WiVLA 2024 Board Members
BROOKE SUMMERS-PERRY | Visual artist, writer
President
Brooke Summers-Perry creates for the purpose of self-reflection and emotional expression. She earned a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology, a Master’s in Architecture, and certification as a Spiritual Director. After working in architecture for 17 years, she began facilitating art, creative writing, and authentic and meaningful life skills. Continuously discovering new modalities, she integrates compassionate communication and social-emotional competencies with a variety of creative practices. During the pandemic, she and her son established their partnership, We Practice Life, to introduce these practices to younger folks. To support her own growth and well-being, she likes to paint and write poetry with a focus on nature, gratitude, and simplicity.
To view my art https://summers-perry.com/art
My IG https://www.instagram.com/instagram.com/brookesp_studio/
SUSAN SALTER | Encaustic Artist
Vice President
Susan is a versatile artist with a focus on visual, literary, and theatre arts. She is an accomplished playwright, staging many of her own productions. Her artistic journey includes studying art and design at Glassell School of Art and earning an MFA in directing from the University of Houston. Susan specializes in encaustic painting, incorporating collage, sculpture, and assemblage. She continues to refine her techniques through ongoing study, including membership in Painting with Fire, an online encaustic class platform. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries, earning several awards. Influenced by natural and metaphysical sciences, her art reflects inner exploration and contemplation, often imbued with hidden messages and symbolism. Susan resides in the Houston area with her husband, where she creates in her spacious home studio.
MELISSA CHAMBERS| Writer and Artist
Membership Chair
For 30+ years, Melissa focused her creativity in the world of marketing and communications as a graphic designer, art director, writer/editor, and communications strategist. Throughout that time, she practiced self-expression through writing poetry, short stories, and art journaling. Melissa also enjoys creating mixed-media abstract art and often incorporates it into her handmade books and journals.
MILDRED J MILLS | Memoirist, Poet
Treasurer
Aside from writing and reading, Mildred’s passions are traveling with her husband, playing tennis, and helping others— especially older people. She is a retired IT professional who recently published her first memoir, “Daddy’s House: A Daughter’s Memoir of Setbacks, Triumphs & Rising Above Her Roots.” Mildred holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in creative writing/nonfiction. She is the solo host of a podcast, “My Cotton Patch Moment, streaming on major platforms.”
https://mildredjmills.com/; https://www.facebook.com/mildred.j.mills; https://www.instagram.com/mildredjmills/; https://www.linkedin.com/in/mildredjmills/; https://twitter.com/milmill4; https://sites.libsyn.com/455796.
GRETCHEN MCDANIEL | Visual Artist
Secretary
Gretchen McDaniel is strongly attracted to the tactile feel, the textures and colors of fabrics and threads, so works primarily with those. Her goal is to change the world for the better, and uses her art to engage people to do so along side of her.
JEAN KING| Artist and Writer
Programs Chair
Jean King is a multi-media artist and writer with an insatiable curiosity and a deep interest in surrealism and outsider art. She tends to over indulge her passion for paper, books, and art supplies. For the past forty years she has been creating and exhibiting her art work while teaching art to anyone from three year olds to senior citizens. These days she dedicates her time to working in her home studio and writing.
https://www.instagram.com/jeanking/
https://www.instagram.com/queen_of_arts999
MARIE CASAMAYOR-HARVEY | Visual Artist
Visual Co-Chair
Marie Casamayor-Harvey is an artist based in Houston, Texas, with roots in Cuba and Colombia. She earned a B.A. from the University of Houston with a major in Art History, minoring in Studio Arts and Architecture, and a Master in Education and Supervision from the University of St. Thomas, Houston.
Marie is an abstract artist who creates paintings, sculptures, drawings, collage and mixed media works. Her work reflects intense curiosity, wild imagination, and an enchantment with symbolism, expressionism and metaphysical and surreal imagery.
