday only registration is $40 and includes the Paint Out and lunch.

Registration includes conference registration only and meals as noted. To make room reservations, call the French Lick Resort at 1-888-936-9360 and use code 0912BWS for the $189 discounted room rate.

Affordable scans
Deborah Rush reports that Staples can scan originals up to 11 x 17. "I took five paintings over and they scanned them at 600 dpi," she said. "I had to buy a flash drive for $10 since I hadn't taken one with me, but they did it while I waited for $1.25. Total! The quality is perfectly acceptable. They put the images all together into a pdf, but I bet they could save them as individual jpgs as well. Anyway, I am VERY excited and wanted to share the info."

Family Tree wine tasting and canvas painting

Sarah Hedges has announced a wine tasting/canvas painting event Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. Participants will create what Sarah describes as “a funky little tree with small cardinals on the limbs.” All suppies, wine and snacks will be included. The price is $35.

The event will take place at the Boondoggle Barn Winery, 2667 Burton Lane, Martinsville. Contact Sarah A. Hedges at 765-792-0328 to reserve your spot.

Sarah A. Hedges has just completed an 11-by-16 mural at Flanner and Buchanan Washington Park North in Indianapolis.

Meeting Minutes, November 14, 2011

2011-11-30T20:35:00.001-08:00

Members in attendance: Tina Allgood, Evelyn Alwine, Candi Bailey, Jan Britton, PattiBrundle, Bob Burris, Jeanne Dutton, Linda Endris, Bob Ferguson, Beth Gray, CharlotteGriffin, Sue Haverstock, Jerry Harste, Carla Hedges, Steve Jackson, MargretKingrey, Cathy Korinek, Kriste Lindberg, SaraMcQueen, Meredith Metz, Nancy Metz, Nina Ost, Meri Reinhold, Deborah Rush, DelorisSchneider, John Shelton, Phyllis Taylor, Bob Thrasher, Jean Vietor, BettyWagoner, Susan Webb, Joanne Weddle, Tricia Wente, Vi Working, Cassidy Young.

New Member: Donna Whitsitt

The meeting was called to order at the FirstChristian Church in the Great Hall on the second floor at 6:12 p.m. President,Kriste Lindberg introduced our new member, Donna Whitsitt who has a show of herworks currently up at The Venue.

Kriste thanked the Hospitality/Cheer chair, EvelynAlwine, for the refreshments that were provided by Tina Allgood, Vi Working,Deloris Schneider, and Jo Weddle.

The minutes of the last meeting (October 10, 2011)were handed out for members to read. Noadditions or corrections were found from the members in attendance. Joanne Weddle proposed acceptance and CathyKorinek seconded the motion. The members accepted the minutes unanimously aswritten.

The Treasurer's Report for October was read by Jeanne Dutton. Jeanne mentioned that income was coming infrom sale of note cards at The Venue. Replenishing of the supply of cards is in the offing.

Committee Reports

Membership: The Membership Updatewas provided by Betty Wagoner; the total membership is 73 paid members.

Paint Outs: The last paint-out on October 15 at Musgrave Orchard was asuccess. Many pumpkins to paint and goodfood were available. John Shelton broughtthe work he created at the paint-out for others to see.

Meetings and Programs, interim chair, Kriste Lindberg, reminded members that theprogram for the holiday party on December 19 is installation of officers and anArtist Trading Card trading session. Jeanne Dutton passed around a piece of paper on which members could provide suggestions for programs fornext year.

Hospitality/Cheer Chair, Evelyn Alwine, reminded members that reservations andpayment for the Holiday party have a deadline of December 9. Cost is $12 per member and $15 perguest. Pay by check sent to the BWS postoffice address (see web) or use Paypal on or after November 20 when a specialpayment button will be available.

Shows/Historian Chair, Tricia Wente thanked all the people who worked so hard tomake the “We Paint Parks” exhibitiona success. Bob Anderson, ConnieBrorson, Jodie Estelle, and Kriste Lindberg helped by being at City Hall mostof the morning of November 3 to receive the paintings as they were delivered bythe members. Evelyn Alwine coordinated asmall feast available to all who attended the reception on November 4. Deloris Schneider loaned a festive silkflower arrangement for the buffet table and Jeanne Dutton did a rush job ofcompiling all of the information about the parks pictures into a program listand a notebook.

Members can expect an email later in the monthreminding them about the closing reception on December 2^nd and aboutthe timing and process for picking up their art work.

Brushstrokes, Nancy Metz gave special thanks to Jeanne Dutton forpublishing the Brushstrokes in November.

Old Business:

Jeanne Dutton reported that the scholarship committee made up of herself, and Vi Working, JoanneWeddle, and Sara Steffey-McQueen, has met and will be providing a report at theJanuary meeting.

Charlotte Griffin said that the BWS Online Gallery needs more input and that members can contacther if they need some help.

Nancy Metz gave a status report on the activitiesrelated to the We Paint – the SpringsConference. She said that theprofessional artists that have been booked for the Saturday afternoon sessionsat the conference are Bill Borden and Cathy Hillegas

· The sponsorshipcommittee headed by Beth Gray will be sending prospectus to various art relatedbusinesses in and attempt to raise some money for some of the expenses.

· The Program committeeheaded by Charlotte Griffin distributed a form to all attending membersinviting them to propose a class that they would like to teach during the Saturdaymorning session of the conference. Theform will also be delivered via email and may be filled out online, saved andsent via email. Alternatively, membersmay simply fill in a blank form with pencil and mail it.

The nominating committee, headed by Tricia Wente, reported that after alengthy and thorough search to fill all offices and asking many members fortheir service, the nominating committee proposes the following slate:

President: Jeanne Dutton
1st VP: Kriste Lindberg
2nd VP: Betty Wagoner
Secretary: Charlotte Griffin
Treasurer: Carol Rhodes

The executive boardapproved an exception to the by-laws which state that the first three officersmay not succeed themselves, and Betty Wagoner will continue as 2^ndvice president. The exception was requested by the nominating committeefor practical reasons, including the time involved to train a new person andBetty's willingness to continue working with the membership responsibilitieswhile chairing the Signature status process this coming spring.

New Business:

No new business was raised.

Announcements:

An ad-hoc road trip is being pulled together forDecember 3 to the Indianapolis Museum of Art to see the Indiana WatercolorSociety Show before it is taken down.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:44 p.m. Attention was transferred to the evening's programwhich was presented by Jerry Harste. Theprogram was on the definition of and creation of Artist Trading Cards. First Jerry gave the members a look at somestocking stuffers that members might consider for their children orgrandchildren. Jerry projected copies ofa couple of books for children that are “Art” related and educational (aboutnames of colors and what art is). Jerryalso shared a tip about the use of Adobe Photoshop (Filter-Artistic-Cutout) forseeing the darks and lights of a photo you have taken. He also demoed an App on his iPad calledColor Splash which is ostensibly for photographers but useful for artists.

Respectfully submitted,
Charlotte Griffin
BWS Secretary, 2011

BWS Meeting Minutes-October 10, 2011

2011-11-14T08:18:00.001-08:00

Members inattendance:Tina Allgood, Evelyn Alwine, Bob Anderson,Candi Bailey, Jan Britton, Patti Brundle,Bob Burris, Jeanne Dutton, Linda Endris,Charlotte Griffin, Jerry Harste, Carla Hedges, Cathy Korinek,Kriste Lindberg, Sara McQueen, Nancy Metz, Kim Neubecker, Nina Ost, Diane Probst, Meri Reinhold, Carolyn RogersRichard, Carol Rhodes, Deborah Rush, Deloris Schneider, JoanneShank, John Shelton, Phyllis Taylor, Bob Thrasher, Betty Wagoner,Susan Webb, Joanne Weddle, Tricia Went.

Guests in Attendance: Donna Whitsitt

The meeting wascalled to order at the First Christian Church in the Great Hall on the secondfloor. BWS President, Kriste Lindberg, asked members to greet our guest.

Kriste thankedthe Hospitality/Cheer chair, Evelyn Alwine, forthe refreshments that were provided by Jo Weddle, Jeanne Dutton, Jerry Harste,and Kriste Lindberg.

The minutes ofthe last meeting (September 12, 2011) were available on the Blog and no additionsor corrections were found from the members in attendance. The members acceptedthe minutes unanimously as written.

The Treasurer's Report for October was read by Carol Rhodes, Treasurer. Carol said that the workshop on October 1 hasbeen paid for. Some members have stillnot paid their membership dues and are subject to being dropped from themembership

Committee Reports

Membership: The Membership Update wasprovided by Betty Wagoner; the total membership is 71 paid members.

Paint Outs: Jeanne Dutton directed members to take a copy of the flyeravailable tables around the room that give the particulars about the next andlast paint-out on October 15 at Musgrave Orchard. That paint-out will be a pitch-in. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish thatwill go with chili. Emailwill be sent to all members so that those who missed the meeting will beinformed.

Activities/Workshop Chair, Deloris Schneider, said that the RenaBrouwer workshop on October 1 was very educational and enjoyable. A number of the attendees brought theirpaintings to the meeting so that the members to see their finished works.

Shows Chair, Tricia Wente handed out the postcard/invitations to the We Paint Parks exhibition. She asked that no one send out the postcardsuntil October 19 or later in order to keep the date fresh in the public’seye. Postage required is 29 cents. If members have an email list and can createlabels, they can give the printed labels to Jeanne Dutton who will place thepostage on the cards and mail them.

The openingreception will be November 4 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the City HallShowers Atrium and that there will be a closing reception on Friday December 2,same hours and location. BWS will payfor a harpist for the opening reception. A signup sheet for bringing some type of refreshments was passed around.Tricia reminded those that are participating to please produce a briefparagraph of their experiences while painting at the parks and to include animage of their work as well as one of themselves when it is handed in.

Brushstrokes, Nancy Metz said that she will accept submissions forBrushstrokes at any time and members need not wait until the end/beginning ofthe month.

Old Business:

Joanne Shanktold the members about Visual Arts Guild meeting to be held on October 24 at7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber of City Hall.

The nominatingcommittee for next year’s officers and committee chairs has made a good starton filling the roster. Jeanne Duttonpassed out forms for members to use if they are interested in any of thepositions. She also passed out a formfor members to make suggestions about next year’s programs, workshops, andconference instructors.

New Business:

1. Scholarships: A committee consistingof Joanne Weddle, Vi Working, and Sara McQueen along with Jeanne Dutton hasbeen formed to expand on the idea of Scholarships that might provide stipendsin the form of art supplies to young artists at the high school level who areconsidering art as their future career. A proposal will be developed and presented to the membership.

2. Honorary membership: Jeanne Dutton has completed the awarding ofan Honorary Membership to Heidi Heiser.

3. BWS Gallery: Charlotte Griffin toldmembers that BWS Web based gallery has been updated with works by Vi Workingand Jerry Harste and encouraged members to submit some of their work. See bwspaint.weebly.com.

