At Last! 2020 is behind us and we can look forward to a return to being together soon.

Sunday, January 10 is our next general meeting, artist demonstration, and awards for the first WAS-H exhibit of this calendar year. Award-winning artist Cheryl Evans will be our demo artist. It will still be a ZOOM meeting and an online show, but we are eager to see you in person and get your beautiful artwork back on our walls.

Your Board of Directors has been very, very busy behind the scenes, even though our building is still quiet and awaiting our return. The nominating committee has been successful is locating members eager & willing to join us on the board, serving you, for the 2021-2022 year starting in June.

I know you will join me in a big “thank you” to outgoing Education Director, Nicole Hansen, who has relocated to Washington state. Her tireless efforts enabled us to create a vibrant offering of online classes. We will miss her very much and are sad to see her go. However, we are blessed to have member Diann Zimmerman joining the board this month. This retired corporate banker and artist is excited to continue the work arranging WAS-H’s online classes and in-person classes. She is fortunate, too, to be supported as she gets started, by our current Board Secretary and past Education Director, Laurie Hammons. And I am especially pleased that member Kathleen Cooper has stepped forward to assume our Treasurer duties, which had fallen to various directors in the fall. She is a CPA and attorney and her expertise will serve WAS-H well.

In addition to our monthly gallery exhibits, Gallery Director Paula Fowler has worked with a committee to update and expand allowable media, surfaces, and framing/mounting, and protecting artwork. You can see these changes in the January Prospectus emailed out mid-December. In the new February 2021 issue of Watercolor Artist, the Northwest Watercolor Society has an article about having done the exact same thing. Great minds think alike.

Past President & AME Director Kathleen Church has chaired a Re-Open Committee as we move forward with plans to re-open our doors, starting with a January 16 outdoor event to welcome in the new year. Past President and Historian Jan McNeill is leading this fun activity. And WAS-H artist Liz Hill will be offering a small, in-person class, following CDC protocols, on January 23. Please see the website for details.

We can hardly wait for everyone’s return!! Until then, check our website for virtual volunteer opportunities, consider joining the board of directors for 2021-2022 as a way to give back and to keep WAS-H vibrant, stay safe, and keep painting!

Sincerely,

Beth Graham, WAS-H President