February 9th Meeting

Love is in the air!!!  Or maybe it's just the aroma of coffee and turnovers at the Blue Rooster!??  Well, in any case, it's time for the February meeting of CCAG and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the changes at the gallery if you haven't been in there since our meeting!!!  Pretty exciting to see it materialize!  Our meeting will be Monday, February 9th at 7:00 p.m.  Please enter through the front door of the Art at Lodgepole Creek Gallery.  The mini workshop will begin at 5:15.  Yes, please bring a friend!!

Notes from President Egging/Upcoming Events

Cindi Egging started "Art 4 Tots" classes for 2-4 year olds on Wednesday mornings and Thursday mornings for 4-5 year olds.  She is also offering an adult drawing class on Wednesday afternoons in February. 

Patrick McNabb is showing 8-12 pieces at the Indelible Creations Tatoo Parlor in Sterling.

Carnegie Arts Center in Alliance is getting ready for its 22nd Anniversary Show March 24 - 25th.  Entry date is February 20, 2015.  Copies of the brochure are available.

Holyoke, Colorado art show is March 26th - 29th.

Workshops:  Patsy Smith workshop:  Location to be determined.

• April 11-12.  
• Cost is $60.00
• 9:00 - 4:00 Saturday
• 1:00 - 4:  Sunday

Next CCAG Meeting Monday, Jan 12

Happy New Year, everyone!!  Repeat after me:  “I resolve (I resolve) to come to the art guild meeting this month (to come to the art guild meeting this month), to pay my dues (to pay my dues), and to learn and be creative with my fellow artists (and to learn and be creative with my fellow artists)!!  Now that that’s settled, here’s the agenda for our meeting for Monday, January 12th at 7:00 p.m.  Once again, please come to the front door of the Art at Lodgepole Creek gallery.  The mini-workshop will begin at 5:15, but the doors will be open at 4:30.  Yes, you can bring a friend!!

Dues:  $20 this month!!!!

Refreshments:  Nancy Dee and Ron Nordyke

Carnegie Arts Center in Alliance is getting ready for its 22nd Anniversary Show March 24-April 25.  Entry date is February 20, 2015.  Copies of the brochure are available.

I offered a ornament painting class at the Art at Lodgepole Creek Gallery on Saturday, December 13th.  Ten children participated.  It was pretty fun!  Janell Wicht had a card-making class at the same time and had a few participants.  Margaret Evans brought some photos down to display during the day.  I am planning a try a Tot-Art class (24-36 mo. with an adult) for Wednesday mornings and a class after school for elementary age students (not sure of these details yet).

Thanks go out to Nancy Dee for giving us a great workshop about pastel!!  We learned a lot about applying pastel, papers, and drew (painted) some pretty awesome green apples!!

JANUARY Mini-workshop:  Cindi Egging, yours truly, will give you some information on still-life art (history, things to consider when setting up a still-life, materials, and art elements and principles to pay attention to) and she will prepare a still-life for us to work from with a spotlight to help us see the values.  Please bring any drawing supplies you have:  pencils, erasers, colored pencils, charcoal sticks, and paper.  I have enjoyed reading several articles in art magazines while preparing for this workshop and have learned a lot!  Judy’s first mini-workshop addressed the “draw what you see” concept which is very important when doing still-life.  It’s a great way to improve skills as you really look at the items before you.

In December, 8 or 9 of us painted Christmas ornaments which were delivered to Sloan Estates, Golden Living Center, and Sidney Regional Extended Care.  They were received with gratitude—some were adding trees and were very glad to have some new ornaments to hang on them.  

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Artist of the Month:  December/January is Judy McElroy.  January/February’s artist will be ??

Note Cards:  Pat Albers

Brochure: forward photos of your work to Tess Bagnell jpg 300 dpi (3x5 or 4x6)

Poster:  Remember to let Margaret know if you need any posters to hang up and she will print some up for you!

Workshops:  

At the last meeting, we decided to postpone the workshop with Sue Hart until next year.  We also discussed the Patsy Smith workshop in the spring.  The members at the meeting said they would be interested in learning about how to make a landscape into an abstract painting, using materials, and also to learn more about composition.  It was pretty much agreed that we would be happy to learn whatever Patsy wants to teach us!  Possible dates are March 21-22 and April 11-12. She would prefer the March date.  Any comments?

