Come to Our Latest WOW Show!

What Some Women Do With Watercolor….WOW!

By Karen Berg, Vice President, WOW!

We artists of Women of Watercolor come from different backgrounds––nursing, teaching, business, and accounting. We are mothers and grandmothers, wives and sisters, and some retirees--each drawn to watercolor. Maybe, it was seeing beautifully executed paintings at an art show that originally inspired us, or wanting to get back into art after many years. We felt the "call" and began taking art classes. 

          Learning to paint with watercolor begins slowly, cautiously. What will the color do in water? Where will the water take the color? How will the color react on the paper? Can I make it do what I want? It's a bit scary, especially for one who likes to be in control. 

          Some of us are uncertain as to our ability and talent. Do we have what it takes? Others are more confident. We paint, take classes, share ideas, and support each other. We practice and grow, developing our own styles. Some have painted for a time; others only a short while. What happens? With each year we are together, our paintings become better; some are well done. We see we are creating beautiful paintings. We gain confidence and are willing to take on new challenges. We put our art before judges and join art societies. We move forward to enter shows and to put on our own show.

          As an artist guild and individuals, it is time for Women of Watercolor (us) again to take our art to the next level by sharing our paintings. Will others like and enjoy our art work? We believe (hope) so. We’ve booked the Tualatin Heritage Center (8700 SW Sweek Drive, Tualatin) for Friday, September 27^th and Saturday, September 28^th, so that we can bring you (our) Women of Watercolor’s Fall Art Show entitled, “A Passion for Painting.” We invite you to come see our work and meet the artists at the Artist Reception on Friday evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. (The event is free, and parking is available at the adjacent Police Station parking lot.) Show hours on Saturday are from 10am to 4pm.

          We believe art is most appreciated when shared with others. WOW artists enter formal art shows, some with trepidation, some with cautious optimism. Some of our artists win prestigious awards; some sell their art work. We put on our own shows to share our art in a more intimate way with WOW members, fellow artists, family, friends, and the community. We have been delighted to see the support the public has given us by coming to our shows.  

          Each artist feels fortunate and rewarded to share a piece of herself when a piece of art is bought, seeing that her art is appreciated and meaningful to someone else. Whether we win awards and sell art or not, most important, is the self-realization and recognition that after traveling through this journey, each of us, through passion and hard work, has become an "artist” 

          You can learn more about the details about of our Fall Art Show “A Passion for Painting” at the community art news blogsite Now Art Portland! at: www.nowartportland.blogspot.com.  

Application to Join WOW

A BRIEF INTRO TO WOW FALL ART SHOW 2013

“A Passion for Painting”

A Brief Introduction to our Third Fall Art Show

September 27 & 28, 2013

Produced by the Exhibition Committee & WOW Board

Women of Watercolor ~ A Guild of Artists

• A Passion for Painting is a non-juried, gallery style fine art show and sale featuring original watercolor artwork by WOW members. This is a “friends and family” show in that one of the main purposes of the show is to allow guild members the opportunity to share their most recent painting accomplishments in a familiar venue.
• In line with our teaching mission as part of our public benefit non profit work, another purpose of this show is to encourage emerging artists within the guild who have never exhibited their artwork before to make the leap and learn the pleasure and skills associated with professionally displaying one’s art.
• Relatedly, the exhibit format has been designed to include an invitation to Linda Aman and her art students. Our show creates an excellent environment in which to recognize Linda’s abilities as a teacher and the artistic abilities of watercolor students at all levels.
• The art show venue is the Tualatin Heritage Center, home to the Historical Society and home to Women of Watercolor. While this venue is not highly visible, the cost of producing a show here is inexpensive compared with other sites and with minimal advertising we can draw 200-300 people from the community. With a more targeted and concerted effort we can hope to draw twice that many show visitors. The primary audience for the show remains “friends and family” and it is hoped that every participant will promote the show in their own circles. A Marketing committee will be formed around this task.
• In order to encourage full participation by our membership, the cost of entry will be low ($25 entry fee) and no commissions will be taken on sold art. In exchange for these benefits, artists will be expected to hang their art and assist with set up on Friday prior to the show and to assist with clean up after the show closes. In our experience set up takes a little longer and clean up takes less than an hour.
• While in the past there has been a big emphasis on beautiful decorations, this year the show will have minimal decorations so there will be less intensity of effort needed in this area. Because we are doing an “Artist’s Reception” on Friday evening, we will need a small group of people to help pull this together.
• WOW artists may hang up to 3 paintings. This limit may be altered depending on how many participants there are. Unlike previous shows, artists will not have their own panels. Paintings will be intermixed to create more visual interest.
• Students of Linda will be juried in and limited to one piece of art per student at a reduced entry fee of $20 and will hang in a section dedicated to Linda’s students. Any of students of Linda who join WOW as new members can hang art in the main body of the show providing the same guidelines for submission are met.
• The show will accommodate art bins with giclees and prints and also art greeting cards from WOW artists only.
• WOW artist may put prices on their art and sell it. Artists are responsible for these transactions. An uncomplicated system for selling art cards will be used which WOW will help to facilitate. “Student showcase” artwork  (i.e., Linda’s students) is NFS (not for sale) only.
• Prior to the show, WOW will offer workshops designed to train artists to do art shows and will also train participants in how to conduct this particular show.