4. Water Media Conference 2012: Nancy Metz and Carol Rhoades reported on the progress toward a BWSsponsored Water Media Conference on September 21-23 of 2012 called “We Paint…the Springs”. The conference will be held in the FrenchLick/West Baden area and will draw from the artist pool in the states ofIndiana, Illinois and Kentucky and possibly from Saint Louis and Cincinnati. Partnerships with Ivy Tech for publicity andfee collection and the Hotels in French Lick/West Baden have been negotiated.There is a go/no go cut off for running the conference on May 1 that is basedon enrollment and room reservations. Ahandout was provided showing a price of $199 for the whole conference and $179for Friday and Saturday (9/21-9/22) only. There are early bird registration discounts for registration by April15, 2012. Cancellations will not beaccepted after April 30, 2012.

Announcements:

Joanne Weddlehanded out brochures from Bloom (the magazine) aimed at artists who wish to buyadvertising space in Bloom’s Dec/Jan Guide to Regional Arts. Tricia Wente saidthat the magazine H&L (Home and Lifestyles) also is planning an issuefocusing on art and that local artists can contact H&L for more informationabout ads.

SaraSteffey-McQueen announced that she has some of her works displayed at Sublime Design.

Joanne Shankannounced that she has her works in both parts of Lennie’s Restaurant/BrewPub.

The meeting wasadjourned. Attention was transferred tothe evening's program which was presented by Cathy Korinek and Joanne Weddle. The program was entitled Art on the Go! Creative Travel Journaling. Cathy shared her experience with traveljournaling and passed around more than a half-dozen of her journals for membersto peruse. Joanne talked about herrecent trip to Spain sponsored by an artist who organizes art based trips.

Respectfullysubmitted,
Charlotte Griffin
BWS Secretary, 2011

Brushstrokes November 2011

2011-11-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Photo Courtesy of Tricia Wente

November 2011

In this issue:

We Paint...Parks

On the Horizon

Member News

Opportunities

Inspirations: Zoe Dean

On the BWS Horizon

Monthly Meeting

Monday, November 14

6:00 p.m.

First Christian Church

A short business meeting, during which members will vote for the slate of 2012 officers, will take place. Jerry Harste will teach us about Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and then we will spend the rest of the evening creating. Bring your paint supplies!
Artists who attended the Musgrave Orchard Paint Out are invited to please bring your paintings for Show and Share.

Holiday Party

Monday, December 19

6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Meadowood

Details will be announced at the November meeting.

President's Column

Wow! What a show.
After decompressing in front of the fire with a glass of wine and my journal close at hand, it was great just to think back to the culmination of a project that has been in the making for over a year.
It looks fantastic! And, the opening Friday night was a sensational hit. Estimates came in at over 150 attendees. If the artist's paintings and short synopsis' of their experiences don't give you the feel-good chills, you might want to pinch yourself to make sure you are awake.
The paintings, created over the four seasons, will be up in the atrium of City Hall through Gallery Walk on December 2nd.
All of the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department’s parks, trails, and facilities - 45 altogether - are represented and on display along with the artist's stories in booklet form. We are now talking about possibly publishing them. More on that later.
Thanks to all of the artists and special thanks to our show chairwoman Tricia Wente, Nancy Metz, Jeanne Dutton and Evelyn Alwine of BWS, Miah Michaelson of BEAD, and Julie Ramey of the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.
Now, on to getting things in order for the Holiday Party on December 19.

Kriste Lindberg
BWS President 2011

Barb Hawkins and friend.
Photo courtesy of Garrett J Poortinga, Green Hat Photography, 2011.

"We Paint...Parks" Opening Reception

The “We Paint…Parks” Reception on Friday, November 4, was one smashing success! Everyone enjoyed the exhibit of paintings by BWS member artists. An added bonus was the beautiful music provided by harpist Maggie Grove, recent Master’s graduate of the I.U. Jacobs School of Music, pictured in the photo below.

Maggie Grove, Harpist.
Photo courtesy of Bob Anderson.

Reception in the Atrium.
Photo courtesy of Deborah Rush.

The Parks exhibition hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as Saturday mornings when City Hall is open during the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market, and additional evening hours when City Hall is open for meetings.

Musgrave Orchard, the Final Paint Out of 2011

It was an incredible day! The sun was shining, the leaves were aboslutely glorious, and we were surrounded by pumpkins and apples and people. It was the largest attendance ever at a BWS paint out and one of the most productive. The hot chili, cornbread, desserts, and warm cider satisfied the hunger we all experienced being in the open air. Our thanks to Musgrave Orchard for allowing us to share their deck and paint their pumpkins. (Artists, please remember to bring your paint out paintings to the meeting for all to enjoy!)

Photo courtesy of Phyllis Taylor

Quick Response (QR) Codes and the Arts

by Kriste Lindberg

Ever wonder what those funny looking black and white squares are that you come across in the corners of ads and fliers? You may have seen them in our BWS2011 Members Show publications, as well.

Those squares are QR, or Quick Response, codes. By using a special (FREE!) smartphone app, you can hover your communication device over the image and...voila...it will pick it up and take you right to the website.
What a concept. Think they have a lot of potential in the arts. There was a story in the Herald Times on July 24 about a local artist using them in a gallery exhibit, allowing people to quickly find information on his work. http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/
QRs are quick and easy to make at http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
Here is the one we have been using to take you directly to the BWS website. Try it!

Cave Paintings

On Tuesday evening, October 18, BWS members Jeanne Dutton and Kriste Lindberg treated guests at The Venue Fine Art and Gifts to fun and creative ways to enjoy cave critters – you know, those creepy crawlers we all associate with Halloween, like spiders, bats, and centipedes.

Participants learned not only how to create the creatures in watercolor, but how to appreciate them and their contributions to the ecosystem. Then, everyone created bookmarks with thumbprint critters in watercolor. It was a fun and productive way to introduce people to both the value of caves and their contents, instilling an appreciation of the life forms which are not so familiar.

This two hour event was a collaborative effort between BWS and the Parks and Recreation Department.

The Indiana State Museum

The Indiana State Museum has added two paintings by the late Catherine Burris, wife of BWS Signature Members Bob Burris, to its permanent collection: “Daddy Wanted a Princess” and “Thou Shall Not Scream" (seen on left). These two works are companion pieces to her painting, “The Woman Forgot,” which is already in the collection.An exhibit, “Heartland Art: Selections from your Indiana Collection,” opened October 1, 2011 and includes Catherine's painting,“The Woman Forgot.”

INSPIRATIONS

Zoe Dean
"Harbor"

Inspiration for this painting came from a BWS meeting earlier in the season when Jacki Frey talked about composition and how to take a picture that has a lot of subject matter and break it down by using a small rectangle in an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of white paper. Jacki passed out a couple of photos and gave a demonstration of how she painted an outdoor scene.
I came home and, with my little square, picked out of the photo that made me "wow" about it for the composition. I didn't do a value sketch, but knew that I needed value to make the painting work.
Then I needed a focal point, and determined what would have the most detail, picked out my colors, and went to work. The actual painting only took about 20 minutes. I didn't use any misket and did my best to retain the areas that needed to stay light or white. I tried to stick to a limited palate and keep the colors simple, using only a combination of 5 colors.
When I got the majority of the painting completed, I let it "cook" for a couple of days and figured what details needed to be added to make the painting credible. It's hard for me to put only a few moments of painting into a picture and this was a real test of letting the painting be without adding too much. I found a frame that I already had with a matte, and framed the painting long before I decided I would put it in the Owen County Fair open class. There's always a certain uncertainty when entering something like a painting in the fair. Last year I entered another harbor painting and it received a First Place, but the judge had questions and thought it was a forged painting because of the embossed area on the Arches watercolor paper (go figure on that one). I truly thought that painting was a real winner.
I really like painting water scenes and perhaps it's because my dad was in the Navy and an excellent swimmer. But not all paintings that I do work, and a lot of paintings end up in the flat file only to be a lesson learned. I must say that Jacki Frey has been the best teacher I could ever have. She has brought out this inner creativity in me. I took my first watercolor class with her about 6 or 7 years ago at the Area 10 Center in Ellettsville, and she has inspired me ever since. I can't thank her enough. Watercolor is the joy and frustration of my life and I am hopeful that I can pick up a brush and use it to the end of my days.

OPPORTUNITIES

November 11, 2011

Watercolor Yupo

Speedway Centre for the Arts

9:30-3 pm

Class fee $50.00

December 10, 2011

Watercolor on Yupo

Boondoggle at the Barn Winery

Martinsville, Indiana

9:30-3 pm

For full details and supply list, contact Sarah A. Hedges, Instructor, at 765-792-0328.

The 35th WAS-H International Exhibition is announced by the Watercolor Art Society – Houston. Founded in 1975, WAS-H is a non-profit organization with over 500 members. The exhibition will be juried by BWS' friend and workshop leader, Judi Betts. The entry deadline is January 28, 2012 and the first place prize is $2000, with other cash prizes and awards to be presented. The prospectus can be found at http://watercolorhouston.org/pages/exhibitions.html

This guest editor wishes all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving, overflowing with blessings. Be safe and have a great holiday!

Jeanne Ellen Dutton

Brushstrokes -- October 2011

2011-10-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

painting by Rena Brouwer

photo by Jerome Harste

In this issue

On the BWS horizon
Rena Brouwer recap
Member news
Beyond BWS borders
A spattered September meeting

On the BWS horizon

October meeting’s program: Travel journaling

Jo Weddle and Cathy Korinek will tell how they have kept journals of their recent travels to Spain and New Zealand.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10 at the First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington.

Oct. 15

Paintout finale at Musgrave Orchard

BWS will close out the 2011 Paintout schedule with a pitch-in lunch and painting session Saturday, Oct. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Paintout chair Jacki Frey says to drive north on SR 37, turn north on Chambers Road, and then left on Old 37. It sounds more complicated than it is. You can follow the Musgrave Orchard signs.

We Paint … the Springs!

It’s official: Bloomington Watercolor Society in collaboration with Ivy Tech will produce a weekend watercolor conference at French Lick/West Baden Sept. 21 to 23, 2012. More details will be announced at the October meeting. For now, you should mark your calendars and e-mail nmetz@indiana.edu to volunteer your time and talents.

Rena Brouwer workshop recap

Rena Brouwer, Jo Weddle, Tina Allgood, and Sue Haverstock

Twenty painters joined Rena Brouwer Oct. 1 for a daylong workshop on painting birds. Thanks to Jerry Harste for sharing these quotes from Rena and photos of the workshop.

"When you paint, write a couple words about what you are trying to do. It will help you keep your focus."

"Everyday, for a year, study one thing -- something you see every day -- and make note of it. One day think about design, the next day about color, the third day about balance. Your palette becomes the color of your object, be it a tree, an owl, a shadow, or a person. The object is see it so you can symbolize it."

Member news

Nature Mandala

by Sara McQueen

Lotus Mandala

by Sara McQueen

Sara McQueen has an opening at this weekend’s Gallery Walk at Sublime Design on Kirkwood. "Nature Mandala," a 5-foot watercolor, will be presented for the first time.

The Watercolor Society of Indiana will present Sara a certificate designating her a signature member on Sunday, Oct. 16, in Indianapolis. Sara’s "Lotus Mandala" was juried into the 2012 WSI Exhibit, which will be displayed at the Indianapolis Museum of Art from Oct. 16 to Dec. 3.

