Pictures! I forgot the Pictures!

Here are some pictures from our annual Holiday Meeting (AKA - "The Party").

Buffet or Conga Line. You decide.

Live chat group caught in the act!

Holiday luminaries, gathered around the buffet and on the tree.

See what you missed? There were many more folks there, and lots of  "live" chat groups, many of which included laughter! The constant bubbling noise level reflected the lively good times. Next time, be there too. You're gonna love it.

The Holidays are Upon Us!

Cardinals, colored pencil on film, Heidi Snyder

Let's celebrate the joys of the season - the friendships we share through our organization. Good food. Family and friends we haven't seen for awhile gathering together. The peace we've been granted this holiday season. Our thoughts for safety for those in harm's way protecting that peace. Crisp weather and pine-scented festive rooms. Cookies! The list goes on and on! Best wishes to all. Let's each be a light in the winter darkness this holiday, helping those in need, remembering friends near and far, and creating art to illuminate the world of plants.

Under Useful Documents you'll find the minutes from our Holiday Meeting which took place on December 11th at Susi Olson's festively decorated home. There's lots of good news there. New for 2012, RMSBA will have a meeting every month on the last Sunday of each month, instead of meeting quarterly, as we have done in the past. Julie Terry, our industrious program chairman, has been hard at work finding programs and venues for meetings for the year. She and her team created a bookmark that lists scheduled activities. Here's what's happening:

 

I think the appropriate comment here is, "Wow!" probably followed by, "Way to go, Julie!" Thank you for all the work that has gone into this project. We will all benefit from increased contact through the year.

Officer listings have been updated, to the right. Take a moment to say "Thanks for working for us," to the folks on the list. Lots of commitment and hard work there. Also look at Events, where exhibits and other goings on are listed. Dorothy DePaulo, our hard-charging president, has secured exhibition space at the Denver Botanic Gardens for our RARE II exhibition, and it will hang while the ASBA 20th anniversary conference is here hosted by the RMSBA in Denver. What a coup! Many thanks to Dorothy!

Our first online exhibition, Remembering Summer, has ended, but it was a wonderful display. During the 3 to 5 weeks that elapse between postings on this blog, we generally get 200 viewers. While the exhibition was online we had over 500 viewers. You're work is being seen! Congratulations.

The next online exhibition will be open for entries February 15, 2012. It's theme is Winter Wonders, and we're looking for your work during these colder months. So many saved specimens, hardy grasses. and luscious imported exotics from the florist will become works of art. Be sure to send your entries in. I'll post the guidelines in early February to remind you. Happy creating!

And finally, there are two new little gadgets on the right. One is a search block, allowing you to search the blog and blog links by key words that you determine, and the second called Bulletin Board. I welcome you to post your wants, needs, heck - even your desires! - there. You submit for the Bulletin Board by emailing the blog at rmsbartists@gmail.com. Make your announcement, wish list, help wanted entries, and they'll be posted for up to 6 weeks. It's another service we provide to members to make your art life easier and more productive.

Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for a wonderful New Year in 2012!

New Calls for Entries

We are busy getting ready for the new year! Our new Exhibits Director, Heidi Snider, has lined up two shows for us, and the calls for entry for both of them are posted under Calls for Entries. 

We would have liked to have had more time to prepare for these shows, but the opportunities came to us, and we need to take advantage of them. The shows are not until March, so we want to give you as much time as possible to get ready for them. I am so proud of the artwork that was in the Evergreen Show and I can hardly wait to show our work to two new audiences.

We hope to see as many of you as possible at the Holiday Party at Susan Olson's home at 2:00pm on Dec.11th. Please bring a snack, and come and join the fun!

Calling All Images

It's a busy time of year, and to add to your task list, I'd like to invite you to once again send images for use on our blog. We've about run through the things donated this summer. There are, of course, the lovely images in "Remembering Summer," our first online exhibition. However, we need more seasonal images if you have them, and anything new you're working on and would like to share. Please send them to me, your BlogMeister, at rmsbartists@gmail.com. We'll be looking for your masterpiece soon.

There, there. They're there!

Don't worry! If you're looking for Board Minutes, or Meeting Minutes,  or any other relevant document, just go to "Useful Documents" in the column to the right. Click under that where it says "Documents" and you'll have the full text of all our useful documents. Scroll through to find the one you need. They're always there for you. If the listing has been updated, I'll make a note of it in a blog entry, and you can find the new entries the same way.

If you're looking for Calls for Entries, select it in the column on the right. Click on All Calls for Entries. You'll be there! So will they.

'Tis the Season

Heading Home for the Holidays! Colored pencil on sketch paper, by Libby Kyer

Yes. It is. It’s time for the winter holiday festivities, whether we’re ready for it or not! However, it’s a great time to share your art with friends and family, making gifts that reflect your talent and passion for botanical art. If you have a scan of your artwork(s), you are good to go to get creative and get your art out there. Here are a few suggestions for treats for those you love:

Cucurbita sp., watercolor on paper, Estelle deRidder

• Note cards printed with your art, including an envelope – Kinko’s and many other quick print vendors can print for you, or you can print yourself if you have the right equipment and programs.
• Small matted prints, especially those with a holiday theme – again, local quick print vendors can handle this nicely from your scan.
• Gift tags, using snippets of actual paintings – a way to use artwork that is either too dated for exhibition, or simply doesn’t fit your current goals.
• Gift tags, using prints of parts or all of your artwork – this is very easy to do on your own printer, and with a decorative paper punch and some coordinating ribbons, it makes a lovely gift.
• Custom wrapping paper complete with matching ribbons – go online to find printers for this, or talk to local quick print vendors. This makes a special gift, and sends your artwork out into the world.
• Calendars – hanging, CD case and mini-CD case are always appreciated – quick print vendors can make these from your designs, or help you design them with their tools.
• Mugs with a selection of your artwork or 4 matched images – these take a little longer in the planning department, but make a wonderful project. Check online for vendors.
• Glass or acrylic cutting boards with your artwork underneath – there are local vendors who can do this for you, making a lovely gift.
• Coasters – simply purchase “photo coasters” and print and insert your artwork. Makes a great housewarming gift too.

Christmas Boxwood, pen and ink, scanned, color manipulated, by Libby Kyer

Just the Facts

After reports that some members were having problems getting prints of items that are on our file host (calls for entries, etc.) we’ve decided to provide a new way to give you access to documents you need. In the future, there’ll be a selection in the right column for “Documents”. Just click that, and you’ll go to a blogspot that will have documents posted. You can copy directly from that by highlighting the text you want to copy. No fees, just the facts.