“A Passion for Painting”

Major Dates and General Timeline

3/12     Begin to “invite students” at Linda’s classes to join our show.

4/2       GPS –Prospectus handed out and questions answered

            Members encouraged to begin developing personal databases of friends and family to invite

            Marketing committee pulled together

4/26     GPS—Your questions answered. Painting and more painting!

5/7       GPS & Workshop—“Preparing for Art Shows” and review of show application.

            Save the Date” electronic postcards and fliers ready to send to friends & family.

6/4       Applications and Fees and JPGs due to the Board for review.

6/17     Notification of acceptance into show is sent out by Board.

7/1       Postcards ordered incorporating names of show participants and art by some members.

8/1       Begin marketing to all of Linda’s classes so that these students come to our show.

8/28     GPS & Workshop—“Matting & Framing”

9/1       GPS—Printed postcards handed out to show participants to distribute;

            Electronic postcards in your email box.       

            Preliminary “Art Inventories” due. We need this to design show display.

9/27     ART SHOW ~ DAY 1

            10 am – 4pm ……..    Participants deliver artwork and final inventory to THC for  

                                               hanging and other setup.

            4pm – 5pm……….     Break

            5pm – 6pm ……….    Hospitality team sets up for Artist’s Reception

            6 pm…………….       MANDATORY -- Participating artists must be at THC                                           6:30 – 8:30pm…….   ARTIST’S RECEPTION

            9 pm …………….      Close for the night. Tidy up.

9/28     ART SHOW ~ DAY 2

            10 am – 4pm ……      Exhibition & Sale

            4 – 5pm ………….     Break down and clean up. No one leaves until the job is done.

2 weeks after show: Cashiering for art cards and prints tabulated and checks cut to artists.

First GPS after show: Participant and visitor feedback gathered. 

KUDOS TO WOW! ARTISTS!

Check out these fine achievements…..

WOW! ARTISTS DISPLAYING IN CURRENT & UPCOMING ART SHOWS

Hong Bai Chu

• Part of a two month long show at the Portland Architecture Heritage Center (along with 10 artists from Lake Oswego) between August 3rd to Oct 3rd.

Shirley Powell

• Received a First Place Ribbon in the recent Aurora art show
• Received a Third Place Ribbon in the North Clackamas Art Guild show this past weekend.

Dianne Hicks

• Currently exhibiting in an 8-week solo show at the Tualatin Public Library (10/1 through 11/30)
• This coming Spring from Feb 28^th thru March 2^nd at the Southminster Presbyterian Church on Denny Road in Beaverton.

Sue Anne Seckora

• Displaying in the 35^th annual Visual Arts Showcase at the Beaverton Library from November 3^rd through November 11^th at 12375 SW 5^th Street, Beaverton. 1 of 75 artists chosen in a competition of over 500 entrants. Opening Gala from 7pm – 9pm on November 3^rd and you are invited!

Angela Wrahtz

• Displaying in the 35^th annual Visual Arts Showcase at the Beaverton Library from November 3^rd through November 11^th at 12375 SW 5^th Street, Beaverton. 1 of 75 artists chosen in a competition of over 500 entrants. Opening Gala from 7pm – 9pm on November 3^rd and you are invited!

Mary Holt

• Displaying at the Oregon Society of Artists (OSA) September/October Art Show.

ACCEPTED INTO WATERCOLOR SOCIETY OF OREGON (WSO) 

·      Sharon Hansen

·      Dalaine Bowen

·      Lois Mitchell (for the second time!)

·      Jullane Rich

·      Diana Poorman

·      Debbie Hornibrook

RISING STAR IN THE LOCAL ART WORLD…

Congratulations to WOW ARTIST Lois Mitchell who has been recruited to lead as Co-Chair the Lakewood Festival of the Arts in Lake Oswego, a 3-day arts festival which shows over 600 artists and over 1,000 pieces of art, is put up by over 500 volunteers, and draws 25,000 to 50,000 people depending on rain or sunshine. (OK, maybe she should have our sympathy and support!) They are lucky to have you, Lois!