Joanne Shank has work on display at Lennie's Restaurant, 1795 E. 10th St, through the end of October. Birds in changing seasons are on display in the dining area and musician gesture paintings are featured in the bar.

Tricia Heiser Wente and David Ross

Stevens, featured artists at The Gallery on

Pearl in New Albany

In New Albany, The Gallery on Pearl’s current exhibit is “Art in 5D,” which features 2D painter Tricia Heiser Wente and 3D sculptor David Ross Stevens. Tricia has 18 paintings in the show, many of them from BWS paintouts. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is 222 Pearl St., New Albany.

by Carolyn Rogers Richard

Carolyn Rogers Richard will show her paintings and painted fabric art in the Meadowwood art gallery from Oct. 7 to Oct. 30. Included in the show will be handpainted fabric pieces including soft sculpture hearts and usable art such as sofa pillows, coasters, purses, and necklaces. BWS members are invited to a reception Oct. 14 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The gallery will be open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. If you arrive and find the gallery locked, please see the receptionist upstairs at the main entrance and she will see that it is opened. If you have any questions or need directions, please call Carolyn at 812-320-2200 or email crichard@homefinder.org.

At the B-Line Trail dedication, Charlotte Griffin

(above) was one of the BWS volunteers who

painted on site. Nancy Metz (below) showed

young painters the crayon resist technique.

BWS President Kriste Lindberg and Nancy

Metz (bottom) sketch with their paints at the

Switchyard Park, where the B-Line Trail was

dedicated.

Deborah Rush and Bob Burris at the Great Outdoor Art

Contest and Art Fair on the grounds of the T.C. Steele

State Historic Site. Deborah won 2nd place in the adult watercolor division.

Beyond BWS borders

The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington will meet Monday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. All artists are invited.

The Lawrence County Art Association is presenting a workshop by Cheryl Kaldahl titled “How Music Affects Your Art.” It will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, in the meeting room of the Lawrence County Historical Museum. There will be two sessions: the first from 9:30 to 11 a.m. for children age 7 and older and an afternoon session for adults from 1 to 3 p.m.. All supplies are furnished. The fee for the morning session is $15, and the fee for the afternoon session is $20. Send a check along with your name and phone number to Lawrence County Art Association, PO Box 1074, Bedford, IN 47421 or call 812-275-8736.

The Wiley Art Center will celebrate its Grand Opening Saturday, Oct. 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please drop by and visit the new facility at 14th and J Streets in Bedford.

A spattered September meeting

Paint was flying at the September meeting – literally. Jeanne Dutton (left) taught members the technique of spatter painting and demonstrated how to combine the technique with layering and masking. The inspiration for the session came from John R. Koser’s1990 book “Watercolor: Red Yellow Blue.”

Below left: Cassidy Young and Bob Anderson

Below right: Carol Rhodes and kathy Karnes

Meeting Minutes September 12, 2011

2011-09-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

Bloomington Watercolor Society

Members inattendance:Tina Allgood, Evelyn Alwine, Bob Anderson, Connie Borson, Jan Britton, PattiBrundle, Ria Collee, Sammye Dina-Smith, Jeanne Dutton, Linda Endris, JodiEstell, Jacki Frey, Beth Gray, Charlotte Griffin, Gillian Harris. Carla Hedges,Jeanne Iler, Kathy Karnes, Chung Kim, Cathy Korinek, Margret Kingrey, KristeLindberg, Sara McQueen, Meredith Metz, Nancy Metz, Kim Neubecker, Nina Ost, DianeProbst, Carol Rhodes, Deborah Rush, Deloris Schneider, John Shelton, KathyTruelove-Barton*, Jean Vietor, Betty Wagoner, Susan Webb, Joanne Weddle, TriciaWente, Leslie Williamson, Vi Working, Cassidy Young.
* New member

Guests in Attendance: Rita Shoufler

The meeting wascalled to order at 6:15 p.m. at the First Christian Church in a new room (theGreat Hall on the second floor). Thisroom offers more space than the room on the first floor in addition to theusual access to a kitchen and rest rooms as did the meeting room we had on thefirst floor. Future meetings may be heldin this larger room. BWS President, Kriste Lindberg, asked members to greet ourguests and new member.

Kriste thankedthe Hospitality/Cheer chair, Evelyn Alwine, forthe refreshments that were provided by Jo Weddle and Jeanne Dutton.

The minutes ofthe last meeting (June 12, 2011) were available on the Blog and no additions orcorrections were found from the members in attendance. The members accepted theminutes unanimously as written.

The Treasurer's Report for September was read by Carol Rhodes, Treasurer. The treasury has been moved to a bank that ismore compatible with our needs. Carolsaid that some members have not paid their membership dues which were requiredby the end of June andcalled for payment. The treasury isfairly flush at the moment but there are a number of events for which the moneyis earmarked such as the Fall Workshop, the Membership
show, and the Holidayparty.

Committee Reports
Membership Update, was provided by Betty Wagoner; the total membership is 95, (althoughas many as 30 members are subject to being dropped for non-payment of dues).

Paint Outs Chair, Jacki Frey, said that because of weather the attendance at theTC Steele paint-out was somewhat low but that Deborah Rush got a second placeaward. The next and last paint-out isscheduled for October 15 at Musgrave Orchard. That paint-out will be a pitch-in. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish that will go with chili. More information will beforthcoming.

Activities/Workshop Chair, Deloris Schneider, reminded members thatSeptember 12 is the last day for signup before the Rena Brouwer workshop willbe opened to non-member attendance.

Shows Chair, Tricia Wente told the members that the We Paint Parks opening reception will be November 4 from 5:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. and that there will be a closing reception on Friday December 2 atthe same hours. BWS will pay for aharpist for the opening reception. Asignup sheet for bringing some type of refreshments will be passed around atthe next meeting. Kriste reminded those that are participating to pleaseproduce a brief paragraph of their experiences while painting at the parks andto include an image of their work as well as one of themselves when it ishanded in.

Kriste mentionedthat BWS was represented at the B-Line Trail opening (three members – CharlotteGriffin, Nancy Metz, and Kriste Lindberg – attended and hosted a demonstrationof skills for attendees) and that the Parks and Recreation appreciated theattendance.

Brushstrokes, Nancy Metz requested that stories and pictures for the nextissue of Brushstrokes be sent to her.

Old Business:

Sara SteffeyMcQueen represented BWS at a recent Visual Arts Guild meeting. Herassessment was that the Guild is struggling with its exact mission andoperation.

Jeanne Duttonis chairing the Nominating Committee. She requested that any member who isinterested in an officer or chairman position please contact her. The nominating committee must come up with aslate for next year. More information will be forthcoming.

New Business:

1. Scholarships: The board is lookinginto the idea of providing stipends in the form of art supplies to youngartists at the high school level who are considering art as their futurecareer. A proposal will be developed andpresented to the membership.

2. Honorary membership: Jeanne Dutton nominated Heidi Heiser for aHonorary membership based on her many years of providing BWS with the graphicdesigns for its BWS show announcements. Margret Kingrey seconded the nomination and the membership votedunanimously to send a letter of thanks and a certificate acknowledging thisaward.

3. BWS Gallery: Charlotte Griffin toldmembers that BWS is working on a Web based gallery to show off some of themember’s art. An email will be sent toall members with the URL of the site that is under construction.

4. Water Media Conference2012: Nancy Metz asked for a membership vote oncommitting to run a Water Media Conference in the Fall of 2012 called “We Paint the Springs”. The conference would be held in the FrenchLick/West Baden area and would draw from the artist pool in the states ofIndiana, Illinois and Kentucky and possibly from Saint Louis andCincinnati. Partnerships with Ivy Techfor publicity and fee collection and the Hotels in French Lick/West Baden havebeen negotiated. Margret Kingreymotioned that BWS take on this conference project in form defining and managingthe conference and its content. SaraSteffey-McQueen seconded the motion. Allmembers agreed to move the project forward. Comments were made that the show that results as part of the conferencewould be the BWS 2012 Show as well as Fall Workshop.

Announcements:

Nina Ostannounced her publication of a children’s book. She had a copy to show the membership.

SaraSteffey-McQueen announced that she has some of her works displayed at Sublime Design.

Dan Alexanderannounced that he has some of his works at GloriousMoment.

The meeting wasadjourned at 7:24 p.m. and attention was transferred to the evening's program byJeanne Dutton. Jeanne provided examplesof splatter painting. She demonstratedthe use toothbrushes, watercolor brushes and spray bottles in creatingbackgrounds. She described how use ofmasking liquid, shaped pieces of paper, a possibly stencils can be used tocreate the work’s content.

Many attendeestook advantage of the exchange table during the break time.

Respectfullysubmitted,
Charlotte Griffin
BWS Secretary, 2011

Brushstrokes -- September 2011

2011-09-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sara Steffey McQueen chats with Meri Reinhold, Deloris

Schneider, and Kriste Lindberg during the August Gallery

Walk. McQueen's work was featured in the Waldron's

Flashlight Gallery.

Tonight's Gallery Walk -- Sept. 2

Gallery North is featuring TheaTRIXS, Art by Kathleen Rice,

a BWS member. Tonight's opening reception is 6 to 8 p.m.

Her show will be displayed through Sept. 30. Gallery North

is at 116 W. Sixth St., Bloomington.

Presidential column

By Kriste Lindberg

Can you believe summer’s almost over? (I say “almost” as it’s not officially over until September 22!) It feels like it though, now that school has started again.

Hope you have been having a good one and getting lots of painting done at our summer paintouts and at your park if you have chosen one for our main show this year. That show will open Friday, Nov. 4, at City Hall – just in time for holiday shopping!

In the meantime, your core board has met to discuss our exciting future and more. We are doing very well and looking forward to embarking on some new endeavors.

Our first meeting of the whole since June (can you believe it?) is coming up on Sept. 12. Bring in the works you have completed over the summer for a bit of show and tell, and we will soon be getting the word out on what to bring to take part in Jeanne Dutton’s splatter paint demo. Watch your e-mail for a reminder. It will be fun for all!

See you then.

Rena Brouwer Watercolor Workshop - Birds!

Rena, Hoosier Artisan and accomplished artist, will present a workshop Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rena was here two years ago and those who attended know what a great workshop she provides, so don't miss this opportunity! Members, $50; non-members $60; full time students $40. Full details are on our BWS homepage, www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org.
Deadline for registration or cancellation: Sept. 19.

Paintout reminder

T.C. Steele paintout is Sept. 10, Saturday, at the T.C. Steele site 2 miles south of Belmont, IN off S.R. 46. Belmont is about 5 miles west of Nashville. This paintout is sponsored by the Indiana Plein Air Artist Association. If you wish to compete you should call T.C. site or go online for a form and the cost is $10. They have ribbon awards but no cash awards.

It is not necessary to be registered to come and paint. Everyone is welcome. Food, soft drinks and other snacks are provided. Music begins at 2 p.m.and judging concludes at 3 p.m.. Paintout starts as early as 7 a.m. and you can go anyplace to paint, not just T.C.Steele house. Arrive at anytime that is good for you. See you at the paintout!

Musgrave paintout is Oct. 15, Saturday, at the Musgrave Orchard 7 miles north of B-town on old 37. Time is 10 to 2. We have a large porch and picnic tables to enjoy a pitch-in for that final paintout date. More details in the October newsletter.

