November Newsletter

Westchase Artists Stimulate Their Creativity

Members of the Westchase Artists Society had a great time at their November meeting which centered around a creativity-stimulating activity organized and presented by Joose Hadley, fellow artist and owner of Great Frame & Art in West Park Village. The artists all got to enjoy using their imagination while creating art and discussing the process with each other.

The evening’s activity required a hot plate, crayons, and glossy paper. Covering the hot plate with aluminum foil, Joose melted various crayons into liquid pools of blending colors. Each artist then rubbed a piece of paper against the hot plate creating colorful abstract images. As the images cooled, artists used black ink to draw on top of the crayon, bringing alive the images their imagination saw in the melted colors. Thank you Joose for organizing this activity!

Vanessa Montenegro also shared her work from The Painting Experience, a seminar she participated in last month. The seminar focused on painting directly from intuition — removing the restrictions of talent, competition, critique, and awards — allowing one’s creativity to grow and their art to change. While getting feedback on her work, Vanessa shared her experiences during the seminar and answered questions from other artists.

Recent Activities

Nine artists from the Westchase Artists Society recently participated in an outdoor Art Show & Sale as part of the World of Westchase 10th Anniversary Party in West Park Village on October 27. Their work included everything from painting and photography to mosaics and sculpture. It was a wonderful opportunity to share their work with the Westchase community.

On November 3, several members also contributed to the art auction that was part of the YMCA Second Annual Golf Tournament. The event benefits the NW Hillsborough YMCA 2007 Building Strong Kids Campaign. Congratulations to Teresa Trubilla who sold two photographs as part of the auction.

Upcoming Meeting

The next meeting of the Westchase Artist Group will be held on Thursday, December 13 at 7:00 PM at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library. Another fun evening is planned as the artists will be getting ready for the holidays and sharing their creativity with others. Those who attend are asked to bring

A camera (any kind will be fine) to use in a surprise activity designed to expand the creative process.
A 4” X 6” (postcard-size) piece of your art to exchange with another artist. Before receiving your gift in this exchange, artists will need to describe the work and the artist whose piece they have selected.
And, as always, don’t forget your creativity.

The Westchase Artists Society is open to all types of visual artists from the Upper Tampa Bay area. Artists interested in finding out more about the group should come join us at our next meeting and bring a piece of their artwork to share. We hope to see you there!

Vanessa Montenegro
Westchase Artist Society member

Workshop Pictures

Some of the artwork created that day

October Newsletter

Westchase Artists Explore The Mathematics of Art

The October meeting of the Westchase Artists Society got underway with members quickly addressing matters of business in order to move onto the evening’s scheduled presentation. Attendees signed in and spent a few minutes introducing themselves to new member Sandy Bennett who works in acrylic, sculpture, and watercolors.

In an effort to keep the meeting’s focus on art, it was decided that the By Laws, which are being written to establish guidelines for the organization, will be addressed by a subcommittee of interested individuals. Election of a Board of Directors was postponed until January.

Application forms for the January/February ’08 show at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library were distributed to those in attendance. “All Things Westchase” will be the theme of this exhibit and application forms can be downloaded at the website www.westchaseartists.com. Completed forms and the $15 submission fees will be collected at the November and December meetings. Artists interested in having their work included in the publicity materials should bring a photo of the piece on CD to the November meeting.

Jeremy Ramos captured the attention of those present with a presentation about his mathematical approach to art. He shared information from two books that provided inspiration to link his engineering background with his creative drive — The Geometry of Art and Life by Matilda Ghyka and The Divine Proportion by H.E. Huntley. He went on to explain and present examples of how he has used the principles of the Divine Ratio and the Golden Spiral in his work. While using these mathematical principles to create harmony in art sometimes occurs naturally, Jeremy showed how some artists make deliberate use of a grid in their work.

Expanding creative expression seemed to be the theme of the evening as the meeting continued with photographer Angela Trusch asking members for feedback on a new piece she is working on. Since acrylic painting is a new medium for her, members provided technical as well as creative feedback. Sonya Whipple shared a whimsical fish painting with the group and asked for some input on the technical difficulties she had run into with the medium and framing. Mosaic artist Valerie Reed dsiplayed a mixed media piece that was inspired by 9/11 for feedback and comments.

The evening wrapped up with Joose Hadley, fellow artist and owner of Great Frame & Art in West Park Village, suggesting a creativity-stimulating activity involving crayons, a hot plate, and ink pens for next month’s meeting. She also offered to make space available on the sidewalk of her gallery for the group’s members to gather and work on their art on some future evening.

