By Karen Stopnicki, WAS-H President

Dear WAS-H Friends,

The International Watermedia Exhibition (IWE) will be on display in our gallery in just a few short days, opening on March 3, after the General Meeting. The volunteers for this event have already been busy, planning and preparing, and will be in full force the weekend the exhibition is installed and opens. I continue to be amazed with the enthusiasm from the many volunteers, the hard work and talent of the many artists in the exhibition and perseverance of our few members recently awarded Signature and Elite Signature Status. The big events at WAS-H are a wonderful time to enjoy the excitement and support of our arts community.

Our March General Meeting will feature a “show and tell” demo with award-winning artist and IWE juror and judge, Vlad Yeliseyev, followed by the IWE Awards Ceremony, and then capped with a reception to celebrate the opening presentation of the IWE. The festivities begin at 2pm, on Sunday, March 3. The IWE will be on display until the end of March, so please make plans to come by and see it in person!

Current members should look for an email on March 7 to vote for the officer slate for fiscal year June 2024 – May 2025. Click [HERE] to see the bios for the slate of officers. Voting will be recorded online, and close prior to the April General Meeting on April 7 at 2 pm. The results will be announced at that meeting.

Paint-Ins are a wonderful member benefit! These 1-day classes are a great opportunity to take from a teacher to learn a new technique and have fun painting. Registration for the March 9 Paint-In with Caroline Graham is open, and registration for the April 13 Paint-In with Diann Zimmerman will open on March 12.

We have many classes on the schedule for April and May -- see our full class list [HERE]. We continue to add more classes as the months go on, so please check the schedule regularly to see what is new. Registering for a class is a great way to enjoy the camaraderie of other artists and enhance your artistic skills. Our standard events such as Open Studio, Model Lab and Senior Group are going strong and welcome you to join in.

Did you miss the recent 2-day workshop from plein air artist Richie Vios? Check out this short video filmed, narrated, and produced by WAS-H volunteer extraordinaire Jesse Castaneda, [HERE]. We are working hard to provide more opportunities to learn at WAS-H, including bringing in visiting artists -- saving you the cost of travel to learn from these talented artists.

Next month I will have a long list of volunteers to thank as March is a busy month. So, this month, I would like to thank our current Board of Directors for all the hard work they do every day. Janet Traylor makes sure bills are paid and finances are well managed, Kathleen Cooper documents meetings and offers invaluable feedback, Laura McMahon has updated our voting procedures to be in compliance with our new bylaws, Kat Rodgers managed our fabulous Annual Members Exhibit, Yvonne Sternes keeps our building in tip-top shape including recent painting and AC repair, Kelly Medrano has vastly improved our communications and branding, Kathleen Church manages big receptions and our Senior Class, Cheryl Evans and Susan Giannantonio have developed the most robust and exciting class offerings we have ever had, Linda Flowers and Brian Flaherty run the best monthly gallery shows and receptions in the city of Houston, Jan McNeill offers sound advice and historical society perspective, Paula Fowler is always welcoming new members, Nancy Moody is enthusiastically recruiting new volunteers, and Donna Van Fleet has not only served as Vice President offering her vast non-profit expertise in addition to managing our general meetings, recruiting future jurors and major workshop teachers, she also managed our International Watermedia Exhibition which is a job in itself. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the entire Board of Directors! So much happens behind the scenes with our volunteer run organization, and these are the leaders that make it happen. If you see these good peeps at WAS-H, please thank them! We are always looking to get more folks involved, so if you have time and want to contribute, we could use your help with everything from ad hoc activities to leadership roles.

I hope you will join with everything going on at WAS-H – thank you for being a part of our wonderful arts community!

Warm Regards,

Karen Houston Stopnicki

WAS-H President