BWS notecards for sale

Margret Kingery will bring the BWS notecards to the September meeting, so they will be available for anyone wanting to buy additional packets. The cost of an eight-card pack is $12.

Wiley Art Center

All BWS members are invited to visit the Wiley Art Center at the corner of 14th and J Streets in Bedford. (Visit the Lawrence County Museum on the north side of the square and go out the back door across the parking lot to visit the Wiley Art Center.) We are open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Members of the Lawrence County Art Association have their work on display and the featured artist for this month is Imogene Myers. Her work will be featured until Sept. 17.

Member news

Carolyn Rogers Richard invites you to come to her show at Meadowwood in October. Show dates are Oct. 7 to 30 with an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 14 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. In addition to her paintings, the exhibit will include items made from her handpainted fabric ranging from soft sculptures to practical-use items like purses and household decor in all price ranges. Please direct any questions about the show or request for directions to the Meadowwood Gallery to Carolyn at crichard@homefinder.org or 320-2200.

Tricia Wente's booth space is #95 in the yellow section for the Penrod Arts Fair on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Saturday, Sept. 10. For more information please go to www.penrod.org.

Tricia also has work in "Art in 5D" at Gallery on Pearl, 222 Pearl St., New Albany, Ind. The opening reception for the show, which features 2D work by Tricia and 3D work by David Ross Stevens, is Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will continue through Oct. 21.

Sara Steffey McQueen was juried into the Watercolor Society of Indiana Exhibit for 2011. Her piece, “Lotus Mandala” will be on exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis Oct. 16 through December. Sara is also having an exhibit at Sublime Design on West Kirkwood for the October Gallery Walk. The title of the show is "Up Close & Far Away."

Jacki Frey will be teaching acrylic painting level 1 at John Waldron Ivy Tech downtown Bloomington. It will be for 7 weeks Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.. The course begins Sept. 13 to Oct. 25.Please check with John Waldron or online for cost.

Jacki Frey all-day workshop Sept 29, Thursday. "Scenery in the fall" is the theme. Cost: $40, location: Jacki's studio at 5024 W. September Drive time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. RSVP e-mail jackifrey@hotmail.com or call 320-6745.

Jeanne Dutton and Nancy Davis Metz will be teaching Beginning Watercolor for Ivy Tech's Center for Lifelong Learning. Jeanne's class will meet Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to noon, at Liberty Crossing, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 20. Nancy's class will be at the Waldron on Tuesdays, 6 to 8:30 p.m., from Sept. 13 to Oct. 18. The Beginning Watercolor class costs $119.

Nancy is also teaching "Give it a try: Beginning Watercolor" Friday mornings, 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Burton Kimble Farms, just east of Orleans. It also costs $119.

To register for any of Ivy Tech's Beginning Watercolor classes, go to www.ivytech.edu/cll or call 812-330-6041. Credit card payment information is required for phone registrations.

Linton Fall Arts FestivalA juried art festival will take place in downtown Linton on Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. Applications are available from the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce at 812-847-4846 or lintonfallartsfestival@gmail.com.

Going Underground

By Kriste Lindberg

During July, I attended the National Speleological Society’s annual convention in Glenwood Springs, Colo.

I’ve been working closely with the chair of the Fine Arts Salon, Carolina Shrewsbury, over the past year on incorporating the arts into education, conservation, and human sciences (mainly neurosciences) for a multi-disciplinary win/win.

Gosia Allison-Kosior, a

workshop participant,

practices her spatter

technique.

This summer, we hosted two workshops – one consisting of a demonstration on how to work with the public to help them become more comfortable with caves through art by creating a watercolor image and the other on creating a collaboration among various speleo-artists. Both turned out wonderfully and we are already making plans for expanded/enhanced workshops and related events for next year’s convention that will also include the surrounding community in Greenbrier County, W. Va.

To help get the word out, we are researching the use of various social networking technologies including Facebook, Twitter, QR (quick response) codes, and more.

During this year’s convention, yours truly was awarded a “Merit Award” for the design of the flier announcing the Fine Arts, Print, and Symbolic Emblems (graphic design) Salons and their events throughout the convention. It was designed using a combination of watercolor, acrylic, ink, and print media. A copy accompanies this article (Note: A QR code was included that took folks directly to the NSS CON 2011 Web site).

Energy is up, we are working toward an Arts and Letters Section reorganization, and attracting more members.

For more on NSS Salons, visit: http://www.caves.org/committee/salons/.

Closer to home, this Fall, Jeanne Dutton, others, and I are working with the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department at The Venue to host a demo such as the one described above and there is more potential for us to join forces with the cave community in the future to further our missions.

Thanks also to Dave Bunnell (NSS News editor), Dianne Gillespie (NSS Education Division chief), Jen Neemann (NSS Human Sciences chairman and Johns Hopkins University neuroscience professor), and Val Werker (NSS Conservation Division co-chief).

Editor's Note: This issue may not be as polished and it certainly isn’t as complete as most Brushstrokes issues are. I broke my right arm mid-August, had surgery, and am still pretty much limited to one hand, my left one. I’m getting better at being lefthanded, but I haven’t been able to do as much as I am used to doing. Next month I hope to return with the Inspirations column and a full-strength Brushstrokes. –Nancy Metz

Brushstrokes -- Summer 2011

2011-08-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

"Abbey with Lavender Fields"

by Meri Reinhold

In this issue

August Paintout: Hillside and Henderson

Rena Brouwer workshop

Members' news

Holiday Market application process

Area opportunities

Inspiration: Meri Reinhold

Presidential column

By Kriste Lindberg

Hope all are having a good summer!

Your core board has been hard at work with all sorts of neat improvements for the society as our membership grows.

Personally, I’ve been busy working on art/conservation education collaborations with partners in Bloomington Parks and Recreation and beyond, such as the National Speleological (study of caves) Society.

Hope you are moving right along with painting your park for the upcoming “We Paint Parks” exhibit with Bloomington Parks and Recreation. The Department is excited about our collaboration and has invited us to paint during the B-Line Trail opening Thursday, Sept. 8. Scroll down for more information.

In the meantime, remember the BWS Paintout at Hillside & Henderson (the shops on the northwest corner of the intersection) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 20. This is a wonderful location to relax with refreshments from Feast Bakery café and just have a good time with your paint pals.

See you there.

Kriste

Busy summer for BWS members

“Garden, Field and Forest” runs through Sept. 19 at the Monroe County History Center, 202 E. Sixth St., Bloomington. It features Gillian Harris's drawings and watercolors of mostly Indiana flora and fauna.

The Owen County Fair awarded Zoe Dean Grand Champion for a watercolor harbor scene.

A painting by Kathleen Rice was juried into the 14^th annual International Society of Acrylics Painter Exhibit. The show in Santa Cruz, Calif., ran through the month of July.

Sara Steffey McQueen has a show, “Seasonal Visits in Watercolor,” on display Aug. 3 to 29 at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. The opening reception is Friday, Aug. 5, 5 to 8 p.m.

Another Friday evening reception honors the Chinese art of former BWS member James Yang at Bellevue Gallery, 107 W. Ninth St., Bloomington, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Mary Jo Cannedy invites BWS members to visit the Wiley Art Center in Bedford for its member art exhibit. The Center is open Thursday and Friday 1 to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The address is 1402 J St., Bedford.

July Paintout at the Freeman Farm

The July Paintout at the Freeman Farm south of Bloomington provided plenty of rural Indiana scenes for paintings. Top left: Deborah Rush and Kim Neubecker discuss their painting plans. Top right: Betty Wagoner and Kathy Barton share tips. Middle: Betty Wagoner finds a spot with a view and shade. Right: Jeanne Dutton finds inspiration in the Hoosier landscape. Thank you, Deborah Rush, for volunteering the "family farm."

Come on down to the corner

for a day of plein air painting

This month ‘s paintout is Saturday, Aug. 20, at the corner of Hillside and Henderson. Several shops are located there, including Feast Bakery Café and Blue Moon Antiques, both of which will make charming subjects for your paintings.

Bring a lawn chair, sun hat, paint supplies, and join your fellow artists in a fun time. Plan on hanging out at the Feast Bakery Café for dessert and sharing your artwork.

In the event of rain or extreme heat, an e-mail will be sent announcing cancellation of the event.

We Paint … Parks

To promote our fall membership show, “We Paint … Parks,” BWS members will be painting at the Celebration for the opening of the B-Line Trail Thursday, Sept. 8., at 5:30 p.m. All BWS members are invited to paint. Come to the Switchyard Park where the B-Line Trail crosses Grimes and look for the BWS sign and your BWS friends.

Tricia Wente reminds all who signed up for the We Paint … Parks exhibit to complete their paintings. If you need help deciding which one to frame for the November exhibit, bring the "candidates" to the September meeting and ask your BWS colleagues to help you decide.

Rena Brouwer to return for Fall workshop

The BWS Fall Workshop will feature Rena Brouwer Saturday, Oct. 1. The full-day workshop will cost members $50, non-members $60 and students $40. Additional information will be available at the September meeting.

To see Brouwer’s work, go to her Web site www.renabrouwer.com or drive over to the Brown County Art Guild in Nashville where Brouwer will be one of the featured artists during the month of September.

CLASSIFIEDS – New Brushstrokes feature

Have something to sell? Looking for something to buy?

Place a free ad in Brushstrokes. The only catch: Whatever you’re buying, selling or looking for must be related to art. For example, if you want to sell your easel, describe it, list your price and give your contact information. If you are looking for magazines for a massive collage project, place an ad. Or if you want to go to an arts event in Indy, give the particulars in your ad and see if you can find riders -- or maybe even a driver. Here’s the first classified ad (It’s real; Jeanne really wants to unload her YUPO stuff):

YUPO for Sale

26 X 20 full sheets, brand new, still in package. 6 sheets lighter weight, 3 sheets heavy weight. Only $2.50 per sheet. Please call Jeanne Dutton at 331-1628 or e-mail jedutton@hotmail.com.

ArtWorks still has openings for Fettingis workshop

ArtWorks of Martinsville is offering a watercolor workshop with Joe Fettingis Aug. 26 to 27. He will be doing a landscape and either a portrait or pet portrait. The workshop runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Martinsville each day and costs $150. To register call Sally Hedges at 765-792-0328 or e-mail Indystar3.comcast.net.

Gerald Brommer to teach at WSI workshop

Gerald Brommer will teach Landscape Painting with Stained Paper and Collage in Indianapolis Sept. 13 to 17. This Watercolor Society of Indiana event will be at The Woods of Castleton Apartment Clubhouse. The cost is $450 for members and $460 for non-members. The full amount must be paid by Aug. 13.

To register, call 317-814-6194 extension 150 or e-mail wsiemail@ori.net.

Apply now for booth space at Holiday Market

If you want to sell your art at the Holiday Market Nov. 26, you must apply by Aug. 31. The Market is in City Hall and Showers Common at Eighth and Morton Streets in Bloomington.

Works must be original and made by the applicant. Complete guidelines and the application are available online at http://bloomington.in.gov/media/mediaq/application/pdf/9626.pdf. All applicants must provide digital photos of work and one of display.