Congratulations! WOW! is rich in spirit and talent!

WOW Calendar for 2012- 2013 with Workshops

Women of Watercolor

2012 ~ 2013  Calendar

Activities taking Place at the Tualatin Heritage Center

----------------------------------------------------------

October 2nd   GPS & Members Meeting

• Morning session 9am -12pm;
• Sack lunch 12-1pm;
• Members Meeting from 1-2pm;
• Afternoon session 2-5pm)

October 13-16th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE for November!!!!!

November 13th  GPS & Workshop 

             Note change to usual session times...

•   11am- 12pm: optional Workshop: Making Art Cards (led  by Karen Berg)   

       free to members; $25 for guests

•   12-1pm: Sack lunch
•   1pm-4pm : GPS
•  

November 16-20th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

December 4th  GPS & Pot Luck & Workshop: Using a Matt Cutter

                (Morning and Afternoon sessions w/ Potluck 12-1pm;

                optional Workshop from 1-2pm )

December 9th  HOLIDAY TEA!!! 

January 8th     GPS   Welcome Back & Happy New Year 2013!        

                  (Morning and Afternoon sessions; Sack lunch 12-1pm)

January 12-15th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

January 29th   Bonus GPS & Members Meeting          

           (Morning session; Sack lunch 12-1pm; Members Meeting from 1-2pm;

               Afternoon session 2-5pm)

February 9-12th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

February 26th  GPS & Workshop: Preparing for Art Shows                  (Morning and Afternoon sessions; Sack lunch 12-1pm; 

                          optional Workshop from 1-2pm)

March 9-12th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

March 19th     GPS & Pot Luck & Workshop (TBA)

                  (Morning and Afternoon sessions w/ Potluck 12-1pm;  

                            optional Workshop from 1-2pm )

April 2^nd         Bonus GPS & Members Meeting          

                  (Morning session; Sack lunch 12-1pm;

                         Members Meeting from 1-2pm; Afternoon session 2-5pm)

April 13-16th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

May 7th         GPS & Workshop (TBA)

                  (Morning and Afternoon sessions; Sack lunch 12-1pm;                            optional Workshop from 1-2pm)

May 18-21st   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

June 4th        GPS & Pot Luck & Workshop (TBA)

                  (Morning and Afternoon sessions w/ Potluck 12-1pm; 

                           optional Workshop from 1-2pm )

June 15-18th   LINDA AMAN WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

(Details: The morning and afternoon GPS sessions are as follow: morning session is 9am to 12pm. Afternoon session is 1pm to 5pm.  Cost is $5/session for GPS. Workshops free to Members and $30 for guests. Please RSVP to WOW Secretary, Sharon Hansen at sharonhansen@gmail.com.)

Congratulations WOW Artist Sue Anne Seckora!

SOLO ARTIST on display at LIVING ROOM GALLERY at TUALATIN PUBLIC LIBRARY.

During August and September the Portland area will be treated to exceptionally evocative watercolor paintings by artist WOW artist Sue Anne Seckora at the LIVING ROOM GALLERY in the Tualatin Public Library. Announced in June, the Library will be hosting 8 week solo art exhibitions by local talent. Sue Anne is an award winning artist who is known for her deliberately rendered and beautifully painted wildflowers and a sense of tranquility of country places in her landscapes. Her paintings primarily focus the viewer on up-close views of northwest wildflowers in soft and gentle but vivid light and the quiet, sometimes unexpected places where she finds their beauty. She finds inspiration hiking or traveling, discovering some lovely view or fascinating wild growing thing and by her early morning walks on country roads.

Sue Anne says, “I paint about the discovery of places where the ordinary details of field and woods are extraordinary. I paint places where I find joy in being. A walk in shadow and shade or along side growing fields saturates me with joy. I want to express this gentle beauty and create a longing in others to be in those places and experience this sense of a calm presence.”

Sue Anne has been in numerous art shows and particularly enjoys the experience of teaching watercolor. She finds planning, preparing, and giving her students the joy of learning to paint in watercolor a very exhilarating experience. She teaches at the Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, Oregon. Sue Anne is also an active member of the Oregon Society of Artists and a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon and Women of Watercolor ~ Guild of Artists (WOW).

