May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the celebrations that the day includes.

Message from Jim Sawatzki: A reminder for those of you who said they’d volunteer for the PLAG booth at the Lewis Palmer High School, first Saturday on May 6th from 10 am to 4 pm at the Pine Forest Spring Show & Sale.Next Monthly PLAG Meeting:

May Meeting:  Saturday,  May 13 at the Mountain Community Mennonite Church starting 9:00 with social gathering and snacks, 9:30 business agenda.  

 

 

Agenda and Planning: 

Welcome guests and members & new members
Thank you to everyone who brought food today
Treasurer’s/Finance Committee Report
Report from Pine Forest Spring Show & Sale Show at Lewis-Palmer High School participation
Publicity
Scholarship
Sunshine committee Color Splash June PLAG Show
Other

Happy May Birthday Cindy Tafil, John DeFrancesco, Carolyn Stolz!

. . . and now to Cindy’s monthly art education:

                      ARTofficial Intelligence

What was the secret of Claude Monet’s combination of color and light?

Monet had a preoccupation with the quality of different and varied lighting from careful observation of landscape to canvas in his garden at Giverny. Monet would set up as many as twenty canvases in close approximation switching from canvas to canvas as the day progressed with the light changes. He intentionally planted a rectangular mass of yellow, oranges and burgundy wallflowers with red columbines on the west side of the garden. The back lit lighting would create an explosion of color at sunset. The garden’s east side exposed a delicate contrast of pink lupines, blue columbines and other soft pastel colors along the sunrise border. His paintings rendered a beauty of color harmony visually pleasing for both artists and gardeners alike.

Does a well-designed garden help in understanding the basic elements of art?

Absolutely, the entire experience of composing a painting and the initial stages of planning a garden design require the same compositional rules, a defined balance of forms and shapes including masses (objects) and voids (empty spaces). Beauty emerges only when there is a proper relationship between color, texture, and balance of integrated spaces and forms. The feeling of both garden and art produce a pure emotion that’s extended from the artist to the viewer.

What is negative and positive space?

The simplest explanation is positive space is occupied by the subject and the negative space is not the subject. In a garden for instance, the positive space is the area of composition that is occupied by an object or mass such as rocks, trees, shrubs, plants and even land forms. The negative space is the area of the garden that isn’t occupied by an object. Negative space lends power to the silhouette of a tree. It also serves to balance the weight of the objects and subdues or increases the impact of forms and masses.

The Japanese were masters of negative garden space. Painters seek inspiration from the Zen quality of the compositional landscape in a Japanese garden. The garden’s reticence of beautifully defined negative spaces speaks an eloquent passage of simplicity within patterns producing an emotional reaction to garden enthusiasts and artists.

From the words of Henry Ward Beecher: “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”

Cindy Tafil
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Upcoming Events:

PLAG’s Annual June Art Show. Entry form attached to this document.

Tri-Lakes Women’s Club event:     Participating PLAG members, John DeFrancesco, Margarete Seagraves, Rikki Stiltner, Cindy Tafil and a PLAG information booth.

PLAG Minutes – APRIL 8, 2017

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am by President, Jim Sawatzki. Other Board members present were: Rikki Stiltner, Susie Arnold, Margarete Seagraves, and Carolyn Stolz. Members were welcomed. We had no guests today.  Thanks to everyone who brought food this morning (Irmi Knoth, Bruni Berkowitz, John DeFrancesco & Carolyn Stolz).

A motion to approve Today’s agenda was carried.

Sunshine Committee Report: John DeFrancesco reported that he had called Ken Carbaugh. Ken is doing well, but was not rejoining PLAG at this time. John also spoke with Grace Cullen and she has rejoined our group. We were happy to welcome her back and have her attend today’s meeting. Pam Hafemann is having surgery this coming Monday and hopes to be cancer-free afterwards. We’re glad to have Irmi back at today’s meeting after knee replacement surgery.

March Minutes. A motion was made and seconded to approve the March Minutes. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report, as of March 2017:

Checking Account:  Beginning Balance 03/01/17 $47,549.61 •  Deposits 0.00, Checks/Debits: 113.48 • Ending Balance 03/31/17 $47,436.13

Savings Account:  Beginning Balance 03/01/17 $ 5,425.72 • Interest 1.37 • Ending Balance 03/31/17 $ 5,427.09

Expenses: MCMC rent $ 100.00 • Tri-Lakes Printing 13.48

Income: Susie has recently received two entries for the Craft Show which she will deposit. She has also moved a large portion of monies in the checking account to the savings account which will be reflected in next month’s Treasurer’s Report. Jim Sawatzki reported that he will be meeting with people at the Air Academy Credit Union regarding investment options for membership consideration.  Motion to approve the Treasurer’s report was carried.

