Elgin Arts Association^™

The Elgin Arts Association meeting December 20 was held at the Elgin Public Library meeting room. President Michael Strange presided over the meeting.

As you may remember from past meetings, the Pearls Art Show Committee adopted a resolution in August 2007 to transfer management of the Pearls Art Show to the Elgin Arts Association. The Pearls Art Show Committee will donate all proceeds from the Pearls Art Show to the Elgin Arts Association, with the funds designated for financing future Pearls Art Shows and the related scholarship/grant fund.

At the December Elgin Arts Association meeting, a resolution was presented to the membership for the Elgin Arts Association to accept management of future Pearls Art Shows upon receipt of the funds. A motion was made to adopt the resolution; the motion was seconded and the resolution was presented for vote. Members present at the meeting voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.

Call for volunteers - The Elgin Arts Association can reach new heights with your help! Committee sign-up sheets were provided at the meeting. Many thanks to all who volunteered! If you were not able to attend the meeting, there's still plenty of time to sign up for a committee. Just send an e-mail to Lynette (lynette@lynettehampton.com) indicating which committee you would like to be part of. Standing committees are: (1) Events; (2) Membership; (3) Newsletter; (4) Grants; (5) Education and (6) Public Relations. If you have questions regarding committee positions, please contact any EAA Board
Member. (Reminder - we will need a nominating committee to help "recruit" candidates for the positions of Secretary and President for the year 2009. Elections will be held at the November 2008 meeting.)

Airport Exhibit - The January meeting will be dedicated to finalizing the Elgin Arts Association airport exhibit. The gentleman who coordinates the airport exhibits plans to attend the meeting to answer any questions you may have. In addition, Dave & Deborah have graciously agreed to let us use the floor of Bremond House Gallery in order for us to do a preliminary layout of the exhibit. If you plan to participate in the airport exhibit, please bring your piece(s) to the January meeting. Remember - the pieces you enter must remain for the duration of the exhibit. Note: This exhibit is open to all Elgin area artists.

Display Cards for Airport Exhibit - For consistency, EAA will provide display cards for the exhibit. If you plan to exhibit, please e-mail Lynette with the following information: (1) Artist Name; (2) Title of Piece; (3) Medium; and (4) Contact info (telephone number or website).

Don't have a website? Dave Warner has volunteered (or was it that Deborah volunteered him???) to set up artist pages on the Elgin Arts Association website. (Many thanks to Dave & Deborah, both!)  If you would like to take advantage of this generous offer, Dave will need your name and photo, artist bio including contact information, and a picture or two of your work.

Display Space in Elgin - Elizabeth Sullivan has taken on the task of coordinating the display of artists' work at various locations in Elgin, such as City Hall. Most of the space available is wall space; however, if you have your own pedestals, there are some areas that might accommodate 3-D work. If you have work you would like to exhibit in town, please contact Elizabeth (ecsullivanart@aol.com).

A couple of items for discussion were then brought up by Frank Brabec:

(1) What can be done about signage for businesses hosting artists during upcoming Art Walks to make them more visible? This will be discussed during upcoming Art Walk planning meetings.
(2) The Main Street Board, etc., needs to know what the Elgin Arts Association is all about. (Note: The Elgin Arts Association Board will discuss educating various entities about our Association.)
(3) We need someone to write press releases for local papers when newsworthy events take place involving our Association and its members. Lynette volunteered for this task. If you have an event such as receiving an award or other recognition related to your art, please e-mail the information to Lynette. She will draft a press release and, after your review, will submit it to area newspapers for possible publication.

Elgin Chamber of Commerce - Debbie Lundrigan is now working with the Elgin Chamber of Commerce. She provided information regarding Chamber membership; dues for non-profit groups are $50. The Chamber directory would be going to print, and if the Elgin Arts Association would like to join and be included in the directory, we would have to act fast. Reciprocal membership was discussed, as our Association has a Patron Membership level that is the same cost as the $50 Chamber of Commerce Membership. Michael presented this decision to the membership for a vote. Members presented voted unanimously for the Elgin Arts Association to become a member of the Elgin Chamber of Commerce.

(Note: Following the December meeting, Elgin Arts Association Treasurer Cheridah Vaughn went by the Chamber of Commerce to deliver our membership application, and the Elgin Chamber of Commerce reciprocated by joining as an Elgin Arts Association Patron Member.)

With association business concluded, it was time for a member presentation!

Cheridah Vaughn, a stained glass artist, provided a fabulous demonstration of her chosen medium. Cheridah created a beautiful glass feather sun catcher from start to finish right before our eyes, answering questions and explaining the "hows and whys" as she worked. There are many safety aspects to be aware of when working with glass - from cutting and "nipping" the glass, to the extreme temperature of the soldering iron, to the caustic nature of the flux.  Though Cheridah made it LOOK easy, we realize her years of experience and familiarity with her art form are what have created her comfort level. Everyone enjoyed Cheridah's presentation and left the meeting with a greater understanding and appreciation of the amount of work that goes into a stained glass creation.

The next meeting will be 7:00 p.m., Thursday, January 10 at Bremond House Gallery. Be sure to bring your art for the airport exhibit!  If you plan to participate in the exhibit but will not be able to attend the meeting, please arrange for someone to bring your art. Bring a friend! Hope to see you there!