An indoor space costs $55, and an outdoor space costs $45. Limited electricity is available for $10. Exhibitors wishing to share a booth must submit separate applications, noting that they wish to share a booth.

For more information, contact Kristy LeVert at 812-349-3725 or at levertk@Bloomington.in.gov.

Deadline approaches for Fall Festival Art in the Park

The Saints Francis and Clare Fall Festival 2011 announces the second annual Art in the Park Saturday, Sept. 24, in Greenwood. This upscale outdoor event will feature local artists, a local winery and live music. To apply as an artist, contact Rory Elizabeth Small at 317-530-5066 or e-mail rorysmall@yahoo.com. You can also apply online at http://www.francisandclare.org/resource-pdf-festivalApplicsation.html. The deadline is Aug. 15.

Inspiration

Meri Reinhold’s travel journal – the abridged version

This month’s Inspiration column departs from the usual interview format that features a member talking about a specific painting. Instead, Meri Reinhold gives a firsthand account of a workshop she attended this summer in France. What could be more inspiring than that?

I was very lucky to attend a 10-day painting workshop conducted by Janet and Steve Rogers in France this summer. To make the understatement of the decade would be to say it was inspiring and incredible to be among these accomplished artists for more than a week.

The entire time we stayed at the same hotel, Domain du Haut Baran, which was a farm in an earlier century. The hotel provided a complete studio with French easels, stools and working tables for each painter. The grounds were beautifully landscaped with orchard, gardens and ponds. For the more energetic there was a pool for swimming, a country road through forests for walks past horses and abandoned gypsy wagons.There were dozens of perfect settings for paintings, sketching and relaxing. We traveled to other villages and painting sites, including a wonderful village with a market day that included nearly 2,000 vendors and a chateau complete with blooming lavender fields. With 15 artists and two spouses, plus two instructors and our guide, we were quite a crowd when we all traveled together, using two nine-passenger vans to get around.

I thought it was very expensive at first but later reconsidered. The cost of the trip included the art instruction, lodging, transportation for plein air and village visits (including a guided tour of a cave with prehistoric paintings), transfer to and from the airport, all breakfasts and about half of the lunches and dinners, which included wine and other beverages.

One of the hotel owners, William,served as our tour guide, interpreter, driver and general arranger of anything you needed from a trip to an art supply store to another light source for the studio. His extensive knowledge of the area and selection of painting locations was a wonderful bonus.

Meri titled these portraits

according to the amount of time

she spent painting each. Above

is "Three-minute Study," and

the portrait on the left is "Five-minute

Study."

His wife, Rosalie, was in charge of the facilities and all creature comforts. The food was simply fantastic; I have never had more exquisite meals. The rooms were clean, wonderfully decorated and very modern. Artists are fun to travel with. By the end of the week, they transformed an already gorgeous breakfast table into a still life!

I wanted to learn more about portrait painting and Janet kindly gave me some personal instruction in addition to several demonstrations for the group on portraits and portrait sketching. When I came home, I actually did a “commission” for someone as a practice piece, but she really loved it so now it is hers. Of course, since I painted it five times, I have my own original of her granddaughter as well!

I have always been an independent traveler, making my own arrangements and schlepping my things from Point A to Point B, and generally wreaking havoc with every foreign language I attempt. I was uncertain how this trip would be for me with all arrangements made for me and no need to destroy the French language unless I sought out opportunities to do so, but it was truly a wonderful experience.

Tickler file for your calendar
Aug. 5 -- Opening reception for "Seasonal Visits in Watercolor" by Sara Steffey McQueen, Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center, 5 to 8 p.m.
Aug. 5 -- Opening reception for Chinese Art of James Yang, Bellevue Gallery, 5 to 7 p.m.
Aug. 13 -- Deadline for sending in full payment to WSI for Gerald Brommer Workshop in Indianapolis
Aug. 15 -- Deadline for applying for booth space at Greenwood's Fall Festival in the Park
Aug. 26 - 27 -- Joe Fettingis Workshop sponsored by ArtWorks of Martinsville, First Christian Church
Aug. 31 -- Appication deadline for Holiday Market booth space
Sept. 8 -- BWS painters invited to paint at the Celebration for the opening of the B-Line Trail, 5:30 p.m., Switchyard Park (where the trail crosses Grimes)
Sept. 12 -- BWS monthly meeting, First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington in Bloomington, 6 p.m.

Meeting Minutes June 2011

2011-07-03T01:06:00.001-07:00

Bloomington Watercolor Society

June 13, 2011
Members in attendance:

Tina Allgood, Evelyn Alwine, Candi, Bailey, Bob Burris, Marie Carpenter, Cynthia Currie*, Zoe Dean, Jeanne Dutton, Linda Endris, Jackey Frey, Charlotte Griffin, Jerome Harste, Jeanne Iler, Stephen Jackson, Kriste Lindberg, Nancy Metz, Kim Neubecker, Carol Rhodes, Deborah Rush, Deloris Schneider, Joanne Shank, Bob Talbot, Betty Wagoner, Joanne Weddle, Tricia Wente, Vi Working.
* New member

Guests in Attendance:
Becky Buher, George Brooke

The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. at the First Christian Church with Kriste Lindberg, President, presiding. Kriste asked members to greet our guests and new member.

The minutes of the last meeting (May 9, 2011) were available on the Blog and no additions or corrections were found from the members in attendance. The members accepted the minutes unanimously as written.

The Treasurer's Report for March was read by Carol Rhodes, Treasurer. Dues are still flowing in so the status of the treasury is in flux but there are sufficient funds to continue operations as planned. Members are reminded that dues must be paid by the end of June.

Committee Reports

Membership Update, was provide by Betty Wagoner and with the addition of a new member at the June meeting the total membership is 95.

Paint Outs Chair, Jackie Frey, encouraged members to come to the next paint-out on Saturday, June 18 at the Farmer’s Market. She stated that although there may be much activity at the market there are always scenes that can be captured with a camera and transferred to paper. Jackie mentioned that the last paint-out at T.C. Steele brought recognition to a number of the members of BWS. See the BWS Blog.

Activities/Workshop Chair, Deloris Schneider, mentioned that she has had contact with Rena Brouwer about the Fall Workshop and that Rena wanted to know how the workshop should be oriented. The membership desired that the workshop be oriented toward tips and techniques. The date of the Brouwer workshop has been set as Saturday, October 1^st.

Shows Chair, Tricia Wente told the members that the We Paint Parks will run from November 4 to December 4 and that all parks must be covered; so if anyone cannot paint the park assigned to them they should hand it back to Tricia so she can assign it to someone on the waiting list. More information will be sent out later in the summer about requirements for the We Paint Parks show.

Jeanne Dutton provided a summary of the Creative Senior Show at the Venue. Some of the members sold paintings and the Venue was impressed by the business-like manner that BWS displayed in setting up the show.

Brushstrokes, Nancy Metz requested that anyone who had photos from the Peggy Brown workshop provide here with a copy.

Old Business:

Joanne Swank invited members of BWS to attend the June 27 meeting of the Visual Arts Guild to be held at the Library. She will send out an email with more details because it is questionable whether the speaker will be able to speak due to involvement with the recent tornado. (Note: This meeting has since been cancelled; Joanne will send an e-mail out informing people about rescheduling.)

Jeanne Dutton and attendees gave the membership information about the meeting that they attended with the Watercolor Society of Indiana. Networking in the form of communication will continue.

New Business:

Kriste mentioned that there will be work over the summer to give BWS a presence on Facebook. More information will be provided at the next BWS meeting.

Kriste reminded the members that BWS takes a summer break for the months of July and August. But that everyone should continue to paint and plan to bring their summer works to a Fall meeting.

Announcements:

Betty Waggoner will be guiding a hike of the trails at T. C. Steele on July 2 at 10:00 if anyone wants to get ideas for Indiana Landscapes.

Jeanne Iler suggested that the Executive committee consider a proposal to use some of the funds accumulating in the BWS treasury to lower the cost to members for attendance at BWS workshops. This use of funds is in keeping with the BWS charter to encourage continued learning by its members.

The meeting was adjourned at 6.55 p.m. and attention was transferred to the evening's program by Jean Vietor. Jean demonstrated the use of transparent acrylic washes to provide the base for painting rocks and trees using such things as toothbrushes, small strips of cardboard, and fingers.

Many attendees took advantage of the exchange table during the break time.

Respectfully submitted,
Charlotte Griffin
BWS Secretary, 2011

Brushstrokes -- June 2011

2011-06-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

Carla Hedges with "Feather Flowers"

In this issue
June 13 meeting program
Member news
June PaintOut: Farmers’ Market
Exhibits in Bedford, Terre Haute and Nashville
Inspiration: Carla Hedges

BWS President Kriste Lindberg with sign

announcing organization's presence at

The Venue.

At the Creative Senior Month show reception,

BWS past presidents Jeanne Dutton and

Jo Weddle chat with Michelle Colman (right)

of The Venue.

Presidential column
by Kriste Lindberg

Summer has finally arrived!

It's a great time to kick back, relax and do a bit of painting, and go through things - ideas and material items - to share.

We have many painting and related adventures planned for you.

They include one last meeting June 13 before our "summer break," paint outs, preparing our works for the "We Paint Parks!" show and more.

In the meantime, BWS delegates are meeting in Indianapolis to network at the state level to help arts communications between us and beyond. We look forward to their report. It'll be good to share more ideas and have more dialogue in order to strengthen the whole.

Also, be thinking of ways we can share our material goodies with each other through our exchange table. Many of us have items we have accumulated over time. If they're just sitting in a drawer (or perhaps, in a pile on a desk, as I am sometimes guilty of), bring them out and give them a second chance with another.

Whether you’re taking time out to share thoughts or actual tangible objects, it's just nice to know you have a group of paint pals who appreciate them.

Now, pour a cold one and get out and paint!

June 13 program: Painting rocks, pebbles, tree branches and trunks
Jean Vietor, a professional artist since 1969, will teach BWS members how to paint rocks and trees at the June 13 BWS meeting. She will have members playing with texture on both illustration board and hot press watercolor paper.

“I like illustration board because you can create your own textures,” Vietor said. “The surface does not limit you.” BWS will provide the illustration board, but members should bring their own hot press watercolor paper so they can compare the results.

Vietor will also demonstrate how to use acrylic in a transparent manner. “Acrylic is great for texturing because, once dry, it does not pick up,” she said. “You can shade over the texture with acrylic and watercolor washes without smearing it.”

To take full advantage of Vietor’s presentation, bring hot press watercolor paper, watercolor paints, black acrylic (optional), brushes, old toothbrush, sponges (cellulose, elephant ear or any you have with big holes), sand, screen wire (optional), pieces of scrap cardboard cut in strips 1/4" to 3/4", paper towels and scissors. Vietor says members will also make use of their fingers.

Vietor started as a gouache, ink and pastel artist, and then added watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, serigraph, wood cuts and computer art. She was a limited edition print artist with Frame House Gallery of Louisville, Ky., for nine years. She started teaching at the Indianapolis Art Center in the mid '70s, and except for the times she lived elsewhere than Indianapolis, she taught there until the mid 2000s. She began teaching watercolor, then acrylic and finally computer art using Photoshop. Her work may be seen at the Brown County Art Guild in Nashville. She illustrated a garden book authored by Carolyn Harstad and printed by IU Press, "Got Shade” and is now doing illustrations for another book by Harstad called "Got Sun."

