Artists Guild News

Dear Members of the Artists Guild;

WOW, what a month! First, the big opening at the new Dannmyer Community Gallery on November 12, 5:00 to 7:00pm, with a full contingent of Museum staff lead by the Director Roxanna Velasquez and Community Engagement Director Deirdre Guevara and Lucas Perez. The Museum provided excellent food and some smooth jazz and invited all the docents who will be staffing the Guild Highlights exhibit for the next four months. It was interesting to note that as the art was being hung a narrative about tis collective meaning was created and installed by Deirdre Guevera and will be included in the docent tours descriptions of the exhibit. Included in the exhibit on a video loop was the video about the Guild, some of its history provided by Jody Abyssy and comments by Roxana Velasquez, Curator Hugh Davies PHD and myself, President of the Guild. That final video is now on YouTube https://youtu.be/9En1x337wF4?si=eP7dFkurKpI0dB-t. It was commissioned by the Guild board and completed by James Halfacre. Funds from artists membership dues were used for it. About 250 people were in attendance.

In addition to the video the Guild unveiled a full color catalogue with resumes and images by all 46 artists. Each artist was provided with one and the remainder will be on sale for $20.00 at the museum bookstore. All proceeds are returned to the Guild for future projects.

Then, as though that was not enough, the Guild opened another show in Balboa Park at Gallery 21 in Balboa Park on November 24-2:00-4:00. This show was juried by Alex DeCosta, Hyde Gallery and 40 artists were selected with three cash prizes and honorable mentions to three more. Thanks to all the Guild artists who volunteered to sit the gallery during the exhibit. The reception included refreshments, prize giving and an announcement of the upcoming Christmas get together at Gallery 21 on Dec. 1,4:00 to 6:00pm. Gifts will be exchanged, and Santa will be in attendance.

Be sure to consult the Guild website for the upcoming exhibit at Phes Gallery in Carlsbad. The exhibit will go from April 6-May 31 with an entry deadline of March 1.

You will recall the Board approved the effort to create an atelier/workshop in the Museum educational facility in the Prado in Balboa Park. Dates and schedule are being negotiated by VP Kevin Inman and Leslie Pierce. We look forward to your participation.

2024 Membership Exhibition at Gallery 21

Live at Gallery 21, Spanish Village, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

November 19 – December 2, 2024
Online through December 2024: www.sdmaag.org

Juror Alex DeCosta
Director, Hyde Art Gallery at Grossmont College
Co-Founder & President, Front Row Center

Congratulations to our

First Place Award of Excellence Winner 

WILL GIBSON
Vincent Munch (2013)
Unique Platinum/Palladium
Print - $800.

About Will:

After spending seven years in medical research, Will Gibson turned his photographic hobby into a vocation in 1979. He opened his own studio a year later. By 1999, the business was a full-service commercial studio with a full wet lab and one-stop desktop publishing. What followed next was a three-year sojourn based in Columbus, Ohio, where he concentrated on his personal photography, traveling the art fair circuit all over the American east.

Returning to Escondido, California, Gibson began teaching photography at Palomar College, and later also at UCSD Extension. During the next fifteen years he taught fifteen separate class titles, including Alternative Processes, Portraiture and Commercial Photography. He continued to exhibit his work in group and one-man shows, was a founding member of the PhotoArts Group in Escondido, co-produced six Best of Nature shows at the San Diego Natural History Museum and has been a speaker and juror in photo clubs in the greater San Diego area.

Gibson is currently showing his varied work in his Escondido studio and exploring wet-plate collodion and digital infrared photography.

About Vincent Munch:  Vincent Munch is a close-up image of the exposed bark of a Ponderosa Pine Gibson calls the Survivor in Rocky Mountain National Park. This tree has been hit by lightning, burned and otherwise contorted by the elements over at least a hundred years. The image was captured digitally with the technique of focus stacking where multiple images at different focal distnces are used to create a composite of uniform sharpness and focus. The resulting image was inverted in values and printed on a clear material to create a suitable negative for a unique print in platinum and palladium on rag paper. The photographer sees elements of the paintings Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and The Scream by Edvard Münch, hence the title.