Vice President’s Report: Rikki Stiltner reported that she will be attending a Chamber of Commerce event this evening at the Antlers Hotel. She will be taking PLAG brochures and doing some PR. She will be donating one of her paintings for an auction they will be having.

TRI-LAKES WOMEN’S CLUB SHOW – MAY 5-7, 2017:

The show will be held at the Lewis Palmer High School, located at Jackson Creek Pkwy & Higby Rd. PLAG will have a booth for publicity purposes. We need volunteers to man the booth. Volunteers may bring their art work to sell while there. *Sales will be the responsibility of the artist. Times include Saturday, 10-5 & Sunday, 10-4 pm. A list was passed around for volunteers to sign up. Jim Sawatzki will help set up after 5:00pm on Friday, May 5th. Jim also volunteered to man the booth Sunday. Claudia Dimidik said she would do Saturday & Sunday. Margarete Seagraves, John DeFrancesco, Rikki Stiltner & Cindy Tafil will have their own tables & be showing their work at this show. Bob Zettler & Lynn Roth designed a sign for the PLAG booth and Bob made the sign which is both lightweight as well as sturdy. Everyone was pleased with what they came up with. It will be placed up on easels so that it can be viewed easily from a distance. Thank you, Bob and Lynn!

Susie had PLAG brochures printed which were available for members to take and display at their individual booths as well as at the PLAG booth. Jim emphasized that this is always a big fund raiser for TLWC. It is attended by thousands of people over the 2-day weekend and is always a great show. TLWC has expanded the show to include more artwork as well as antiques. *John DeFrancesco gave an FYI to members who will be taking credit cards as payment for their artwork. Please know that the WIFI coverage at the high school is intermittent and not very good making it difficult at times for credit card payments.

GALLERY COMMITTEE REPORT:

June Show: Cindy Tafil reported that the we have secured Sparky LeBold who will be the judge for the June Show. Specifications & entry forms have berm done. Deadline for entries is May 31st. Show dates: June 6-30. Reception will be Friday, June 9th, 6-8 pm. Please reference Color Splash Entry Form for complete information and specifications. Entry fee includes food.

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING:

Scholarship Committee: Lynn Roth, Chairman; Irmi Knoth, Jim Sawatzki, and Patricia Schmidt Hilbert.

Proposal: The committee proposes to increase the total award amount for this year from $4,000 (2016 amount) to $8,000.  There was much discussion regarding the history of the scholarship fund, amounts awarded, etc. Historically, the amounts varied depending on what monies PLAG received from all fundraisers for a particular year. The amounts have been $250, $2,500, $3,000 and $4,000. The Craft Fair is the largest contributor to the fund from sponsorship, etc.

Jim Sawatzki gave some background on the scholarship fund. It was started in 1977 and has continued for 40 years. The goal is to assist students that are going on after high school to further their art education and have a goal of art as a career. Lewis Palmer and Palmer Ridge High Schools are the two schools involved. Students are vetted by their instructors and then apply for the PLAG scholarship. The Scholarship Committee goes to each school and evaluates applicants’ artwork based on established guidelines. This will take place this year on Wednesday, April 26th.  Applicants also must write a report of why they want to pursue a career in art.  They are required to have a plan to continue a career in art. The total awards amount may be divided among the recipients in amounts however the committee chooses. PLAG writes the scholarship check to the individual school on behalf of the recipients. PLAG presents the scholarships to the recipients at the Senior Awards night in May. Jim further related stories about past recipients who were successful in their art careers. One recipient is an art teacher at Palmer Ridge; another is an art instructor at a university in Florida; one went to the School of Design and had their own fashion show in New York.  Pat Hilbert stated that the original goal of PLAG was the scholarship fund. She stated that college costs are much higher than ever and that she was in favor of increasing the awards since we have the money. John DeFrancesco stated his opinion that it would be premature to make a decision and vote on the amount of this year’s fund at today’s meeting. He stated that we needed to manage our money. He stated we should have a budget and control over our money. l Claudia Dimidik stated that we are not able to decide today. She stated she knows from experience that scholarships normally are awarded in amounts of $500, $1000, and $1500. She stated that we should establish a Finance Committee who could create a budget, project needs and expenses and decide how monies should be allotted. They would set a cap limit and create a proposal to take to the membership. It was suggested that the Finance Committee could meet quarterly. One of their functions would be to look at a proposal from the Scholarship Committee for that year’s scholarship fund amount. This could be done in January each year.  Susie Arnold stated that the fiscal year for PLAG is July 1 – June 30. It is only for membership dues purposes that we use January – December calendar. Nancy Moleskin suggested that the majority of monies we have are from the proceeds of the sale of the Vale Gallery, which is a finite amount. She is in favor of forming a Finance Committee before making any decisions on the scholarship fund.  Claudia Dimidik made a motion to keep the amount of the scholarship fund at $4,000, same as last year’s amount. John DeFrancesco seconded the motion. Motion was carried.  A second motion was made to create a Budget/Finance Committee that would create a budget, project needs and expenses and decide how monies should be allotted. They would set cap limits and create proposals to take to the membership for approval. Motion was carried.

