By Karen Stopnicki, WAS-H President

Dear WAS-H Friends,

As December begins and we are wrapping up 2023, I feel so grateful for our magnificent WAS-H community. We had a full year of classes, meetings, gallery exhibits, major shows, and a wonderful Art Fair. We had a year of more people visiting our gallery, coming to general meetings, taking classes, and becoming members. Really, it has been a full and happy year at WAS-H. And, the good news is, we have even more to look forward to in 2024.

Our Small Treasures Holiday Show continues through December. The gallery is filled with beautiful art, smaller in scale, and attractively priced. If you want to give the gift of art, this is the best place to shop in Houston. The January Gallery Show is themed “Doors.” The theme is open for your interpretation and certainly doesn’t have to be literal. Check out the prospectus that is already online. Our February Gallery Show theme is Love Is in the Air, which again is open to interpretation to paint anything you love.

The International Watermedia Exhibition (IWE) is right around the corner! Even though the IWE doesn’t begin until March, the deadline to enter is January 13. This is a world class exhibition, so if you're a serious water media artist, you should enter. Our juror and judge will be Vladislav Yeliseyev. The prospectus and entry can be found on the Café website, HERE.

In conjunction with the IWE, we will host a 4-day workshop with Vladislav Yeliseyev. Vlad is well known for his breathtaking landscapes featuring natural light variations. If you want to learn more about the relationship of light and color in landscapes and cityscapes using a loose and bold brush style of painting, this is a must-take workshop. Registration will open on December 4 at 10 am. Our last two major workshops sold out in a week, so be sure to register early to secure your seat.

We have a fantastic slate of classes for early 2024 – January, February and March – now open for registration. Taking a class at WAS-H is a great way to improve your skills, learn new techniques, and meet others who enjoy making art. And members get the benefit of a discount on classes and workshops.

Keep an eye on our website for information about other upcoming events. We have Paint-Ins, Open Studio, Model Lab and Senior Group, all planned for 2024 with good will.

If you have already made a donation to our Annual Fund, thank you, thank you, thank you! If haven’t yet and would like to, you can donate online HERE. WAS-H relies on the generous support of members and friends to continue with all the offerings we have.

My December wishes for you are the following. Stay warm, enjoy your family and friends, have meaning to the holidays you celebrate and blessings for a New Year. I am appreciative to all of you for being a part of WAS-H. I hope to see you soon!

Warm Regards,

Karen Houston Stopnicki