Website:  www.willgibsonphoto.com

Congratulations to our

Second Place Award of Excellence
JOHN OLEINIK
MAINTENANCE (2020)
Oil on Linen - $2,800

About John:
I have been an architect with a private practice since 1983 specializing in the design of custom single-family homes. Starting in 2014, I have been making the professional transition into Fine Art. I am able to bring some of the unique skills acquired as an architect, into my oil paintings. My most recent work is an investigation into the human-condition. I have been exploring the aspects of man that distinguish humanity from machine as the line becomes increasingly blurred in the digital age. Stylistically best described as Abstract- Surrealism or Abstract-Realism.

General:

I paint with oil on linen. I used Fredrix acrylic primed linen that I stretch myself on 1 ¼” stretcher bars from Stretcher Bar Warehouse (you can buy online from central California factory). I use Princeton “Dakota’ 6300B paintbrushes (synthetic bristles. I mostly use Old Holland Paint or Windsor Newton. I use Utrecht alkyd glazing medium. The glazing medium allows me to build up many layers of paint over time. It also acts as an accelerator, so I can paint the next day. This painting is the product of about 20 sessions or layers. Each session is about 4 or 5 hours, not including painting the edges. The time between painting sessions gives me time to look at the work and plan the next move. I will work on a painting until I feel that I have little chance of making an improvement.

Starting with the blank canvas I will transfer the images using various means. Some freehand or carbon paper, plus I will use photographs that I have taken. From that point I will paint in the classic style. Light to dark. Front to back. Thin to thick.  Which I learned from my only true painting teacher, Ardith Melzer. On my palette I will usually use two yellows, two reds, two blues and white. I always start a painting with black that I mix from the primaries. The darkest black I have found is using Prussian Blue and Cadmium Red Dark. After several painting sessions with different blacks, I will go straight to white tints to establish the highlights. I learned this from Norm Daniels, who is a plein air artist. He taught me that it is important to establish your lights right away, especially in plein air when the light is changing all the time. I know that I do not have the same time consideration, but it still helps to establish the composition early on. At this point I may start to see figures emerge from the canvas and I will need to draw over the canvas to bring them out. This will add more painting sessions in order to merge the added figures into the existing compositions. Once I have covered the whole canvas with paint, I will start all over and repaint it again several times. Each time sharpening the image and detailing as I go.

About MAINTENANCE:  This painting entitled MAINTENANCE is part of a series that I have been working on for the last seven years and now totals over fifty paintings. I start the creative process by taking a number of photographs and superimposing them over each other.  I spend a lot of time carefully moving the images around on my computer till I get the correct composition. I then transfer the image onto the primed linen canvas. During the painting process, I continue to distort and pixelate the image giving the impression of a technological interference. I invented this process and it is unique to this series.

MAINTENANCE was created during the holiday season. This time of year elicits mixed emotions. It can be both a fun and magical time of the year and also be very stressful and emotionally draining. And for some it is a period of religious introspection and devotion. I leave it up to the viewer to connect with this painting according to their personal experience.

Congratulations to our

Third Place Award of Excellence Winner 

MARCY STINTON
Amber & Unber (2023)
Kiln Formed/Fused Glass - $400.

About Marcy:

I have worked with fused glass for over thirty years and have been a member of The San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild for more than eighteen years. I draw |my inspiration from the vibrant colors of nature. Amber and Umber are two hues that are not commonly used in glass sculptures, and I wanted to create a piece that reflects their unique beauty together.

Exhibitions:

Glass Art Association of Southern California

There Ain’t Nothing Like a Dame

Encinitas Art Night

Small Image Show at Spanish Village Art Center

La Jolla Art Association

San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild Show

HONORABLE MENTION:

MAIDY MORHOUS
Cache (2024)
Bronze - $3,300.

JULIANNE RICKSECKER
Cascade Creek Falls (2008)
White Ground EtchinG - $350.

VIKTORIA ROMANOVA
Breakfast Joy! (2024)
Oil on Canvas - $4,000.

