We had an excellent turnout for the October meeting, including a few new faces. The Elgin Arts Association extends its appreciation to Bremond House Gallery for graciously hosting the meeting.

The meeting started off with a report on the first Art Walk. The event was extremely well-received by not only members of our community, but also by many visitors from other areas of the state including Dallas, Houston, and La Porte. There are a few issues that will need to be addressed for future Art Walks, such as lighting and finding a way to more noticeably bring attention to participating businesses. Balloons were used for the first event, unfortunately, they can be difficult to see after dark. The Art Walk planning committee will use the first Art Walk as a learning tool to make future Art Walks even more successful. If you’d like to participate in an upcoming Art Walk, please contact Dave Warner (dwarner@bremondhouse.com), or call him at 512-281-9445.

The next order of business was the Pearls Art Show. This year will be the biggest Pearls Show ever, with 43 artists represented by over 100 pieces of art. Sign-up sheets were available at the meeting for those wishing to volunteer to work during the reception. Postcards were also on hand for those who would like to distribute invitations for the event. (Note – If you missed the meeting, postcards are available at Kingfisher Fine Art & Music Gallery.)

Exciting News for EAA! The representative from the City of Austin that handles the exhibits for the airport galleries contacted our president, Michael Strange. The Elgin Arts Association has been invited to exhibit at one of the galleries in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The area offered for our exhibit is a large wall space protected by glass (bullet-proof, at that!). The theme of the exhibit is "Landscapes of Elgin"; however, this does NOT mean you’re limited to bluebonnets & oak trees… It’s merely a "catch-all" phrase to indicate that art in the exhibit should be inspired by our area. The exhibit will move in on January 26, which gives everyone some time to plan what they would like to have on display, and will run through April. Michael will have more details and photos of the exhibit space at the November meeting.

Call for Presentations! One of the wonderful things about our Arts Association is our variety of artists. Having member demonstrations at meetings is a fantastic way for all of us to become more familiar with each other, as well as become more educated about various artistic media and processes. We’re looking for members to volunteer to share information about their art during an upcoming meeting - it’s easy! Just e-mail lynette@lynettehampton.com with a short description of what you would like to demonstrate or present. The information will then be provided to the events committee for scheduling.

Member Presentation: Lynette Hampton – Polymer Clay Artist Our member presentation for October was given by Lynette Hampton. Lynette has been working with polymer clay since 1992, and two years ago was designated by the Texas Commission on the Arts as a "Texas Original" artist. Lynette brought several pieces of work to demonstrate the versatility of her chosen medium, which through artistic applications, is becoming more widely accepted as a fine art medium. Lynette will be teaching classes at WW Treenware in the near future, covering various polymer clay techniques including sculpting, millefiori design, and a parent/child ornament workshop.

Potluck in November! Our next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., Thursday, November 15, 2007 at the Presbyterian Church, 303 North Avenue C (located behind the library). The meeting room is on the street side of the Church. This will be a potluck social event, so get out your cookbooks! All artists and supporters of the arts are welcome, so bring a friend!