Upcoming Meeting

The next meeting of the Westchase Artist Group will be held on Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 PM at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library. The Westchase Artists Society is open to all types of visual artists from the Upper Tampa Bay area. Artists interested in finding out more about the group are always welcome and are invited to bring a piece of their artwork to share with the group.

Teresa Trubilla
Westchase Artist Society member

September Newsletter

“Colors of Art” Reception Draws a Crowd

A steady stream of art lovers flowed into the Upper Tampa Bay Library on the evening of Thursday, September 6 for the opening reception of “Colors of Art,” the second art exhibit held by the year-old Westchase Artists Society. Family, friends, and other guests enjoyed food and conversation while viewing the creative work of the artists. The show includes painting, photography, sculpture, and mosaics and will continue to be on display at the Library through the end of October.

A big “Thank You” from all the artists involved to the Friends of the Upper Tampa Bay Library who helped make this exhibit possible.

Down to Business

The September meeting of the Westchase Artist Society began with Jeremy Ramos presenting the first draft of the By Laws he is working to develop for the group. A copy of this draft is available on www.westchaseartists.com and members are asked to review and provide feedback.

Discussion of the By Laws led to a suggestion about changing the name of the group to be more inclusive of artists in the surrounding area and to avoid the WAS acronym for the group. Members were invited to submit possible new names for the group or express reasons for retaining the existing name via the website. The issue will be discussed further at a later meeting.

Conversation moved on to upcoming activities including the YMCA Golf Tournament and Auction being held on November 3. Participating artists are donating to the YMCA fifty percent of the sales price of their work sold during the auction that will follow the tournament. The possibility of participating in the Christmas Dinner and Silent Auction was also mentioned. Further information will be available at an upcoming meeting.

The World of Westchase’s has agreed to make space available for the Artist Society to join in their10th Anniversary Party being held on October 27, 2007 following The Great West Chase. Artists interested in participating in this community celebration can contact Teresa Trubilla at Trubilla@mac.com for further information.

Artists were reminded that October 1 is the deadline for materials to be submitted for consideration in the World of Westchase 2008 calendar. Requirements for materials can be found on www.westchaseartists.com.

Guest speaker Shelly Stein of the Westchase TriGals presented her group’s need for T-shirt artwork for their upcoming Iron Distance Challenge. The TriGals is a non-profit organization who last year donated proceeds from their triathlon to the Westchase Community Foundation which helps families with sick children living in the Westchase area. Westchase Artists Society members were invited to submit artwork for consideration to be used on the group’s T-shirt and promotional materials with a $50 award being given to the artist whose work is selected. Submissions or questions may be sent to Shelly at skstein2003@yahoo.com.

The meeting wrapped up with new member Valerie Reed presenting a piece of her mosaic work titled “Necklace Wench” to the group for discussion. Her creative and functional piece of art was well-received by everyone. Ms. Reed went on to share how she likes to donate her creations to charities to use as part of their fund-raising efforts. What a great way to give even more meaning to one’s artistic message!

Our Next Meeting

The October meeting of the Westchase Artist Group will be held on Thursday, October 11 at 7:00 PM at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library. The By Laws will be reviewed further at this meeting along with upcoming educational activities. The Westchase Artists Society is open to all types of visual artists from the Upper Tampa Bay area. Artists interested in finding out more about the group are always welcome and are invited to bring a piece of their artwork to share with the group.

Teresa Trubilla
Westchase Artist Society member

August Newsletter

“Colors of Art” to Grace the UTB Library

The Westchase Artists Society would like to invite the entire Westchase community to experience the “Colors of Art” as its members exhibit their work during September and October at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library. The show’s opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 6 from 6:00 until 8:00 PM and will provide an opportunity to meet the artists whose works include painting, sculpture, mosaics, and photography. If you miss out on the fun and excitement of opening night, “Colors of Art” will continue to be on display for your enjoyment during normal library hours through the end of October.

The Westchase Artist Society Continues to Flourish

The August 9 meeting of the Westchase Artist Society opened with a discussion by Jeremy Ramos about the importance of formally organizing the association. A year has already flown by since Leah Mondino and Vanessa Montenegro first envisioned a group of artists getting together in Westchase to share their time and talents with each other and the community as a whole. Now, as membership and interest in the group keeps growing, establishing a board of directors, committee leaders, and formal by-laws will enable the group to clearly define its membership and accomplish more of its objectives. The details of this endeavor will continue to be explored during the next few months.

