April 9 meeting

From ‘Ladies’ Medium’ to Color Field:

A Short History of Watercolor Painting in America

Nan Brewer, the Eskenazi Museum of Art’s Lucienne M. Glaubinger Curator of Works on Paper, will discuss the evolution of the watercolor movement in America using examples from the museum’s collection by artists such as John La Farge, Charles Burchfield, John Marin, Carolyn Brady, and Sam Gilliam. She will also explore the effects of technology, art education, professional societies, and the rise of modernism on the medium’s popularity and practice.

Ms. Brewer’s presentation will follow a brief business meeting that starts at 6 p.m. The meeting is at the First Christian Church, at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington. Please use the Washington Street entrance.

2018 Saturday paintouts

open April 7 in Bedford

BWS and the Lawrence County Art Association are teaming up for a Paint-out in Bedford Saturday, April 7. This will be an excellent opportunity for some Urban Sketching and plein air painting in our sister town, said Babette Ballinger, who has been arranging the event.

Members of both organizations are invited to meet at the Wiley Art Center, 1402 J St., in Bedford around 10 a.m. and paint at various locations around downtown Bedford until 1 p.m. In case of inclement weather, April 21 has been set as a rain date. Participants are encouraged to paint or draw in whatever medium they choose.

Mark your calendars for other Saturday BWS Paint-outs this year:

May 19: Brown County State Park, 10 a.m. to your choice with an option to gather at the Lodge for a 12:30 lunch

June 16-17: Garden Walk in partnership with the Bloomington Garden Cub

July TBD: Breakfast in People’s Park (July is hot, so painters will start early. Coffee and bagels provided.)

Aug. 17-18: West Baden Springs Paint Out, arranged by Indiana Heritage Arts

Sept. 8: 30th Annual Great Outdoor Art Contest at T.C. Steele Historic Site

Oct. TBD: 2018 Paint-out Finale at May Creek Farm

Member news

The Meadowood Retirement Community’s gallery will showcase “About Me: Carla Hedges Gallery Show” during the month of April. The show includes watercolors, mixed media, photos on canvas, yupo, and handmade quilts. The reception is April 6 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Carla suggests coming by Meadowood early so you can get downtown for the First Friday Art Walk and see Bess and Joe Lee’s Show, “SAVE THE ANIMALS/SAVE YOURSELF,” at the Blueline Gallery. It’s “the best of all worlds,” said Carla.

Barrel Roof Spring
by Robin Edmundson

Robin Edmundson is having an Open Studio Day Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You are welcome to come to her Greene County studio to view her new work as well as walk the gardens, creeks, and woods for inspiration for your own work.

Lifelong Reader
by Jerry Harste

Jerry Harste‘s mixed watercolor media artwork has been selected to be shown in the Treasury Room of the Waldron Art Gallery from April 28 to May 21. The opening reception is May 4 from 5 to 8 p.m.

Spring is here

Are you ready to get outside to paint? Join Upland for some fun painting adventures now that the weather has turned. Here is where we are headed on Tuesdays this month. Contact us at Upland@bloomingtonwatercolor.org for details.

April 3: Urban sketch, hosted by Katya Alexeeva

April 10: TBA, hosted by Penny Lulich

April 17: Rebecca Sink-Burris property, hosted by Jacki Frey and Sande Nitti

April 24: McCormick’s Creek State Park, hosted by Jacki Frey

May 1: Bryant’s Creek Shelter in Morgan-Monroe State Forest, hosted by Betty Wagoner

Hidden Treasures of Indiana

at Wylie House Barn

The “Hidden Treasures of Indiana” exhibition opens Tuesday, April 3. Stop by the Wylie House Barn — the Bradley Education Center — at 307 E. Second St. to enjoy the plein air exhibition of 17 paintings in a variety of mediums.

The Bradley Education Center is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The show will hang from April 3 through May 9.