SHIRLEY BEYER| Artist
Visual Co-Chair
At the end of 2022, Shirley Beyer retired as a psychotherapist to devote her attention to her art practice. She had been seeing clients for over 26 years and began taking art classes part-time at the Art League of Houston, the Glassell School of Art, and numerous workshops nationwide! She loves to paint with acrylic and use mixed media. In addition to spending time with her husband and her family (including five grandchildren), she loves to travel and play golf. Since she began devoting more time to art, Shirley has excelled in her art, and she also loves the fact that she has met so many wonderful artists and has gotten involved in some amazing Houston art groups! “I believe artists are the nicest people on the planet,” is what she says to those who ask questions about her work and life.
ELLEN SEATON| Literary Artist
Literary Co-Chair
After spending 30 years in the area of social services, I can now devote myself to being a creative. I am a full-time writer and part-time visual artist. I write fiction, non-fiction, Memoir, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. I have published both short stories and personal essays. My work on the great American Novel continues.
REBECCA CHIRAK| Writer
Literary Co-Chair
Rebecca Chirak has been chronicling ‘interesting things I have seen and heard’ since age 5, writing on an almost daily basis since she was in fourth grade, and is now finally sharing her voice with readers. Her debut novel will be published in 2024 under the pen name Joy Beguine.
She has been Muslim since 2005 and has a lot to say to, for and about Muslim women, especially converts and Muslim women living in the West. She has lived in Houston since 2010 after growing up in western New York and living in Russia, Turkmenistan, Brooklyn, and northern VIrginia. She is an active member of Writespace and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and is thrilled to be joining Ellen Seaton as a literary co-chair for WiVLA in 2024.
Her day job is in education. She attended Bryn Mawr College for her bachelor degree (in Russian language and linguistics) and Sam Houston State for her masters (in Comparative and global education). After writing, she is also passionate about travel and kayaking.
Contact info: mrschirak@gmail.com
MARGO STUTTS TOOMBS | Writer, Performer
Newsletter Editor
A self-proclaimed internal humorist, Margo Stutts Toombs creates and dwells in wacky worlds. She loves to perform her work at Fringe festivals, art galleries or anywhere food and beverages are served. Her poetry and flash pieces dance in journals, anthologies, and chapbooks. Margo also loves to produce videos. Sometimes, these videos screen at film festivals. One of her favorite pastimes is co-hosting the monthly poetry/flash readings at the Archway Gallery in Houston, Texas. For 2024, Margo is the Newsletter Editor for Women in the Visual and Literary Arts, Houston, TX. Check out her shenanigans at https://www.margostuttstoombs.com/ or on social media - https://www.facebook.com/margo.toombs/
MELODY LOCKE | Traditional and Alternative Photographer
Publicity
Melody Locke uses traditional and alternative photographic processes to create fine art prints. Using B&W and infrared film, she develops black and white prints in a traditional wet darkroom. She also specializes in lumen printing, a non-camera photographic processes, to create colorful and ethereal images from botanical material and negatives. Her love of nature inspires her landscape photography and her ethereal lumen images of plants and flowers. Melody has a studio in Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards. You can view samples of her work at https://melodylocke.com/
BEATRICE STEWART| Poet, Author
Historian
Beatrice Stewart is a poet and author on Amazon. Now in her seventies, she devoted her time to having her say in writing poetry, novels, and non-fiction. As a point of interest, Beatrice served as a policewoman in Los Angeles and a life skill coordinator in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She received a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and a master’s degree from Williams Lyon University of San Diego, California.
Kathi Crawford| Writer
At Large | Special Events
Kathi Crawford, SPHR, IAC-Master Coach, is a consultant and coach based in Houston, Texas. After decades of serving as a human resources leader, in 2008 she founded People Possibilities, LLC. For most of her career, she focused on business writing as a part of her job. She returned to writing creatively in 2017 and is particularly drawn to writing poetry and flash creative nonfiction. Through her writing, she hopes to create dialogue for the challenges of our time and as individuals. Her work has been featured in a number of literary journals online and in print.
You can follow Kathi on Instagram @kathicrawford or LinkedIn and follow her writing on her blog: https://adventureinbeingcom.wordpress.com/.
Board private page click HERE.
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