October 6, 2024

Dear Members of the Artists Guild;

The Guild has finished the month with 135 members all resigned or new. Welcome to you all and I look forward to seeing your work in one of our exhibits or on the monthly zoom call. Thank you all for completing this annual ritual. We remain probably the largest practicing artists guild partnering with an art museum in the US. New members come mostly from San Diego but also throughout the US and Europe, a dynamic union.

Remember, all members are invited to our monthly Saturday morning zoom call where artists show and discuss their most interesting work, new and old. Over 40 members regularly participate. Join us. Just click on the zoom link you receive in your email monthly. 

REMINDER- All artists juried into the MOPA/MOMA show must deliver their work to the back of MOPA on OCTOBER 28. The opening reception at the MOPA Museum is November 12^th. Wine, refreshments, speeches, a new Guild video and best of all member art, paintings and sculptures will be on display. This is the inaugural exhibit for the new Dannemeyer Community Gallery and not the last. The last time the Guild was exhibited in the Museum was 1997. So, let’s celebrate.

Gallery 21 -Spanish Village Exhibit -Juror Alex DeCosta, Director, Hyde Park Gallery has selected the art for this show, and you will be receiving notice if you submitted work. The show will hang from Nov 19-Dec. 2 and the reception is Sunday, Nov 24, 2-4PM.

A new gallery exhibit at the Phes Gallery in Carlsbad is being organized by Julie Weaverling, a Guild member. It will hang April 6-May 31. Submissions are due by March 10 so watch the website for announcements.

Our board member and exhibition co-chair Leslie Pierce invites Guild members to promote their work on the Guild's Instagram:

Submit_5_Images_for_SDMAAG_Instagram

The video for the MOPA/SDMA exhibit by James Halfacre is nearing completion- about 13 minutes shown on a loop throughout the show. It includes an exciting welcome by Museum Executive Director and CEO Roxana Velasquez and juror Hugh Davies Ph.D, Director Emeritus-Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. It also includes great shots of current Guild artists at work in their studios, past notable art covering the San Diego region by previous Guild artists as well as excellent images of the art in the current show. We are all part of an exciting cultural legacy so get painting, sculpting and dreaming and I will see you at the opening.

Jim Bliesner, President

Catalogue Statement

Jim Bliesner -President

San Diego Museum of Art-Artists Guild

The San Diego Museum of Art-Artists Guild history is one of diversity, experiment and innovation. Guild visual artists, sculptors, and architects have played a major role in defining the artistic culture of the San Diego region for over 120 years. Its partnership with the Museum, starting with its inception, continues to present a national model of collaboration and community engagement.

This exhibit continues this tradition and presents a new generation of Museum/Guild exhibitions. The juried artists present a dynamic and eclectic survey of art styles, materials and ideas. It also premiers the art book “100 Artists,100 Years” featuring Guild artists both in and out of the Museum collection.

I am honored to be the incoming President of the Guild and look forward to many more outstanding exhibitions in and out of the San Diego Museum of Art and continuing to build artists membership and opportunities. It is my hope that the Guild will provide a dynamic community engagement opportunity for the Museum as well as Guild artists.

We are sincerely appreciative and honored to be the inaugural exhibit in the new Museum community gallery.

June 30, 2024

Dear Members of the Artists Guild:

We held our Annual Membership Meeting via Zoom on June 8.  Many thanks to all of you who took time to join us and vote for the board of directors’ candidates for our upcoming fiscal year (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025).  Our vice president, Jim Bliesner, has agreed to take over the president position on July 1, and Kevin Inman will step up as vice president.  Barbara Leitzel will continue to serve as treasurer.  John Ohl Webster has volunteered for the board secretary position, and I will continue to serve as membership chair, exhibitions co-chair and monthly Zoom meetings moderator.  Below is a listing of the new board members and their positions:

Officers:

JIM BLIESNER – President  

KEVIN INMAN – Vice President/Exhibitions Committee

BARBARA LEITZEL - Treasurer

JOHN OHL WEBSTER - Board Secretary

ANGELIKA VILLAGRANA – Membership Chair/

Exhibitions Co-Chair/Zoom Meetings Moderator

Members:

JODY ABSSY  - Member-at-Large

Historian/Centennial Book/Exhibitions Committee 

CECILIA ANASTOS - Member-at-Large/Exhibitions Committee

LUNJIA HU - Member-at-Large

SUSAN MAE HULL – Member-at-Large

KATERINA HUSAR LAZAROVA – Webmaster*

MARK-ELLIOTT LUGO – Member-at-Large/Centennial BookLESLIE PIERCE – Member-at-Large

Exhibitions Committee/Guild Instagram

 JULIANNE RICKSECKER – Member-at-Large/Technical Assistance

LILY TANZER – Member-at-Large

*Katerina would like to step down as webmaster, but will remain in this position until we find a replacement for her.  If you have technical skills and are interested in serving as Artists Guild webmaster, please contact me. The webmaster is not required to become a board member (and attend monthly meetings).

The following members have volunteered to serve on the Exhibitions Committee:

Jody Abssy, Cecilia Anastos, Beryl Brenner, Holly Huxton (promotion), Kevin Inman, Leslie Pierce, Angelika Villagrana, Julie Weaverling.

Upcoming Exhibitions:

The San Diego Museum of Art has invited the Guild to hold amembership exhibition at MOPA@SDMA, the newMuseum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art.

Highlights from The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild

will be on view from November 9, 2024, through March 9, 2025 - Live and online.Reception:  Thursday November 14, 2024, 5 to 7 p.m.,at MOPA@SDMA.The reception will be shared with the Prix Pictet exhibition.

The Museum gave us an early deadline for submissions.  Therefore, our juror, Hugh M. Davies, Ph.D., Director Emeritus, Museum of Contemporary

Art San Diego, has already selected the artists for this exhibition.

2024 Fall Membership Exhibition

Live at Gallery 21, Spanish Village, and online

November 19 – December 2, 2024

Reception:  Sunday, November 24, 2 to 4 p.m.

Juror:  Alex DeCosta, Gallery Director, Hyde Art Gallery, Grossmont College

Celebrate the Season

Holiday-themed Online Exhibition for Artist Members Only

No Fee. Not Juried.December 5, 2024 – January 31, 2025

During the Spring of 2025 we will host another Online Spring Exhibition, 

open to members and non-members.

Our Monthly Artists Guild Discussions Meetings on the second Saturday of each month, from10 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time, will continue via Zoom. These monthly meetings have attracted members and guests from all around the United States, Canada, and even Germany, France and Italy. Images of attendees’ artworks are always posted on the Guild Face Book page – www.sdmaag.org (and click on FB).  Our next Zoom meeting will take place on Saturday, July 13, at from 10 a.m. to 12 noon PDT.

I would like to invite you to join one or several of our board meetings to understand what issues we are dealing with and decide where you may assist us.  Board meetings are held via Zoom on the first Tuesday of each month, from 10:15 a.m. to 12 noon.

Board and monthly Zoom meeting announcements are listed on the Guild website:  www.sdmaag.org 

San Diego County Fair Awards:

The following artists who were juried in the Fair have received membership awards from the Guild:

2024 Fine Art Exhibition

Wanda Honeycutt - Precious Cargo – Mixed Media

Ron Simmons - Skyscraper – Sculpture – Epoxy and Steel

Michele Linden Shaw - Rottenburg 1  - Acrylic

2024 Photography Competitive Exhibition

Ernesto Corte - Primary Colors - Photograph

Congratulations to the award winners. Their works are featured on the Guild website:  www.sdmaag.org.

Please note that membership renewal notices for our new fiscal year (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025) will be e-mailed to our members tonight.  Please do not renew your membership before tomorrow.  We very much hope that you will continue your membership with the Guild.

Many thanks to our board members who are willing to continue their service on behalf of the Guild and to the Guild members who have agreed to assist us with our tasks.

It has been my pleasure serving as your interim president for the past six months and I thank you for all your support. I look forward to continue working with you on the membership and exhibitions side, and as moderator of our monthly Zoom meetings. Congratulations to our new president Jim Bliesner. I know that he will do a fantastic job moving the Guild forward. 

With best wishes,

Angelika

Interim President

The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild

gelikavillagrana@gmail.com

__________________________________________________________
The Artists Guild is the oldest Support Council of The San Diego Museum of Art – www.sdmart.org.

