Lots of Changes!

Well, it's been quite a while since my last posting.  So many things have happened, including the inability to access this blog over these many months.  So here's the changes in a nutshell -

1)  I am now president of the Sebastian River Art Club, as of January 1st, 2017

2) Sheila Lougheed is Chairman of the Art Center, with Suze Lavender as committee, and Linda Irwin as Hanging Chairman.  All doing a great job.

3) We are now a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation

4) We have a computer!  Yay, we're in the 21st Century!

5) Our website is currently down, however we will be launching (piece-by-piece) a new and more informative one soon!

6) On March 18-19th we had our first Annual Beautiful Lagoon Show, which drew hundreds of people and generated lots of cash and attention.  A great show, which is soon to be highlighted on our new website.

7) We now have insurance.

8) We now have a real, honest-to-goodness lease!

9) We now have a landline phone - 772-571-6632

10) We now have wi-fi!

11) Our Business Meetings, which are the second Tuesday of each month from September to May, at 12:30 pm, have been changed to 10:00 am, leaving us more time to socialize, paint in the Meeting Room, go to lunch, etc.  Works out great ... except for those who sleep late!

12) We now give out TWO scholarships for $1,000 each!

13) Look for us soon on social media.

What all this also means is that we now have regular bills.  And so we must keep our eye on the bottom line and make sure the insurance and Comcast is paid.

But all these are good things, and pulls us into the 21st Century where we belong.  The computer came in so handy while pulling together the Lagoon show, with the help of members Georgene Granholm and Pam Morley and a few other techy people who pitched in big time, for which I am very grateful for.

So now, you ask, what is going on at the SRAC Art Center?  Well there are a few things coming up in spite of the "High Season" winding down for us Floridians.

BUSINESS MEETING
We have one more Business Meeting May 9th (at the new time, 10:00 am).  On the agenda will be the Rosalee Taylor Hume Scholarship winners, an introduction of someone who will be loaning us some of Rosalee's artifacts, and introduction of a new member who will be handling social media for us, and the usual reports of committees.

ART-BY-THE-RIVER MEETING
A Park Show meeting will be held on Thursday May 18th at 1:30 at the Art Center.  I have been approached by many people in the club who exhibit in Riverview Park at our monthly shows from November through April, wanting to have a meeting to brainstorm ways to improve the show and increase member participation, better promotion, etc.  We urge all who plan to participate next season's shows to attend this meeting and have a voice in the changes we will be making.

WEBSITE MEETING
A website meeting will be held May 11th at 11:30, and anyone who has any experience in either website building, design or has good ideas on content is welcome to come.  Based on the attendance at this meeting, we will form a committee to build and maintain an interesting, informative and comprehensive website for our members and other interested parties.

ART CLASSES
All classes are on a walk-in basis, although there are sign-up sheets for most of them in the Art Center office.  Class fees are $15 for members, $20 for non-members, and a portion goes back to the Club to help pay the bills.  Classes are held in the big Community Room on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings, and occasionally there are free or nominal fee classes at other times and days.  Contact the instructor for more details and a supply list.  Below is the SRAC class schedule as of now:

First and third Thursdays, 8:30-11:30
Judy Burgarella - 772-581-8281, cell 772-584-9169
Oil, acrylics, some watercolor, and other mediums as requested. Portrait, landscapes, seascapes, still life.

Second and fourth Thursdays, 8:30-11:30
Theresa Prokop - 860-501-0393
Acrylics, folk art and other styles.  Buildings, structures, landscapes, seascapes.

First and Third Tuesdays, 9:00-12:00
Judy McNamara - 321-258-0987
Watercolor, loose and free-flowing styles.  Flowers, foliage, objects.  Also occasionally mixed media embellishments involving sand, three-dimensional embellishments on canvas, etc.

Kathleen Richter - 321-574-1242 - Schedule TBD
Acrylics, with a focus on pet portraits.

Beve Bruffey - 772-581-4259 - Returning in the fall-stay tuned!

Well, that's all for now folks.  Glad to have re-activated this blog, however I believe that social media will overtake whatever I post here.

Judy Burgarella
SRAC Blogger and president