The artists reception will be Saturday, April 14, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Reception guests will vote for People’s Choice Award at the reception.

Beyond BWS

The Watercolor Society of Indiana has posted the prospectus and online entry form for its Juried Exhibit 2018: www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org/juried-exhibit/. The postmark deadline for entries is May 9 with a May 11 deadline for submitting images. Selected paintings must be delivered to the WSI Office between June 11 and June 29. The show will be open from Aug. 3 to Sept. 29 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

IMO

Social media users recognize IMO as an abbreviation for “In My Opinion,” and each month we close by giving you the chance to share your opinion on a specific question. This month the question is:

What’s your favorite triad of paints to work with? Pick three paints that play well together and share how or why you like them so well.

Candi Bailey

French ultramarine for blue … I’ve used it a long time and am comfortable with what it will do. Probably the cadmium yellows if I had to choose. Red … cadmium or vermilion although I don’t use much red.

Lynne Gilliatt

I suppose I’d say yellow, white and orange are my most used colors. Tempera preferred for indoor scenes. More water for outside sites; and mixing them makes them even more opaque and mysterious.

Carol Rhodes

It all depends on what I want to accomplish. For landscapes, I like to use Ultramarine Blue PB29, New Gamboge, and Permanent Rose PV19 or Permanent Alizarin Crimson. Because each one of these has a red component and the red is a little bluish, the overall effect is bold, full and warm.

Jeanne Dutton

Permanent Rose, Ultramarine, and some sort of yellow — and it all depends upon the mood I am in or what flower I happen to be painting at the time. Honestly, most times I don’t even think about it. It’s a case of whatever’s within reach.

May question for IMO:

If you had unlimited funds to purchase any watercolor painting in the world, what painting would it be and why would you choose it? Please identify the name of the painting and the artist.

Send your 1- to 3-sentence response to Nancy Davis-Metz by April 21, and look for your opinion to be published in the May issue. Please use IMO as your email’s Subject Line.

March 12 meeting

Plein air painting: Ready, Set, WAIT! Paint

Painting outside can feel challenging, frustrating, and sometimes overwhelming. But having a basic plan with a few logical steps can help an artist feel prepared, confident, and free to experience more joy. Alice Sharp will take BWS members through four basic steps to outdoor watercolor painting.

1. Ready: Selecting a scene
2. Set: Composition
3. WAIT!: Value before color. This important step will be the focus of the presentation and the subject of practice exercises.
4. Paint: Discovering your ideal simple palette

Members will need the following supplies: sketchbook or sketch paper, pencil, eraser, and a variable nibbed black marker such as an Artists Loft dual nibbed or a Staedtler Mars graphic 3000 duo. If you don’t have a variable nibbed marker, any wide nibbed marker such as elMarko or Marks-A-Lot will work.

Alice’s presentation will follow a brief business meeting that starts at 6 p.m., March 12, at the First Christian Church, 205 E. Kirkwood Ave.

BWS Scholarship deadline approaches

Bloomington Watercolor Society invests in the future of art by awarding a $300 scholarship to help a promising visual art student. BWS awards one scholarship annually to an MCCSC high school senior who is pursuing a degree in visual fine arts, arts education, architecture or design from an accredited college, university, or school of design. The scholarship award will be paid to the student for the purpose of purchasing art supplies necessary for the curriculum in which the student is enrolled.

Applications for this year are available online at www.mccsfoundation.org with a due date of 7 p.m., Friday, March 30.

Donations toward this scholarship fund are tax deductible and may be made any time to the Foundation for Monroe County Community Schools (FMCCS). Please specify BWS Scholarship Fund in the memo line and mail to 315 North Drive, Bloomington IN 47401.

Hidden Treasures of Indiana

to show April 3 – May 9 at Wylie House

by Kathy Barton

Upland Plein Air Painters of Bloomington Watercolor Society invites all BWS members in good standing to enter their 2D work in any media except photography. Work must have been created at least 60 percent in plein air paint-outs sponsored by Upland and BWS. For example, on-site work should — at the least — establish the composition and color notes.