Dear Members of the Artists Guild:
 
The Artists Guild will hold its annual 
General Meeting on Saturday, June 8, 2024,
from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT via Zoom.  

We hope you will join us for this
important meeting.  

During the meeting, you will receive updates on past and upcoming Guild activities and exhibitions.  
Then, attending Artist Members will elect the
Board of Directors for the coming fiscal year. 
 
The slate of the proposed Board candidates
is as follows:

Jody Abssy 
Cecilia Anastos
Jim Bliesner
Lunjia Hu
Susan Mae Hull 
Kevin Inman 
Katerina Husar Lazarova
Barbara Leitzel
Mark-Elliott Lugo
Leslie Pierce 
Julianne Ricksecker
Lily Tanzer
Angelika Villagrana 

Officers:
Guild vice president Jim Bliesner has agreed
 to take over the Guild presidency 
for the 2024/25 fiscal year.   
Kevin Inman has agreed to step up as vice president.
Barbara Leitzel will continue her role as treasurer.
I will continue to serve as membership chair/exhibitions
co-chair and moderator of the
monthly Guild Zoom meetings. 
Mark-Elliott Lugo has stepped down as board secretary but will continue to work with 
Jody Abssy on the
History Committee and the completion of the
Guild’s Centennial Book.

Therefore, we need a board secretary to take minutes of the Guild’s monthly board meetings (first Tuesday of every month, from 10:15 a.m. to 12 noon).  This is an officer’s position. It would require approximately two hours to prepare the minutes. 
If you are interested in serving as board secretary,
please contact me. 

Katerina Husar Lazarova, our current webmaster,would like to step down but will remain webmaster until we have found a replacement. If you have technical skills and are interested in serving as Artists Guild webmaster, please contact me.  You do not have to become a board member (and attend monthly meetings) for this position.

Several board and Guild members have stepped up to assist me with exhibitions:
Jody Abssy, Jim Bliesner, Kevin Inman,
Leslie Pierce, Julie Weaverling

We also need more help with marketing, promotion
and hospitality. 
There can be co-chairs for any position, or you may 
only work on a small fraction of these positions.   

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me at (619) 222-1034 or gelikavillagrana@gmail.com 
to discuss how you may assist us.  Thank you.

After the board elections, board members will introduce themselves to you and you will hear an address by the new Guild president.

After the formal meeting, we will, as always, invite attendees to share ONE of their works.  
Since we have less time due to the formal meeting, we would like to extend the art exchange to 12:30 p.m. PDT and hope that will work for you.

To receive the Zoom link for our June 8
General Meeting, 
please RSVP to me by Friday evening, June 7.  
I look forward to seeing you virtually on June 8.
 
Best wishes, and many thanks for
your continued support of the Artists Guild.
Angelika
 
Angelika Villagrana, Interim President
The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild
(619) 222-1034 – gelikavillagrana@gmail.com
www.sdmaag.org


_________________________________________
The Artists Guild is the oldest Support Council of 
The San Diego Museum of Art – www.sdmart.org.

 

Dear Members of the Artists Guild:

Last December, Guild president Annie Kilgore resigned due to personal reasons. We thank her for her service to the Guild.  At our January board meeting, I was asked to serve Annie’s term through June 30, 2024 as interim president.  In July, our vice president, Jim Bliesner, will take over as president of the Guild.

Artists Guild Membership Exhibition at MOPA@SDMA

Last month, I informed you that, after more than 20 years, the Guild has been invited by
The San Diego Museum of Art to have a membership exhibition at the new Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA) Community Gallery in Balboa Park.  At that time, we were under the impression that the deadline to submit work would be in mid-July. Jim and I met with our Museum partners and juror, Dr. Hugh Davies, a few days ago and were told that, due to the many exhibitions and events the Museum is working on, the deadline for submissions has to move to a much earlier date:  Friday, March 15, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

While that does not leave much time to create new work, the good news is that any of your works are eligible for submission, even if they have been shown in Guild exhibitions before. 
There will be no restrictions as to the year the works have been created.

