Tag Archive for: Therese Ferguson

President’s Message – August 2024

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I hope you’ve been having a memorable summer. The kids are heading back to school and we’re heading back into change, workshops and general meetings.

This is my last letter as President of BWS! The last two years have flown by! It has been wonderful experience getting to know everyone and be a part of the great events we have done. Lynn Devlin has volunteered for the role of President. She’s a warm, caring, can-do person and I know you will benefit from her leadership.

Please show your support for Lynn at the election of the new Board Members at the General Meeting on Saturday, September 7, 12-3 pm. The General Meeting will start at noon, the first hour will be a brown bag lunch/socializing opportunity, followed by the business meeting at 1:00 pm.

Unfortunately, I’ve known for about three months, that have to work that day. I will be completing a work project that I’ve been a part of for over a year and won’t be able to attend. I’m excited for those who have committed to supporting you in 2025 and beyond.

A reminder that starting in September, Susan Grabowski, sgrabbers@aol.com and Susan Carden-Flicker, scarden@snet.net will be your coordinators and hosts for the mini-workshops. They have graciously volunteered to fill the role. In September, you’ll see the webpage updated with their contact information.

The remaining workshops this year are:

Thank you all for your friendship and the opportunity to serve!

“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.”
– Paul Cezanne

 

– Teri Mahnken

Teri Mahnken
President, Brevard Watercolor Society

President’s Message – July 2024

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I hope everyone is having a good summer and taking advantage of some painting time in the cool of your homes. Membership has requested summer mini-workshops and we’re pleased to let you know the dates and the community center have been reserved for June and July of next year.

I am pleased to announce that starting in September, Susan Grabowski, sgrabbers@aol.com and Susan Carden-Flicker, scarden@snet.net will be your coordinators and hosts for the mini-workshops.

They have graciously volunteered to fill the role. In September, you’ll see the website updated with their contact information.

Our Mini-Workshop topics and artists for August, September and October are set, including the much-requested one about entering art shows. Click on the listings/photos below for more information and to register.

Mini Workshop – June 21 2025

June 21, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pmWickham Park Community Center

Mini Workshop – July 19 2025

July 19, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pmWickham Park Community Center

The supply lists will appear on the registration confirmation page. Additional drawings and information may be sent by the workshop team closer to the event date.

Other upcoming events include the FWS Convention, September 20-21 in St. Petersburg. The Wildlife Show will be returning, more details to come.

Please take a minute thank a Board Member – a lot of visible work done by volunteers and committee leads is seen at events and art shows. The day-to-day operation of the organization goes on behind the scenes with the BWS Board. They and the previous board, have been invaluable in helping me the last two years as president.

  • Donna Ware, VP and Membership – she keeps track of the current members, new and tenured. She also offers to help any time I reach out for assistance. Always present and available.
  • Sheila Harnois, Secretary – as the business and ideas flow excitedly at our meetings, both General and Board, Shelia captures it all. It’s not an easy job and all the previous secretaries will attest!
  • Linda South, Treasurer – has worked innumerable hours to better automate and shore up our financial record keeping. She’s been a rock for me. She’s a strong leader and functions well in the early morning hours too.

Speaking of the board, elections will be held at the General Meeting on Saturday, September 7, 12-3 pm. Two positions are open: President and Vice President – 2-3 Workshops. In May a Nominations Committee was formed with members Therese Ferguson, Laurie Griffin and Maria Trieste. A formal announcement of volunteers for the roles is expected in August. Lynn Devlin has volunteered for the role of President. Please join us for the elections meeting and show your support for the election of the new Board Members.

Going forward, the General Meetings will start at noon, the first hour will be a brown bag lunch/socializing opportunity, followed by the business meeting at 1:00 pm.

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.”
– Georgia O’Keeffe

 

– Teri Mahnken

Teri Mahnken
President, Brevard Watercolor Society

Holiday Greetings from the President

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(Painting by Therese Ferguson)

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I hope this finds you enjoying the preparations and not feeling stressed out. I do my preparations early and use this time to wind down and reflect on all I’ve accomplished and hope to take on in the new year.

I didn’t get as much painting and learning in this year as I had hoped. I’m looking forward into 2024 for the opportunities to spend more time with a brush in my hand. The first quarter of 2024 is going to bring on lots of opportunities for BWS members to meet and learn. Let’s take a look….