The June 13 meeting starts with a brief business meeting at 6 p.m. at the First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood Avenue and Washington Street.

News of members near and far

"Hydrastis" by Gillian Harris

Gillian Harris will be showing her work in Bloomington and London, England, this summer. She has an exhibit of botanical drawings and paintings titled "Garden, Field and Forest" coming up at the Monroe County History Center. It opens June 18 as part of the Bloomington Garden Walk and will run through September. It features botanical drawings and paintings.

Gillian will also be going to Kew Gardens in London for the June 28 opening reception of Losing Paradise: Endangered Plants Here and Around the World. This traveling exhibit organized by the American Society of Botanical Artists recently ended its U.S. tour at the Smithsonian Institute (and was featured in the latest issue of the children’s educational magazine Smithsonian in Your Classroom). Gillian’s watercolor of Goldenseal, a native plant suffering from habitat loss and over-collection for its medicinal properties, is part of the exhibit.

Tricia Wente with "Cousins"

Tricia Wente’s oil painting, “Cousins” was in the 79^th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Indiana Artists Club at the Indiana Museum of Art.

Evidently inspired by Tricia Wente’s May program on portraits, Nina Ost writes from St. Petersburg, Fla., that she has attempted a self-portrait that is “mostly recognizable surrounded by all the stuff I love: cats, puppets, books, NCIS, Gulf of Mexico and, of course, pencil, brush and paints among other strange things.”

Marianne Glick's artwork will be on display at the A to Z Cafe, 4705 E. 96th Street in Indianapolis during the month of June. Marianne is also one of six featured artists at Kuaba Gallery's new location, 1 N. Meridian Street, 2nd Floor. New works can also be seen at the Ann King Gallery in Zionsville.

Two BWS members have paintings hanging at One America Tower Atrium in Indianapolis as part of the Watercolor Society of Indiana’s 2011 Membership Exhibit. Linda Meyer-Wright is showing “When Fish Dream,” and Nancy Davis Metz is showing “Water Pots.” The exhibit is up until June 24.

Bedford’s Wiley Art Center to exhibit Indiana Landmarks photos

A traveling photo exhibit from Indiana Landmarks will be displayed through June 25 at Wiley Art Center, which is at the intersection of 14^th and J streets in Bedford. BWS member Mary Jo Cannedy invites all members to attend the reception Friday, June 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. The regular hours for the exhibit are Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Explore portraits at Terre Haute’s Swope Art Museum
If Tricia Wente’s May presentation on portraits captured your imagination, you may want to visit the “Exploring Portraiture” exhibition at the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute this summer. The exhibition of portraits from the Swope collection, many of which haven’t been displayed in years, explores the many ways artists convey personality. Visitors will be able to compare 19th century portraits hung directly next to portraits done by contemporary artists. The exhibition closes Aug. 20. The Swope is at 25 S. Seventh St., Terre Haute. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Peggy Brown’s work to be featured in Nashville gallery
Brown County Art Guild will host an opening reception Saturday, June 11, for this month’s Featured Exhibit of mixed media and watercolor artworks by Peggy Brown. The reception will be 5 to 8 p.m.

Call for entries
Owensboro Museum of Fine Art announces juried exhibition
RIVERCOUNTRY REFLECTIONS is a juried exhibition designed to record and celebrate the history and cultural traditions of Northwest Kentucky. Artists are invited to travel the area and interpret through painting and sculpture the region’s “sense of place.”

More than $45,000 in purchase awards will be made with the award-winning works being accessioned into the collection of the Owensboro Medical Health System, a major new medical facility currently under construction.

All entries must be for sale. Commissions will not be taken from purchase awards; however, all other sales will be on a 30 percent museum/70 percent artist basis.
To enter, e-mail digital images to info@omfa.us before Oct. 15.
To download a complete prospectus, go to http://www.omfa.us and click on the River Country 2011 link.

Learn more about art fairs
Martina Celerin will lead a presentation and information exchange on art fairs Tuesday, June 28, in Room 1A of the Monroe County Public Library. The program starts at 7 p.m. and is sponsored by VAGUE – Visual Artists’ Guild United Enterprise. For more information, contact vague@bloomingtonarts.org.

We paint … Parks!
All artists participating in the upcoming Membership Show in November need to be working on their park painting in the coming months. Anyone who has decided not to participate should contact Tricia Wente via e-mail (tricia@wente .com) or call her at 812-824-9578. Prompt notification will allow the site to be officially reassigned to an artist on the wait list.

PaintOut news for May and June
This month’s PaintOut will be June 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bloomington Farmer’s Market, near the intersection of Morton and Sixth streets.

BWS members made a good showing at last month’s PaintOut at the T.C. Steele Festival of Flowers. Jeanne Iler took first place in the adult watercolor division, and honorable mentions were presented to Deborah Rush and Jeanne Dutton. Dutton’s granddaughter, Ellen Willibey, took first place in the kids-under-12 division for her watercolor.

BWS member Bob Burris presents Catherine Burris Memorial awards

to Polina Ermasova and Dylan Quackenbush. The awards honor

Bob’s wife, who was an artist and teacher who often brought her

students to T.C. Steele PaintOuts.

Deborah Rush displays her

Honorable Mention ribbon.

Ellen Willibey paints with

watercolor at T.C. Steele Festival of

Flowers.

Get on the Painters’ Days notification list

Anyone wanting to be notified about future Painters’ Days at the Art House should get in touch with Tricia Wente at tricia@wente.com or by calling 812-824-9578.

Carla Hedges holds her Zentangle-inspired "Feather

Flowers."

Inspiration:
Carla Hedges’ ‘Zentangled’ art and mind
Anyone who knows Carla Hedges knows her twisted sense of humor and her passion for creative expression. When you attend any art opening, theater production, puppet show, or lecture in town, you may very well run into her. In Bloomington, that makes her a very busy lady.

Still, she finds time to express her own creativity, often combining collage and watercolor.

“I enjoy Linda Meyer-Wright's watercolor classes because she is always cutting-edge with new techniques and introduces us to all sorts of new watercolor techniques,” Carla said. “She also encourages my demented creativity and sense of humor."

One technique Linda recently introduced to her ”Spread Your Wings” watercolor class was "Zentangles," a method of creating art from repeating patterns. “She sent us e-mails from TanglePatterns.com, and we learned about two books by Sandy Steen Bartholomew (Yoga for the Brain: A Zentangle Workout and Totally Tangled),” Carla said.

Zentangles is the key element of Carla’s “Feather Flowers,” which was part of the Waldron’s “Creative Aging” Art Show in May. “I took a simple picture – one of a big flower – outlined it and said to myself, ‘It needs something more,’” Carla explained. The intricate repeating patterns and flowing watercolors draw the viewer into the piece. She started the piece in the mid-day class but continued late into the night until she was finished. This is her usual way of working, she said.

On the day Carla wrote about “Feather Flowers,” she closed with her horoscope for the day because, as she said, it “pretty much sums it up for me.” It said: "You're entering a very busy phase. Ask yourself tough questions (and answer them) for maximum productivity. Somebody appreciates your wild and crazy side."

Tickler file for your calendar
June 10 – Opening reception for traveling exhibit of Indiana Landmarks photographs, 5 to 7 p.m., Wiley Art Center, 14th and J streets, Bedford
June 11 – Reception for Peggy Brown’s exhibit of mixed media and watercolors, 5 to 8 p.m., Brown County Art Guild, Nashville
June 13 – BWS meeting at First Christian Church, corner of Kirkwood and Washington, 6 p.m.
June 18 – Opening of “Garden, Field and Forest” by Gillian Harris at the Monroe County Historical Society
June 18 – BWS PaintOut at Bloomington Farmers’ Market, City Hall parking lot near Morton and Sixth streets, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
June 28 – Martina Celerin’s presentation about art fairs, MCPL Room 1A, 7 p.m.
Oct. 15 – Deadline for submitting digital images to Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts for its RIVERCOUNTRY REFLECTIONS juried exhibition

Meeting Minutes, May 9, 2011

2011-05-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Members in attendance:

Evelyn Alwine, Bob Anderson, Candi Bailey, Jan Britton, Connie Brorson, Patti Brundle, Bob Burris, Ria Collee, Linda Endris, Teresa Folk, Jacki Frey, Beth V. Gray, Gillian Harris, Jerome Harste, Susanne Haverstock, Carla Hedges, Jeanne Iler, Stephen Jackson, Pat Jones, Margret Kingrey, Cathy Korinek, Kriste Lindberg, Nancy Metz, Kim Neubecker, Nina Ost, Meri Reinhold, Carol Rhodes, Deborah Rush, Deloris Schneider, Jean Veitor, Betty Wagoner, Susan Webb, Jo Weddle, Tricia Wente, Leslie Williamson, Vi Working, Cassidy Young.

The meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.m. at the First Christian Church with Kriste Lindberg, President, presiding. She reported that there are 93 BWS members.

Kriste thanked Evelyn Alwine, Hospitality Chair and her volunteers for providing the refreshments.

The minutes of the last meeting (April 11, 2011) were available on the Blog and no additions or corrections were found from the members in attendance. The members accepted the minutes unanimously as written.

The Treasurer's Report for was read by Carol Rhodes. Member dues are due in June. Carol can accept membership checks tonight or dues can be paid online or by mail.

Committee Reports

Membership Chair, Betty Wagoner, distributed copies of the membership list.

Paint Outs Chair, Jacki Frey, reported that about 8 members came to the paint-out at McCormick’s Creek. It helped to have the new BWS signs at the paint-out location. For the next paint-out, we will join the Festival of Flowers Paint Out at T.C. Steele State Historic Site, May 21, 2011; 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Jacki brought a few fliers and encouraged those needing more information to go to http://tcsteele.org .

Workshops. Kriste Lindberg reminded us of the Peggy Brown workshop on May 28 from 9 to 4. Enrollment is still open for this workshop. Kriste invited the workshop participants to join Peggy Brown for dinner on May 27 and assist with setting up the room. We are to meet at the First Christian Church at 6 p.m. on the 27^th. There is a possibility of joining the artist for dinner after the workshop.

Kriste Lindberg reported that Rena Brouwer will lead the next workshop, scheduled for Oct. 1, 2011.

Meeting Programs. Kriste reviewed the programs for future meetings.

Hospitality Chair, Evelyn Alwine, reminded the volunteers to bring their refreshments for the June meeting. She reported that Susanne Haverstock will assist with the December holiday party.

Shows. Kriste Lindberg encouraged members to continue to paint their parks in preparation for the fall membership show. She thanked Jeanne Dutton for her work with the Creative Senior Show at The Venue. The group consensus is that the show was a success. The publicity was good. Tricia Wente brought photos of the show and Kriste provided a copy of a news article.

Brushstrokes. Nancy Metz reported that the next Brushstrokes will be available next week. She thanked everyone for submitting lots of news items. She would continue to accept items through this evening. Nancy encouraged the members to send j-peg formatted art works for Brushstrokes.

Old Business.