We are in the process of finalizing the Call for Entries which will be published at the beginning of next week.  Meanwhile, I would like to give you the following specifics for the exhibition so that you can start planning:

November 9, 2024 – March 9, 2025 - Live at the Museum of Photographic Arts 
at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA), Balboa Park
Online during the months of November 2024 through March 2025 on the Guild website.DEADLINE TO ENTER:  Friday, March 15, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PDT

Delivery of Artwork:  Monday, October 28, 2024
Reception:  Thursday November 14, 2024, 5 to 7 p.m., at MOPA@SDMA.

The reception will be shared with thePrix Pictet exhibition.  

Juror:  Hugh M. Davies, Ph.D.
Director Emeritus, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

All current members of The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild are invited to submit work.
All media will be accepted (including digital art), except videos and other media requiring special installation. Artists may submit three works at $25 for the first entry, and $5 for each additional image.  Since this will be a Museum exhibition, works will not be listed as “for sale.”
We will use the entrythingy.com platform for submissions.

SIZE LIMITATIONS: Two-dimensional art shall not exceed 
42 inches in width and 60 inches in height, including the frame. 
Gallery-wrapped artwork will be accepted if edges are painted.
 Wall hung pieces may not exceed 30 pounds.
 Three-dimensional art (Sculpture) shall not exceed 60 pounds. 

Maximum size:  3 feet h x 2 feet w x 2 feet d.

Artists Guild 2024 Spring Online Exhibition:

I also would like to remind you that the Call for Entries for our Spring Online Exhibition is on the Guild website:  www.sdmaag.org – direct link:  https://www.sdmaag.org/2024-spring-exhibition.  The deadline to submit work is:  Sunday, March 3, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PST.

The exhibition will be juried by Nancy Lim, Associate Curator, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Department of Painting & Sculpture.

Other Reminders:  All members may attend our monthly board meetings on the first Tuesday of each month from 10:15 a.m. to 12 noon via Zoom, and our monthly Zoom meetings on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.  The next Zoom meeting will take place on Saturday, February 10.  If you are interested, please contact me and I will send you the Zoom links. Images that artists show at our Zoom meetings are posted on the Guild’s Face Book page:  www.sdmaag.org and click on FB.

Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.

Best wishes, Angelika

Angelika Villagrana, Interim President

The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild

(619) 222-1034 – gelikavillagrana@gmail.com

 

 

Dear Members of the Artists Guild:

Happy New Year!

We would like to start 2024 with exciting news: After more than 20 years, the Guild has been invited by The San Diego Museum of Art to have a membership exhibition at the new Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA) Community Gallery. Last summer, the Museum of Photographic Arts and The San Diego Museum of Art merged to become one unified institution which is now called MOPA@SDMA. The Museum has dedicated one of the large galleries at MOPA@SDMA as a Community Gallery to reach out to regional artists, starting a new era for the Museum. Because of our long-time involvement and support of the Museum, the Guild will be the first to start this project in the beginning of October 2024 for five months - a fantastic opportunity for the Guild!

We have started the planning process and will provide more information as we move forward, but wanted to make you aware of this opportunity as soon as possible. Dr. Hugh M. Davies, Director Emeritus, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, has agreed to jury the exhibition. The prospectus will be online in mid-April and the deadline for submissions will be in mid-July.

Other upcoming Guild Exhibitions:

2024 Spring Online Open Exhibition for members and non-members

March 15 – May 15. 2024. We are in the process of finishing the prospectus.

2024 Holiday/Winter Online Exhibition for artist members only

November 1 – December 31, 2024.

2024 Fall Membership Exhibition at Gallery

November 19 – December 2, 2024.

We will continue our monthly Zoom meetings on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time and encourage you to join us. We started these meetings at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and they have become very popular. We usually have between 30 to 35 artists on the call sharing their works, not only from the San Diego area but as far away as Canada, Alaska, New York, Texas and Europe. Images of shared works are posted on the Guild Facebook page, www.sdmaag.org and click on FB. This is a great way to meet your fellow artists, see their works and share yours.

The next Zoom meeting will take place on Saturday, January 13, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon PST. If you are interested in participating, please RSVP to gelikavillagrana@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link.

