As I write this message, I’m still coming down from my high from the Mask readings! The November Literary meeting jump-starts the holiday season for me. If you did not attend the meeting and have not viewed the recording, you might be surprised to learn that neither the pandemic nor surgical masks were mentioned during the readings. As usual, the readings made me laugh, strummed my heartstrings, and brought me to the verge of tears. I’m so very grateful that we have the recording. Regardless of the venue, going forward, we should record all literary readings.
As we close out one year and prepare for the next year, it’s customary to reflect on our accomplishments. Although 2021 has been an interesting year with some challenges, I think that we’ve had a great year, and for that I’m truly grateful to our Board.
We’ve had some fabulous meetings this year. Sally did a stellar job at lining up interesting speakers from near and far. We’ve also created some facetime opportunities with some weekend meetups and outings.
We transitioned to a membership platform that has dramatically simplified the job of our Membership director to the point where we no longer need a co-chair. In addition, we can all now create profile pages that share our stories and talents. (hint, hint)
We had a very successful member exhibition complete with awards. Marie and Gladys obtained a great juror, sponsors, and produced a very nice digital catalog.
In lieu of our annual poetry readings at the LaPorte Public Library, we recorded and incorporated the readings of several of our talented poets and provided the recording to the library, which hosted it on their Facebook page during Poetry Month.
I’m excited to start 2022 with our new board, a board that combines longtime and new members. I can’t wait to see how they push us (and me) forward. As our life slowly returns to normal, we’ll gradually resume our in-person events. We plan to hold an in-person Collaboration, workshops, some outings, and more. During the first quarter of the year, we’ll hold virtual meetings and will host the first in-person workshop on January 22nd.
This time of year is full of traditional activities, plans for the future, and memories of the past. I’m grateful for being surrounded by so many talented women who continually inspire and amaze me. Be safe during this holiday season, and I look forward to seeing you online and in-person in 2022!
- Melody -
Self-Discovery Workshop
Have you been boomeranged? The STEP (Starting To Experience Progress) workshop will lead you to discover YOUR best self. Fear, rejection, anger, and loneliness can lead you to places you may not want to go. This workshop uses thought-provoking empowerment posters to inspire critical thinking and self-reflection. These resources lead participants to self-discovery with the ultimate goal to identify negative emotions and then progress to positive behavioral change.
Gladys Mae Bullock is a poet, educator, and motivational speaker. She has been writing and reading poetry derived from her own experiences for over 20 years. In 1995, she developed the innovative workshop STEP (Starting To Experience Progress), which utilizes her poetry skills and keen ability to engage emotionally with a wide array of audiences.
Saturday, January 22, 2022
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Mendenhall Community Center
Cost to attend: $30.00 for WiVLA and $35.00 for non-members.
A workbook and light refreshments will be provided.
Calling all WiVLA members! If you are interested in participating in a virtual exhibition the 2022 season you may apply on the WiVLA website. This is an excellent opportunity to add to your CV and is a great marketing tool for your artistic endeavors. This is a free benefit to all WiVLA members. If you are interested in learning more please reach out to our Visual Co-Chair, Marie Casamayor-Harvey at visual@wivla.org. If you would like to reserve a spot for the 2022 season you may do so by clicking the button below.
As 2022 approaches it is once again time for WiVLA's biennial collaboration As 2022 approaches, it is once again time for WiVLA's biennial collaborative exhibition. The board would like to announce the theme ahead of the publication of the prospectus. In doing so, we felt this would allow members time to generate ideas. In addition, one would have considerable time to interview potential partners to work alongside. Finally, we encourage our members to try out our new member directory, located on the WiVLA website. So, without further ado, the 2022 theme is Reflection.
Are you ready to write some haunting holiday stories for the Christmas Season? Brazos Bookstore, Women in the Visual and Literary Arts, and the Houston Writers Guild are joining together to create Spooky Christmas! In case you are wondering, this is not a new holiday custom that we are creating. Rather, the sharing of scary stories at Christmas is a tradition custom that goes back hundreds of years. Remember during December (in most places and sometimes Houston) it is cold outside and it gets dark early. What better way to share haunting stories while sitting around a roaring fire? Have you ever heard the Christmas Carol, It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? It was recorded by Andy Williams in the early 1960s and includes the line, “There’ll be scary stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.”
WiVLA members will need to register on the Brazos Bookstore website to receive the zoom meeting link.
Amanda J. Sisk has worked as an award-winning artist and educator for over two decades and is the creator of the artworks at ATELIER SISK. She studied on scholarships at Herron School of Art and Design (Indianapolis, IN), Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), The Florence Academy of Art (Italy), and The Carving Studio & Sculpture Center (West Rutland, VT). Amanda served two seasons as Sculptor-in-Residence at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, and in 2013, her work was awarded the National Sculpture Society's Dexter Jones Award for bas-relief sculpture. She is a 2015 recipient of The Gibbons Prize for New England Sculptors, and in 2016, she served as the first Artist-in-Residence at the historic Governor John Langdon House (Portsmouth, NH). Amanda has most recently completed a sculpture for Padre Island National Seashore (Texas) and four collaborative monuments for the city of Rutland, VT. Portraiture continues to be a focus while she is increasingly interested in using all-natural and repurposed materials in contemplative works, which have been exhibited in the United States and England. She travels to where she receives the call to work.
Meeting Schedule
6:00 - 6:13 pm Social Time and Board Announcements.
6:20 - 7:50 pm Presentation with Q & A.
7:50 - 8:00 pm Time permitting, Member announcements.
*Some meetings may run slightly off schedule due to the nature of the conversation.