The show will hang in the Wylie House Museum Bradley Education Center. The opening reception will be Saturday, April 14, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

“We want to offer opportunities to those who like to paint small as well as large,” said Kathy Barton, who pointed out that the location is well suited to many small pieces in 8 X 10-inch frames or 10 X 10-inch frames. “We also welcome pieces in 11 X 14-inch frames or similar, and a few larger pieces up to 35 inches outside frame width.” The prospectus, titled “Hidden Treasures of Indiana,” is available on www.WePaintBloomington.org and www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

Kathy suggests work created at a paint-out often fits a precut mat. For example, a 5 X 7-inch greeting card fits a precut mat for an 8 X 10-inch frame. Both Hobby Lobby and Michael’s Arts and Crafts offer frames with mats and glass as a single unit as well as precut mats in standard sizes for reasonable prices. Check the prospectus for details on hanging hardware and wire location. Talk to Upland members about how to do this for a reasonable price.

Works can be sold from the show and replaced while the show is up. No commission will be taken from sales. Artists must make their own arrangements for sales transactions. Kristen Stamper or Kathy Barton can offer assistance, if requested, or they can sell for you if you are not available.

To enter the show, sign up with Penny Lulich at the March 12 BWS meeting.  A $5 confirmation fee is due at sign up; the fees will fund a People’s Choice Award to be announced at the reception.

BWS Portrait Group schedule

Portrait Group sessions are open to all BWS members and their guests. Participants are welcome to work in any medium. Typically models pose for 20- to 25-minute segments, alternating with 5-minute breaks. Those who attend share the cost of the models, with a minimum of $3 and a maximum of $5 charged for each session. Sessions are every other Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. The location with occasional exceptions, is the Banneker Community Center, 930 W. Seventh St.

March 8 Brycen Veach

Brycen Veach, who is majoring in fashion design at IU< is a student in BWS President Jane Matranga’s fashion illunstration course. Brycen represents a type of model we have not yet had, a male in his early 20s. He has a warm, open face, great smile, and billows of black hair.

March 22 Maria Pairitz

Maria Pairitz is an art major at IU.

April models to be announced.

May 3 Brother William Morris

An Indiana Legal Services attorney, Ivy Tech professor, and Episcopal deacon in training, Brother William Morris is best known as host of WFIU’s Soul Kitchen, an eclectic mix of musical genres from his personal collection. He’s also a closet artist and has expressed enthusiasm about modeling for our group. You can read a profile about Brother William in Limestone Post at https://www.limestonepostmagazine.com/big-mikes-b-town-william-morris-always-teaching/.

BWS helps LIFEDesigns raise money

The Week of Chocolate fundraiser generated more than $60,000 for LIFEDesign programs.

BWS contributed to the effort in a couple of ways:

• All the members who submitted artwork to the “We Paint … Jazz!” exhibit at The Vault. Kristen Stamper’s entry sold, providing 50 percent of its sale price to LIFEDesigns.
• Handpainted cards sold at The Vault, The Venue, and the Art of Chocolate event Feb. 10. Charlotte Griffin; Cassidy Young and husband Michael; Robin Edmundson, her husband Eric and daughter Claire Jenness, Carol Rhodes, and Jeanne Dutton all created cards or helped at the event.

At press time, card sales totaled about $200. Stephanie Shelton, chief development officer for LIFEDesigns, said: “We’re so impressed with how the sales of these cards has gradually increased each year.”

Jeanne Dutton and Carol Rhodes painted greeting cards at the event.

Robin Edmundson, Michael Young, and Cassidy Young. Robin and Cassidy painted cards at the event.

