June meeting notes by Jo of Art.

Wednesday June 11, 2008
Sixteen members of Art & About met for what started out as a tension filled meeting at 6:00 PM at the Rahr-West art museum.
There was much ado about the farmer’s market seeing that there were three booths set up on Saturday and some confusion about who should have been there. So, we will start with that even though that was not the first item on the agenda—it seemed to hold the most weight.

Farmer’s Market:
Due to some miscommunication, this past Saturday there were three people / exhibitors representing the Art & About booth at the farmers market. Because it is early in the year, and the market is not too full as of yet, this incident was allowed to slide. However, this CANNOT happen again. We realize it was simply an oversight and not faulting anyone, but aside from being unfair to other exhibitors who have also paid for their (ONE) space, we are the first and only group allowed to hold a spot in the market. This is new to them so if we cannot run our booth successfully this first year, they may not allow us back next year. It would be a shame to lose out on such a great opportunity.
So here are a few guidelines…

§ Barb Ferguson IS IN CHARGE of ALL activity at the farmer’s market. Dates and times CANNOT be changed without her knowledge.
o Her number is: 920-629-1193.
§ Because booth space has been paid for by Art & About, it is imperative that the groups’ materials be placed in plain view. The banner, cards, and exhibitor number MUST be present at all times no matter how the booth is set up whether it be tent or table. The artist / exhibitors work, although important and worthy, is really secondary to the groups’ interests.
§ Also, each exhibitor is responsible to get the materials (supply box) to the next person on the list. Please do not bring the box to Persimmons (unless Kim is next on the list) or return to Barb. It is the responsibility of the exhibitor to contact the next person on the list and make arrangements to deliver the supply box. There is a list in the box with everyone listed including phone numbers. The list will also be posted on our blog spot in the near future.
o Incidentally, once again, our blog spot address is:
§ www.artandabout54220.blogspot.com
§ Currently, the tent is broken however; Theresa said she would exchange it for another.
§ Be careful when using the tent as well, it can get very windy near the lake / river. Use weights or simply don’t use the tent if it’s too windy. Another suggestion was to take the top or sides off. Create a space for the air to circulate so you don’t accidentally implode! Although funny to see, not so funny if it hits someone or their property.
§ Speaking of which, we briefly discussed liability insurance. Is this something we need to discuss further? Let us know what you think.

Spring tour

§ In general, everyone thought the spring tour went well and in time, it will grow. The punch card thing was a good idea and prizes were awarded to four people. They were ecstatic about winning a prize. Aren’t we all?
§ There was some question on how the advertisement read for the Friday night open house. We will recheck this info for next year and make sure it makes sense to someone who is not in the group.

Techno geeks

There was some discussion at the meeting concerning the ‘how top’s’ of some basic technical things. Some people are not sure on how to get onto the blogspot or how to maneuver in a website, or how to take a decent photo of artwork so it looks good, et cetera.

§ So, next month’s meeting with be a ‘Techno’ meeting.
§ Tim and I will give some tips on how to set up a good photo (like we know) so bring your cameras and a piece of work or two so we can set up some shots. We talked about doing just a photo shoot day—perhaps we could do some of this during the meeting as well.
§ Kim is going to bring her half-#$$ed light box made from a cardboard and tag.
§ We are hoping to have a computer handy as well to go over the basics as to how to get onto the blog et cetera.
§ If anyone has anything else they’d like to do or demonstrate—let us know.
§ Kim is looking into the group buying a domain name as well so we can be easier to find.

Sputnikfest projects

§ We will be making four photo-op cut outs for Sputnikfest. Theresa will get the wood to Heather’s shop and at that point we can meet to prime and paint. Heather will let us know when the wood arrives so if anyone has some free time they can just stop over to her studio and get started. The priming should be done ahead of time. Then we can meet at a later date to do some painting.
§ The museum would like one of the cut outs to be of the two police officers that found the space object. The other three boards are still open for ideas. I thought it would be cool to do a ‘spacey’ American Gothic couple.
§ There are still NO applicants for Miss Sputnikfest! Can you believe that? Come on you people; how good do you look in that 60’s chic?
§ Application forms for Miss Sputnikfest and other info available at: www.sputnikfest.com

Chairs for Charity 2009

§ Our next ‘chair’-ity event will be held once again at the Rahr-West art museum, this time however; we are looking at a November date. The Rahr will be having a quilt show so perhaps the event could coincide.
§ This year there will be a sign-up sheet going around at some point so more of the responsibilities are evened out and everyone has a chance to participate.
§ An artist all-call will be organized by Annette and myself to find a new poster / logo for next year’s event. It was decided that the winning artwork would be awarded a $100.00 cash prize. So get those pencils sharpened! More info on the contest coming soon.
§ There was a question raised also about possibly giving some of the proceeds to a local charity. Any thoughts? Monies from the past event were divided as such: half went to the scholarship fund, a quarter went to the museum, and a quarter went to Art & About.

Summer picnic

§ There will be a summer swap and picnic at Laurel’s place on Monday, August 4th. Bring along any artwork, supplies, or whatever, to swap, sell, or trade with your fellow artists.
§ The party starts at 5:00 ish and we will eat at 6:00. Swapping, selling, or trading can take place after we eat so everyone has a chance at the goods. It should be fun.
§ Please bring a dish to pass. And Kim says: “Don’t get too fancy!” No salmonella tomatoes please!
§ More info and directions will be in next months’ minutes.

In other news

§ Heather got a call from A.J. Schroeder who says they are looking for artists to lease space on the third floor of their department store. Anyone interested may contact A.J. directly at: 920-793-2241.
§ Kim’s aunt Cindy called from Green Bay to let her know that the Ben Franklin on Mason street is going out of business! Big bargains! Better get up there!
§ Next month’s meeting is the ‘techie’ meeting on July 9th at 6:00 at the Rahr. See you then.

Respectfully submitted by:
Jo Woodcock , Art & About secretary (among other things )