November, 2018 Art for all ages in the heart of the Ouachitas Gallery Highlights... Sustaining Memberships We now have in place a way for you to contribute small amounts to the gallery monthly much easier on the budget than writing a sizeable check! Check with our Executive Director, Whitney Espinoza, for how to do it. Mena Art Gallery Store See page 4 with information about our Gift Shop for your unique gift experience. November Artist of the Month! Gilda Meyers e work is on display. Ouachita Arts Celebration This coming Saturday, November 3, from 10 am to 4 pm, Mena Street will be closed to traffic and there will be artists showing their talents as well as a long list of performers and other fun stuff. See page 5 for more details. P. O. Box 871, 607 Mena Street, Mena, AR 71953 479-394-3880 email@menaartgallery.org www.menaartgallery.org Gallery Hours: Wed. Sat. 10-3; or by appointment call 479-394-3880 Executive Director: Whitney Espinoza Current Show November and December will have our annual Christmas Show. Dozens of local artists will be displaying hand-crafted items great for filling those Christmas Stockings. Everything from paintings to carvings to prints, drawings, and more. To say nothing of unique ornaments to add to your Christmas cheer. You re an artist and have not yet brought something for this show and sale? Call our Executive Director, Whitney Espinoza, at 479-394-3880 and arrange for a time to bring in your work. We will have room to add items as the people of Mena buy the ones brought in first.
Page 2 HeArt of the Ouachitas November, 2018 Don t forget we always need Gallery Ambassadors (volunteers) to staff the gallery. Please check the calendar below. If you can work as Gallery Ambassador on any of the days marked Available, you may call Whitney at 479-394-3880 and ask her to save the day for you. All our Gallery Ambassadors are appreciated and valued. Thank you so much for your time and dedication to making our gallery a success. Never tried this? Whitney is a great teacher and will bring you up to speed in no time! Please note that your commitment as Gallery Ambassador is for three hours: usually that is from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday, but if mornings are more convenient for you, call Whitney at the gallery, 479-394-3880, and see if she can switch hours for you. November 2018 Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. 1 Barbara Lewis 2 3 OAC 10am -4 pm 4 Closed 5 Closed 6 Closed 7 Art Day! 8 9 Available 10 Children & Adults 10 & Up Art Class 11 am - 2 pm 11 Closed 12 Closed 13 Closed 14 Art Day! 15 16 20 Available Children s Art Class 1 pm 3 pm 21 Closed 22 Closed 23 Closed 24 Art Day! 25 Available 26 Available 27 28 Closed 29 Closed 30 Closed
Page 3 HeArt of the Ouachitas November, 2018 Membership in Mena Art Gallery is available at several levels: Student: $10:00 Individual: $20.00 Family: $35.00 Sustaining: $5 Monthly Membership forms are available at the Gallery or on the website www.menaartgallery.org We encourage you to become a member in this progressive artistic community and hope you will remember Mena Art Gallery in your Estate Planning by Leaving a Legacy for the Arts within the community for future generations. Sponsorships: Patron 100.00 Benefactor 250.00 Underwriter Limited to 4-500.00 Lucy Mulcahy Circle 1000.00 5000.00 Lucy Mulcahy Legacy over 5000.00 Show Sponsor Amt determined by donor What s Going On? Be sure to check page 3 of your newsletter each month for details and contacts to learn more about any of these groups. You are cordially invited to drop in on any of these activities. Call the gallery at 479-394-3880 for more details, or contact the person listed under the activity you are interested in. Don t see something you would like to be involved in? Call the gallery to find out how it can be started. Don t forget that we always need volunteers to staff the gallery. Please check the calendar on page two. If you can work as gallery attendant on any of the days marked Available, please call and tell Whitney. And thank you! And if you are new to being Gallery Attendant, Whitney will help you get started! Art Day This is open to anyone working in a media that is portable enough to bring to the classroom. Artists come and go between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each Wednesday. Come and bring your current project or just come to watch and talk. For more information, contact Gilda Meyers at ladyhawke95@gmail.com or call her at 214-536-3658. Meeting on Saturdays The is meeting at the gallery every Saturday from noon until 3 p.m. Bring whatever project you are working on and join us! If you have questions about the group call Whitney at 479-394-3880. Photo Club This group meets monthly to learn more about photography and improve their skills. A project is decided on at each meeting with members bringing their results to the next meeting for discussion and evaluation so that all can learn more. From time to time the group will sponsor classes in some aspect of photography. Michael Cates just completed a series of classes where all the members felt they learned a great deal, especially about the tools of photography. For more information, contact Heather Wilson at 918-383-2345. Arkansas Parks and Tourism A delegation from Arkansas Parks and Tourism was in Mena on Thursday, October 4, touring downtown and surrounding attractions. They spent some time at the gallery catching up on what is going on here, learning more about our mission and plans for the near future, and enjoying the Art of the Heartland Exhibition. We ll report more next month on the results of that.