Steve and Candi Bailey at the Art of Chocolate Mardi Gras event

Upland

Plein air painters March schedule

All BWS members are welcome to join in at any Upland event. For more information on a specific event, email Upland@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

Tuesday, March 6: T.C. Steele Studio paint-in or paint-out, hosted by Betty Wagoner

Tuesday, March 13: Wylie House Museum, hosted by Kristen Stamper

Tuesday, March 20: Abstract demo, hosted by Jacki Frey

Tuesday, March 27: Watercolor glazing DVD & bread baker, hosted by Kathy Barton

Friday, March 30: Nude model at IU Fine Arts, hosted by Claude Cookman

Juried art show

The Art & Soul of Bloomington III

summer schedule announced

B-town Vibe by Nancy Davis Metz was awarded Best of Show in last year’s Art & Soul show.

The Venue invites submissions to its annual juried show The Art & Soul of Bloomington, which celebrates Bloomington as “a place that nourishes the body, mind, and spirit of those who are privileged to call it home.”

Jurors will select 25 submissions for the show. All submissions must be original, created by the submitting artist, and available for sale, subject to The Venue’s normal commission. The jury panel consists of Gabe Colman, a professional art appraiser and curator of The Venue; William Hays, an educator, collector, and longtime member of the Bloomington art community; and an anonymous juror.

Cash awards will be given for Best in Show, Silver Best in Show, and People’s Choice.

To apply, contact The Venue at 812-322-1661 or Venueartshow@gmail.com. All formal applications will be made by email with attached photos where appropriate. Rules and details are available on the Prospectus on the website http://www.thevenuebloomington.com/art-soul.

Application fees paid before midnight June 15 will be $40 for one submission and $5 for each additional submission. From June 16 until midnight June 28 the fees will be $40 for one submission and $10 for each additional submission.

Show schedule

June 15: Early bird application deadline

June 28: Final application deadline

July 7: Grand opening and reception, 6 p.m.

Member News

The theme of “Professor Animalia’s Menagerie of Struggling Species: SAVE THE ANIMALS/SAVE YOUSELF!” is to raise environmental awareness through the sideshow banner genre. This concept reflects a culmination of Joe and Bess Lee‘s past experiences, both professionally and personally: Joe’s work with actual circuses and as an illustrator and Bess’s career as a public school art teacher and painter. The show will be a culmination of their experiences as individual artists and concerned citizens. It opens at the Blueline Gallery, 212 W. Fourth St., April 6, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. A percentage of all sales go to Earth Charter, a not-for-profit environmental agency in Indianapolis.

Lennie’s Restaurant has extended the showing of pastel works by Lynne Gilliatt and oils by Susan Savastuk through March 9. The restaurant is at 1795 E. 10th St., Bloomington.

Several BWS members have works in Lawrence County Art Association’s current show, “Tiny Treasures,” which continues through March 18 at the Wiley Art Center, 1402 J St, Bedford. The gallery is open 1 to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. The show features miniature works in oil, acrylics, watercolor, ink, collage, and pencil. Penny Lulich, Candi Bailey, Robin Edmundson and Don Geyra are represented in the show.

Beyond BWS

Indiana State Fair competition entries open March 1. For watercolor information, turn to page 15 in the Open Entry Book that can be found at https://www.indianastatefair.com/state-fair/competitionscontests/indiana-arts-building/.

The Kentucky Watercolor Society will stage Aqueous, its major juried show of the year, Sept, 6 – Nov. 4 at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Lian Quan Zhen, internationally acclaimed watercolorist, will be the juror. Deadline for receipt of entries is July 1. The prospectus is not yet posted on the website, but you can email questions to kentuckywatercolor@gmail.com. Or check the website periodically: http://www.kentuckywatercolorsociety.org/competitions.html.

IMO

Social media users recognize IMO as an abbreviation for “In My Opinion,” and each month we close by giving you the chance to share your opinion on a specific question. This month the question is:

If you could paint anywhere in the world, time and money being nonfactors, where would it be and why?