Women of Watercolor ~ Guild of Artists

ANNUAL

REPORT

2012

Women of Watercolor Board of Directors

Executive Board 2012-2014

·       President – Angela Wrahtz

·       Vice President – Karen Berg

·       Secretary – Sharon Hansen

·       Co-Treasurers – Jullane Rich & Angela Wrahtz

Committee Chairwomen

·       Newsletter – Karen Berg

·       Art Shows – Sue Anne Seckora

·       Sunshine! – Cherri Roskie

·       Excursions – Sharon Hansen

·       International Adventures – Holly Johnson

·       Marketing – Angela Wrahtz

·       Website – Mary Fran Anderson

·       Exhibitions – Open

·       Hospitality – Open

·       Fundraising – Open

·       Webmaster – Open

·       Properties -- Open

·       Bylaws Committee – Angela Wrahtz & Karen Berg

·       NonProfit Formation – Angela Wrahtz

Women of Watercolor

P.O. Box 4668

Tualatin, Oregon  97062

Message from Angela Wrahtz, President, WOW

Thank you to everyone who made our second year and the year exciting and unforgettable! Our painting group is a place where friendship and passion around a common interest have continue to win us recognition and new members. What follows is a report on 2011- 2012. (This Blogsite version of the Annual Report omits graphic elements, photos, and spreadsheets. For hardcopy all inclusive version of report, write to address above.)

Highlights from our Second Year:

People.

It all starts and ends with people. We are an amazing group of talented women and skilled artists. We have so many different interesting stories in our collective backgrounds and so much potential to do whatever it is we wish with our gifts and talents. Some of us want to keep it simple and have no goals other than to get out of the house once a month to paint with the girls. Others want to produce more and become more professional. WOW accommodates EVERYONE.

Leadership & Elections.

The Board, comprised of Angela Wrahtz, President, Candace Erickson, VP, Karen Berg, Secretary, and Jullane Rich, Treasurer, supported by a number of Committee Chairs worked hard to implement a vision that put a priority on art shows that were not just “gallery style” shows but also provided the best opportunity for participating artists to sell their art. This was after a survey in the Spring of 2011 indicated that a majority of the membership was interested in this kind of opportunity. The Membership essentially re-elected the Board with Angela Wrahtz continuing as President, Karen Berg stepping up to VP, Sharon Hansen taking on the role of WOW Secretary, and the Treasurer position being a job share between Jullane Rich and Angela Wrahtz as Co-Treasurers, until a full time Treasurer can be identified and appointed

.

Membership

We began the WOW calendar year (July 1, 2012) with 32 returning members and ended the calendar year (June 30, 2012) with 14 new members, for a total of 46 members.

Communication & Marketing

We expanded our ways of communication to include on online presence.

WOW Newsletter.

Karen Berg volunteered her unique skill set as writer/editor/artist to create our wonderful WOW Newsletter, a great instrument for helping us to each other better as members, to expand our information and resources as artists, and to facilitate communication about activities and events within our group and to our friends in the community. The Newsletter is as visually exciting as it is full of great content. The Membership is encouraged to submit articles on topics that would be of interest to the larger group. Look at each edition to learn more about your WOW colleagues as several are featured each time. Can you think of another arts organization that has its equal when it comes to the newsletter?

WowArtGuild.Blogspot.com.

In advance of a WOW website, Angela Wrahtz created a Blogsite for information sharing online.

WOW on Facebook.

Jullane Rich created a WOW Facebook interest group for sharing digital images of paintings in progress, completed work, and also for stories from life.

WOW on Google Docs.

Life just got easier posting documents on Google docs where key documents and databases in the organization can be uploaded, created, shared and updated. Membership information is recorded here as well as some financial information. We plan to expand our use of Google Docs and train our members on how to use it.

WOW Banner & Lawn signs.

A 10 foot banner was created to announce art shows.It was used in downtown Tualatin for our Spring art show and has removable date and location lettering which can be replaced at a nominal cost for future events. 10 lawn signs with the new logo are ready to go for future art shows that take place at the Tualatin Heritage Center.

Art Shows & Logo.

Fall Art Show 2011 ~ Falling for Irresistible art.

September 2011, our first “affordable art” show focusing on smaller pieces selling for not more than $300. It ran 2 days…Friday and Saturday. Every artist in the show sold something whether that was paintings or art cards. Total sales were over $4,000 and left us encouraged that we could run commercially successful shows for our guild. The show was self-supporting, with fees and donations covering the cost of the exhibition.

Spring art Show 2012 ~ art Garden

Our first Spring art show was held in early May the weekend before Mother’s Day with 20 artists participating. Another gorgeously designed show, this event ran 3 days and brought in 300 people with sales being somewhat disappointing ($2,500 of art and cards sold) after our Fall show which had such success. We learned a lot from this effort and have a good analysis and set of guidelines to follow for any future shows. It is clear that more involvement from the membership is needed to expand our marketing efforts and bring in visitors from areas outside of Tualatin.

