I’m basically an optimist, although the past couple of years have really tried my optimism gene. I was really looking forward to the new year—galleries were opening, people were traveling, families were gathering for the holidays, I could get a haircut without a mask, and Broadway was back. On a more local level, my husband and I are season-ticket holders to Theater Under the Stars (TUTS). On Friday, December 17, we saw The Little Mermaid, the second show of the 2021-2022 season, and was also the holiday show. A couple of days before that performance, I began hearing of show cancellations on Broadway. Then, on Saturday, the day after our performance of The Little Mermaid, TUTS had to cancel the remaining performances, which included two matinees. I was very conflicted when I heard the news. I was very grateful that I was able to see this truly wonderful performance, yet I knew that there were many disappointed children, parents, and grandparents who had planned to see that show. I’m crossing my fingers that other shows won’t be canceled.
Each time that I think that we’ve turned a corner and we can safely gather again, this virus mutates, causing us to take further precautions. The good news is that we now know how to pivot from in-person to virtual events. For now, we’re still planning to err on the side of caution with our monthly member meetings. The first three meetings of the year will be virtual. In March, your board will assess the current state of the pandemic and determine how best to proceed.
However, as promised, we’re planning smaller in-person workshops. The first two workshops will be held at Mendenhall Community Center on Wirt Road. Space is limited for both events.
On Saturday, January 22, our own Gladys Mae Bullock will conduct a workshop that should help charge your batteries for the new year. This workshop is also open to non-members. Register now on our website.
On Saturday, February 26, we’re hosting a workshop on writing the perfect bio. This workshop is limited to members only. To register, you must log on to your account on the WiVLA website. If you have not set up your account, I urge you to do so now. Register now on our website.
We also want to schedule more outings this year. If you have any suggestions, contact Margo Stutts Toombs, or any of the board members.
I still insist that there has to be a pony. It can seem illusive, but I know that we will find it. I wish you a Happy New Year filled with unbridled creativity!
- 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, Aliza Bejarano 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.
Now that 2022 has arrived, it's time again for WiVLA's biennial collaborative exhibition. The theme for this years' Collaboration is Reflection. Because of the time involved in planning and executing the collaborative pieces, now is a good time to start finding a partner. Please take advantage of our member directory on the WiVLA website to find your co-collaborator.
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 - 6:20 pm Social Time and Board Announcements.
6:20 - 7:20 pm Presentation with Q & A.
7:20 - 7:30 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 enjoy writing short-form fiction and non-fiction such as flash fiction, zines, and case studies. I'm partial to incorporating supernatural or science fiction elements into my stories. I publish a monthly online zine, That Plant Fucker, to indulge my love of herbs and herbal medicine.
I have the requisite collections of journals and books as required for any sort of writer. I am an adequate slave to my cat and have lived most of my life in Houston, TX.
I recently read a story for Brazos Bookstore's "Spooky Christmas" event. If you missed the reading, you can read the story here.
WiVLA Members Hayley Kyle and Marie Casamayor-Harvey are featured in the January-February virtual exhibition. To view their exhibition, please click here. For best results, view on full screen on your computer or laptop. You will be prompted to download the app if you view it on your mobile device.
This is an opportunity available to all WiVLA members. For information or to register to exhibit your work please visit our website.
Hayley Kyle is originally from East Tennessee. It was there that her love of painting began in Mrs. Burns’s fifth-grade art class. She went on to pursue her interests in visual arts receiving her M.F.A. while in the neighboring state of North Carolina. She relocated to Houston, Texas in 2008 and has an art studio in her home. She is currently pursuing a digital media certificate.
Hayley has had the fortune of exhibiting her work nationally. One career highlight was being selected to exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art and Mint Museum of Art. This led to a North Carolina Arts Council Individual Artist Grant. And then to a partial art residency scholarship to attend the Vermont Studio Center. Locally she was juried into the Lawndale Art Center’s Big Show.
Marie Casamayor-Harvey is an artist based in Houston, Texas, with roots in Cuba and Colombia. She creates paintings, sculptures, drawings, collage and mixed media works. Marie’s work reflects an enchantment with symbolism, expressionism, surrealism and metaphysical imagery. She is interested in exploring musical, spiritual and emotional experiences through her art. Her work has been the subject of 4 solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibits. Her work can be found in private collections in the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Sweden. Two of her recent paintings were selected for the Withstand – Latinx Art in Times of Conflict exhibit at the Holocaust Museum Houston, April to October 2021.
December Highlight: Brazos Bookstore's 'Spooky Christmas'
December brought us select stories of chills and thrills for Christmas. If you missed Brazos Bookstore's literary readings for 'Spooky Christmas', you can listen to the stories here.
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!
To register, pleaseemail 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.
Sally Worthington’s large Jurassic woodcut will be showing at the Steamrolled VIII exhibit at the Printing Museum,1324 West Clay, from January 13th to Saturday March 5th 2022.
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.
I’m basically an optimist, although the past couple of years have really tried my optimism gene. I was really looking forward to the new year—galleries were opening, people were traveling, families were gathering for the holidays, I could get a haircut without a mask, and Broadway was back. On a more local level, my husband and I are season-ticket holders to Theater Under the Stars (TUTS). On Friday, December 17, we saw The Little Mermaid, the second show of the 2021-2022 season, and was also the holiday show. A couple of days before that performance, I began hearing of show cancellations on Broadway. Then, on Saturday, the day after our performance of The Little Mermaid, TUTS had to cancel the remaining performances, which included two matinees. I was very conflicted when I heard the news. I was very grateful that I was able to see this truly wonderful performance, yet I knew that there were many disappointed children, parents, and grandparents who had planned to see that show. I’m crossing my fingers that other shows won’t be canceled.
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, Aliza Bejarano 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.
Now that 2022 has arrived, it's time again for WiVLA's biennial collaborative exhibition. The theme for this years' Collaboration is Reflection. Because of the time involved in planning and executing the collaborative pieces, now is a good time to start finding a partner. Please take advantage of our member directory on the WiVLA website to find your co-collaborator.
