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WiVLA wants to hear from you!
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During our member meeting on Tuesday, November 17th, we want you to tell us how you have survived 2020. How have you survived it all? What have been your coping mechanisms? What does your self-care look like? What have been your biggest adjustments? What have been your biggest lessons? Have you adjusted to the “new normal”?
Each of us has a healthy reserve of a thing called resilience—the ability to adapt in the face of adversity or difficulties.
- Frida Kahlo once said, “At the end of the day we can endure much more than we think we can.”
- Amelia Earnhardt has been quoted saying, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.”
What have you endured during 2020? What has helped you to remain tenacious in the midst of everything?
Write an essay or a poem that you can share at the member meeting in November. Use the SignUpGenius link to sign up for your reading timeslot.
We are looking for 10 writers to speak for approximately 5-6 minutes each, so don’t hesitate to sign up!
Important things to note:
There are still 2 available slots left! (as of 10/31, 12:45pm)
There will be a practice Zoom reading prior to Nov. 17th.
Time for readings: 6:30 pm - 7:47 pm.
Questions? Contact Literary@WiVLA.org.
To sign up for a reading timeslot, click here.
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Zoom Meeting Schedule
6:00 - 6:15pm: Social Gathering.
6:15 - 6:30pm: WiVLA Updates/News from the board.
6:30 - 7:47pm: Resilience, Literary Readings.
7:48pm - 8:00pm - Closing |
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Zoom Meeting link will be emailed on November 16th.
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 Barbara Ann Carle is a poet, essayist, and novelist. She has written two poetry books: “New York Rhapsody”, a collection about growing up in New York City prior to and just after World War II, published in 2009, “Cave Drawings” about the loss of her son, Scott, published in 2017 and a collection of essays about her son in the “The Viking Ship” published in 2018. Barbara is the mother of four, grandmother of six and lives in a high-rise in downtown Houston with her husband Ed.
Barbara has shared a poem from, New York Rhapsody, a collection of poems, where the theme is based on her experience living in New York City. |
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He Walked On Steel
Fifty stories
high above
the Big Apple
Faded yellow hard hat
heavy leather gloves
steel tipped boots
torn brown leather jacket
he labored
for his precious
$3.00 an hour.
Long before OSHA
modern safety equipment
a rope around his waist
his only tether
sole defense
against angry winds intent on
pushing him off.
He dreaded winter
the steel was too cold
dreaded rain
the steel too slippery
dreaded snow
no work, no pay.
But he rejoiced in his
great escape from
office work
his treasured life without walls.
Each week
he went higher
and higher
racing towards that rarefied air
shared only with the brotherhood
and the pesky pigeons.
The city’s rage
a muffled sound below
he danced to his music
the clash of steel on steel
the pop of rivets
the clang of sledge hammers
curses tossed by men.
A proud man
one in union with many
who built
the skyscraper city.
People called him brave.
The city called him Ironworker.
I called him Dad.
- Barbara Ann Carle -
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Barbara's books may be purchased locally at both Brazos Bookstore and Blue Willow Bookshop. It is also available on Amazon.
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Virtual Gallery Exhibition
November - December 2020
Featured members: Ellen Seaton, Janet Ruffin, and Rona Lesser
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This relatively new resource is a great marketing tool for all of our members including our literary and performing arts members. Our November-December virtual exhibit is live now and features visual artists, Janet Ruffin, and Rona Lesser, alongside literary member, Ellen Seaton. To view the exhibit, click here.
For best results, view on full screen on your laptop or desktop computer. If using a mobile device you must download the app for exhibbit.com.
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January -February Virtual Exhibit
Deadline: December 15
To apply for the 2021 exhibits you may complete the application located under the Resources tab on our website or by clicking here. Each exhibit will feature one visual artist and one literary member.
For further information on this new member perk please visit our website or click here.
2021 Exhibit Schedule:
January-February ; March-April ; May-June ; July-August ; September-October ; November-December.
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WiVLA New Online Store is Open for Business!
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 WiVLA recently launched its very own online store! This is such an exciting new feature on our website. You can now purchase the Compassion exhibition catalogue on our site. The catalogue is priced at 29.00 and shipping is included. More items will arrive in the store over the next few months.
The Compassion exhibit was recently reviewed in the Jewish-Herald Voice. If you'd like to read the article, click here.
