December 2011

WiVLA's Mission: To provide an inspiring forum for women to explore and advance their creative development, to promote their work in the marketplace, and to infuse the community with their spirit of cooperation and invention.

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT__________________________________

Dear WiVLA Members,

What a busy time we had at the November meeting with the election of the 2012 Board of Directors, the announcements about the Awards Fund Campaign and the holiday party, and our excellent speaker, Sarah Cortez. Sarah gave an inspiring talk about removing the veils that obscure our creative processes. By popular demand, she also read two of her powerful, award winning poems.

There are so many people to thank for their board service. First, I would like to thank Jeanne Haner for her selfless service as vice president, president, and ex-officio. She has shown true dedication to WiVLA and her leadership has been crucial to updating many aspects of our organization. Another big thank you goes to our retiring board members: Jean Caslin, Diane Gregory, Elizabeth Earle, Diana Meade, Anna Phillips, and Royce Ann Sline for the hard work they have done this year.

I would also like to thank the board members who are returning for another year of service to WiVLA: Corry Austin, Pattie Berg, Piyali Dasgupta, Donna Durbin, Rebecca Kveton, Cathy Lachin, Terry Tomkins-Walsh, Andrea Waguespack, and Jennifer Watson. And let me welcome our newest board members: Leah Lax, Pat Morgan, June Russell, Cookie Wells, and Michele Zacks. The new board of directors is an exciting combination of talents and ideas that I predict will make a big impact on WiVLA. A list of 2012 board members and their positions appears later in WiVLA VOiCES.

If you have donated to WiVLA's Awards Fund Campaign, thank you so much for your support. If you haven't gotten around to it, don't forget that we are a 501(c)3 organization and your contribution is tax-deductible for 2011 if you get it to us by December 31. And, if your company (or your partner's) matches charitable contributions, please provide that information with your gift. You can contribute by mail or through our website.

Thank you for your support during my first term as president and your continuing support for 2012. I look forward to serving again.

Warm regards,

Lane

Hello everyone,

Here's to a creative and productive month -- and Happy Holidays!    

Andrea Waguespack

LAST CALL FOR THE WiVLA HOLIDAY PARTY _______________________         

A festive reminder: it's time for our WiVLA Winter Holiday Social! This year's potluck event will be held Saturday, December 3, from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. in the Katy home of Cathy Lachin (20603 Ivory Creek Lane).  

Each WiVLA member may invite a guest and is asked to provide a dish or a beverage. Don't forget to RSVP at cplachin@yahoo.com.  

Let's all join in the festivities and make this party a success!

"MIXED MESSAGES" NEEDS A VENUE___________________________    

By Lane Devereux

The board of directors is actively seeking a venue for the 2012 Collaboration Show, "Mixed Messages." If you have, or know of, a gallery or similar space that would welcome high-caliber collaborative art from an established arts organization, please let me know as soon as possible by emailing me.  

WiVLA is a low-budget, not-for-profit group and cannot afford to pay for gallery space. The show is on the calendar for next May and staying on schedule depends on finding the right venue.

I have been working on a presentation highlighting WiVLA's long exhibition history and successes and would welcome any photographs or show memorabilia, such as postcards, that you might have kept from previous exhibitions to use in it.

ACCOLADES_____________________________________________________ 

Cary Reeder's painting Home Sweet Home received Honorable Mention in the 29th Visual Arts Alliance Juried Membership Exhibition. She has two other paintings in the show that runs through December 17 at Continental Center 1 in downtown Houston.

Kay Cox's poem, Ranch Ants, was accepted into the Texas Beat Poetry Festival at Texas A & M. She also has a show opening December 2 of her self-portrait series on Lyme Disease at the Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church in Clear Lake.

Have news you'd like to share? Send an email by the 20th of the month to newsletter@wivla.org. 

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN VISUAL ARTS______________________ 

By Donna Durbin        

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to a great creative year. WIVLA will have two exhibitions: "Mixed Messages" collaboration; and the "Print and Photo Show." I would like to create an active arts committee to generate and implement ideas to stimulate our creative growth. Please contact me to get involved. Your participation is much needed and appreciated.  

On a different note, if you are looking for paint, check out the City of Houston's Environmental Services Center at 11500 S. Post Oak on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. The City gives away hundreds of gallons of reclaimed house paint each week.

I've copied the message below from a website you may want to check out, http://www.ArtAdvice.com. Sylvia says it well:  

10 Things Artists Should Be Thankful For

(reprinted from Sylvia White's October 2011 Newsletter: Happy Thanksgiving! )

It is so easy to forget how special you are, when there is no one around to remind you, but you.  So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I give you my list of 10 Things Artists Should Be Thankful For.  Print this out, fold it up and put in your wallet.  Send it to your artist friends.  Read it whenever you feel all your work is for nothing and you are thinking maybe you should just stop making art and grow up.  Post it in your studio when you are wondering what the heck you are going to do with all this work?  But, most of all...believe it. Remember, it is impossible to feel thankful and be depressed at the same time.