Updated Logo by Candace Eriickson.

There is nothing like a logo to give a group a sense of strong identity. The logo art for WOW, identifying us to the world, branding us as our unique selves and created by Candace Erickson, was updated by her so that a large digital file could be created for large marketing pieces like the WOW banner. Thank you, Candace, for your excellent work and contribution. Do you recognize any of the faces in the logo?

Teaching mission.

In line with WOW’s mission to function as a legal nonprofit organization with a teaching mission, WOW expanded its offerings for learning opportunities.

Teacher Linda Aman.

WOW encourages its members to take formal classes and workshops offered by Linda Aman in the third week of the month.

GPS.

These “group painting sessions” represent the original intention of the group and have been the basic idea of WOW. We encourage each other to paint, get inspiration, positive feedback and critique from each other. We have an average of 12 to 16 artists currently at these sessions and room for more. WOW offers GPS’s every month of the year except December.

Workshops by other instructors.

WOW has added workshops into the GPS schedule. Our first new workshop, “Writing the Artist Bio and Artist Statement” offered by Angela Wrahtz in June, was well attended and proved useful. Two sessions were offered. Based on feedback and going forward, each month when there is not a regularly scheduled General Meeting for the Membership, WOW will offer informative workshops on topics requested by the members. A schedule of offerings will be posted on the Blogsite and in the WOW Newsletter for 2012 and 2013.

More Fun Stuff!    

Holiday Tea/ December Event.

In December Hospitality Chair, Dianne Hicks, along with Karen Berg, Acting Secretary, organized a fun holiday event.

Trip to M. Grahame Paints.

Thank you to Sharon Hansen for organizing a number of social outings throughout the year but most notably the field trip to the manufacturing facility of M. Grahame Paints where a group of us stuck our fingers in pigment and barraged Art Graham with questions about the making of his superior paints.

Vision and Direction.

After the ART GARDEN Spring art show, the Board met and assess what we learned from the experience. People were tired from the effort of doing two art shows in short order. We learned that to do art shows the right way requires more than 4months of pre-show planning. It takes a good 9 months to get goals defined and an appropriate size group of committed team members together to do it. When art shows are being planned, all other important activities seem to stall. The Board decided to take off a year at least from doing another art show and focus on other important priorities like becoming a nonprofit and finding possible new venues for shows. The Board wants to focus on the education mission and develop the workshop calendar, develop communications with a quality website, and to allow members the opportunity to get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Focusing on fun GPS’s and possible excursions is what we are going to do for now. This will allow the Board to identify members who potentially have skills and interest to participate on committees and on the Board.

 

Organizational Status & Finances.

WOW is as yet an unincorporated business association functioning as a nonprofit organization.  There is no burning need to become a legal nonprofit except to establish a relationship with the IRS that in the future will allow WOW to exist without an undue tax reporting burden. Because WOW still falls well below the $5,000 per year on a 3 year rolling average for income, there is no obligation to report with the IRS. If we wish to compete for arts grants and do any meaningful fundraising, WOW will need legal nonprofit status, and more on that later. Regardless, WOW exists for the benefit of its membership.

Complete financial reports including a Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet provided on request.

Thank you Partners & Volunteers.

WOW continues to have a great relationship with the Tualatin Heritage Center. One of the special projects we embarked upon this past year was the creation of a unique gift, a watercolor painting/quilt of the Tualatin Heritage Center. Nearly 20 artists created “squares” based on a photograph taken by Karen Berg. The project is not yet completed, but the Board anticipates delivering a finished product this Fall.

WOW is blessed with a wonderful Board. Everyone who serves on the Board is a volunteer with a heart of service and a special skill set to help get the job done. It’s a privilege to work with all of you. It pleases me to know our Board members have a good time conducting the business of the group!

I’d like to let you know there are opportunities to participate on any number of Committees. If you think you have some time and skills you’d like to offer up, speak to one of our Board members about your interests and questions. We could really use your help and I promise it will be worth the effort you make.

If you have a friend or spouse or someone else close to you who could potentially make a contribution to the group in terms of legal advice, CPA work, or other professional services, please let me know. Small organizations like ours get by through their network of people. We couldn’t possibly contract and pay for all the services we occasionally need.

Most importantly, continue to invite your artist friends to join our circle. The more the merrier, as they say!

Thank you, and I look forward to our painting time together in the coming year!

Angela Wrahtz

Angela Wrahtz

President, W.O.W.