Patty Uffman

Greece: Love the photos of the blues against the whites, the coastline, cobblestones, the craggy old men — not to mention the Acropolis and Mount Olympus!

Penny Lulich

There is no place like Maui for painting people and scenery, so if time and money aren’t an issue, that’s where I would go. And I would start in Makawao where you see horses being ridden right down the sidewalk on the main street of town, under the rain shadow of Haleakala.

Mary Jo Cannedy

I would love to paint in Tuscany, Italy. I have seen pictures and the landscapes look lovely. I have painted in the south of France and in Abingdon, England, so Tuscany is my next choice.

Meri Reinhold

Italy. The Tuscan countryside specifically.

Sandy Hall

My grandparents were born in the Netherlands. I would love to capture tulips during their spring festival. A canal with bridge reflections would be an equally challenging scene.

Lynne Gilliatt

Sardinia during Easter season during those pagan walks and festivals would suit me fine. … I love high holy days in other countries, having seen my first in Nicaragua years ago when I was in the Peace Corps there. Portugal and Lima, Peru, during dance festivals whet my appetite also!

Robin Edmundson

If time and money were not factors, I would go anywhere with a lot of water because I don’t really understand light and water and need to practice it more.

Jacki Frey

I could enjoy spending paint time along the harbors and inlets of Maine. Also I would like to return to the quaint and colorful coastal villages in France and Italy. All these locations have an array of boats, buildings, land, and sea to paint.

Candi Bailey

Where would I paint: New Mexico. I went to visit a friend about 1980 and was totally surprised by everything. I had expected to be in a brown desert, but the landscape was amazing!

Claude Cookman

We visited Savannah, Ga., in the late 1970s, and I’ve been trying to get back there ever since, now wielding my Urban Sketchbook and watercolor travel kit. As the oldest city in Georgia — founded in 1733 by Gov. James Oglethorpe, who organized his city plan around a series of squares fronted by elegant brick and wooden homes — Savannah is a time machine that transports the artist back to antebellum days. Featuring a major art museum, an Atlantic seaport on the Savannah River, numerous parks populated by oak trees bedecked with Spanish moss, plus the “Garden of Good and Evil,” more properly known as Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah offers the watercolorist a lifetime of motifs.

April question for IMO:

What’s your favorite triad of paints to work with? Pick three paints that play well together and share how or why you like them so well.

Send your 1- to 3-sentence response to Nancy Davis-Metz by March 21, and look for your opinion to be published in the April issue. Please use IMO as your email’s Subject Line.

Start 2018 with new perspective —

Aerial perspective, that is

Storm Over San Juans
by Betty Wagoner

Betty Wagoner will teach an aerial perspective lesson at the Jan. 8 BWS meeting. She will demonstrate how to use color mixes and glazes to create depth in landscape painting, and members will work with simple landscape images. Bring the following supplies to the meeting: a pencil, several sheets of watercolor paper (can be scraps), a couple of brushes, a water container and paints in the colors common to landscapes (green, blue, red, and brown).

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the First Christian Church, which is at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington.

Get your winter paintings published

Bloomington Herald-Times has invited BWS members to submit paintings of winter scenes for an Attractions cover in a January issue. Images should be high resolution (at least 200 dpi) and emailed to jtilley@heraldt.com with the subject line “BWS winter scenes by Jan. 10.

All images will be considered for print and web, although all may not be used. Publication date will most likely be Sunday, Jan. 14, but that is subject to change.

Thanks go to Sara Steffey McQueen, BWS publicity chair, for arranging this opportunity with the H-T arts editor, Jenny Porter Tilley.

by Sande Nitti

BWS Portrait Group announces schedule

After the holiday hiatus, the BWS Portrait Group is poised to resume sessions for 2018. Please mark your calendars for the coming months.

