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Grant Writing Workshop
with Sarah Sudhoff
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Sarah Sudhoff’s workshop on grant writing was full of information, resources, suggestions and individual feedback on participants’ projects. For those who did not attend, visit the website for The Texas Grants Resource Center if you are planning to write a grant. They provide a wealth of free help with your grant proposals.
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Circle of Wine Celebrates Art
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On January 14, a few hours before Winter descended upon Houston and froze our tropical plants, 19 WiVLA members met at Marie Casamayor-Harvey’s studio at Winter Street Studios. Everyone had a great time seeing long-time friends and greeting some of our new members. Because several of our members have studios in the Sawyer Yards Main Yard, several members took the opportunity to visit some member studios and a solo show.
We started with Melody Locke’s exhibition in Silver Street. We then walked next door to Brooke Summers-Perry’s studio and business at First Industrial Studios. As the temperature started dropping, we scurried across the parking lot to The Silos at Sawyer Yards, where we visited the studios of Ruby R. Scott (Arts A Daisy) and Rona Lesser.
Not only did our members enjoy seeing the studios of five members, but this art stroll was a unique opportunity for these artists to visit each other’s studios. Stay tuned for more opportunities to meet and share artistic endeavors!
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Tuesday, January 16 - After the lovely in-person January party, we met on ZOOM for the annual Circle of 5 meeting in which groups of five shared art, writings, and goals for the year.
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 Brenda Bowman primarily works in visual arts but also immensely enjoys literary arts. She is an abstract mixed media artist, a lifelong reader and a hobby writer.
She creates intuitively, letting the spirit of the art process lead the way. Her mixed media paintings generally emerge from a spark of intuition, a memory or vision, then she works to create that vision in a loosely styled, abstract painting. She is influenced by nature and travel in her art. She strives for viewers to feel a sense of spontaneity, sophistication and soulfulness in her work.
Brenda grew up on a working farm in the Texas panhandle. After a rich career in healthcare administration and nonprofit leadership, she joined a local art league, immersed herself in different art forms and began taking workshops and classes. She has won numerous awards in mixed media acrylics and photography including Best of Show. She regularly participates in competitive art shows and community displays in the Houston area, and has created commissioned works for private collections.
Brenda recently participated in a show at The Houston Club with Shirley Beyer and Susan Salter entitled 3x3 by THREE. She enjoys community service and most recently served as President of the Art League of Fort Bend. She continues to serve on the ALFB and Lone Star Art Guild Boards.
She and her husband David enjoy time together and with their children and six grandchildren. Brenda scrapbooks for her grandchildren and enjoys reading and travel, but also just being home with their cat, Artie, who invites them out daily for sunsets on the porch.
Brenda looks forward to getting to know other members of WiVLA.
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Who will WiVLA highlight next?
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Each month, a WiVLA member is highlighted in the Newsletter. This is a fun way for us to get to know each other. Contact Margo, if you would like your time in the spotlight.
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Through a Glass Darkly is one of 125 Best Romance Books of All Time
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Karleen Koen’s novel, "Through a Glass Darkly" was chosen by Parade Magazine as 125 Best Romance Books of All Time, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers. Houstonians might remember the "Parade" section of the Sunday edition of the Houston Chronicle. Now, Parade is an online publication that provides information, solutions, perspectives and advice on trending topics in entertainment, pop culture and lifestyle. Here is what they said about Karleen’s book -
Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen
Every romance writer begins as a romance reader and Julie Anne Long (The Perils of Pleasure, on this list) is no exception. “Karleen Koen's wildly entertaining 1986 blockbuster enthralled me in those impressionable years before I became an author,” says Julie Anne Long, whose latest is How to Tame A Wild Rogue ($9.99 Avon). “Set in 18th century England, Koen's vast cast of charismatic, morally complex characters revolves around the star-crossed marriage of young noblewoman Barbara Adderley and the older Roger Montgeoffry, the Earl of Devane, and all of them are enmeshed in a beautifully written saga of love (requited and not), sex, power, obsession, political machinations and historical upheaval. It's joyous and heartbreaking, sexy and absolutely compelling. When I read it, I instinctively knew I wanted to write these kinds of characters, the kind who embed themselves in the hearts and imaginations of readers and inspire compassion—even the dastardly ones. And part of what gives Koen's story “sweep” is the way we witness the characters evolving throughout the book—for better and worse—and I knew I wanted to capture a bit of that feeling when I set out to write a connected romance series like Pennyroyal Green.”
Through A Glass Darkly shares company with Rebecca, Anna Karenina, Fault in Our Stars, Bridgerton, Like Water for Chocolate, Love in the Time of Cholera, Outlander, and Wuthering Heights,
Congratulations, Karleen - Co-Founder of WiVLA!
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The Women of THREE
A Celebration of Women's History
From Susan Salter
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We have all known women who formed and shaped our lives. However, the women chosen by the artists' group THREE, had such an impact on us that it changed the course of who we became, who we are. This is the nature of this exhibit.
These women may or may not know that they literally changed the course of our lives. Some do and some don’t. Some have been told; others will never know. Some are recognizable to many, some to only a few. That doesn’t matter. Our tribute to them is genuine because of their impact on US.
Please join THREE as we pay tribute to women who mean so much to us.