Guild members are also invited to join our monthly Board of Directors meetings. Normally on the first Tuesday of each month from 10:15 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time, we have moved the January meeting to Tuesday, January 9, because of the holidays. If you are interested to find out more about Guild issues, please contact gelikavillagrana@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link.

Thank you for all your support of the Guild in 2023. We look forward to your continued support of the Guild in 2024. Get ready for our exhibition at MOPA@SDMA! We want to make the Museum proud of the Guild!

Best wishes for a Healthy, Happy and Creative 2024!

The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild

Dear Members of the Artists Guild, 

The Artists Guild will hold its annual General Meeting on 
June 10, 2023, at 10 a.m., via Zoom.  
We hope you will join us for this important meeting.  

During the meeting, you will receive updates on past and upcoming Guild activities and exhibitions.  Then, attending Artist Members will need to elect the Board of Directors for the coming fiscal year. 
 

The slate of the proposed Board candidates is as follows:

Jody Abssy
Susan Ashley
Sue Zinngrabe Gold
Lunjia Hu
Kevin Inman
Susan Mae Hull
Katerina Husar Lazarova
Annie Kilgore
Mark-Elliott Lugo
Lucas Perez
Julianne Ricksecker
Angelika Villagrana
 

Guild Vice President Annie Kilgore has agreed to take over the Guild presidency for the 2023/24 fiscal year.  Thank you, Annie.

Annie is currently serving as Vice President and interim Treasurer.  
Since she will take over as Guild President, we will need a new Vice President and Treasurer.  

We also need assistance with: Hospitality, Marketing,
Public Relations, and Exhibitions. 

There can be co-chairs for any position, or you may only work on a small fraction of these positions.  We are also looking for additional board members.  If you are interested, please contact me at
(619) 222-1034 to discuss how you can assist us.  Thank you.
  
At this point, the following positions have been filled:
Secretary (Mark-Elliott Lugo); Membership Chair (Angelika Villagrana); History Chair (Jody Abssy); Exhibitions Co-Chair
(Kevin Inman); Newsletter Editor (Lunjia Hu);
Webmaster (Katerina Husar Lazarova). 

Guild Artist Members will also have to approve the amendments to the Artists Guild Bylaws, highlighted in red.  
Please click on: Amendment to Bylaws to review the
bylaws and amendments.  Thank you.
 

One important amendment is that we will add a representative of
The San Diego Museum of Art to our board, giving us the opportunity to work more closely with the Museum.  Our Museum liaison,
Lucas Perez, the Museum’s Manager of Art and Empathy Projects, and Innovation, has agreed to join our board, and we
are very happy about that.
 
After the formal meeting, we will, as always, invite attendees
to share one piece of their work.

To receive the Zoom link for our June 10 General Meeting, please RSVP to me by Friday evening, June 9.  
I look forward to seeing you virtually on June 10.
 
Many thanks to our Guild members who have submitted
work to our Membership Exhibition  A Walk Through Nature.  
The work will be hung the morning of June 17 and the
reception will be on Sunday, June 18, 2 to 4 p.m. 
at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center Gallery, 
One Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego, CA 92119-1008.  
The exhibition will be live and online from June 17
through July 27, 2023.
 
Best wishes, and many thanks for
your continued support of the Artists Guild.
Angelika

 

Angelika Villagrana, President
The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild
(619) 222-1034 – gelikavillagrana@gmail.com
 

_____________________________________________________

The Artists Guild is the oldest Support Council of 
The San Diego Museum of Art:  www.sdmart.org.

 

Dear Members:

Due to health reasons, Sue Zinngrabe Gold had to resign as Guild treasurer and editor of the newsletter.  Luckily for us, she will remain on the Guild board of directors and be available with advice.  Vice president Annie Kilgore has agreed to step us as interim treasurer and newsletter editor, however, since it is taking a while to get her set up, the newsletter will be delayed by a month. 

Annie will take over as Guild president in July, therefore

we urgently need volunteers to take on the treasurer and newsletter positions. 

Please let me know if you are interested in volunteering for either position and we can discuss the duties that are involved.  Thanks so much.

