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.

 

Congratulations to Nancy Wilcox of Tualatin who is the winner in the drawing for 2 free watercolor painting classes with Linda Aman. Nancy attended the WOW ART GARDEN Spring Art Show along with numerous others and enjoyed the art. Everyone thought the show was a gorgeous presentation and many of our guest felt inspired to try the medium. Thank you to everyone who visited the show. Look for many of artists to be showing their work at the Tualatin Library in the near future.

Directions to the TUALATIN HERITAGE CENTER

Tualatin Heritage Center Directions:

From Exit 289 - Tualatin (off of I-5) ...

• Go West on Tualatin-Sherwood Road;
• Go North (right) at Boones Ferry Road;
• Go West (left) across the RR tracks on Sweek Drive;
• Go Left at the Stoplight at the Tualatin Police Station;
• The Tualatin Heritage Center is located west of the Police Station.
• OK to park at the Police Station!

Win Free Watercolor Art Classes

with Linda Aman!

Drawing to be held at the ART GARDEN SPRING ART SHOW…

Award winning professional artist and renowned master watercolor instructor Linda Aman teaches watercolor art classes and workshops at the Tualatin Heritage Center. She has a great reputation for combining a passion for painting with crystal clear instruction in the elements of art and techniques that translate into quick learning and progress with her students.

As a further incentive to bring you to their ART GARDEN Spring Art Show, the Women of Watercolor art guild is having a drawing to give away two 4-hour painting classes with Linda Aman. One class is in May and the second is a follow up in June. Just visit the ART GARDEN Spring Art Show at the Tualatin Heritage Center on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, May 4^th  (Noon to 8pm), 5^th  (11am to 7pm), or 6^th (Noon to 4pm) during show hours and drop off your completed entry form into the bowl for your chance to win.  No purchase necessary. The drawing will be held at the end of the show with the winner being contacted the next day (if not present) and also to be announced at the WOW Blog at http://www.wowartguild.blogspot.com/ . While you’re at the show you may experiment with the watercolor medium at the demonstration table while supplies last. You may just find yourself bitten by the bug, so to speak, and hooked on watercolor. (The drawing is not open to current students of Linda Aman.)

You may learn more about Linda Aman, the teacher who has encouraged and helped produce so many artist protégé’s and prize winners by visiting her website, www.amanarts.com . Information about her classes and workshops is there with a new series of classes beginning in June.

While at the ART GARDEN Spring Art Show, you will see hanging on the racks the artwork of many of Linda’s previous and current students. Hong Bai of Lake Oswego is a notable mention. She visited a WOW art show a year and a half ago, got inspired, signed up with Linda Aman, took some classes, signed up with WOW, and now is displaying and selling artwork that is accomplished and moving. Who knows? This could be you a little ways down the road…Visit the ART GARDEN Spring Art Show, enter the drawing, and you just might win. Good luck!

Spring ART GARDEN 2012 Artist Participants

See Watercolors ~ Meet the Artists

at the upcoming

WOW! ART GARDEN 2012

 Art Show & Sale

Angela Wrahtz

Candace Bebout

Karen Berg

Dianne Hicks

Sharon Hansen

Jullane Rich

Lois Mitchell

Mary Holt

Arlene Campbell

Mary Fran Anderson

Shirley Powell

Robin Nash

Debbie Hornibrook

Cindra Garthewaite-Lovelett

Hong Bai

Angela Bradach

WOW Art Show & Sale

Spring Into the ART GARDEN!

Watercolor Art Show & Sale Celebrates Mom & Dad with Paintings & Gifts for Everyone

Fans and followers of the art guild, Women of Watercolor, a.k.a. WOW!, will celebrate as the Guild rolls out another unique and audaciously beautiful art show on May 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th at the Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700 SW Sweek Drive, Tualatin. The show runs Friday, May 4^th from 11am to 8pm; Saturday, May 5^th from 11am to 7pm; and Sunday, March 6^th from Noon to 6pm. Admission is free and parking is easy with overflow spaces available at the adjacent Police Station.

