VPS Newsletter July 2021
QUARTERLY QUOTE
An artist discovers their genius the day they dare not to please. (Forgive my gender-neutral substitutions, Andre!)
Andre Malraux
Summer has arrived, Vermont has lifted CoViD restrictions, so we are able to meet again in person!
- Regional hubs continue to meet regularly, and now for several hubs, Zoom meetings can be on hold.
- Holding an in-person workshop looks promising.
- One Members’ Exhibition has successfully concluded and one more is coming in the fall.
- Our next board meeting via Zoom is in October.
Continue reading below for more details.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sep 1-Oct 31, 2021: VPS Members’ Exhibition at T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, VT
Oct 13, 2021: VPS Board Meeting, 7-9 p.m. remotely via Zoom
Oct 21, 2021: VPS Members Meeting, 6:30-8:30 remotely via Zoom
Oct 23-25, 2021: Dawn Emerson workshop in Bennington, VT
VPS REGIONAL HUBS UPDATE
Our Hubs Coordinator, Cristine Kossow has been supplying us with Hub Happenings over the last three months, and we have been excitedly reading what all the hubs are doing remotely. Some activities included painting a nocturne, an abstract, a self-portrait, a landscape with figure; doing a tonal piece; exploring green; exploiting textural effects in a pastel; painting in the style of Degas; using pastel pencils; trying a 20-minute pastel; critiquing other’s work; and planning for hub exhibitions.
Remember, all that was accomplished via Zoom! And this is about to change as VPS: SE set up a meeting at a member’s home for June and VPS: SW announced that they are no longer meeting remotely. Please let Cristine know what your hub is doing, so we all can vicariously experience what you all are actively participating in. We learn from everyone so keep us in the know! And thank you!
VPS EXHIBITIONS
Coming off our first Online Juried Show in January, our VPS did something innovative once again: we organized our first Wholly-Hub-Hosted exhibition. In the past, our Exhibitions Coordinator did all the preliminary work to enlist the venue and to get the show going, and asked the hub hosting the exhibition to help with activities directly related to hanging the show and putting on the reception. As we currently do not have an Exhibitions Coordinator, the board asked the hubs to take on one exhibition or show every three years and to manage all the details, such as coordinating with a venue, communicating with members, finding prizes, selecting a judge, and on and on.
Just to remind those who know, and to inform those who do not, our philosophy as a pastel society has been to have two types of shows. Our Juried Show (JS) showcases our most accomplished pastel painters, as determined by a pair of nationally recognized pastel artist jurors. That was our JS this past winter.
Our Members’ Exhibition (ME), on the other hand, celebrates our diversity, our varied interests, our courage to take risks, our membership’s depth and breadth. Accordingly, we hang one or two pastels of every artist who submits to the ME, and we ask our judge to pick pieces according to categories of subject matter (landscape, still life, abstract, etc.) and compositional element (line, shape, color, texture, etc.). This offers a chance for everyone to be recognized for their work.
VPS: SouthWest did an outstanding job with our inaugural Wholly-Hub-Hosted Members’ Exhibition (ME) at the Southern Vermont Art Center (SVAC) this April and May. And because we could not gather as a group during the months it was hanging, VPS: SW had the innovative idea to do the awards presentation on Zoom, where judge David Francis talked at length about the winning pastels. After the ME came down, our board sent out a survey to members who either submitted or did not submit to the ME to listen and learn whatever we could so as to improve our process for subsequent ME and JS.
Coming up this fall is another opportunity for VPS members to show their work. This will be another ME, this time Wholly-Hosted by VPS: Central. Scheduled to run from September 1 to October 31, 2021, a save-the-date memo has already been sent, so remain alert for more details coming soon.
VPS WORKSHOPS
With many Vermonters getting the CoViD vaccine, and, as venues are opening up in our state, it is likely that our workshop with Dawn Emerson will take place in Bennington from Oct 23-25, 2021 as scheduled.
VPS BOARD NEWS
We will be holding our next board meeting virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 from 7-9p.m. We always have a number of interesting subjects to discuss, so please feel free to attend. The link for the meeting will be provided as we get closer to that day, but put it on your calendar now.
Also, after last year’s successful Members’ Meeting via Zoom (with more people attending than in the previous year’s in-person event), the board has decided to hold this year’s meeting virtually as well. The link will be coming, but the time and date are Thursday, October 21, 2021 from 6:30-8:30p.m. As before, we will have a short business meeting in the first hour. Following that, something new: a presentation by Dakota Pastels in the second half. Linda Masten has already seen this presentation as a member of another pastel society and enthusiastically testifies to it being of interest to all of us. Put that date on your calendar too!
Remember, as a VPS member, you can share noteworthy news about your artwork, about prizes you were awarded, about your upcoming shows, about your hub, or about other pastel items of personal interest. Check it out by going to the VPS website and clicking Member News on the drop-down menu or click on this link for submission instructions:
Don’t forget that you can also rent DVDs for free as a member. The information is on our website.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED PARTICIPATION IN VPS!
With another Members’ Exhibitions coming this year, a workshop planned for the fall, and our Hubs meeting in person again, there is much to be gained by being a member of the VPS. Thank you to those who have renewed, and who continue to be active in our society. We are who we are because of the undying support for our organization that you all provide. Keep it coming, as you keep on painting in pastel!
Matt Peake, VPS President