 

Exhibitions:

Many thanks to all artists who submitted work to our 2023 Online Spring Exhibition.  We received 712 entries from 316 artists from around the world.  Our juror, Hugh M. Davies, Ph.D., Director Emeritus, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, had the difficult task of selecting 110 works from an abundance of high-quality submissions for the exhibition.  I am pleased to announce that 18 Guild members were included. 

The award winners are:

First place: Bart Lindstrom from Rancho Mirage, CA, for his oil painting Running Men.

Second place: Sandy Abrams from Long Beach, CA, for her rattan, bamboo, wood sculpture Reclining Nude.

Third place: Guild member Michael Hill from Escondido, CA, for his oil painting Spring Shower. Michael has donated his $300 award towards the Guild’s Centennial Book Project.  We appreciate that very much.  

Honorable Mention:

Lin Hui Ding from Aliso Viejo, CA, for her oil paintingAlla

Yan Jun Dong from Fremont, CA, for her ink, acrylic, watercolor work Rhapsody

Susan Salazar from Jamul, CA, for her colored pencil work Optimistic

Leroy Skalstad from Milwaukee, WI, for his photograph A Boy With A Straight Face

Congratulations to the artists who were selected. 

The exhibition will be online through April 15 at https://www.sdmaag.org/2023-spring-exhibition.

Many thanks to The San Diego Museum of Art for promoting the exhibition in its e-newsletter:

https://www.sdmart.org/event/san-diego-museum-of-art-artists-guild-spring-2023-online-exhibition/2023-02-17/.

We would appreciate it if you would assist us in promoting the exhibition to your social media networks.  Thank you very much.

We are now working on our NEXT MEMBER EXHIBITIONS:

Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, Inc. Membership Exhibition - A Walk Through Nature - June 17 - July 28 

Juror:  Keiko Tanabe – see her profile on her website:   https://www.ktanabefineart.com/about

Gallery 21 2023 Membership Exhibition –- November 14 through November 28
Both exhibitions will also be displayed online.

Holiday Online Exhibition for Artist Members - November 1 through December 31

As a gift to our artist members, submission and sales commission fees will be waived.

The exhibition will not be juried. Every artist member will be invited to submit one work.

We encourage all artist members to start thinking about a work that is inspired loosely by the holiday season.

 

Welcome to our NEW MEMBERS who joined the Artists Guild during the past months:

Artist Members:
David Bloom – Media:  Abstract Mixed Media Private Practice and Public Art Producer
Susan Brown – Medium:  Acrylic
Carol Cottone-Kolthoff – Medium:
Ron Hillas – Medium:  Watercolor
Lunjia Hu – Media:  Oil and Acrylic
Kevin Inman – Medium:  Oil

Associate Members:
Rosalind Delligattie
Michael Hill
Kay Kaplan
Anahid Minatsaghanian
Miriam Lorentzen
Elsa Oroszco-Toops
Lise Van Herik
Yahel Yan

If you would like to find out more about these or other Guild members, please go to our website, www.sdmaag.org, click on Artist List and type in the name of the artist you are interested in.  Many artist members have added images of their artwork to their Artist’s Profile Page to create a photo gallery on the Guild website. If you are an artist member and have not yet done so, I encourage you to take advantage of this Guild membership benefit to set up your own web page.  You may upload up to six albums of images.  Each album may contain up to 50 photos. 

Our Monthly Artists Guild Zoom Discussions Meetings on the second Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time, continue to attract Guild members and guests from around the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and Italy. At the February 11 meeting, a number of artists who were juried into the Spring Online Exhibition, including award winners Bart Lindstrom and Yan Jun Dong, joined us and were introduced by juror Dr. Davies.  After each meeting, images of attendees’ artworks are posted onto the Guild Face Book page – www.sdmaag.org and click on FB.

Our next Zoom meeting will take place on Saturday, March 11, at from 10 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time.   If you have never participated in our Zoom sessions, I encourage you to do so and get to know other artists and their works.  Please send me your RSVP by Friday evening, March 10, so that I may add you to the call list and send you the Zoom link.  Due to security reasons, we cannot publish Zoom links.

 

Feel free to contact me with any suggestions or questions. 

With best wishes,

Angelika

 

Angelika Villagrana, President

The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild

gelikavillagrana@gmail.com or  president @sdmaag.org