OLD BUSINESS:

Public Relations Person??

Artist of the Month Chairperson??

Galleries:

Art Tour:  At the last meeting we discussed having the tour the end of January?  Or should we have it in the summer?

Mystery Painting pieces:  Still some pieces left!  Ron Nordyke shared his ingenious idea with us!! Awesome!!

NEW BUSINESS:

Program for January 12:   Cindi Egging:  arrange a paper towel or white cloth with an egg and sketch the arrangement.

NEXT MONTH:

Date:  February 9, 2015 at 7:00 p.m./ mini-workshop at 5:15 p.m.

Place:  Art at Lodgepole Creek Gallery

Refreshments for February:  Margie Surber and Jane Easterly

Program:  Janell Wicht:  abstract collage mini-workshop and program.

FUN FACTS from the ART ARCHIVES

In CCAG’s 4th year, October of 1975, they participated in an Art in the Park for Sidney’s first Oktoberfest!!  The big tent was in Legion Park and the arts and crafts were at the Armory.  Twenty artists showed paintings that were displayed on picnic tables and table easels among the old cottonwood trees.  There was music by a Polka Band, a parade, school bands and choirs, square dancing, pancake feeds, foreign food fair, a cultural program at the Junior High School auditorium, a community sing in the old band shell, adult and children’s games, etc.

Judy McElroy: Artist of the Month (Dec. - Jan.)

CHEYENNE COUNTY ART GUILD SELECTS J. I. MC ELROY AS ARTIST OF THE MONTH

            Born and raised on Nebraska cattle ranches, J. I. McElroy has a great love and respect for nature, wide-open spaces, and the natural interplay between the land & its inhabitants.  These are depicted almost exclusively in her artwork, which is accomplished in a realistic style.

 

            What makes her paint or draw a particular subject can vary.  Sometimes she is so awed with a scene or its colors that she tries to preserve it on paper or canvas and share that scene with anyone who might have missed it!  Other times she is so delighted with all the lights and darks, smooth and rough textures, and so forth, that she is compelled to see if her eyes can see it all and if her hands can record it.  "Sometimes," McElroy said, "I simply try to pass on the humor, wholesomeness, and wonder of people, animals, and events that I am encountering on life’s highways.  What a joy!"

 

            Another joyful experience to her through art is being a member of the Cheyenne Co. Art Guild, the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs, the Ogallala Art Society, and the American Plains Artists.  She said that she is thankful for the many friendships and learning opportunities that she is enjoying through her association with these great organizations, the people in them, and through art in general. 

 

            McElroy's favorite medias are watercolor, acrylic, and graphite pencil & charcoal.  "Usually the scene I see, the humidity in the air or lack thereof, the sun’s position in the sky, or the mood of the scene will tell me which media I want to use to try to take that real-life scene and put it down on a two-dimensional surface," she said.  Sometimes after working with color for quite a while she thinks it is just a wonderful vacation as well as a challenge to work in black and white again with graphite pencils and charcoal.  She likes the challenges presented by each media. 

 

Challenges are one of the many things she likes about art.  For McElroy the first challenge presented is being brave enough to put that first stroke of pencil or paint onto the new blank sheet of paper or canvas.  The next major challenge is to keep going with a painting or drawing when she hits a halfway point in its progress where things are developing, but still not very pretty—when she wonders whether to keep painting or throw it away and start over.  And the final challenge for her is to know when the painting is done--when that final little touch-up is the last one the painting needs.  The whole process is a challenge to her, and yet one she considers to be so educational and so much fun while seeing how the artwork develops.  "If in the end I like it, then that is good," McElroy stated, "and if someone else likes the artwork and it gives him or her pleasure to look at it, then that is extra special!

 

Her artwork and/or prints or cards may be seen at Sidney Feed, Sidney; soon at Art at Lodgepole Creek; Price Gallery & Framing, Valentine, NE; her studio-gallery, The Bunkhouse, southeast of Gurley; and in public and private collections internationally.  Upcoming shows and exhibits in 2015 include the CCAG Spring Art Show in March, Sidney; Ogallala Art Society Show in April at the Meadowlark Gallery in Grant, NE and at the Petrified Wood Gallery in September in Ogallala; the American Plains Artists 30^th Annual Juried Show, August-October, at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln, NE; a Featured Artist Show at the Most Unlikely Place in Lewellen in October; and the 2Shot Goose Hunt Art Show in December in Torrington, WY. 