Kriste encouraged members to take advantage of the “Exchange Table” at the back of the room and to bring other art related books, videos, and supplies to share/loan to the next meeting. The table is continuing to evolve.

BWS Gift Cards. Margaret Kingrey questioned whether we should develop more gift cards. There was much interest in the group for developing another set of cards. Nancy Metz reported that the cards sold for $12.00 a set. The costs were about $4.00 per set with an $8.00 profit. Carol Rhodes reported an overall profit of $1569.00. Margaret reported that vendors are showing interest in the BWS cards. She asked if a wholesale price had been set for sale to vendors and if a maximum price had been set for resale? Jo Weddle indicated that a wholesale price had been set and that she would review last year’s minutes. For expediency, Margaret Kingrey moved to sell the cards to vendors at $8.00 a set and that the vendors sell the cards at no more than $12.00 a set. Jo Weddle seconded. The motion carried unanimously. There was a brief discussion about developing a theme for the next set of cards. Downtown Bloomington was suggested.

New Business. There was a brief discussion about an online gallery for members to upload their artworks. It was suggested that the BWS Board continue the discussion.

Adjournment.

Gillian Harris moved to adjourn the meeting. Margaret Kingrey seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

Program.

The evening’s program followed. Tricia presented An Introduction to Portrait Painting. Tricia gave a brief description of the facial structure and distributed demonstration handouts. The group divided into pairs and sketched each other’s portrait.

Respectfully submitted,
Betty Wagoner
Substituting for Charlotte Griffin, BWS Secretary, 2011

Brushstrokes -- May 2011

2011-05-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

"The Birds and the Bs"
by Linda Meyer-Wright

In this issue

Peggy Brown workshop

The Venue Show

T.C. Steele paintout

Aureolin Alert

Inspiration: Linda Meyer-Wright

Plus more…

Presidential column

By Kriste Lindberg

“The skies are clearing, the skies are clearing!” Okay, so that was a bit of a take off on the Little Red Hen.

Fact is, I bet I’m not the only one happy to receive sunshine and warmth after the past month or so of rain, wind, and cold.

That means, it’s time to get out and paint – whether it’s your park, a paintout (just follow our new signs once you’re in the vicinity!), or just on your own for fun. We have plenty of opportunities for doing artwork and they are listed here in Brushstrokes.

Other good ways to make your mark include participating in our new exchange table (debuted last month), attending a workshop (next one is May 28- Peggy Brown), coming out to see our show at The Venue (up until Sunday, May 16th), or simply stopping by a meeting.

We have some exciting new ventures that we’re considering, such as networking at the state level and possibly through Facebook.

The warmer, drier weather offers a welcome respite from the cold – literally and figuratively.

See you out there!

Members sketch portraits at May meeting

Tricia Wente gave members tips about facial proportions and
painting portraits at the May meeting. Next month, Jean Vietor
will show members how to paint "Sticks and Stones."

Susan Webb and her portrait sketch

Peggy Brown workshop

Working with design and technique
to create paintings and art quilts

The BWS spring workshop will combine traditional and experimental design and techniques. Participants may choose to work on either paper or fabric. Brown’s workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at the First Christian Church, which is at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington. The cost is $55 for members and $65 for non-members.

Important info for registrants …

If you’ve signed up for Peggy Brown’s May 28 workshop, plan to arrive at First Christian Church at 8:30 to set up and enjoy bagels and coffee.

If you plan to work on paper, bring some sheets of lightweight drawing paper for quickie experiments, several nice pieces of watercolor paper and pieces or scraps of already painted papers to use in designing a collage. If you have a painting you are willing to cut up or tear, bring it.

If you want to work with fabric, you’ll need a yard or so of white cotton, interfacing, silk, organza or flannel for painting technique examples; pieces or scraps of already painted fabrics if you have them; and a blank white piece of fabric to use as a background during the design section.

Other supplies: Transparent watercolors (any brand but Peggy says the more expensive brands give better results); acrylics, pencils, crayons; Nu-pastels, charcoal or media of your choice; at least two waterproof boards or pieces of plexi-glass to support work in progress; palette, brushes, water container; found objects such as feathers, dried flowers, thread, string lace and tissue papers.

Also, bring scissors, masking tape, ruler, pencil, eraser, old ruined mat for viewing work in progress and a pair of rubber gloves for crunching and shibori techniques.

… and wannabe registrants

To reserve one of the few spots left for the Peggy Brown Workshop, e-mail Deloris Schneider at deloris_2003@yahoo.com by 5 p.m. May 14.

You can register and pay online by going to http://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/peggybrown.htm or going to the BWS Web site http://bloomingtonwatercolor.org, clicking the Activities link and then following the Peggy Brown link. Or you can mail your check made payable to Bloomington Watercolor Society to P.O Box 5236, Bloomington, IN 47407-5236. If you are mailing the check, please e-mail Deloris_2003@yahoo.com to let her know the check is in the mail.

Cancellations must be made by May 14 for a full refund. Cancellations made after May 14 will not be eligible to receive a refund. However, an enrolled person may “sell” a registration to someone else; however, members@bloomingtonwatercolor.org must be informed of the changes.

BWS gets good press for good showing
in city’s 1st Creative Aging Festival

The Sunday Herald Times included several BWS members in its May 8 article about art by “senior” artists.

The front page of the Arts Section featured a photograph of Connie Brorson with her art at Meadowwood, and the article and inside photographs highlighted the BWS show at The Venue.

Above: "Top three paintings" of

Venue show. Right: Nina Ost toasts

her "Absurd Bird."

HT reporter Marcella Cripes interviewed Linda Meyer-Wright, Deborah Rush and Nancy Davis Metz, whose paintings had been selected as the top three of the show.

BWS members displayed work in several downtown galleries, with the Venue drawing more than 35 paintings from 20 artists.

The Venue and BWS will host a closing reception Friday, May 13, at 6 p.m. The Venue is at 114 S. Grant St.

T.C. Steele State Historic Site

Festival of Flowers Paintout to draw BWS artists

BWS has chosen the May 21 Festival of Flowers PaintOut at T.C. Steele State Historic Site as its second paintout of the year.

BWS Paintout Chair Jacki Frey says the event allows members to choose their level of participation. People can preregister and compete, they can go to the site and paint without entering the competition, or they can just enjoy watching others paint, listening to the music of Craig Brenner Trio or watching a demonstration by Artist-in-Residence Cheryl Kaldahl.

Anyone planning to compete needs to preregister by May 16. A registration form and contest rules are available at http://www.tcsteele.org/paintout2011form.pdf. Ribbons will be awarded for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and Honorable Mention in each category plus a People’s Choice. Registration is $10 for adults, $5 for children and teens. Checks should be made payable to “Friends of T.C. Steele, Inc.”

BWS painters enjoy rare dry April day.

Bob Burris' finished painting of Stone Bridge

Painter's setup at McCormick's
Creek State Park

Break in weather well-timed for April painters

April 30 was one of the few dry days of the month, and several painters ventured out to paint the McCormick’s Creek State Park stone bridge.

While we’re talking
about painting outside

Candi Bailey suggests using individually wrapped insect repellent wipes instead of spray because they take up less room and they are better for your face. Good suggestion!

It’s dues time

The deadline for paying annual BWS dues is June 30. Regular membership is $25, a family membership costs $40, and a student membership is $10. Payment will cover membership through June 2012.

To pay, go to http://www.BloomingtonWatercolor.org , click on To Join and then the PayPal link. Or you can mail a check to BWS, PO Box 5236, Bloomington, IN 47407-5236. Of course, you can also bring check or cash to the June 13 BWS meeting.

If you’ve joined BWS since Jan. 1, 2011, you’re paid up till June 2012 and can ignore these reminders.

Banish Aureolin from your palette

Aureolin PY fades and takes on a brownish cast. This can happen on a painting or even in your palette. It has an ASTMII rating, but manufacturers and independent testing have confirmed the pigment’s instability. The best substitute, according to Hilary Page, is PY 175. She recommends Winsor Lemon, Daniel Smith’s Lemon Yellow, MaimeriBlu’s Permanent Yellow Lemon or Schmincke’s Chrome Yellow Lemon as replacements. To read more, go to http://www.hilarypage.com/#page7 . (Thanks, Carol Rhodes, for sharing this information.)

Art and hiking combo

Anyone interested in combining art and hiking activities, please contact BWS member Betty Wagoner at blw89@yahoo.com or call her at 765-349-1210. In conjunction with a local hiking/camping group, Betty led several “art hikes” last year in Bradford Woods and at the Tecumseh Trail at Yellowwood Lake.

Upcoming “art hikes” are scheduled at T.C. Steele in July and Turkey Run/Shades State Park in September. Participants can make it a day outing or join us for overnight camping. The art activity is personal choice and could include painting, sketching or writing.

These “art hikes” were inspired by a trip to New Mexico in which Betty joined a group following in the footsteps of Georgia O’Keefe. The trip is offered again this year and will be led by an artist and an outing leader from New York State, with Betty assisting. If the New Mexico trip intrigues you, contact Betty.

Open Paint Day

Jacki Frey invites BWS members to her Blue Parrot Studio Thursday, May 26, to paint Cityscapes/Street Scenes. She will have images for painters, or you may provide your own.

The session runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and costs $40. The address is 5024 W. September Dr., Bloomington. Call Jacki at 320-6745 or e-mail jackifrey@hotmail.com to rsvp or ask questions.

Check out this blog

Former BWS member James Yang announces his new blog jadecalligraphy.blogspot.com. You can view his beautiful calligraphy and listen to his erhu music at the same time.

by Joseph Fettingis

Beyond BWS

Artworks of Martinsville is having a workshop Aug. 26 – 27 with Joseph Fettingis doing a landscape as well as portrait in his glazing technique. The workshop will be at First Christian Church, 89 S. Main St. in Martinsville and will cost $150. The sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

To register, e-mail Sally Hedges at indystar3@comcast.net or phone 765-792-0328.

"The Birds and the Bs"

by Linda Meyer-Wright

Inspiration
Linda Meyer-Wright describes her
'pushy' style

Birds have been invading Linda Meyer-Wright’s work from the beginning.

Her first paintings were of parrots and flamingoes. “Retrospectively, I called them my ‘early birds,’” Linda said, adding that she thought of them as divas, not birds.

She gave them a rest for a while, but birds have started creeping into everything the last couple of years. “Even when I’m doing an abstract, birds are always hanging out,” she said.

Linda can’t explain why birds recur in her artwork, but she says she likes the balance and harmony of birds existing everywhere – on earth, at sea and in the sky. And birds do have personality, she said.

“The Birds and the Bs,” her painting that was recognized as one of the top three paintings in the May BWS show at the Venue, started as a watercolor pattern piece. The first step was spraying watercolor through cobwebbing. “I saw a bird and thought if there’s room for one, there’s room for me,” Linda said.

“The Bs just came to me – B for Bloomington, B-town.” She then developed the painting through glazing – “tons of layers,” in her words. She used a really thick Bismuth Yellow “almost straight from the tube,” she said, to make the prominent yellow strokes.

“It was a very boring painting until I did the eyes,” Linda said. “I did that at the end and saw the birds’ personalities.”

Linda started painting in 2000. “I guess that makes me a true 21^st century artist,” she said with a laugh.

