What better way to end 2015 then by adding a a new asset to our Board of

Directors and what an asset Brian Doran will be! Putting a team of people

together to look after the present, and to plan for a promising future for

VASA is like assembling a puzzle. Many different individuals with different

talents and experience are required. They need to complement each other,

work together and "fit" to create a positive cohesiveness that gets things

done.

I feel very blessed to work with such a group. But there have been gaps where

additional expertise is required. Brian Doran will help to fill some of these

gaps. He brings to our Board of Directors a wealth of experience in Fund

Raising, Community Programs and Professional Development and has served

on a multitude of governing boards. Thanks to Nancy Kloster's watercolour

classes Brian and his wife Jill got involved with our organization. Thank you

Nancy!

As the year comes to a close I want to express my gratitude to Board

members, Miles, Bruce, Peter, Rick, and Lisa for their faithful meeting

attendance, spirited discussion and endless volunteer hours in 2015. You are

appreciated! And thank you Danielle for doing an exceptional job in keeping

us organized and on track.

As well the important work of our many

volunteers on many VASA committees does

not go unnoticed. You make VASA a strong

and thriving organization. On behalf of the

Board of Directors, THANK YOU!

May the spirit of Christmas be with all of you

and ever present in VASA the whole year

through.

Cheers Everyone!

Board of Directors

Carol Watamaniuk President

Lisa Liusz Senio

Vice President

Miles Constable -Treasurer

Bruce Allen Director/Facility Management

Peter Gegolick Director/Planning/

Rick Rogers Director/Fund Development/ Webmaster

Brian Doran - Director

Staff

Danielle Gauther

Administration Coordinator

Peg McPherson

Program Coordinator

Authentic Art

Aurora Leclair Janitorial

Services Coordinator

Committee Chairs

Shirley Vandersteen

Exhibition Coordinator

Frank van Veen Exhibitions Volunteer Coordinator

Heather Howard Supply Inventory Coordinator

Membership Coordinator-vacant

Victoria Armstrong Newsletter Editor

Jaime Gordon

Events Coordinator

Cheryl Moskaluk

Horticultural Coordinator

President's Message

VIEWS December 2015

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VASA Gallery Presents:

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Words of Art — great reads at the St. Albert Public Library by Luise Mendler –Johnson

Abstract Art Painting : expressions in mixed media by Julian Debora Stewart (2015) "In Abstract art painting, you will enter a realm of tactile, intuitive excitement, combining pastel and acrylic to achieve results as unique as you are. You'll learn how to explore the use of color theory in abstraction and to use under painting to bring structure and depth to your art. In addition you'll begin to understand how to work in a series and how this can help you develop your own personal style"-- Creative Freedom : 52 art ideas, projects and exercises to overcome your creativity block by Maggie Price (2013) Paint outside the lines! Jumpstart your creativity and inject new

life into your art. Struggling to get started? Paralyzed by the fear

of failure? Find yourself falling back on the same colors again and

again? Just plain stuck? It happens to every artist sooner or later.

What can you do to get unstuck quickly and painlessly? Creative

Freedom presents 52 strategies for getting out of ruts and

venturing beyond your comfort zone, courtesy of 25 artists who

have been there, done that. Each approach is illustrated with a

step-by-step painting demonstration. Together, they help you

experiment with different mediums, new color combinations, fresh

approaches to favorite subjects, and more. Try one a week for a

year of creative adventure. Or dip in whenever you're feeling

inspired.

“ART IS ANYTHING

YOU CAN

GET AWAY WITH”

- Andy Warhol

Art Quote of the Month

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Blue Poles, 1952 by Jackson (Jack the Dripper) Pollack

What is Awesome Art? We were conversing today, Danielle and I, about what made for an awesome art gallery, and by extension, awesome art. A great many commercial art galleries do not rise to the level of awesome simply because their owners have to make a living by selling art, and people tend to buy art that they know and are comfortable with. A lot of "comfortable art" is good, some is very good, but little is awesome. It is my belief that awesome art is that which is often not appreciated by the public when it is produced, but is that which defines "movements" or major artists. Awesome art of the last 150 years was produced by the likes of Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollack, Dali and Warhol. All of these artists were derided during their careers by people who were not comfortable with what they saw. It was too new, radical, often messy and non-conformist. It wasn't what was considered to be good art, and in some cases, even art. However, much of what was valued and purchased at these times has faded from the public mind, but the awesome art has remained with us. It fills the art history books, and shows us that imaginative, risk-taking artists can produce awesome art that will live for the ages. Getting back to the original conversation; those public institutions, artist-run centres, and commercial galleries, that are willing to take risks in what they show are the ones most likely to be awesome. They can take risks in what they show because if a show is a dismal commercial failure, they are still able to operate because their livelihoods are not so much tied to the dollar value of the art sold. In many of these galleries their livelihoods are actually tied to how edgy their art is. It is this reason that the Canada Council for the Arts funds galleries showing art that is not shown in commercial galleries. The Council is looking for the next wave of awesome art, without any idea what that may be. That is the essential problem: no one knows what will be the awesome art of the future; so how can it be supported now? The only answer to that is to support imaginative, risk-taking, unusual artists and their art. It is analogous to supporting research in "pure science". We can't predict what will come out of a line of research, or from supporting one quirky, radical artist. But it might just be awesome! This is why I keep a silly little art statement on the wall of my studio, thanks to Denise Lefebvre, that states "DO EPIC SHIT". The irony being as if I, or any one else, knows what that will be. But as artists, and as artist-run gallery operators, we have to try to push ourselves past our comfort zone, and just maybe reach awesome.

What I have learned About Art through Travel - Miles Constable

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Getting it Out There

Off the Wall

Open house and art show

Friday, December 11 from 5-9 p.m.

Saturday, December 12 from 12-4 p.m. Please come wander through the new studios at The Nunnery and look at some of the art! Come just to pass through after a few laughs, or stay a little longer and enjoy the food table. Bring friends who love art, bring spirits and/or food if you are so inclined. Bring cheque books if you want to take a nude home, and bring your sketchbooks if you want to draw at the atelier. However you come, come to be merry! The last feast was dynamite!

Email if you need the address and directions.

Tessa and Scott

The Nunnery is an atelier and art school with a focus on making art using the world around us as the subject. Classes are geared to the serious beginner or the master artist. The con-cept of leaving a small footprint on the world is a core principle to the methods of the school. For more information Email Tessa at xxmanet@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/thenunneryatelier.com

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This ‘n That

We all love our old brushes for creating new and interesting textures in our paintings, but if you are hard on your brushes you eventually reach a point where your “character” brushes outnumber the good ones. Here are a few tips for restoring some of those unruly brushes back to a more manageable state:

1. If a brush seems totally ruined and the hairs out of shape, wash the brush again, then dip the bristles in some linseed oil and reshape it. Now dip the oiled and shaped brush into water-soluble glue and let it dry for a couple of weeks (bristles facing up!). As the glue is water soluble you can wash it off in warm water, no soap needed. Et voila... much useful life re-

stored to the brush.

2. If the bristles of a hog hair brush are a little 'wild,' a way to shape them is to leave them damp (with a little soap) and wrap the bristles in toilet tissue, shaping the hairs. Leave them dry overnight and remove the tissue. 3. To straighten out the bristles on brushes, use a tiny amount of Vaseline. It works like a dream (but better on small brushes than larger ones where it's hard to wash out the Vaseline when you want to use the brush).

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Opportunities