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Info for all IWS members

The Business of Art Opportunities Brainstorming Session

By All IWS Info, IWS Annual Meeting

Here is the compilation of the breakout and brainstorming share sessions for artist opportunities from the Business of Art presentation at the 2023 Annual Idaho Watercolor Society meeting.   It is a nice healthy list of artist opportunities city, state and nationwide.

Click here to download the list.

Click here for Anne’s original presentation on The Business of Art

Thanks for your patience,

Anne Watson Sorensen

Award Winners of 43rd Annual Juried Exhibition

By All IWS Info, Annual Juried Exhibition, Events, Exhibits, President

IWS members

We have exciting news.  Over 70 artist members, friends and art lovers attended our opening reception and awards ceremony at Initial Point Gallery, in the Meridian City Hall last night.

We are pleased to announce the 20 artists who received awards and will be traveling throughout galleries across the State for the remainder of the year.

 

Juror’s Choice – Anne Watson Sorensen – Meridian
First Place – Torgesen Murdock – Pocatello
Second Place – Laurie Asahara – Eagle
Third Place – Pam Grant – Fruitland
Fourth Place (Ruth Clark award) – Hugh Mossman – Boise
Ed Robinson Memorial Award – Lori Seale – Graham, WA
Dwight Williams Memorial Award – Linda Aman – Idaho Falls/Star
Betty Benson Memorial Award – Joyce Green – Meridian
Welles Seifert Memorial Award – Dwight Williams – (deceased)
Honorable Mention – Carol HasBrouck Browning – Meridian
Will Nelson Memorial Award – Carol Elliott Smith – Boise
Honorable Mention – Donald Nafus – Boise
Honorable Mention – Jackie Zumalt – Grangeville
Honorable Mention – Joni Frey – Boise
Honorable Mention – Gail Greco – Star
Honorable Mention – Scott Muscolo – Meridian
Honorable Mention – Les Scott – Idaho Falls
Honorable Mention – Sharon Herther – McCall
Honorable Mention – Nancy Inaba – Boise
Honorable Mention – Rachel Linquist – Boise

 

Congratulations to all who were juried into the show and to all who won awards.

Scott Muscolo – Show Chairman

Carol HasBrouck Browning – President

Donation Request Template

By All IWS Info

Hello IWS Members:

I was asked at a board meeting to provide a template for donation requests for members from various regions who have asked for this form.  The original form accessed by clicking here was created by Laurie Asahara, and I modified it a little so you could use it in pretty much any donor request situation you might have.

Please modify it as necessary to your specific event, add a link or keep the web gallery from the 2023 show, which is a nice representation of our work.

It’s much easier to get a donation than one would think, most vendors that we have contacted, have been more than happy to donate.  For the vendor, the job of donating is frequently delegated to one particular person in the vendor/donating company who also has to ensure that their company name is getting out there and has the right exposure.

Getting donations ensures that we can continue to provide nice awards for competitive exhibitions of all kinds.

Thanks!

Scott Muscolo

Annual Juried Exhibition Chair

Link to donation request form letter

Special Message from City of Meridian Arts & Culture Coordinator re Dwight Williams

By All IWS Info

Hello, Meridian arts friends,

I have some sad news to share – one of our longtime dedicated Initial Point Gallery and Arts Commission volunteers, Dwight Williams, passed away in his sleep at home yesterday. He’d been having a lot of health issues and recent hospitalizations. I wanted to let you know as I believe many of you knew him well.

He was instrumental in the establishment of the gallery at City Hall and acted as a voluntary curator until 2015. He was also a fantastic watercolor artist, taught studio classes, workshops, and painting demonstrations, and was a founding member of the Idaho Watercolor Society.

The attached photo is from last fall when Dwight was presented with the 2022 Tammy De Weerd’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He will be missed by many.

With Condolences,

Cassandra Schiffler | Arts & Culture Coordinator
City of Meridian | Parks and Recreation Department
33 E. Broadway Ave. Ste. 206, Meridian, Idaho 83642

IWS Watercolor Society, Letter from the President

By All IWS Info, Events, Exhibits, President, WFWS, Workshops

OCTOBER 2022

Fellow IWS Artists,

Since we only publish our newsletter quarterly, and IWS is ramping up activities, I thought an update was in order.           