Linda says some people categorize her work as abstract, but she disagrees: “Maybe I’m just a bad drawer.” She describes her style as exaggerated. “Everything comes out bigger,” she said. “People know it’s a bird – but not an anatomically correct bird. I push colors, too. Maybe that means I have a very pushy style.”

Her palette includes many Daniel Smith colors, she says, because she “can mix them with anything and they make it livelier.” She also likes Holbein’s Peacock Blue.

She currently is working on a “Courting Chaos” theme that is both serious and lighthearted. “I think chaos gets a bad rap,” Linda said, adding that part of her inspiration is the chaos of her studio. “Working in mixed media is terrible. I need this and that and nothing ever gets put away. There’s tower of pencils, pastels, paint, paper towels. But it all finds a way into things.”

Art supply and hardware stores are her weakness. “Even Lowe’s, I can’t get out of there,” she said. “When I buy something I may not even know how I’m going to use it.”

Her most recent purchase? Iron-on wood veneer.

Let’s see what she does with that.

Tickler file for your calendar

May 13 - 14 -- Awesome Artists' Yard Sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1114 Brooks Dr. (off Covenanter between High Street and College Mall Road). Portion of proceeds will go to purchasing tent for 4th Street Fair children's activities
May 13 – Closing reception at 6 p.m. The Venue, 114 S. Grant St.

May 14 – Registration deadline for Peggy Brown Workshop

May 21 – Festival of the Flowers Paintout at T.C. Steele Historic Site. 7 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

May 26 – Open Paint Day at Jacki Frey’s Blue Parrot Studio

May 28 – Peggy Brown Workshop sponsored by BWS. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington.

June 13 – BWS monthly meeting. First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington. Following brief business meeting, Jean Vietor will instruct group on how to paint sticks and stones.

June 30 – Deadline for paying dues.

Aug. 26 – 27 – Joseph Fettingis workshop sponsored by Artworks of Martinsville

Peggy Brown Watercolor Workshop

2011-04-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Bloomington Watercolor Society
is pleased to present a watercolor workshop by award winning Hoosier artist,
PEGGY BROWN. Peggy is a juried member of several watercolor societies across the United States, has several awards on her mantel for outstanding works of art, and is an experienced (and fun!) instructor. She currently exhibits at the Brown County Art Guild in Nashville, Indiana, and her work may be viewed online at http://www.peggybrownart.com/aboutpeggy.html

This full day workshop takes place Saturday, May 28, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Bloomington, Indiana.

For complete details about where, when, how much, please go to
http://www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org/peggybrown.htm

To register, please contact members@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

See below for supply list and artist's statement.

Above, "Collection" by Peggy Brown; Left, "Rambling" by Peggy Brown

From Peggy:

"The recipe for creating good art is part excellent technique and part good design, mixed with a whole lot of spirited individuality.
"TECHNIQUE is physical, the easiest component to teach and develop. Learning technique is fun; it just takes time and practice and patience.
"DESIGN, the mental ingredient, is more important, and also the most difficult element of art to teach and master.
"ORIGINALITY or INDIVIDUALITY reflects the artist’s soul. It cannot be taught, but it certainly should be encouraged."

This workshop will focus on DESIGN and TECHNIQUES that are based upon tradition – but, to keep things lively, will include some experimental techniques. The entire class will join together to extend and encourage ORIGINALITY and INDIVIDUALITY.

SUPPLIES:
Some sheets or a pad of lightweight drawing paper for quickie experiments.
Several nice pieces of watercolor paper. I like to work on Strathmore Aquarius during workshops because it will lay flat. Any watercolor paper will do.
If you have them, bring some pieces or scraps of already painted papers to use in designing a collage. Or, if you have one, bring a painting you are willing to cut up or tear and design into a new collage.

MEDIA:
Transparent watercolors, any color, any brand; however, the more expensive brands give better results.
You can also bring acrylics, pencils, crayons, or the media of your choice. I am not sure of results with other media, but you can have fun and experiment. I will be using transparent watercolors.

I will demonstrate techniques also using Nu-pastels, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, and charcoal. If you have them, bring them. We can share.

EQUIPMENT:
Palette, brushes, water containers – the usual watercolor equipment.

SUPPORT:
Bring 2 pieces of plexi-glass or waterproof boards to support work in progress.

FOUND OBJECTS:
Feathers, dried flowers, thread, string lace, tissue papers.

OTHER EQUIPMENT:
Scissors, masking tape, ruler, pencil, eraser, anything you love working with. Also bring an old framing mat to view work in progress.

2011-04-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bloomington Watercolor Society
Meeting Minutes
April 11, 2011

Members in attendance:

Evelyn Alwine, Bob Anderson, Candi Bailey, Bob Burris, Zoe Dean, Jeanne Dutton, Linda Endris, Jodi Estell, Teresa Folk, Jackie Frey, Charlotte Griffin, Jerome Harste, Jeanne Iler, Stephen Jackson, Pat Jones, Margret Kingrey, Kriste Linkdberg, Meredith Metz, Nancy Metz, Nina Ost, Meri Reinhold, Deborah Rush, Deloris Schneider, Susan Seo, Joanne Shank, Sammye Dina Smith, Joyce Stumpf, Bob Talbot, Michelle Talbot, Bob Thrasher, Betty Wagoner, Vi Working.

Guests in Attendance:
Daniella Yakira, Cynthia Currie

The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. at the First Christian Church with Kriste Lindberg, President, presiding. Kriste asked members to greet our guests, new members (Pat Jones, Hyunkyoung (Susan) Seo, and Teresa Folk).

Kriste thanked Evelyn Alwine as hospitality chair for arranging for the bountiful refreshments provided by Jeanne Iler, Jeanne Dutton, Candi Bailey and Evelyn Alwine herself
.
The minutes of the last meeting (March 14, 2011) were available on the Blog and no additions or corrections were found from the members in attendance. The members accepted the minutes unanimously as written.

The Treasurer's Report for March was read by Jeanne Dutton. Jeanne reminded the members that membership dues are due in June.

Committee Reports
Paint Outs Chair, Jackie Frey, passed out a map showing the meeting place for the first paint-out which is to be held on April 30 at McCormick Creek State Park. Members are reminded that there is an entrance fee for access to state parks but that the fee is per car so car-pooling would be a good idea. Nancy Metz volunteered to coordinate a car pool list at the meeting and she will add to the list should member who missed the meeting want to call or email her.

Activities/Workshop Chair, Deloris Schneider, pointed out that there was a poster at the back of the room providing information about the Peggy Brown Workshop to be held on May 28 from 9 to 4. The cost for members is $55 and the number of seats it limited to 20. There are currently 10 seats available. If the seats are not filled by members, enrollment will be opened to non-members at $65. Deloris volunteered to collect some of the “shared” supplies that are on the workshop supply list. Please contact Deloris if you have the required supplies in quantity and wish to share them. Deloris also asked that members submit suggestions for the fall workshop instructor.

Shows-Kriste Lindberg encouraged members to continue to paint their parks in preparation for the fall membership show.

Jeanne Dutton provided details on The Venue’s show (see the BWS Blog dated 4/10/2011 for more details).

Old Business:

Joanne Swank invited members of BWS to attend the April 26 meeting of the Visual Arts Guild to be held at El Norteno at 7:00 p.m. The meeting is titled “Making Your Portfolio Professional.”

Kriste encouraged members to take advantage of the “Exchange Table” at the back of the room and to bring other art related books, videos, supplies to share/loan to the next meeting. A “Try it Here” section was added for those who would like to bring in products to try then and there. The table is continuing to evolve.

Jeanne Dutton announced that the new BWS signs should be available for use at the April Paint-Out.

New Business:

The board received an email from the president of the Watercolor Society of Indiana, Sandy Ezell, who was in search of networking in the hopes of enhancing the experiences of members of both groups. Kriste Lindberg suggested that BWS invite Sandy to come to one of our meetings to discuss possibilities. Kriste will follow through with the invitation.

Announcements:
Zoe Dean pointed to the framed watercolor at the back of the room by Ken Bucklew and invited anyone interested in having it to buy a raffle ticket. The drawing is on May 3.

Betty Waggoner is leading a 2 hour hike on April 23 as part of the TC Steele Wildflower Foray. There will be opportunities during the hike to take pictures that might be watercolor worthy.

The meeting was adjourned at 6.40 p.m. and attention was transferred to the evening's program by Nancy Metz and Jackie Frey entitled “Plein Air and Beyond: Choosing a Subject, Focus, and Composition”. Nancy encouraged everyone to try Plein Air Painting and provided a checklist of what you should take with you without taking your whole studio. Jackie Frey then provided some technical tips on how to pick something to paint from the 360 degrees of landscape that you see around you. Those who were in a painting mood then did some sketches based on photos that Jackie provided.

Respectfully submitted,
Charlotte Griffin
BWS Secretary, 2011

BWS at the Venue

2011-04-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

BWS - CREATIVE SENIOR MONTH

May 3-15, 2011

BWS members over the age of 50 have been invited to exhibit in a themed show at The Venue, Fine Art and Gifts as part of Creative Senior Month. The exhibit will take place over the May 6-8 weekend, and that includes First Friday, Graduation at I.U., and Mother’s Day, all three!

INFORMATION

Who: This exhibit features the work of BWS members, 50 years of age and above, as part of Creative Senior Month in Bloomington.

The Theme: I.U. Landscapes and Mother’s Day.

The Medium: Watermedia, not just limited to transparent watercolors

The Maximum Size: 24” in either direction, including mat and frame.

The Maximum Selling Price: $350 - ALL PAINTINGS MUST BE FOR SALE

Commission: The Venue retains 50% of all sales.

Framing: All pieces must be appropriately framed using flat D-hooks and wire. No toothed hangers and no eye hooks are allowed.

Registration: In order that we may have an idea of the number of paintings entered, please register by contacting Jeanne.Dutton@att.net, or contact Jeanne by calling 812-331-1628. Register no later than April 11.

VOLUNTEERS to DEMO WATERCOLOR PAINTING

You are invited to set up on the porch at the Venue on Friday, May 6; Saturday, May 7; and/or Sunday, May 8. Please let Jeanne know if you would like to sit for a couple hours and do plein air painting. You do not have to participate in the exhibit to volunteer – everyone is welcome! Bring your paint pal with you and enjoy the beautiful spring day.

IMPORTANT DATES

· APRIL 11: Deadline to register with Jeanne.

· APRIL 26-MAY 1: Deliver paintings to the Venue

· MAY 3: Exhibit opens

· MAY 6, First Friday: Opening Reception, 5:30 - ??

· MAY 13: Closing Reception 5:30 - ??

· MAY 15: Show closes

Paintings may be picked up after May 15 during business hours at the Venue.

The Venue reserves the right to determine if a painting is appropriate for hanging and, depending upon the number of paintings submitted, all paintings may not necessarily be hung at the same time. Some paintings may be invited to hang for a longer period of time. The Venue curator will discuss this with the individual artists.

The Venue, Fine Arts and Gifts

114 S Grant Street (across from the Snow Lion)

11:00-7:00, Tuesday through Saturday; Noon – 4:00 on Sunday.

Contact information: Jeanne Dutton, jeanne.dutton@att.net