The discussion then moved onto upcoming events as details for the “Colors of Art” exhibit at the library were finalized. Other events in the planning stages include a YMCA golf tournament and art auction in late November, an exhibit and sales booth at the WOW 10th Anniversary Party on Saturday, October 27, Bohemian nights once a month in West Park Village, a possible Christmas art sale near Thanksgiving, and an “Everything Westchase” exhibit at the library early in 2008.

Artists were reminded to contact Chris Barrett from the World of Westchase if they were interested in submitting artwork for the upcoming 2008 WOW Calendar. For additional information about the types of work requested and submission requirements, please go to www.westchaseartists.com.

The meeting continued with a fascinating discussion by photographer Greg Colvin about the in’s and out’s of handling art as a business. While not every member of the group makes their living from their artwork, marketing one’s creations — whether for fame or fortune — was something every artist was interested in. His presentation covered topics from the importance of setting goals and looking to the examples set by successful artists to the necessity of remembering to do some “art” and some “business” everyday. Greg also reminded the group’s members to create work that they love (because if they do, someone else will, too) and to always make sure that their work has integrity.

The September meeting of the Westchase Artist Group will be held on Thursday, September 13 at 7:00 PM at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library. This meeting will be a “Critic Night” and will provide an excellent opportunity for artists to get peer review on a piece they are considering for submission to the WOW calendar. Artists may also bring any piece they are currently working on and request advice or feedback. New members are always welcome to bring a piece of their artwork to share with the group.

Teresa Trubilla
Westchase Artist Society member

July Newsletter

Greetings!
What a wonderful meeting and presentation we had this time around! The energy in the room was really inspiring. It was really nice to see and welcome all the new faces! Special thanks to Joose who gave an informative talk on getting into a gallery, to Vanessa Montenegro whose work on the image CD presented us well to the library which led to a show, and to Jeremy Ramos, who is chairing a potentially influential and interesting project for us.
You all rock!

Annoucments
What YOU Need To Know
Vanessa Montenegro recently finished a commission for Christopher Barrett publishing and managing editor of the Westchase WOW Magazine. The acrylic on canvas entitled "Some Time At Westchase" will be used as the cover image of the new business directory coming out in July. We don't have an image yet but you can see and read all about it in Julys WOW magazine! Congratulations Vanessa! You make us proud.

Welcome New Members!
Colored pencil artwork by New member Nancy Jacey

Heartfelt welcomes to new member artists;
-Nancy Jacey
-Karin Smith
-Greg Colvin
-Charlies Schoeneman
-Sonya Lorraine Whipple.
We are happy to have you join us!

Old News
After brief introductions, (We were joined by 5 new members) Picasso committee chair head Jeremy Ramos bought us up to speed on the progress of the Picasso project, which is coming along with lots of inventive ideas. Interest was expressed on the part of the other artists at the meeting and Jeremy reiterated that all artists are welcome on this project and encouraged to participate. The next meeting to finalize the color selection will be on Friday 22nd 6-8 PM (That's this Friday folks! But remember it's choosing the colors only, at this time.) at the Swim and Tennis Center on Countryway Blvd. Contact Jeremy for details, ramos.jeremy@gmail.com

The Senior Center art show was finalized and 11 artists will be participating in the show on July 14th from 6PM (set up) 7PM to 8:30 PM. The Westchase Seniors will be bringing their company and good food to share with the artists. For further info contact Ann Tate atate1426@tampabay.rr.com


Currant
Library Show Planned
Time for our second show!
Thanks to Darcy at the UTB Library we will be having our next show there.
The dates are; Drop off entries: August 27th 9AM (tentative)
Exhibition dates: September 1st -October 31st.
Reception: Thursday, September 6th 6-8PM
Take Down: Wednesday, October 31st by 9PM. This exhibition will run for 2 months from September 1st-October 31st. All artwork must be framed and ready to hang with hooks and wires.

The WCAS has $35.00 in it's kitty. The library kicks in $50.00 for food, publishes the event in it's brochure and the WOW, provides flyers for artists to use as invitations, and hosts a reception. You may invite as many people as you like.
The WCAS voted to call the upcoming UTB library show "Colors Of Art" (name suggested by Ann Henson and immediately loved!) and charge an entry fee of $15.00 per piece, to supplement the food as well as create postcards to use as more elaborate invitations. Teresa Trubilla volunteered to chair the invitation committee along with new member Nancy Jacey. Way to go ladies! We'll need food volunteers, as well as other helpers as we get closer to the date.

I want your news! Please send me any thing you'd like to see in this newsletter. There wouldn't be one without you to read it! Business owners, if you 'd like to include coupons, I can put them in as well, send your info to leah@westchaseartists.com
Thanks,
Sincerely,
Leah

S Leah Mondino
WestChase Artists Society