Page 4 HeArt of the Ouachitas November, 2018 The Gallery Gift Shop The items in the Gallery Gift Shop are all by local artists. There are: Large Painted Tiles Small Painted Tiles Fiber Art Native American Style Leather Goods These are just a few of the many pieces we have on display! Stop by the gallery to have a look and see what other treasures you can find. If you would like to place some of your work (paintings, drawings, or other hand-crafted art), stop by and talk to our Executive Director, Whitney Espinoza, to see how you can find a way to display and sell your work. We d love to see more of it! Arkansas Parks and Tourism In October, the gallery hosted Arkansas Parks and Tourism. Representatives from each visitor center across Arkansas learned a lot about what we have available for recreation and shopping. They went home with lots to share across Arkansas and boost our tourism. Our annual Art of the Heartland exhibit was up, and they thoroughly enjoyed that. All members of our Juried Shows Committee were on hand to answer questions. We hope to see an increase in visitors from out of state as a result of our Tourist Information offices having more knowledge of what we have to offer.
Page 5 HeArt of the Ouachitas November, 2018 Ouachita Arts Celebration! This will be the fourth annual Ouachita Arts Celebration, and it looks like it will be bigger and better than ever. Mena and Maple Streets will again be blocked off to traffic from 10 am to 4 pm, so you can wander at will between all the artists booths and the participating businesses. Pick up a schedule as you go in, but here is a heads-up on what will be going on. The gallery will have artists demonstrating in several media as well as the annual Christmas Show with lots of hand-crafted items to fill your stockings and live music. There will be decorated cake awards with a display of the gorgeous cakes at Suzy Q s. Chameleon Arts will have DIY arts projects going on, and The Mercantile and Judy s Quilty Pleasures will have open house. Mena High School Spotlight Singers will be performing outside as well as inside many of the downtown businesses. American Artisans, Suzy Q s, and Skyline Cafe will be providing food. Tommy Young will have some of his rare owls and falcons on display. Face Painting for the children will by available from E. J. Colvin. QWSP will have a Dutch Oven cooking demonstration on Maple Street. There will be live music most of the day: Logan Lind,, Brothers and Sons, Benjamin Morren, and more! Fancy Feet Cloggers will perform as well as Next Generation Dance Academy. Ouachita Little Theatre will have concessions open and live Skits. There is a DIY puzzle piece coloring for a Mystery Puzzle on Maple Street. Come out and enjoy a fun day. There s more than enough to keep you busy! Bread Class Barbara Tobias will be doing another class, this one on 5-Minute Sourdough Bread. She says it is the best sourdough she has tried, and it really does only take 5 minutes work although it takes 8 to 10 hours rising time when you can be doing other things. Like sleeping if you want fresh bread for breakfast! Time: 12 noon, Friday, November 9. Fee of $12 includes lunch (soup and bread) as well as the class. Call the gallery at 479-394-3880 to make your reservation.
Page 6 HeArt of the Ouachitas November, 2018 Mena Art Gallery is owned and operated by SouthWest Artists, Inc., a non-profit corporation, and support is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts, and several local businesses and individuals. Donations are tax deductible and help ensure the continuing work of bringing art to the community of Mena and the surrounding area. Sponsorships and donations can be made on our website at www.menaartgallery.org.if you prefer to have your name removed from our mailing list or would like to be removed from our email list please send an email to: email@menaartgallery.org or call 479-394-3880. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lorraine Timmerman, Chair (2019) David Maddox (2019) Diane Warren (2020) Barbara Tobias (2020) Jan Wennberg (2018) Sandra Thomas (2018) Tiffany Lane (2018) Barbara Lewis (2018) Dorothy Stevenson (2020) The Executive Director of the gallery is Whitney Espinoza. She is available at 479-394-3880 during regular business hours (10 am to 3 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays) to answer your questions and assist with your artistic endeavors. The mission of Southwest Artist is to bring work of local and regional artist to the people of Mena and the surrounding area, to provide a venue for local artist to display their work, and to provided education in the arts for both adults and children.