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Summer is back, a great time
to enjoy outdoor activities such as the Poetry Reading series sponsored by Curbstone Press, presented the second and
fourth Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Julia de
Burgos Park, visit the Windham Art Center and Gallery during the week and
during the 3rd Thursday Street Fest, or take the opportunity to see
the Victorian home and gardens tours in the area. Summer is also the perfect time to take stock in our
accomplishments, as well as reflecting on what lies ahead. This year marks five years since we opened
our offices and established the Windham Art Center and Gallery at 866 Main
Street, Willimantic -- a time for celebration indeed! Join us in the celebration at our Membership Annual Meeting in
September. We will keep you posted on the details.
Summer is also a great time
to clean, organize, restore and rejuvenate. Come and visit our newly restored
upstairs space. Thanks to the hard work of our staff, and a special note of
appreciation to Mary Oliver for her
contribution and Andrew Gutt for making this a priority -- the space looks great!
In the Gallery, George
Jacobi opens the session with his photo collage works, followed by the large wood sculptures
and paintings of Arnold Prince, ending the season with the Wood Turners and
other local crafts for a holiday exhibition.
Encouraged by the success of
the Professional Development Program this last spring, we are offering an exciting
summer and fall workshop series. In partnership with the Visual Arts Department
and the School of Continuing Education at Eastern we will be offering a Digital
Media Tools for the Artists workshop that will take place over four Saturdays
in August. This workshop will
provide you with the necessary skills to bridge the digital gap as we transition from slides
into the digital media. The classes will take place in Shafer Hall at the newly up-graded Davis
Lab. You will learn from the best!
Professor June Bisantz- Evans, a wizard
with this medium will guide you step by step in the creation of your power point and a CD of
your art work so that you could successfully begin to market or seek
opportunities in the art arena. To enroll, you need to register through
Eastern, look for Summer 2006, the
course title is GRAP 1039 Digital Media Tools for Artist
and you can locate the
course through our windhamarts.org. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call the
office.
We have also invited
Professor Qimin Liu, a prominent artist of international reputation to give
two, three week Master Classes in the following media: 1) Chinese's Painting
and Wash and 2) Portrait Painting. Each master class will provide critiques,
instruction and special assignments that will help
you develop your skills. I will teach a Visual Journaling class and a Bookmaking class at the
Center. Furthermore, emeritus professors and authors Paul Zelanski from University of
Connecticut, and Anna Held Audette from Southern Connecticut State University
will talk about their work as authors of many art instructional books.
We are now beginning to put
together other workshops to address organization needs such as board
development, strategies for new sources of income including fund development,
grantmanship, and other capacity building activities. We are working closely
with the CCT to develop that series.
I am sure to see you around
as we both attend the summer events. Please remember to pencil into your calendar
the exhibitions and professional development workshop schedules. If you are
interested in the Digital Media Tools for the artists be sure to register as
soon as possible. Have a very creative and peaceful summer!
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