Greetings!
Spring is always a season of rebirth and excitement about the future. We have a return to in-person events to look forward to (without discarding online classes), a wonderful team of directors eager to work on your behalf, and amazing Major Artists coming. Kim Minichiello will be here in October 2021 for the AME exhibit and workshop, and Mark Mehaffey will join us in March 2022 for our IWE show and workshop. Ryan Fox will be here in October 2022, and Brenda Swenson will be here March 2023. We are scheduling Major Workshop Artists for October 2023 and October & March 2024, so send us names of artists you’d love to see brought to Houston.
Sunday, April 11, is our general meeting, election of officers, a wonderful demo by nationally known artist Don Andrews, who was previously scheduled for the AME we had to cancel. He is the judge for the April Exhibit, and is presenting a 3-day workshop April 12-14.
Right after the IWE last month, we received notice that Martin Butler had made his final decision to retire, after working from home throughout the last year due to Covid19. His 25 years of service to WAS-H were wonderful, with long term friendships, artistic camaraderie, and a warm welcoming face to our organization. No one knows our history as Martin does, nor does anyone know so many of our members as he does. He will personally be greatly missed, as will his contributions to the operation of our building, gallery exhibits, and education programming. We wish him well in his retirement and plan to celebrate his years of service at the AME Reception in October, when many of his WAS-H friends will be present. If you have photos of Martin throughout the years and/or wish to send him well wishes, please send these to secretary@watercolorhouston.org, or drop them off at the building. We will gather them together for his celebration.
WAS-H member Karen Armstrong, our previous social media coordinator, is stepping in right now to help with his duties and is considering making it permanent. Karen is answering the phones and returning calls if you have left a message. She is one of the smiling faces you have seen at exhibits and events prior to this year of quarantine. She knows many of you and how WAS-H serves the members. I think it is a good fit for both Karen and WAS-H.
The Board of Directors used this quarantine time to examine tuition charges across the country and online. We made some adjustments to our various tuition fees. We are still competitive with all other societies, art leagues, etc., and our online classes now offer additional benefits with access to recorded classes. The fee structure also respects our teachers, with equitable fees, regardless of class size.
Our Membership Committee also adjusted membership fees to ensure that we are competitive with similar groups and still offering our members valuable benefits and quality classes & workshops, continuing with Paint-Ins, Plein Aire events, new mat-cutting access, and many more. Your membership fees also enable us to maintain our incredible gallery & classroom.
Our Spring Classes, March through May, have something for you to take 4-6 days a week, every week. We are continuing to offer online classes as we begin fitting in in-person classes, as well. If you have requests for artists to bring to WASH for classes or workshops, please contact our education director, Diann Zimmerman, at education@watercolorhouston.org. Registration for Summer Classes will open mid-May. Be sure to check the website for announcements and be ready to register for new classes! Kathleen Church scheduled some wonderful Plein Aire events, which are on the website with the classes. Grab your bag and enjoy the beautiful sights and weather. We can hardly wait to see you!!
Keep your brushes wet and paint so much that you run out of paint and paper!
Sincerely,
Beth Graham
WAS-H President 2020-2021