1. I am thankful that I am not one of the majority of people in this world that wakes up every morning, goes to a job they hate, just to come home and do it all over again.

2.  I am thankful that when I am away from my studio, my ideas come with me. They keep me company everywhere I go.

3.  I am thankful for this passion that gives me so much joy (and angst) but mostly joy.

4.  I am thankful that when I have left this earth, I will leave something meaningful behind.

5.  I am thankful that I have a mind that can not sleep; I will never be bored.

6.  I am thankful that there is a part of my life that nobody can control, except me.

7.  I am thankful that no one in the world can ever take this gift from me.

8.  I am thankful that I am brave. It takes courage to pursue my gift.

9.  I am thankful that I am never satisfied. It forces me to move forward and grow.

10.  I am thankful I discovered this list!  Pass it on!

Inclusion in this list does not indicate endorsement by WiVLA. We recommend you research each contest, and contact the sponsor(s).   

ByLine Magazine sponsors monthly contests for essays, short stories, poetry, articles, essays and more. Deadline: open. For more information, visit Byline Magazine.

Fiction Weekly accepts submissions via email, reads year round, and responds to submissions within 30 days. For more details, please visit Fiction Weekly.

Austin Poetry Society Monthly Contest sponsors two regular monthly contests from October through April, in the categories of General and Light Verse. Deadlines are monthly, September through March. For more information, click here.

Scratch is a monthly writing contest that seeks new short fiction to be selected by rotating guest judges. Deadline: monthly. Small fee to enter, cash prizes and publication every month, plus annual anthology. For more information, click here .

Poets & Writers is a great source for writing contests. Check out Poets & Writers contests listings here.

Womenarts Quarterly Journal seeks literary art, including essays, fiction, poetry, reviews and interviews by women. For submission guidelines and more information, visit their website.     

Inclusion in this list does not indicate endorsement by WiVLA. We recommend you research each contest, and contact the sponsor(s). 

General Websites for artist exhibition Calls for Entry:

https://www.callforentry.org/

http://www.artshow.com/juriedshows/page5.html

http://artdeadlineslist.com/

http://www.spacetaker.org/field_guide/artist_opportunities

Art Car Museum: Reconstruction has an open call for entries. The first 125 pieces will be accepted. The delivery date is December 10th from 11am-6pm. There is no jury and no fee. Only one piece per artist will be accepted. Click here for more information.  

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is accepting entries for crafttexas 2012. Applications must be completed and submitted online November 15, 2011 through March 15, 2012 via the Café system at www.callforentry.org. Exhibition dates: September 29 - December 30, 2012. Work in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and found/recycled materials.

Texas National 2012 Art Competition and Exhibition at Stephen S. Austin, Nacogdoches, Texas is accepting calls for entries. Deadline: February 10, 2012. Click here for information and prospectus.  

The Lone Star Art Guild is a non-profit organization started in Brenham, Texas in 1961. Visit their website to find more information about contests and art leagues that are within a 200 mile radius of Houston.     

Womenarts Quarterly Journal seeks visual art. For submission guidelines and more information, visit their website.  

Dragonfly Gallery at Rosedale in Austin, Texas is accepting photography entries for Extraordinary Exposure, which will be held February 9 - April 7, 2012. Deadline:  January 3. This is open to all photographers, both amateur and professional. Click here for the prospectus. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS___________________________________________ 

There are no member announcements this month.  

Would you like to post an announcement? Send your email by the 20th of the month to newsletter@wivla.org.  

No Board or Membership meeting scheduled for December.  

The next board meeting will be held January 9, and the next membership meeting will be held January 17.

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit the WiVLA calendar online.

WiVLA BOARD MEMBERS_____________________________________  

Lane Devereux   
wivla.lanedev@yahoo.com
President

Diane Griffin Gregory   
dianeggregory@gmail.com
Vice President     

Cathy Lachin   
cplachin@yahoo.com
Secretary

Diana Meade
dianameade2@gmail.com
Treasurer

Rebecca Kveton   
gigglesrk@aol.com
Programs

Jean Caslin   
jeancaslin@gmail.com   
Communications

Terry Tompkins-Walsh   
tomkinswalsh@uh.edu
Historian

Anna Phillips   
freehandart@btinternet.com
Visual Co-Chair

Donna Durbin   
donna@donnadurbin.com
Visual Co-Chair

Elizabeth Earle   
eaearle@hotmail.com
Literary Co-Chair

Corry Austin   
corry@sbcglobal.net
Literary Co-Chair

Andrea Waguespack   
andreawag@live.com
Newsletter

Jennifer Watson   
jwatson5@uh.edu
At Large

Piyali Dasgupta   
piyalidasgupta@hotmail.com 

At Large

Pattie Berg

jewelry@sapamojo.com 

Membership

Jeanne Haner

jeannehaner@gmail.com

Ex-Officio

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