  • General Meeting, Saturday, January 13, 1-3pm. We need a person to demo the last part of the meeting – who can help us out?
  • Mini Workshop, Winter Landscape with Ed Carlson, Saturday January 27 11:30am-3:30pm (special time). Two spaces available. Please email me directly.
  • Splash of Watercolor, Saturday and Sunday, February 17-18, 2024. Volunteers needed to keep the show fabulous! Prospectus is online.
  • General Meeting, Saturday. March 9, 1-3pm. Demo artist will be Barbara Brook demoing Batik.
  • Watercolor Batik on Rice Paper – 2-day workshop with Barbara Brook. We’ve been anxiously awaiting this one! Register online.
  • Mini Workshop – Overcoming Plein Hurdles, Plein Air Painting with Susan Blakeslee, Saturday, March 30, 1-3pm. Register online.

As you can see above, we now can register online for the mini-workshops. Your confirmation will include the artist’s supply list.

The Board is working on some social offerings for us – not meetings and workshops, but opportunities to socialize and sometimes just paint together. More details to come.

A few reminders:

  • Annual memberships are due in January, no later than your Splash entry! They are tax deductible, so December might be a goal to get that taken care of. CLICK HERE to take care of it. We value you as a member. Your beautiful art and souls are the heartbeat of this group!
  • Splash needs helpers for the show – Please reach out to Laurie Griffin if you can assist.
  • We still have two mini-workshops in 2024 that need artists to lead: August 24 and September 21. I would love to put the scheduling to bed for 2024.

The Board and I wish to thank you all for your contributions this year – for your participation, for your time, and for your support.

I wish you all much joy for the rest of the year and in 2024!

“Art is nothing but humanized science.” – Gino Severini

– Teri Mahnken

Teri Mahnken
President, Brevard Watercolor Society

President’s Message – October 2023

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So much has been happening, it is difficult to know where to start!

Our new board members are settling in and adding their talents to leadership. I’m grateful to have such a great team. Good things are happening! As we start gaining traction, please let us know how we’re doing! Thanks again to all of your for your support last year of the previous board and myself. You truly keep me going!

I did a review of our website and had our webmaster, Grace Delanoy, update a lot of information. One last task that I’ll be tackling this week is getting the New Members’ letter updated. Please take a moment to look around the site and offer any suggestions you might have to make it more useful to you.

We had the opening reception for the Florida Flora and Fauna Art Show on Sunday, October 1. The show continues through November 29: 11am-4pm, Monday-Saturday, Highland Art Studios & Gallery at 1425 Highland Ave, Melbourne, FL. You can also visit during the First Friday Eau Gallie Art Walk. Many thanks to Therese Ferguson and the Highland Studio artists for hosting this show!

Watch your emails for opportunities to help with Splash! This being our biggest show of the year, requires a lot of help. The nice thing about Splash is the commitment can be small or large – there are so many options and opportunities.

The Eau Gallie Library is hosting a Community Art (Supply) Swap on November 4, 2-4pm, 1521 Pineapple Ave, Melbourne, FL 32935. I emailed the flyer to members on October 12 with details about take-in and the event. This is a fun opportunity to pick up some supplies to try a new technique or clear out one or two of your less favorite items. If you missed the email or want a copy of the flyer, please email me at BWSPresident@outlook.com.

I’m starting reminders now about 2024 Membership since the end of the year is nigh. BWS Memberships for the coming year are due January 1 and are definitely due no later than your Splash entry the first week of February. They are tax deductible and are for January-December time period. You can renew here on the website by clicking the button below, or by sending a check to Membership 2024, Brevard Watercolor Society, Inc., PO Box 361076, Melbourne, FL 32936-1076. Dues are $50 for Individual Memberships, $60 for a Family Membership. An added incentive for membership is that our non-member workshop fee is increasing to $25 in January.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION & RENEWAL

And last but not least, a reminder to those who signed up for Dorothy Koliba’s “White isn’t Always White” workshop coming up on October 28, 10am-4pm (we cannot enter before 9:45) at the Wickham Community Center. If you find you can’t attend, please email me: BWSPresident@outlook.com. We have several people on a waitlist who would like to attend if you aren’t able to.

Dorothy’s workshop will wrap up 2023’s workshops. I heartily thank all the artists who participated. I learned so much and the feedback has been fantastic. Gina Olsen will be starting to promote 2024’s events shortly. The ones which have artists scheduled are on the website. We still need a few more artists to fill 2024 – would you consider sharing your talents with us? Contact Gina at georginaeolsen@gmail.com.