New original art on display will be watercolor paintings and some mixed media. Best loved pieces and most popular art from earlier shows will be available in print form in “bin art,” (a term used for the un-hung stash of good stuff for viewing in racks off to the side.) “Giclees” are museum quality reproductions of fine art which are almost indistinguishable from the real thing but sell at more affordable prices, and some artists will be making these available to the public also. The ART GARDEN will be blooming with art greeting cards, too, which have been a huge hit in previous shows.  Subject matter in the art ranges from everything floral, to landscapes and seascapes, still-lifes and scenes that appeal to sportsmen. Men and women alike will love the art which could bring new life and spirit to your walls at home. You might even find some original Beaver and Duck art to compliment your private collections.

Not just another art show ~  A superb display. Few art shows go to the lengths WOW! does to make the display as artistic and worthy of viewing as the art. Built around a “Saturday market” theme, the ART GARDEN represents the artists’ attempt to place their original fine art paintings, giclees/prints, and art cards (greeting cards) in a garden market setting with large blooming florals both living and fabricated. Both a gallery show and art sale, visitors will find art to enjoy and art to buy for those last minute gifts for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. The artists remind you not to skimp on yourself and buy that painting or print you see and love. Shoppers are asked to pay for their items with cash or checks only.

Besides the art, perhaps the most stunning feature of the show will be the larger-than-life indoor tulip decorations. Think “Little Shop of Wonders,” these individually hand-painted watercolor boards will be the backdrop for the display of the art cards in the show and encircle the hall.  The overall decoration / design concept is the vision of WOW! artist and Exhibitions Chair, Candace Bebout, who has an educational and professional background in decorating and a personality that incorporates BIG imagination and style. She is also the Vice President of the art guild. Candace, working together with Angela Wrahtz, President and Marketing Director, and Karen Berg, WOW! Newsletter Editor and Secretary, and others from the Board and Guild, plans a colorful and entertaining show.

An opportunity to paint. Speaking of entertaining…how about hands on activity? WOW! will offer more than a feast for the eyes…Visitors to the show will have the chance to see artists in action. Artists will be working on projects during the show and demonstrating certain watercolor techniques. Interested onlookers will have the chance to try it out for themselves as well as long as the samples of paper and paint last in “the learning corner” of the room. Class schedules will be available for Linda Aman’s Spring classes and workshops.

Who are the artists? Guild artists represent a diverse mix of professional and emerging artists, award winners and art students. Many of these artists are or have been students of master watercolorist and local celebrity Linda Aman, who teaches watercolor classes every month at the Tualatin Heritage Center. (Learn more about her class offerings at amanarts.com or pick up a brochure at the Tualatin Heritage Center.) Some are hobbyists and others are professionals with large aspirations. And when it comes right down to it, they are friends who share about life as work on their projects.

What is W.O.W.? Women of Watercolor functions like a non profit and is working toward full nonprofit status around a teaching mission. It was founded in 2010 by a small group of women who wanted the opportunity to paint together more often in a friendly and “safe” group setting where they could enjoy friendship and camaraderie but also progress in their art by offering each other helpful critiques in a positive spirit and advance their learning through art classes and instruction.

The idea must have appeal because the group has grown from 7 to 40 local artists who now meet monthly at the Tualatin Heritage Center for their “group painting sessions,” also know as “GPS’s.” WOW! members talk about how the group is a “happy place” for them and their art, and people who have never painted before also get inspired and want to join and learn. WOW! invites local watercolorists who are looking for an art group to paint with and socialize in to check contact WOW! President, Angela Wrahtz at angela.wrahtz@comcast.net.

WOW! in the Community. WOW! is excited about enhancing art life in the community by providing a place where artists can learn and grow while having fun. In the future, WOW! looks to build meaningful partnerships in the business community, developing a program for member artists to display their works in public and private buildings.  Meanwhile, the Guild wishes to thank the Tualatin Heritage Center and the City of Tualatin for their support.