Zoom Meeting Information
Due to Zoom's security suggestions, we will send out another email with the Zoom meeting information one day before the meeting. Be certain to look for it. If you need the meeting code, please send an email to newsletter@wivla.org to get the meeting code no later than 5:00 pm the day of the meeting.
If you need information on how to use Zoom before the meeting date, please use the links below:
I’m a native Texan and have lived in Dallas, Austin, and Houston – the Texas trifecta. I am a long-time student at Glassell School of Art, studying under Amy Blakemore, Will Michels, and Duncan Ganley. I’m primarily focused on analog (film) fine art photography but also work in the digital photography world at times. I love all kinds of photography – portraits, landscapes, etc., and have realized there is no end to learning in this medium. Most recently, I’m printing on new types of photo paper in the darkroom and testing new toning techniques in the finishing process.
I find inspiration in work by photographers Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Vivian Maier, and so many others.
Recent accomplishments include:
2021 – Wivla's Awakening exhibition. Image “Hidden/Emerge” was selected for this exhibit and was awarded first prize.
2021 – Texas Photographic Society, 34th Members Only Show. Image, “Sydney Waiting” was selected for this exhibit of 50 images. It traveled to two venues – Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, TX, and Artworks Gallery, Austin, Tx.
2019 - Fotofest – A 2nd Cup, Participating Space. Awarded first prize for my image, “Hidden/Emerge” in the exhibit titled “Let Them Be Free”.
2018 – A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX Exhibit “Chairs”. Image selected for this exhibit out of 1200 + images entered.
November Meeting Highlight: Masks: Annual Literary Event
If you missed our annual literary meeting, you may view the recording on WiVLA's YouTube channel.
Activities outside of WiVLA
Virtual January Writing Project Intensive with Max Regan.
Dates: January 14 -17, 2021.
As the year begins it’s a great time to pull out that ongoing writing project or idea and dig in. Let’s make this the year you bring it to life!!
This writing-intensive includes daily class sessions and one private meeting with Max Regan. The goal for these four days is to focus on your writing project, without distractions or procrastination within a community of writers doing the same. Your project might be a novel, a story, a memoir, sci-fi, a how-to, or a children’s book. It might be a collection of poems, a fantasy novel, or a family history. You might have piles of drafts and notes or just a small idea in the back of your head and heart that won't go away. By the end of the Intensive, each project should be more structured and well underway. This retreat is open to any interested writer, regardless of geography, experience, genre, or stage of development. We welcome all your messy files, old journals, disorganized pages, and wild ideas, no matter how tiny or gigantic! Full Details and Class Structure
To register, please email Maxto be placed on the class roster.For payment instructions, please go to the bottom of theHome page at Hollowdeckpress.com or you can mail a check to Max Regan at 1006 Grandview Ave, Boulder, CO 80302
Information provided to the WiVLA newsletter via our literary co-chair Ellen Seaton.
Whether you’re a professional craftsperson who needs to restock your studio supplies or a student looking to perfect new techniques, Jerry’s Artarama has all the tools, supplies, and expertise you need to make your project shine.
Art Supply is 7,500 square feet of fun, inspiration, and unlimited creative possibilities for artists, students, parents, and anyone who simply has the urge to create. It is family-owned and operated, and the proprietors can be found in the store ready to assist all customers.
Texas Art Supply has been a staple in the Houston community since it opened in the 1950’s. With the largest arts and crafts store in the nation, students, hobbyists, and professional creatives have access to over 60,000 products in their three locations. So, head on down, get inspired and see firsthand what Texas hospitality is all about.
Blick Art Materials is a family-owned retail and catalog art supply business. Established as a mail order business by Dick Blick in 1911 and purchased by Robert Metzenberg in 1947, it is one of the oldest and largest art materials suppliers in the United States, as well as a primary supplier of mail order art supplies.
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.
As I write this message, I’m still coming down from my high from the Mask readings! The November Literary meeting jump-starts the holiday season for me. If you did not attend the meeting and have not viewed the recording, you might be surprised to learn that neither the pandemic nor surgical masks were mentioned during the readings. As usual, the readings made me laugh, strummed my heartstrings, and brought me to the verge of tears. I’m so very grateful that we have the recording. Regardless of the venue, going forward, we should record all literary readings. 
Calling all WiVLA members! If you are interested in participating in a virtual exhibition the 2022 season you may apply on the WiVLA website. This is an excellent opportunity to add to your CV and is a great marketing tool for your artistic endeavors. This is a free benefit to all WiVLA members. If you are interested in learning more please reach out to our Visual Co-Chair, Marie Casamayor-Harvey at visual@wivla.org. If you would like to reserve a spot for the 2022 season you may do so by clicking the button below.
As 2022 approaches it is once again time for WiVLA's biennial collaboration As 2022 approaches, it is once again time for WiVLA's biennial collaborative exhibition. The board would like to announce the theme ahead of the publication of the prospectus. In doing so, we felt this would allow members time to generate ideas. In addition, one would have considerable time to interview potential partners to work alongside. Finally, we encourage our members to try out our new member directory, located on the WiVLA website. So, without further ado, the 2022 theme is Reflection.
I’m a native Texan and have lived in Dallas, Austin, and Houston – the Texas trifecta. I am a long-time student at Glassell School of Art, studying under Amy Blakemore, Will Michels, and Duncan Ganley. I’m primarily focused on analog (film) fine art photography but also work in the digital photography world at times. I love all kinds of photography – portraits, landscapes, etc., and have realized there is no end to learning in this medium. Most recently, I’m printing on new types of photo paper in the darkroom and testing new toning techniques in the finishing process.