Enjoy our unique Autumn, and keep those brushes wet!

Watercolor painting of a black cat sitting on a tree branch.(My first water color, not that long ago…)

“The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.” – Alberto Giacometti

– Teri

Teri Mahnken
President, Brevard Watercolor Society

16th Annual “Watercolor Paintings from the Refuge” Show, Reception and Awards

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BWS / Merritt Island Wildlife Association (MIWA)
16th Annual “Watercolor Paintings from the Refuge”

November 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020
MINWR Visitor Center, 1987 Scrub Jay Way, Titusville, FL

Thirty one beautiful paintings from Brevard Watercolor Society members were chosen by judge Judy Mercer. Categories for art this year were Refuge Flora, Fauna, and Life on the Indian River Lagoon. Awards were presented at the Opening Reception at the Refuge Visitor Center on Sunday, November 3, 2019, which included:

Best of Show: Therese Ferguson, “Prickly Pears”
MIWA Award: Susan Smith, “Cleared for Landing”
Best of Life on the Lagoon: Mikey Riedl, “Laguna De Ais”
Best of Flora: Therese Ferguson, “Prickly Pears”
Best of Fauna: Susan Smith, “Cleared for Landing”
Merit Award: Darleen Hunt, “Red Kayak”
Merit Award: Cindy McKee, “Gliding Towards Sunset”

Merit Award: Darleen Hunt, “Wild Hogs”
Merit Award: Therese Ferguson, “Basking In the Sun”
Merit Award: Mary Lou Antes, “Resting”
Merit Award: Dorothy Koliba, “Here Comes Mama”
Merit Award: Kathie Benson, “Misty Habitat”
Merit Award: Phyllis Lappert, “Watchful Eye”
Merit Award: Beverly Morgan, “Splish Splash”

Click on the photos below to enlarge:

Our thanks to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Association and Refuge for their support and enthusiasm in hosting the show and reception. Hats off to our judge Judy Mercer, as well as MINWR’s Kim King-Wrenn and Layne Hamilton for selecting the MIWA Award. As always, we are grateful for Co-Chairs Darleen Hunt and Therese Ferguson.

In addition to congratulating the award winners, we applaud the artists who were chosen to exhibit in this year’s show: Mary Antes, Kathie Benson, Barbara Burkhardt, Pete Crumpacker, Jeanette Drake, Therese Ferguson, Diane Harmon, Darleen Hunt, Dorothy Koliba, Susan Kessler, Christiane Kopp, Beth Kring, Phyllis Lappert, Phyllis Marple, Carol Marshall, Connie Marshall, Cindy McKee, Beverly Morgan, Mikey Riedl, Susan Smith, Sue Tully, Lolly Walton and Debbie Whalen.

Please be sure to visit the exhibition, on view until January 30, 2020 at the MINWR Visitor Center, 1987 Scrub Jay Way in Titusville.

BWS Members Attend FWS Convention

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The Florida Watercolor Society‘s 48th Annual Exhibition and Convention was amazing! The convention was headquartered at the Doubletree Hotel and Resort, just steps away from SeaWorld in Orlando near International Drive. The Florida Watercolor Society (FWS) has over 1,000 members and it seemed like all of them were there, including a large contingent from Brevard Watercolor Society. The Trade Show was great, and most of us came away with giant bags filled with new products and great buys on almost everything. There was lots of free stuff as well.

There were many wonderful demonstrations, workshops and great teachers, including BWS members Therese Ferguson and Frank Spino. Carol Carter, the jurist, gave a detailed review of the 100-plus paintings. It was very educational, as the features of each painting were commented on and why it was chosen for the exhibition. Many stars were spotted, and the “who’s who” of the watercolor world were even approachable.

Lori Jenkins won the raffle for TWO of the paintings generated as paint-arounds. Way to go, Lori! There were also many great things in the FWS Silent Auction.

The reception was held at Leu Gardens, a wonderful destination on its own. Beauty beyond belief. The exhibition was beautifully hung in salon style, with 103 paintings on display.

