April, 2014

Piece by Piece
www.CASAaz.org

Board of Directors

2012 - 2013

President

Marti White

Vice-President

Anne Leonard

Secretary

Ann Loud

Treasurer

Susan Ettl

Membership

Katherine Sylvan

Exhibits Co-Chairs

Carol Chambers

Mary Bourret

Education Committee

Jill Ballesteros (minis)

Nina Beland (small groups)

Sharyn Binam (minis)

Jo Ann Daly (workshops)

Melissa Johnson (minis)

Patti Lewis (minis)
Nancy Norton (support)

Lorrie Parsell (workshops)

CASA Meeting

May 2, 2014

9:30am to noon

St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church

4625 E. River Road

Tucson, AZ 85718

Presenter: Susan Oyler

Golden Splendor Susan Oyler

Susan Oyler has loved creating art all of her life. She fondly remembers illustrating stories that had been read to her, adorning countless circus elephants, creating pumpkin art for downtown store windows and finally having her landscapes displayed in the school hallway outside her room. Later, her father's military career took her family to Europe where she had the opportunity to view the work of many of the great masters. Art was truly her future so she added a degree in art and secondary education and finally a degree in special education. Her education provided the opportunity both teach and create art. Helping students build confidence and develop a feeling of self-worth through art expression became a goal in a career that lasted twenty years.

Today, Susan is still creating art using acrylics in many different forms. She works on yupo, paper and canvas. Her work may be viewed at ToscanaStudioandGallery.com and at several locations throughout Tucson. She is still working with children at Toscana Gallery throughout the year and teaches adults at Toscana Gallery and other locations.

Her advice is simple- "Keep creating."

Susan will offer several demonstrations and may ask for assistance as every great teacher always includes her audience.

Sea Dream Susan Oyler

Habitat Spring Show

EXHIBITS COMMITTEE

NEWS and UPDATES

HABITAT/CASA Show
Reception at Habitat -

(Email invite attached) Wednesday, April 23rd

TIME CHANGE: The reception now starts a 5:00 and ends at 7:00pm at Habitat's request.
Refreshments, wine and light fare will be served. Come and enjoy Habitat's gracious hospitality.
Looking forward to seeing you there.

Congratulations to all of you who were juried into the Habitat Show. TMA's curator, Julie Sasse, put together a really fine show. Many thanks to the CASA members who helped make this show happen. You're amazing!

Signature Shows Info
Patti Lewis will be your new CASA/Habitat Signature Show Coordinator.
She will coordinate Habitat Signature Shows and answer all questions regarding your shows.
Patti's email is: pattilewis@cox.net

Mary Bourret will continue to handle all other exhibits at Habitat and elsewhere.

Click here for show flyer

Message from the President of CASA

I have great news!

We now have a slate of elected officers to fill out that need for 2014-2015. The board will be accepting Anne Leonard's resignation as vice-president and electing Anne Leonard and Anne Lane as co-presidents at the May meeting. We will also be electing Peggy Steffens as the vice-president. This will give us a complete elected board of directors, but not a full board.

Peggy Steffens will be covering membership.

Mary Bourret will be the exhibits chair with Patti Lewis in charge of all things that relate to Signature Members.

Aimee Smythe and Mary Ann Brewer will be co-chairpersons of programs and they may be adding a few others to their committee.

This leaves us with openings in the area of mini-workshops and three day workshops. Jean Nerenberg has volunteered to help with mini-workshops. She will need a few others with her to handle the job.

A presenter for a three day workshop in the fall has signed a contract and is on the books for October. Many of you have indicated an interest in having Andy Burgess do a spring workshop - so if you have found three-day workshops helpful to you in your growth as artists, maybe this is the spot for you - the future is pretty much laid out and you can begin to look for people for the years to come. A chair and co-chair are needed for this area. At least one person indicated on her renewal slip that she would be interested in working in this area. Let me know if you would like to connect with her.

We never do more than seven mini-workshops, one is already booked and another presenter has shown an interest. So you would not be walking into a completely blank slate of teachers. There is a list of possibles and a great "how to" manual, compiled by Sharyn Binam, available as well. A chair and co-chair are pretty much all that is needed to make this happen!

I am so grateful for the people who have stepped forward and given me a positive "yes I will do that" when I have approached them about a place on the board for next year. All I need is an open mind and a willingness to talk about what it would involve. Please, think about it!!

