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Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, stayed healthy, and are ready to start this new year.
I was asked the other day about what does NBAL offer with it’s membership? The first thing that came to my mind was the wonderful friendships I have made over the last 20+ years. The friendships made while working at the docent desk or on the board are strong and long lasting because of the time shared while completing a task. I did not get to really know anyone until I took the different jobs that I have had and worked alongside of them. I have also made some wonderful friendships while attending workshops and taking classes. Being in a class with teachers and other members who encourage you while you are learning and honing your art skills can not only create good friendships but can also just make you happy. True joy can be found in sharing your passion for art with other artists.
So, let me encourage you that if you are feeling lonely or have the winter blues, please join a class or take a workshop; you will not regret the friendships you will find there. To find the class that is right for you, please see the website. There are several to choose from and they are available all year round.
Here is a list of what you physically get with your membership payment.
The benefits for a General Membership fee of $40:
1. Yearbook.
2. Monthly newsletter, delivered to your inbox, which keeps you in touch with NBAL, community art events, and upcoming workshops.
3. A discounted price on workshops presented by well-known visiting artists.
4. Multiple reasonably priced art classes taught by a variety of gifted teachers
5. The ability to enter shows all year. Yes, there is a show fee, but that helps to cover the judge’s fee, prize money, ribbons, and the reception.
6. The opportunity to attend the special art shows and enjoy the open receptions with the artists and fellow members.
7. A well-stocked library. Myra has done an excellent job keeping the library current and useful. Thank You Myra Knapp!
8. A tent is available for any members to rent for a nominal fee should you want to take your art on the road
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9. An opportunity to lease a studio, when available, at the cheapest price in town.
10. Two social events in 2025. A chance to dine and connect with fellow artists.
11. You have the opportunity to be heard and vote on items important to NBAL. All are welcome to come to the Team Board meetings or schedule a time to attend the Executive Board meetings to discuss any concerns for the organization.
As a Displaying member for an additional $40 … total $80, you get all the above plus the following:
12. A beautiful and spacious display area. I have been checking around, and no one has the amount of space or inches that we allow our artists access to.
13. The additional display fee is paid once for the whole year. Some other galleries charge a monthly fee or rental for the display space.
14. We are all very lucky that NBAL is only taking 25% on a sale. Many galleries are taking much more. Some keep as much as 50%.
15. Bookkeeping is provided and takes care of collecting and paying the members’ sales tax as well as the payment of insurance and utilities for our facility.
16. Advertising of the organization which includes advertising the artists’ work. We also promote artists' work routinely on Facebook and Instagram.
17. The opportunity to sell your art almost 365 days a year, seven days a week in exchange for only working 7 hours per month. Some I talked to must work weekly.
After hearing about other organizations, I think I can safely say that we are still the best deal in town!
Shout out of praise to Debbie Cooper and Vicki Houston!
Both of these ladies have worked very hard to complete our schedules for this year. Debbie did a fantastic job of getting the Special Show and Jury Schedule completed, prospectuses written and the inventory sheets created. Anyone who has done this job knows how difficult it is to shuffle all those dates and times around to make them come out correct in all those forms. There is a lot of checking and then re-checking involved.
Vicki worked very hard to get all of our workers on the Docent Schedule and Team Lists. This task can be overwhelming, but Vicki handled it all with skill and grace while calling and talking to several of you to get the schedule set with workers for our gallery. Very hard job to do while keeping everyone happy; but, she did it.
THANK YOU and Good Job to both of you. We could not function without you.
HELP!
Because of the way the holidays fall this year and the timing of some of our Special Shows we need help staffing the Docent Desk for three receptions. If you could please help us by sitting at the desk for these receptions, that would be wonderful. I will post a sign-up sheet on the door to the kitchen for you.
We will need two people for each reception:
“Artist of the Year” Friday, Jan 10, 6-8 PM
“Texas Contemporary” Friday, July 11, 6-8 PM
“Art of Photography” Friday, Sept 12, 6-8 PM
Congratulations!
Winners of the COMAL COUNTY bumper sticker contest to promote water conservation.
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