BWS Participating Artists

  • Therese Ferguson, “Double Reds With Stripes”
    Winner of The LaVerne Philips Memorial Award  ($1000)
  • Lori Pitten Jenkins, “The World Is Your Oyster”
    Winner of The Ruby Grace Denson Memorial Award/Holbein Award ($880)
    Gift of Terry Denson in honor all grade school art teachers ($500) and gift of Holbein ($380)
  • Debby Marriott, “Señora Habana”
    New FWS Signature Winner
  • Mary Salvage, “Driving Rain”
    New FWS Signature Member
  • Ruth Foreman, “Javier”
  • Frank Spino, “Transparent Lemon”
  • Barbara Brennan, “Stratosphere”
  • Kathie Benson, “Community of Trees”

Congratulations to all of our BWS artists in the show!

FWS 2020 Online Show

To those who entered but weren’t chosen for the exhibition, consider entering the FWS 2020 Online Show. It opened for entries on October 5th through Saturday, November 30th. The FWS Online Show accepts entries from FWS Non-Signature Members in good standing whose dues are paid on or before November 25th, 2019, and those who did NOT win an award in the 48th Annual Exhibition, and to new members who join by November 25th, 2019. You can find more information on the FWS website, or view and download the FWS 2020 Online Show brochure.

Please click on the photos below to enlarge:

Darleen Hunt

Annual “Watercolor Paintings from the Refuge” Art Show

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The Brevard Watercolor Society (BWS) and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) are delighted to announce their “14th Annual Watercolor Paintings from the Refuge” juried art show, scheduled for November 1, 2019 through January 30, 2020. The theme for this years’ show is “Life Along the Indian River Lagoon,” with artists’ submissions on display at the MINWR Visitor Center.

Each year BWS artists present a collection of works that are created from images taken at the MINWR while on a special tour of the refuge, which allows them to take photographic reference material for their paintings. The paintings are juried by a selection of local artists and BWS members. Merritt Island Wildlife Association (MIWA) hosts an art reception and awards presentation at the MINWR Visitor Center, this year scheduled for Sunday, November 3, 2019 from 4:00 to 6:00pm.

The original watercolor paintings of native wildlife, flora and fauna from the refuge on exhibit in the Visitor Center are offered for sale, with a portion of the proceeds donated by the artists to MIWA. Matted prints of some of the paintings are also offered for sale in the Bookery.

For more details and to enter the show, click the buttons below:

BWS/MINWR Show Entry Details
BWS/MINWR Show Entry Forms

Show Contacts
Darleen Hunt: 321-452-8433 or dhunt125@aol.com
Therese Ferguson: 321-749-6962 or thereseart@aol.com

2018-2019 Award Winners

Refuge Award
“Baby Teeth” by Jane Steiner

Scrub Habitat Award
“Scrub Shadows” by Darleen Hunt

Best of Flora
“Berries Gone Wild” by Lori Pitten Jenkins

Best of Fauna
“Florida Scrub Jay” by Darleen Hunt

Merit Awards
“Colorful Seagrape Berries” by Therese Ferguson
“Peek-a-boo” by Therese Ferguson
“Swamp Gator” by Jeanette Drake
“Family Bliss” by Witha Lacuesta
“Babys” by Dorothy Koliba
“Day Dawns in the Scrub” by Cindy McKee

 

September 14, 2019 General Meeting

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From Donah Miller, BWS President:

Summer is fading. Now, it’s time for us to prepare for our upcoming BWS fall and winter events. I hope you had a very relaxing summer, and are eager to join the other BWS members in making this one of the most artistic seasons in BWS history.

Our September meeting is packed with opportunities where our members can demonstrate their eagerness to make BWS the best art society in the county, and maybe the state. Some have already volunteered to help BWS this year. For example, Frank Spino has agreed to show us his excellent artistic skills by doing a demo at the September 14th meeting. Also, Pat Bowlds, a very multi-talented lady, has agreed to be our new webmaster. Diane Harmon and Therese Ferguson have agreed to be on our election committee this year.

“What can I do to help,” you ask? Well, I just happen to have a list of current needs at BWS. Feel free to step forward and take on one of the duties. Brevard Watercolor Society needs your help.

Here are some of our current needs:

  1. We need to elect officers for 1st VP (Workshops), 2nd VP (Membership) and Secretary.
  2. We need a chair for Splash (one person or a small committee).
  3. We need greeters to sign in and welcome members and visitors at our general meetings, and mini workshops.
  4. We need more used art supplies for our recycle table. These proceeds go toward art education in our county.

See you at the September 14th meeting,
Donah

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