Learn more about the artists that comprise THREE:
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Art for All Homes
From Shirley Beyer
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A few years ago Lisa Sheinbaum and Catherine Wile, who started and run the non-profit called Art For All Homes, spoke to the WiVLA membership about their work accepting donations of art and distributing the pieces to people who have been homeless and are finally moving into their new home or apartment. I was very interested and impressed by these women’s creative endeavor. This week I contacted them via their website and arranged to donate six pieces of art that I no longer had room for in my own home. It was a wonderful experience. They partner with 15 nonprofits in the city (such as Habitat for Humanity, Houston Furniture Bank, Interfaith Ministries) and coordinate enabling the homeless to turn their new residences into homes via choosing their own art. I hope you will utilize this wonderful organization by donating some of your no-longer-used art pieces. Furniture helps a resident live in a house. Art turns it into a home.
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2024 Anthology Contest
Journey Into Time
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Inklings Publishing is proud to collaborate with Women in the Visual and Literary Arts and the Houston Writers Guild to bring local aspiring authors an opportunity for publication in the anthology compilation of winning and honorable mention short stories from the open contest: Journey into Time. We are asking for submissions of short stories (fiction or non-fiction) that in some way incorporate the concept of time.
Time does not have to be the main focus of the story, but some reference to time must be included. The theme is up to your interpretation, so long as the concept of time appears within your story. For example:
- Characters might travel through time.
- A character may frequently check her watch.
- The story might focus on the passage of time though some piece of a character's life.
The winning and honorable mention stories will be compiled into an anthology for a general audience readership. Sexual content and violence may be presented but must serve the purpose of the story.
NOTE: The "journey" aspect of Journey into Time refers to our Journey Series. This is the title of our series of yearly anthologies in which the winning contest stories are published. A "journey" does not need to be present in a literal sense within the stories to be eligible.
Stories will be judged on:
- Strong plot arcs with satisfying endings
- Well-rounded characters Imagery - is it easy to visualize the story’s action, setting, and characters?
- Good command of spelling and grammar (professional copyediting not necessary for submission)
- Effective use of the theme - in what way does time play a part in your story?
ALL SUBMISSIONS will receive general constructive feedback from the judges. Only the winners and honorable mentions whose work is to be included in the final published anthology will receive feedback and consultation from our developmental editor.
Send them your submissions in two Word documents with subject line: "Journey into Time Contest Submission".
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Norola Morgan is offering Creativity Classes
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hotpoet has launched Equinox, a biannual digital multimedia journal that showcases poets, writers, and artists. While solstices are the extremes of the year, an equinox is equidistant, poised on the edge of one thing or another, the cusp of change or transformation. With this archetypal significance in mind, Equinox strives to explore the contemplative and motivational power of writers and artists; to celebrate how word and image can create a world and then change it.
We invite you to send us your poems, flash fiction, flash essay, photography, and art. We look for contemplative, argumentative, globally aware, despair-resistant, and apathy-abolishing works.
Spring Submission: December 1st through February 18th with a publication date of March 20th.
We accept submissions via Submittable.
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Duotrope - A Place to Submit Your Writing
From Denise Bossarte
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Duotrope is a site that offers opportunities for submitting your writing, as well as finding publishers and agents, tracking submissions and gettimg published.
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 ~ Visual Art Submissions ~Compiled by Jean King
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Women's Caucus for Art - Texas Chapter texwca.wixsite.com/site
Women's Caucus for Art https://nationalwca.org (Re)FOCUS at City Hall January 29 – April 12, 2024
Exhibition site: City Hall, second floor
Deadline for submissions: November 15, 2023, 11:59pm Jurors: Sarah Bloom and Patti Jordan
Art In City Hall (AICH) and the Women’s Caucus for Art issue a call for artists as part of a city-wide series of events in response to the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking 1974 Philadelphia feminist exhibition “Philadelphia Focuses on Women in the Visual Arts.”
Entitled “(Re)FOCUS at City Hall,” this show is curated by AICH along with members of The Women’s Caucus for Art, an organization which began in 1972 and which was headquartered at the Moore College of Art and Design from 1983 to 1997.
For full prospectus: https://nationalwca.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ ReFOCUSatCityHall_ArtistCall.pdf
The Jung Center of Houston https://junghouston.org Submission guidelines
https://s3.amazonaws.com/junghouston_media/documents/Exhibition+Guidelines.pdf Annual members exhibition
Watercolor Art Society - Houston (WASH) https://www.watercolorhouston.org
Monthly Gallery shows members only: Jan, Feb, April, May, June, Aug, Sept, Nov, Dec. Juried and judged exhibit open to members and non-members: March
Juried and Judged exhibit members only: Oct Annual Member Exhibit (AME),
International Watermedia Exhibtion (IWE) https://www.watercolorhouston.org/International- Watermedia-Exhibit Deadline Jan 13, 2024
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WiVLA Needs Your Expertise
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Do you have special skills, talents or knowledge to share with other WiVLA members? Now is a good time to volunteer ~
- Serve on a committee
- Speak at a monthly meeting
- Lead a workshop.
- Be creative
Don't be shy. We have a lot to learn from each other.
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We'd love to celebrate your good news. If you are interested in sharing, please send your items to newsletter@wivla.org. The deadline for inclusion in the next month's newsletter is the 20th. Thank you.
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