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What you missed in October
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“Sidewalk Stories: Houston’s Street Art and Mural Scene”
with Dana DuTerroil and Joni Fincham |
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Business owners and writers Dana DuTerroil and Joni Fincham took us on a virtual tour of Houston's street art scene. From vandalism to iconic local art, the images they discussed show Houston's vibrant art scene. Dana's presentation started with the BE SOMEONE Union Pacific bridge art that appeared in 2012 over I-45. She discussed the many transformations it has had. She then moved on to the artwork that has sprung up on Houston's utility boxes. UP Art Studio launched the Mini Mural project in 2016. You can check out a map of the mini murals here. Dana then moved on to yarn bombing that started in Montrose back in 2005 by Knitta Please. Magda Sayeg's Houston boutique doorknob was the first object to be yarn bombed. It then grew into an international frenzy. |
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Joni then took the reigns and spoke about murals all around Houston. In the second half of the presentation, the two spoke about their tour business, Trip Chandler, which they started in 2015, and how they came to write their book, 111 Places in Houston That You Must Not Miss. They spoke about their search for a publisher, the ad that ran in June 2018, and how they selected the places to feature. Their editor, Karen Seiger, and her sister, author of the Washington D.C. guidebook, Andrea Seiger, joined the Q & A session.
If you complete the 111 Places Challenge, you will be eligible for guidebooks. To learn more about the challenge, watch our recording of the October meeting (Time marker 1:22:36) or visit the site.
If you missed our October meeting, you can watch the recording on WiVLA's YouTube channel. Here is a link to the meeting.
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If you are interested in purchasing Dana and Joni's guide book, 111 Places in Houston That You Must Not Miss, they recommend purchasing from Brazos Bookstore. To buy a copy, click here.
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Connect with Trip Chandler:
Instagram, click here.
Facebook, Trip Chandler, click here.
Website, click here.
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Deborah Blumberg shared recent articles that she has written recently.
1) The Good and Bad of Measuring Worker Output in Real Time, Stanford Business, click here to read.
2) Viral Videos Get a Boost form Sharing Big, Big Ideas, click here to read.
3) What to Do When Your Doctor's Booked, The Paper Gown,click here to read.
Amanda Wenger was nominated for the Joan Lowery Nixon Award which is selected by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Melody Locke has joined Artists Sunday. This nationwide alliance encourages consumers to shop with artists. You can utilize their database to search by your city or region. The event is scheduled for November 29.
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Haikus for December Newsletter
Deadline: November 28
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To brighten the season, all WiVLA members (writers and visual artists) are invited to submit one or more December-themed haikus for the December newsletter. Choose from Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, winter solstice, or any one of those national holidays like Letter Writing Day, National Twin Day, Crossword Puzzle Day, etc. For a list of December holidays, click here. Your haiku can be about anything from snowflakes to Yule logs. Artwork or photos can be included. You can even create a zine or a video of your poem too!
Let your imagination sparkle and your haikus shine bright in our December WiVLA newsletter. The deadline is November 28, 2020. Email to newsletter@WiVLA.org. Questions, contact Leigh.Owen@mac.com.
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January -February Virtual Exhibit
Deadline: December 15
To apply for the 2021 exhibits you may complete the application located under the Resources tab on our website or by clicking here. Each exhibit will feature one visual artist and one literary member.
For further information on this new member perk please visit our website or click here.
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Valentines Limericks
Deadline: December 22
The newsletter will be accepting limericks for our January 2021 newsletter. Topics can range from Texas Day (Feb.1) to Love your pet day (Feb. 20) and of course, those love holidays: Galentine's day (Feb. 13), Valentine's Day(Feb. 14) and Anti-Valentines (Feb. 14). For more celebrations in the month of February you can check out the website National Day Calendar, click here.
Limerick, a popular form of short, humorous verse that is often nonsensical and frequently ribald. ... It consists of five lines, rhyming aabba, and the dominant metre is anapestic, with two metrical feet in the third and fourth lines and three feet in the others. (Source).
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Opportunities outside of WiVLA
Nov 30 (Deadline), Holocaust Museum Houston seeks Latinx artists for a new juried exhibition, Withstand, Latinx Art in Times of Conflict. For information click here or visit https://hmh.org/.
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Free Virtual Legal Clinic for Artists
The Texas Law Art Association and DLA Piper LLP are partnering to host a Free Virtual Legal Clinic for Artists from November 9th through November 20th! Artists working in any medium, visual or otherwise, can sign up to receive a free legal consultation from DLA Piper's attorneys who will be available to provide legal information on a wide variety of art related legal issues such as contracts, copyright, incorporation, and business formation, issues related to the display of art, transactions, etc.. To register, click here.
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Nov. 12, 2020 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Join artist Ryan Runcie and attorney Adrian Resendez as they walk through the public art commission process and talk about project management, costs, risks, timing, and the importance of accounting for these items in the artist’s contract for services. This program is presented in partnership with Capitol View Arts and the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural & Genealogy Center. To register, click here.
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Nov. 7 - 11:00 AM, Visual Arts Alliance, Houston (VAA) Heidi Vaughn will host artist Susan Budge for an artist talk on her new exhibit, Ecstacy Over Agony. Susan will do a virtual walkthrough of her exhibit. This will be live-streamed on VAA's Facebook page, click here to tune in.
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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. There is no deadline for this content. Thank you. |
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