1) A call for art has been delivered to all of our amazing self-taught artists. Each person has been asked to submit up to 3 pieces of art in any medium, and we are promising to take AT LEAST 1 from each artist. Submissions run until 11/3 at 8 pm (the end of the Thursday evening class). Everyone is anxiously awaiting all the submissions, and we can't wait to put everything together and get it on the walls!
2) We have a new evening facilitator! Amme Moats has joined to crew at TCA, replacing our much beloved and sorely missed Kara Hayes. We wish Kara the best of luck in her new position as Publicist at RHD in St. Charles. Even though we miss Kara, we are excited to have Amme on board. She volunteered for two years with the St. Louis ARCs "Artist In You" class, hosted by Turner Center and facilitated by board member Annie Smith-Piffel. Amme's been bringing her dog into the studio with her, which I understand is quite a treat for the artists she works with. She also brings a ton of energy and enthusiasm to the studio, so we wish Amme a warm welcome into the TCA fold.
3) Promotion A: Our application for 501c3 status has been submitted and we are excited to begin our appeal to our supporters for financial donations. At the upcoming show on 11/11/11, we will have lots of exciting ways to donate to TCA--a wine grab, great membership benefits, NEW TCA GREETING CARDS AND ART BOOKS!
Promotion B: Our show on 11/11/11 will be an absolute bash! After 5 years, I think we've earned it. You MUST help us celebrate our birthday. We'll have live art by TCA artists, live music, fresh delicious hors d'ouevres, art activities, refreshments. It's going to surpass all other TCA events in magnitude and awesomeness. Be there!
Promotion C: When TCA re-opens in 2012, we will have a new schedule! Come 2012, we'll be open Monday-Friday 10-3. That is a whole new day. We are increasing our art-making time by 25%! We hope this will mean the center is accessible to more people, since many folks in our community are basically required to be at some type of program 5 days a week. We also know a slew of folks who have Fridays off for leisure time. Welcome to the TCA Fridays. We might try to do some kind of special art activity every Friday, and rotate them each week. For instance, we might be doing clay the first Friday of the month, watercolor on the second Friday, sculpture on the third, and collage on the fourth. Not that sculpture or collage or any Friday art activity would be the only thing people could do. We will still maintain our Open Studio model, which means anyone can work on anything they desire! It's an art studio for pete's sake. Get creative!
Promotion D: How appropriate that "promotion D" happens to be where I mention Danny Speck. Danny has been attending the open studio at TCA for two and a half years. He came in an accomplished artist--he'd been recognized as a stand-out artist by his peers and teachers. Over his time at TCA, he has emerged as one of the most exciting self-taught artists we work with. His drawing style is very recognizable and his subject matter is as varied as the world around him. He loves pop culture icons like Michael Jackson and Gene Simmons, as well as extremely obscure and random-seeming subjects--the Clayton police department, two sorority girls partying in their dorm room, Katy Perry holding a "Hot n' Ready" pizza and wearing a tangerine-colored jump suit. Danny has an extremely active type of creativity. He is inspired by nearly everything he sees...I mean EVERYTHING. He has regularly been "caught" inserting logos of Diet Pepsi, Life is Good, the St. Louis Cardinals, Rams, Blues, etc. I say "caught" because it is something he is trying not to do-but it's hard. He finds art and expressiveness in everything. Danny Speck is having his first ever solo art exhibition and it will be hosted by TCA of course, on January 20th, 2012. The latest in our "Emerging and Exciting" series (the name is still not final...), Danny Speck's show, "Characters" is not to be missed.
I think that is all for now. It most likely isn't, but I'm going to just leave it at that, okay?