 

        McElroy's artwork has won many awards at various times including Best of Show and People’s Choice at the Cheyenne County Art Guild’s Spring Show; the Third Place Award, Award of Excellence, and the Purchase Award at the international American Plains Artists Juried Exhibit & Sale in Midland, TX and Lincoln, NE; many First, Second, and Third Place awards at the Holyoke Art Show, Cheyenne County Fair, Wray Art Show and Yuma, Colorado Art Show, and several others.  The best award to her is when someone likes and connects with her artwork!

A signed and numbered 15" x 30" print of "Camouflaged but Uneasy" (a herd of ten pronghorns) will be on display at the Sidney Public Library through January 11, 2015.  Twelve other artworks by J. I. McElroy will be on display at the Cheyenne County Community Center.  The public is encouraged to view these fine artworks.

Patsy Yager - November Artist of the Month

  Patsy Yager is a Head Start teacher with a MAED degree (Master of Arts in Elementary Education).  While she has had very little formal training in art, she has always had a love of art and a desire to create art.  In 1998 Yager took a few oil painting lessons from Trish Corder at the Hardy, Arkansas, Spring River Art Gallery.  From these she learned a few of the basics of painting with oils. After moving to Sidney, Nebraska, she enrolled at WNCC for some early childhood classes.  As an elective she took beginning drawing.  In 2013 Yager joined the Cheyenne County Art Guild and has had the pleasure of attending a few art workshops sponsored by the guild.  Recently she began taking painting classes with Mark Leach, a Bob Ross certified instructor.  Yager stated, "I find the different styles of art fascinating."  And after attending a watercolor workshop sponsored by the CCAG she is looking forward to trying her hand with watercolors. 

   Yaker's favorite subject matter is landscapes.  She also likes to paint animals, pets, and family members.  Her "Spring River" painting is on display now through December 14th at the Sidney Public Library.  Other paintings and photography by Patsy Yager are on display at the Cheyenne County Community Center.  The public is encouraged to view this first ever exhibit of Yager's very fine artworks!

December 8 Meeting

Message from President Cindi Egging:

HO! HO! HO!  Tis the season to gather with your art friends and share some holiday cheer!!

Hopefully we will see more of you this month--I'm pretty sure the weather is going to be decent!!  At least seasonal!! :-)

The next CCAG meeting will take place at the Art at Lodgepole Creek Gallery on December 8, 2014, at 7:00 p.m.  Please come in the front door.  The mini-workshop will also take place there.  You can begin gathering at 4:30, but the workshop itself won't begin until 5:15.  Anyone can come!  Invite a friend!!  See info about the mini-workshop below............

Refreshments:  Tish Treinen and Patsy Yager

CHEYENNE COUNTY ART GUILD OFFERS FREE PASTEL MINI-WORKSHOP

The Cheyenne County Art Guild is presenting a free mini-workshop on creating artworks with pastels (artist's chalks) on Monday, December 8, 2014, from 5:15 to 6:45 PM at the new gallery, Art at Lodgepole Creek, located at 940 10th Ave. (formally The Book Corner) in Sidney, NE.  Instruction in how to use pastel colors will be taught by Nancy Dee of Haxtun, CO.  This mini-workshop is suited for the person who has always wanted to learn how to paint/draw with pastels as well as for the accomplished artist.  For the mini-workshop, please bring whatever pastels you might have on hand, a paper plate to use as a palette, baby wipes or wet paper towels to clean your hands; and disposable gloves or barrier cream.  If an attendee doesn't have these supplies and pastels, some will be provided.  Art at Lodgepole Creek will be open at 4:30 PM and artists are welcome to bring their artworks in progress and draw or paint during this time.  The free mini-workshop will begin at 5:15 PM and will be followed by the Cheyenne County Art Guild meeting at 7 PM after which Christmas bulbs will be painted.  Anyone interested in art is welcome to attend any or all events.