Jan. 11 Connie Brorson

BWS’s own charter and signature member and a great artist in her own right, Connie has been invited to model for the group a second time after members had a successful session with her last summer. If you’ve been contemplating portraiture but shying away from it, this would be a great session to take the plunge — with one of our own as the model. Note: This session will be at the Meadowood Retirement Community,

Jan. 25 Brian Bourkland

Brian, a competitive body builder and personal trainer, also models regularly for IU art department classes and figure sessions. Location: Banneker

Feb. 8 Shelley Given

Shelley is an MFA graduate from IU’s art photography program, who has taught photography at IU for several years. Location: Banneker

Feb. 22 TBA

Portrait Group sessions are open to all BWS members and their guests. Participants are welcome to work in any medium. However, if your medium is a messy one, please bring a drop cloth. Typically, models pose for 20- to 25-minute segments, alternating with 5-minute breaks. We share the cost of the models, with a minimum of $3 and a maximum of $5 charged  for each session. Sessions are every other Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. Most are at the Banneker Community Center, 930 W. Seventh St., Bloomington, with some exceptions, such as Jan. 11 at Meadowood.

For full details, including maps, directions, parking information, etc., please email Claude Cookman.

We Paint … Jazz!

BWS is once again participating in The Week of Chocolate, a LIFEDesigns fundraiser by providing artwork for an exhibit at The Vault at Gallery Mortgage Feb. 2 to April 2. BWS chose “We Paint … Jazz!” as the exhibit’s theme in conjunction with the fundraiser’s Mardi Gras theme. The Opening Reception will be Feb. 2, 5 to 8 p.m., as part of February’s Gallery Walk.

Each BWS member may enter one framed piece of any medium; the maximum size including frame is 24″ either direction. Use D-hooks and wire for hanging; no sawtooth hangers or screw eyes are allowed. Glass or Plexiglas is acceptable.

Paintings must be delivered to The Vault Gallery Tuesday, Jan. 30, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Pick up will be Monday, April 2, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. If you are unable to deliver or pick up your painting, arrange to have someone else responsible for these tasks.

The sales commission of 50% goes to LIFEDesigns. It is recommended that artwork be priced below $500. Gabe Colman of the Venue Fine Arts and Gifts will handle all sales and issue payment to the artists by the end of the exhibit.

Best of Show will receive $100, sponsored by John La Bella at The Vault, and two tickets (value $150) to the Keynote Event on Feb. 10. A panel of three jurors, including John La Bella and Gabe Colman, will judge the entries. The runner-up will receive two tickets to the Keynote Event. All participating artists will be entered in a raffle for two tickets to the Keynote Event.

Members wanting to have their work considered should submit scanned or photographed artwork to Jeanne Dutton at Jazz@BloomingtonWatercolor.org before Jan. 20.

Additional information and labeling requirements for paintings are available in the Prospectus at http://wepaintbloomington.org. Email any questions to Jazz@BloomingtonWatercolor.org.

Young thanks supporters of ASE Art Show

ASE art teacher Cassidy Young and BWS member Carla Hedges

ASE Art Show

Cassidy Young, BWS member and art teacher at the Academy of Science and Entrepreeurship, thanks those who attended the Dec. 15 Art Show and especially Anne Karine Bley for volunteering to help students put up the show. Students displayed and sold artwork, played music, ran a photo booth and brought snacks. “We sold out of the coloring books before the end of the night,” Cassidy said. “So if you didn’t get one I’ll bring more to the January BWS meeting. They are $5 each.”

Upland organizes 2018 adventures

All BWS members are invited to attend the Upland Organizational meeting Jan. 16, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jacki Frey’s home. Along with discussion of plans, the meeting includes a pitch-in lunch social and a chance to share artistic endeavors.

• Arrive between 10 and 10:30 a.m.The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m.
• The address is 5024 W. September Rd., Ellettsville.
• Bring  your personal calendar, a pitch-in dish for lunch, and a current artwork to share.