Experimental Exhibition – Wow, what a turnout!  The board was delighted to have 53 entries into our first-ever “Anything Goes” exhibition.  A huge thank you to Cherry Woodbury for leading this effort.  If you were at the Annual Meeting, you saw the winning entries and know who the winners are.  If you missed that great event, here is the announcement…albeit delayed:

First Place, titled “A Night Out” by Jane Wilson $300
Second Place, titled “Summer Sunflowers” by Jean Nelson Ah Fong $200
Third Place, titled “Refugee” by Dave Earnest $100

A huge thank you to our juror Ruth Armitage from the Oregon Watercolor Society.

Annual Meeting – If you were not able to attend, you missed a good one!  So many people helped make this annual event outstanding, but special thanks to our Regional Rep, recently retired, Linda Carlson.  We will miss Linda, as she and her husband move to North Carolina.   We experienced five amazing Art Talks over the course of those two days:  Linda Aman, Sue Tyler, Torgeson Murdock, Yidan Guo, and Bernadette Regnier.  We tried our hand at block prints, visited the Idaho Falls Art Gallery, picnicked in the park, wandered through the amazing Japanese Gardens, and made and renewed friendships from across the state.  A huge thank you to all who helped make this event so enriching.  Watch for news about next year’s location and activities.

Strategic Planning – The day before the annual meeting in Idaho Falls, a handful of members gathered to envision and plan for our future…who we are, who we want to be, and the resources we need to get there.  Our goal over the course of the coming 9 months is to develop these plans and present them at our 2023 Annual Meeting for the organization’s approval.  Our next strategic planning meeting will be in Boise in November. If you are a visionary and/or strategic thinker and would like to be involved, get in touch with me.

Membership – Three announcements regarding membership:

  1. To facilitate increased opportunities for our members, the board researched other regional arts organizations and voted to increase our dues by $5.  Dues will now be $45 per year.
  2. Previously an additional $5 could be paid if a member wanted to receive the quarterly newsletter by mail.  Due to the increased cost of postage and printing, for a decreasing number of members, the board voted to provide the newsletter exclusively by email and eliminate mailed copies.
  3. The board and members at the annual meeting voted to offer a third option for membership.  Joint membership with the Plein Air Painters of Idaho (PAPI) will be offered at a cost of $70.  This is a $20 savings if you belong to both IWS and PAPI.  Each organization will maintain its organizational structure and exhibition requirements. Joint membership will allow you to enter shows, workshops, and events for both organizations.   Joint membership can be paid for either by mail to Lynn McConnell or online at the IWS Website.

We will start our cooperative activities with the previously announced Plein Air Workshop on April 8th.  It will be held at the beautiful Riverhouse in Star, Idaho, featuring the nationally acclaimed Plein air painter, Gabriel Stockton from the San Diego Watercolor Society.

Rotunda Show – Beth Trott and Bonnie Liles have been busy planning for this next exhibition at the Capitol Rotunda Show March 4 – 17th.   We had so many visitors last year, and a first-time reception that was so well attended, it was crowded.  Just what artists, looking to sell their work (sans commission) like.

 Annual Exhibition 2023 – Plans are well underway with our experienced Exhibition Coordinator, Scott Muscolo.  Our Vice President, Don Belts has been working hard at securing a juror and workshop instructor for next year. We are pleased to announce that he has contracted with Robin Poteet of Virginia.  If you are not familiar with her work, check out her website.  I think you will be impressed.  The breadth of her work is amazing.  Scott will have more information and the prospectus available in January.

Regional Reps – I wanted to recognize the great work our Regional Reps are doing, hosting workshops, meetings, and art activities and recruiting new members.   Every week I receive notice from Lynn McConnell, our membership chairman, of new members joining IWS.  A huge thank you to Cathy Anderson, Connie Pepper, Cheryll Root, Les Scott, and Neila Loebs.

In closing, I am writing this from my daughter’s patio in Santa Barbara.  It is 89 degrees today!  Beautiful, but a little too hot in October for this native Idahoan!  Enjoy this beautiful Fall and paint like your life depended on it.  After all, we have numerous shows coming up:  Rotunda show, WFWS, Annual Exhibition, and probably more!

Carol HasBrouck Browning
IWS President