Oh, my goodness, y’all! I saw the art hanging for our upcoming juried show, EXPANSION, and it is marvelous!
As some of you know, I’ve been the caregiver and support system for a close friend these past few months, and had minimal energy to give to anyone or anything else, including WiVLA. However, WiVLA has a great board, and they have kept things moving along. I'm not singling out any particular members in this message, suffice it to say a good board is to be valued, with members who are willing to work together, who put aside personal agendas to focus on the lasting good of the organization and who fill in any gaps outside of their own positions.
Which brings me to a BIG ASK. We (the board) are looking for members who would like to be a part of carrying this 29-year-old organization into the future. Next year, we have exciting things going on, such as our collaboration show (the partnership of visual and literary artists), workshops, outings, ECO Grant, literary readings, and other events being discussed but not yet finalized.
We need you, dear member, to step up and serve, to be part of discussions, to bounce ideas around, to keep track of our funds, to record our minutes, to vote on decisions, to share your thoughts, your ideas, your experience and skills. If you would like to discuss even the possibility of serving on the board, send an email to info@wivla.org (put board in the subject line). One of us will get back with you to discuss how you could best help. No commitment is implied in simply reaching out to inquire about positions.
Now, back to the show, the absolutely wonderful show. There were 189 pieces submitted, and 50 pieces were chosen by our juror. For the first time in our history, we opened art submissions to all women artists, not just WiVLA members. This decision was made after much discussion, motions and a final vote (this is a good example of our board in action). Our juror, the esteemable Elena Poirot, blind-juried the show, not knowing artists’ names or affiliation with WiVLA. She then curated and helped hang the show, alongside volunteers. The result is a show we should be proud of. You can find it at Post Houston (posthtx.com), in the old Post Office building at 401 Franklin. There will be lots of foot traffic every day, being that there are not only many offices, but this is fast becoming a destination spot for many attracted to the upscale food/bar options and the event spaces, and from simple curiosity.
Registering is not a requirement to attend the reception, but it will give us a good idea of how much wine and food to offer.
Last (in response to questions from many reaching out), my friend is good. Kidney removal in July (cancer), three ER visits and two additional hospital stays later, she’s about ready to go back home. This time I’ve gotten to spend with her has been incredible (well, if I don’t count the nine hours on an stool in an ER room that one time), bringing us closer together than we had imagined. Thank you for your concern and for offers of help. Love in action is indeed a beautiful thing.
Walk in love
- Gretchen -
Opening Reception for EXPANSION Exhibition
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
The POST
401 Franklin Street, Houston TX 77201
Join us as we celebrate women artists from the Houston area. The reception will take place on the southeast side of the facility. The exhibition is fronted by a glass wall that looks out onto Jordan Plaza, a beautiful garden area named for the late, great Barbara Jordan.
To ensure that we provide you with enough wine and snacks, please register using the button below.
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.
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.
September Monthly Member Meeting
Brightening the World with Metal Sculptures
with Michelle O'Michael
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
via Zoom
Michelle O’Michael invites WIVLA to share her experience working steel, moving from small to monumental sculptures. She shares images of the journey and her process of using steel’s strength and versatility to create objects of beauty. "It is going to be a fun show!"
Bio: Michelle O'Michael comes from the West Texas Chihuahuan Deseret; a place spotted with cacti, steel-rig trees and pump-jacks. Her sculpture continues that vision of big blue skies punctuated with iron and steel. She has combined this vision with her family heritage of a coal mine blacksmith grandfather and recreational painter father to become a professional sculptor. She brings this heritage together through steel work.
Watch your Inbox for an email with the Zoom meeting code.
Kathi Crawford
Kathi Crawford, SPHR, MMC, spends her days as a human capital consultant and executive coach based in Houston, Texas. After decades of serving as a human resources professional, she started her company, People Possibilities, in 2008. For most of her career, she has been focused on business writing as a part of her job. She returned to writing creatively in 2017 by enrolling in a poetry class at inprint (https://inprinthouston.org/).
Kathi is drawn to poetry for its ability to paint a story in a concise, impactful way. The craft of writing poetry is a continuous learning process for her. She hopes to create dialogue through her writing for the challenges of our time and as individuals. Her poetry has been featured in Drunk Monkeys, Ephemeral Elegies, One Art: a journal of poetry, The Write Launch, and Imposter: a poetry journal.
Education
M.S., Human Resource Management, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas
B.B.A., Economics Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
August Member Meeting: How to Create a Story
If you missed the August WiVLA meeting, be sure to watch the video of Katherine Center’s presentation. It was full of humor, great advice to writers, and fascinating ideas about story development. The WiVLA members were on the edge of our ZOOM seats for the whole meeting!
Key points from Katherine’s presentation on story:
Stories are constructed the way memories are built in our minds. We encode only a few things from experiences. And we fill in the rest of the details with our imagination.
Leave space for imagination.
A good story feels like a memory.
A story is something you do to people. Think about what effect you want your story to have on the reader.
A special quality of good stories - They are not true, but you believe they are true.
Wisdom comes from life experiences. If the reader empathizes with the character(s) in the story, they feel as if they merge with the main character, and they can pull wisdom from the imagined experience.
Magic of fiction – It lifts you up.
To experience Katherine process, follow her on Instagram
Check out her website and sign up for her quarterly newsletter “Three Good Things”. Katherine Center
Fun Fact: The birdhouse that Katherine is holding in the photo was made by WiVLA member, Lee Steiner!
If you missed the zoom meeting, you can watch the recording on the WiVLA YouTube Channel.
Let's Edit with Adele Elise Williams
WiVLA writers received numerous tools for their toolkits at the Let's Edit with Adele Elise Williams workshop on August 26. Some of the revision exercises included the following:
What is the central conflict OR what is at stake?
What does the protagonist (fiction) want OR what does the speaker (poem, nonfiction) want?
Create a thesis statement or statement of meaning
Think of ten new titles
Find the plot points or turns – actions or decisions that move the story along.
What is missing or what is extraneous? Are there new possibilities?
Locate the symbols & note significance (& why). Are the symbols overused or underused? Do they relate back to statement of meaning?
Reread the start of the story
Put it away and rewrite the beginning
Activities outside of WiVLA
Janet Reynolds' Upcoming Show
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.
Authorpalooza
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.
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!
Kathi Crawford, SPHR, MMC, spends her days as a human capital consultant and executive coach based in Houston, Texas. After decades of serving as a human resources professional, she started her company, People Possibilities, in 2008. For most of her career, she has been focused on business writing as a part of her job. She returned to writing creatively in 2017 by enrolling in a poetry class at inprint (