Members can contact Upland anytime at upland@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

Burning Bales, Cleaning Fencerows
by Robin Edmundson

Check out these Facebook groups for artists

Robin Edmundson, BWS member, has created two Facebook groups BWS members may enjoy.

White River Landscape Painters is an online critique group for all artists ( not just watercolor, not just landscapes) serious about improving their skills. Every post receives both positive feedback and options for possible changes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/663672027166173/

The Well Balanced Artist is an online support group for professional artists of all kinds trying to balance their art, business, and personal lives. It’s a lovely, varied group of artists from around the globe. https://www.facebook.com/groups/752036078321666/

BWS celebrates the holidays

Meri Reinhold created the winner in the hanging ornament competition. Her Tanabata Matsuri Tassel was inspired by the Star Festival celebrated in Japan in July or August. People display bamboo branches decorated with paper origami, paper dolls, and tassels. The decorations on the paper symbolize desired success in a chosen area. Meri’s ornament was origami butterflies and bells with pasta beads and a bell. The origami was decorated with Brusho watercolor crystals.

BWS president Jane Matranga, Cassidy Young and Claude Cookman

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Harste and Cathy Korinek

Carol Rhodes and Deborah Rush

Candi and Steve Bailey

Member news

by Sara Steffey McQueen

BWS signature member Sara Steffey McQueen will share a workshop on Personal Mandalas at the Winter Bliss Wellness Retreat Jan. 14 at the Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park. “We will be exploring personal symbols, stories of our life, meditation, and a variety of techniques to create an expression of our own Mandala,” Sara said. For more information about the workshop and registration, go to https://www.facebook.com/winterblisswellnessretreat/.

Jane Matranga will exhibit her work in the IU Art, Architecture & Design Faculty Exhibition, opening Friday, Jan. 12, 6 to 8 p.m. The show is in the Grunwald Gallery on campus from Jan. 12 through Feb. 9.

Betty Wagoner will be joining Flowing Colors studio this month.The studio address is 112 N. Walnut St, Suite 600, Bloomington.

Jacki Frey, BWS signature member, received the Merit Award for The Fisherman at the Indiana Art Association show, which hung at the Brown County Art Gallery this fall.

Beyond BWS

Each issue will announce opportunities for artists that are sponsored by other organizations. If you know about shows, competitions, workshops or other activities that might benefit your fellow members, please send web links to Nancy Davis-Metz.

Heads Up! The Watercolor Society of Indiana has moved its annual  juried show to earlier in the year. Entries will be due May 11. Springfield ArtPaintings juried into the show must be delivered to the WSI office June 11 to 29, and the Juried Exhibit will hang at the Indianapolis Museum of Art Aug. 5 to Sept. 29. The prospectus will be mailed to WSI members March 1 and should be available on http://www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org about the same time.

AquaVenture is a regional juried exhibit open to Kentucky Watercolor Society members and non-members.Its entry deadline is Feb. 2 with delivery of paintings to Kaviar Forge and Gallery in Louisville March 1 to 3. The show hangs from March 17 to April 28. The prospectus is available at http://www.kentuckywatercolorsociety.org/files/AquaVenture2018Prospectus_trifold_Final_1_.pdf.

Springfield Art Museum has published the prospectus for the Watercolor USA 2018 exhibit, which will hang in Springfield, Mo., June 2 to Aug. 26. The online entry deadline is March 6 with a painting delivery deadline of April 25. The prospectus URL is http://www.sgfmuseum.org/DocumentCenter/View/910.

IMO

Social media users recognize IMO as an abbreviation for “In My Opinion.” Let’s have a little fun by sharing opinions on a specific question. Each issue will close with a question that you can answer in 1 to 3 sentences. Send your response to Nancy Davis-Metz by Jan. 21 and look for your opinion to be published in the next Brushstrokes. Please use IMO as your email’s Subject Line.

This month’s question: In your opinion, who is the best watercolor artist of all time and why?