Budget/Finance Committee: Claudia Dimidik, Chairman; *Jim Sawatzki, John DeFrancesco, Susie Arnold, and Donna Arndt.  *Jim noted that our By-Laws state that the President is a defector voting member for any committee. Cindy Tafil said she will check on state/federal regulations regarding what each Board member of a 501C group is allowed to do.

NEWSLETTER & CORRESPONDING SECRETARY:

Margarete Seagraves can no longer fill this position.  She will continue to be an active PLAG member.  She is asking if someone will volunteer to do these duties.  The newsletter is mostly cut and paste with some editing, please contact her if you have an interest.  She will help with training.  She has been doing this for a long time and has it quite organized for someone to take it over.  Margarete was thanked for all her work, time, and everything she has done for PLAG for many years.

PUBLICITY: Rikki Stiltner and Jim Sawatzki now have business cards to give out at Chamber of Commerce and other functions they attend. We have business cards also for members to give out. We will have these at the TLWC show in May at our PLAG booth. Thanks again to Bob Zettler for the large banner/sign for display at our booth.  Susie Arnold will give publicity to Irene Pallon to post in the various news outlets for advertising for the June Show.  We will have the letter for the sponsors for the June Show at the TLWC show in May.  Jim S. stated that we need to grow PLAG’S membership. Currently, we have 35 members.  There was discussion regarding updating the PLAG website and the need to do this monthly. Susie stated that members just need to send to her their information, photos and links to their own websites and she will get them on our website. She said members can send her their file and she will link their name to the website.

MISCELLANEOUS:  Cindy Tafil and Rikki Stiltner will be doing the workshop that was scheduled for today at the adjournment of the May meeting.

Adjournment at 10:40 am. A motion was made by Bruni Berkowitz and seconded by Cindy Tafil to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.

# # # # #

Color Splash Entry Form

Show Dates: June 6 – June 30^th, 2017 at Tri Lakes Center for the Arts

Entry deadline: May 31, 2017

Drop off time: Saturday, June 3, 2017 12-1 pm

Pick up time: Saturday, July 1, 2017 10-12 am

Reception: Friday June 9, 2017 6-8 pm

Entry fee: Members $30 for up to 3 paintings, $10 each for paintings 4 and 5

Non-members $40 for up to 3 paintings, $10 each for paintings 4 and 5

Limitations: All paintings MUST be ORIGINAL paintings that have NOT been exhibited at any show at Tri Lakes Center for the Arts in the last two years.

Painting size must be equal or less than 1200 square inches including frame. Larger paintings may be submitted, but will count as 2 paintings.

Bin Art may also be submitted, matted and wrapped, with a label on front that includes: Title, medium, price, and artist. Size is 16 inches x 20 inches maximum. Limit is 10 entries. Two copies of a typed list of all bin art, including the above information MUST be submitted with the bin art. *** If you submit 5 paintings and have your own bin, you may submit as many items as you like, but must include the above information.

The show will be judged, and first place in major categories will be awarded a $100 prize. Best of Show overall will be awarded $150 total.

Categories are: Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Photography, Pastel and 3-D (includes sculpture, jewelry, glass and fiber).

Entry forms are final, no changes may be made after the form is submitted.

Tri Lakes Center for the Arts and Palmer Lake Art Group are not responsible for damages to an entry. Responsibility for insurance resides with the artist.

TLCA will handle sales, and will take their commission (30%) and send the rest of the price to the artist.

In the event that there is not enough space, we will jury out no more than one painting per artist.

——————————————————————————————————

Color Splash entry form:

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Entry fee:

Entries: Medium Size* Price

1.______________________ _______ _____ ______

2.______________________ _______ _____ ______

3.______________________ _______ _____ ______

4.______________________ _______ _____ ______

5.______________________ _______ _____ ______

Mail entries with check to: PLAG, PO BOX 543, Palmer Lake, CO 80133

*Includes frame

I understand the above entry rules and am enclosing my entry fee.

Signed: ________________________________________