Let me take this opportunity to say that the years that I have served CASA as president have "grown" me. It has been so affirming to see the organization become a recognized entity in the Tucson art world and to see the members begin to excel in their work as artists. When I look back at the kind of work we were exhibiting eight years ago to what is now being represented in our shows, we have come so far. We are attracting new people with talent and enthusiasm to CASA. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to watch all of this. Thank you for the honor of heading up this organization for so long. I look forward to what new and greater things are ahead!

Marti White

President

Going Forward: Some Suggestions for Developing Leadership

Being a leader doesn't necessarily have to be a huge undertaking. Each person has their own leadership style - some can be organizers, some upfront people, some worker bees who stay in the background. One good way to manage leadership is to share it. A team of two, three or even more people, each utilizing their unique style of leadership, can work together to get a job done, whether it be the presidency or a committee working on programs or workshops.

Get together with your friends - people you enjoy being with and can work together with effectively. Think about how you could work as a team to get the jobs done that can keep CASA afloat. I think you will find that doing these things together can be a growing, fun experience for you. Sometimes if we step out of our comfort zones, we discover that we can do things we never dreamed we could do.

Youth on Their Own

Youth on Their Own (YOTO) has become an ongoing project for CASA. A place to drop off personal products will be available at all meetings and someone will deliver them to YOTO to be put in tote bags for distribution. Tote bags and back packs are all still needed as well. If you have simple housewares like pots and pans, coffee pots, dishes, etc. that you are ready to move on to a new home, these can be delivered directly to YOTO headquarters at 1660 N. Alvernon Way.

Youth On Their Own (YOTO)
CASA Outreach

YOTO Mission Statement:"Youth On Their Own ...is dedicated to support the high school graduation and continued success of homeless youth by providing financial assistance, basic human needs and guidance."

At the February meeting, members provided enthusiastic feedback to the outreach project for Youth On Their Own (YOTO), Tucson. YOTO currently has just over 800 youth (to age 21) registered. The primary reason that youth are "on their own" is due to court order.

Toiletry-School Supplies Bag:

CASA members will provide a repurposed tote bag or backpack; tote bags can be decorated by you OR left for the young person to do it OR left as is.

Any of the following may be donated: toilet paper, paper towel, deodorant, tooth brush/toothpaste, shampoo (2 in 1 if you can), body wash or soap, girls - tampons,notebook, loose leaf, pencils, pens, markers, pencil crayons

Additional Ideas from CASA members:

-journal with pens and collage supplies (will be given to YOTO staff for distribution to an interested student)

-soaps, shampoos collected from hotels are welcome

-band aids and other first aid supplies

-non-perishable foods (could go to the YOTO "mini-mall" where youth can get items they need)

-small appliances e.g. toaster, coffee maker, etc. (Cathy Lacey will deliver)

-we did a collection ($81.00) to buy Visa gift cards and/or essential items; cash donations can still be made

-for members unable to assemble a bag of items, volunteers will stay following the March meeting to assemble whatever loose items have been brought in

-a handmade card of any type will be put into each bag with a greeting from CASA

CASA members felt strongly that we need to collect for YOTO at each monthly meeting. We will need 2-3 volunteers to agree to put out collection boxes, store items for tote bags or deliver them to YOTO.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR MORE IDEAS, PLEASE CONTACT CATHY LACEY AT: c.lacey@sasktel.net

Update on the YOTO Project

The response to our call for bags and toiletries for the youth was overwhelming. We passed the donation basket for the second month in a row and were able to hand over a check for $374.00 to YOTO for them to purchase the things that are most needed by the youth. We were able to supply 52 toiletry bags. .

Sharyn's Notes on Jeanne Fellow's Presentation

download Sharyn's notes

Change in Annual Dues

At the December meeting, the Board of Directors recommended that the annual dues for CASA members be raised from $35.00 to $45.00 beginning with the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Dues will be payable by May 31, 2014 in the amount of $45.00. If you would like a copy of the constitution and the bylaws, please contact Marti White at martiaz@simplybits.net and one will be e-mailed to you.

2014-2015 Dues

It is best if you can use a renewal from, a reinstatement form or an application for membership form when you pay your dues. These forms are available on the website under" forms." Please note that the dues amount has changed from what is printed on some of the older forms - dues are now $45.00/year. If you are not able to pay at a meeting, feel free to send your dues to Peggy Steffens, CASA Membership Chair, 7002 N. Donatello Way, Tucson, AZ 85741.

Marti White
Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona