I’ve had a hard time this year, focusing on anything.
I think, no, I KNOW, that most of the problem in my head is that I’m absorbing a whole heck of a lot of information (from social media and news sites) that highlights the bad, the unhappiness in the world. That means I’m filling my head and heart up with reading poisoned exchanges between neighbors on NextDoor, headlines on various news sources on how we, as a country (and world) are tearing ourselves apart and observations in my daily life, squabbles at the grocery store, near wrecks on the freeway and more.
I already know that we are what we eat, whether that be the nutrition in our food, the words we read/hear or the actions of those around us. But I’ve been distracted by my own life, and have been mindlessly absorbing it all. I’m making a commitment to myself to ‘unfollow’ many Facebook and Instagram pages and unsubscribe to the multitude of news sites that I currently follow. I’ll keep following the pages highlighting the good in the world, the beauty around us. I plan to skim local, national and world news once a day, because it’s also dangerous to hide from the bad, to ignore the injustices. But I need balance, badly.
I am eager to see what happens to my current creative block. I have used my art, my images and words, as a form of activism. I do NOT plan to turn my back on that, but hope to focus on color and composition, on bringing forth hope and love in what my head and heart together create.
As always, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to email those to gretchen2art@yahoo.com.
Walk in love
- Gretchen -
EXPANSION Exhibit - Deadline Extended!
NEW Submission deadline: Monday August 14, 2023, 11:59 PM CDT
Selections announced: Monday, August 21, 2023
Exhibition opens: September 1, 2023
Exhibition closes: November 11, 2023
Due to uncertainties with the Winter Street Studios construction, the venue for this exhibition is now the POST Houston, located in downtown Houston.
In addition to detailed information about the requirements for the exhibition, the prospectus also provides a link to SmarterEntry, where you will submit your images. If you have never used SmarterEntry, you will need to set up a free account. Members can access the Member Discount code from the Members Only page on our website.
Saturday, August 26, 2023
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
ZOOM
The real work of writing is the re-writing: Believe me, your literary heroes revise and revise and revise! This two to three hour workshop focuses on revision and editing and welcomes both poetry and prose writers. Participants will come to workshop with a piece of writing they would like to work on—either one poem or one-three pages of a prose piece. We will closely examine these works for craft (not grammar!). We will consider elements such as description and imagery, sound and syntax, people and place as well as beginnings and endings. This workshop will be tedious and immensely “hands-on” in its dissection—for example, isolating every noun and considering each for their relationships and intra-lineage. Participants will leave with plenty to consider!
Bio: Adele Elise Williams is a writer, editor and educator. She is the winner of the Inprint Marion Barthelme Prize in Creative Writing and Inprint Donald Barthelme Prize for Poetry as well as a finalist for the 2022 Loraine Williams Poetry Prize. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Indiana Review, The Georgia Review, Crazyhorse, Guernica, Cream City Review, The Florida Review and elsewhere. Her current goings-on can be found at adeleelisewilliams.com.
Writing Your Story and Then Sharing It: How to Stop Doubting and Start Making Art
Saturday, September 2, 2023
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
ZOOM
"Everyone's a critic," the adage goes, but for countless artists and aspiring artists, no one's a harsher critic than one's self. Join Dr. Cait Weiss Orcutt for a two-hour workshop geared around working with (or simply firing) our inner critics. We'll discuss how we get in our own way, what we have to offer, and why/how some systems seem to work to keep us quiet -- then we'll dive into a few creative exercises together to shake that nay-saying inner voice up.
Bio: Cait Weiss Orcutt is the author of VALLEYSPEAK, winner of the 2017 Zone 3 First Book Prize. She holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and a PhD from the University of Houston. Her essays and poems have appeared in Boston Review, Bust Magazine, Chautauqua, FIELD, The Pinch, The Academy of American Poets and more. Currently based in the Midwest, Cait leads online poetry and creative nonfiction writing workshops for writers of all backgrounds and locations. She is the recipient of a UH College of Arts and Letters Dissertation Completion Fellowship and an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor/MD Anderson Foundation Fellowship.
Why do certain characters stick in our minds? Whether kind or cruel, powerful or pitiful, handsome or homely, some characters live on long after the curtain closes. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the Golden Girls – let's explore specifically what makes a character live on and on.
Bio: Also known as The Story Painter, Rogers wrote her first story in third grade. “A Girl Named Sam” earned her an A+. Years passed. Married with children, Rogers tackled her first painting – a mural for a livingroom wall. A simple tree – but a dismal failure – and it was 38 years before she again picked up a brush. Today, after publishing 6 short-story collections numerous magazine articles, including Writers Digest, 9 novels – a non-fiction book on writing and winning numerous ribbons for her art, both abstract and representational, Rogers will enjoy her first solo-artist show in June 2023 at Degallery in Bryan, Texas.
Save the date for a tour of the Printing Museum. More details, TBA.
Save the Date: Journal Making with Cori Austin
Saturday, November 4, 2023
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
819 Highland St, Houston TX 77009
Would you like to make a handmade journal that you can use for sketching? Watercolor? Art journaling? Writing your deepest thoughts? Playing with poetry? Any of those are possible at Cori Austin’s Handmade Journal Workshop.
Grackle & Grackle has graciously offered their studio for this workshop. Get ready to meet with other WiVLA members and have some fun! Participants can bring their own materials (especially paper) and/or purchase materials from Cori before the workshop (see full materials list).
Bio: A book lover since childhood, Cori’s life spiraled joyfully out of control when she learned how to make and fill books. Now she has several sketchbooks and art journals going simultaneously, stacks of paper and book board at the ready to build new books, and collections of small zentangles and watercolors waiting for their own book structure. A member of the Houston Book Arts Guild, she enjoys the challenge of new structures and designs. “I could make a book out of these!” can often be heard when she’s in thrift stores. She has a room full of a million kinds of papers, and likes nothing better than gathering with friends to make books and art.
Now that we’ve removed the remnants of the previous mosaic from our section of the wall at Smither Park, you might be wondering about our progress. To ensure that we're using the best techniques, we've asked one of our members who's knowledgeable about mosaics to assist us. Sharon Plummer has been providing guidance, and we're also grateful to Jean King, Sally Worthington, and Gretchen McDaniel for helping with the component assembly. We'll be working on the assembly indoors during the summer months, and then move on to the outdoor wall when the weather is more tolerable to humans. Check out the photos below to see some of our progress!
If you’d like to join the fun and get involved with the production, contact Sally Wortington at worthington75@gmail.com.
August Monthly Member Meeting
How to Create a Story
with Katherine Center
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
via Zoom
"Queen of comfort reads" and author of numerous novels, will share some of her secrets to creating rom-com stories at the August member meeting. Watch the new Netflix movie based on her book "Happiness for Beginners."
Bio: NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling Author Katherine Center wrote her first novel in the sixth grade (fan fiction about Duran Duran) and got hooked. From then on, she was doomed to want to be a writer—obsessively working on poems, essays, and stories, as well as memorizing lyrics, keeping countless journals, and reading constantly.
She won a creative writing scholarship in high school, and then went on to major in creative writing at Vassar College, where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize. At 22, she won a fellowship to the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program and moved home to Texas with plans to become Jane Austen ASAP.
Didn’t happen quite that way. Of course. Instead, she began a decade of struggling, agonizing, and questioning the meaning of life before finally finding a fairy-godmother-like agent and getting a dream-come-true book deal for her debut novel, The Bright Side of Disaster.
A total happy ending. And also, just the beginning.
Katherine firmly believes that our struggles lead us to our strengths, and the years of not getting published, she’s decided, were good for her. They forced her to define who she is and what she cares about. They forced her to figure out why she writes at all. They forced her to clarify for herself what she loves in stories as a reader—to create her own definition of “good writing” from the inside out.
Katherine is constantly thinking about craft, and looking for stories to admire, and working to get better at storytelling—but she’s very careful about what “better” means. For her, getting better as a writer means getting clearer and clearer about what she, herself, loves and looks for in stories—and using everything she knows about writing to do those things in the spirit of service for others.
Watch your Inbox for an email with the Zoom meeting code.
Shai Littlejohn
Shai Littlejohn is a performing songwriter, creator of the Here In The Highlands journal. It's a site about the good life, wellness, and leadership. Shai has more articles that she will be posting in the upcoming weeks.
She also has songs on Spotify and YouTube. Some are originals, others are cover songs.
Shai is also an attorney for Starbucks Coffee Company. She serves as the Starbucks legal subject matter expert for research and development, innovation, and ethical and sustainable sourcing while she also journals about the good life, wellness, and leadership.
Shai earned her Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She also attended Berklee College of Music before making the decision to leave Washington and relocate to Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, Shai wrote and recorded four EPs and numerous singles. She represented her corporate clients during the day and lived the life of a traveling singer-songwriter at night and on weekends. In addition, Shai served as a member of the board for the Tennessee Songwriters Association International and was the recipient of the 2016 Horizon Award for Emerging Songwriters. She also serves on the National Board of Directors for Music Will, a not for profit organization that transforms music education in US public schools in all 50 states, impacting over 1.2 million students. In 2021, Shai relocated from Nashville to Houston, Texas, with her husband and two sons, to live closer to family.
July Member Meeting: The Art of Creative Play
The July Member Meeting was all about play and its positive effects on our minds, bodies, emotions and creativity. Katherine Grace McDaniel, founder and editor of Synkroniciti Magazine and teacher of all things botanical and fairy, led the WiVLA members and guests on a visual journey of Synkroniciti art covers as well as botanical tiaras and fairy gardens.
Katherine began the presentation with photos of her with fellow choristers from the Houston Grand Opera having fun backstage. She recounted the story of when part of her wig (in the shape of a ball) rolled off of her head and headed toward the orchestra pit. She had to go after it, because the Opera could have been charged for random objects falling into the pit.
We learned a new way to define play - to engage in an activity in which the parameters of reality are somehow altered, suspended or relaxed or to use one's imagination to alter or change perception. Some of the benefits of play include problem-solving, role-playing, taking tasks apart and reassembling the parts in new ways. One of the benefits of play is it takes less repetitions to learn new material when being playful.
If you missed the zoom meeting, you can watch the recording on the WiVLA YouTube Channel.
Activities outside of WiVLA
Janet Reynolds' Upcoming Shows
Janet Reynolds' artist book, "Fragile Planet" is currently on display at the University of South Dakota's show: Bound and UnBound: Altered Book Exhibition.
Three of her artist books have been accepted to Rochester Public Library's show: Art of the Book in Rochester NY. The show opens September 18th.
She also has a book that has been accepted to Westward Bound II at the Spark Gallery in Denver Co. The show opens August 17th.
An Invitation to The Hungry Ghost Diner and Frogs Don’t Sing Red
Saturday, August 19 2023
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The Jung Center, 5200 Montrose, Houston, TX
New member, Kelly Ann Ellis, and longtime member, Sandi Stromberg, invite you to the launch of their new poetry collections on Saturday, August 19, 2-4 p.m., at The Jung Center, 5200 Montrose, Houston, next door to the Contemporary Arts Museum.
Come and enjoy refreshments and time to mingle. Then hear Kelly read selections from The Hungry Ghost Diner and Sandi share a few from Frogs Don’t Sing Red. Poet and president of Mutabilis Press, Chuck Wemple will add his humor and charm as moderator.
About the “Ghost Diner,” Carolyn Dahl, author of A Muddy Kind of Love, writes, “In boldly honest and tenderly vulnerable poems, Kelly Ann Ellis lures us to the gritty counters of the world’s diners where everything is on the memory menu.”
About “Frogs,” Lorette C. Luzajic, editor of The Ekphrastic Review, writes: “Here are stunning jewels that take us deeper into our interior world and transport us outside of ourselves simultaneously.”
Friday, October 6 to Sunday, October 8, 2023
Hilton Houston Plaza Medical Center Hotel
6633 Travis Street, Houston TX 77030
Houston Writer's Guild's Authorpalooza Conference will be October 6-8, 2023, at the Hilton Houston Plaza Medical Center hotel. Full details, cost, and registration links are now live on our website, www.houstonwritersguild.org.
Melody Locke is part of the Really Big Show
One of Melody Locke’s images was juried into the Lawndale Art Center’s BIG Show. The exhibition runs from June 2, 2023 through August 12, 2023 in the John M. O’Quinn & Cecily E. Horton Galleries.
The Power of Three...WiVLA Members
Shirley Beyer and Brenda Bowman, acrylic artists, and Susan Salter, encaustic artist, are pleased to announce their upcoming show entitled 3 x 3 by THREE. The show will feature 36" x 36" works plus smaller pieces. The show will be on view at the Houston Club downtown from October 2 through the end of the calendar year. A reception will be held on October 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
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.
Remember to check the WiVLA Calendar for exciting happenings - fieldtrips, studio visits, workshops, and other fun activities. 
Now that we’ve removed the remnants of the previous mosaic from our section of the wall at Smither Park, you might be wondering about our progress. To ensure that we're using the best techniques, we've asked one of our members who's knowledgeable about mosaics to assist us. Sharon Plummer has been providing guidance, and we're also grateful to Jean King, Sally Worthington, and Gretchen McDaniel for helping with the component assembly. We'll be working on the assembly indoors during the summer months, and then move on to the outdoor wall when the
weather is more tolerable to humans. Check out the photos below to see some of our progress!
Shai earned her Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She also attended Berklee College of Music before making the decision to leave Washington and relocate to Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, Shai wrote and recorded four EPs and numerous singles. She represented her corporate clients during the day and lived the life of a traveling singer-songwriter at night and on weekends. In addition, Shai served as a member of the board for the Tennessee Songwriters Association International and was the recipient of the 2016 Horizon Award for Emerging Songwriters. She also serves on the National Board of Directors for Music Will, a not for profit organization that transforms music education in US public schools in all 50 states, impacting over 1.2 million students. In 2021, Shai relocated from Nashville to Houston, Texas, with her husband and two sons, to live closer to family.
