What a gloomy spring it’s been; not one full day of sunshine for the whole month of March. It’s kept the tourists at home, and sales at the gallery have suffered as a result. The first 3 months of the year are usually a very slow time for us, but this year has been one of the slowest. If you haven’t sold any artwork lately, don’t despair—summer is coming, and with it, sunshine and tourists.
We were very fortunate to receive a grant from Pacific Power Foundation to purchase locking display cases, and the cases are now in place and look terrific. We are very grateful to have them. Not only does it help to keep smaller items safe, but is also a super way to display them. We have had lots of positive comments from visitors. Ali Litts, Gail Ragsdale, Kathy Adams and Diane Eldridge did all the hard work on the grant.
For each of the first three months of the year we had a fabulous display of a ‘Slice of Life’ Art Quilt. Twenty quilt artists from Southern Oregon and Northern California participated in an exciting year long project to recreate three photographs by Klamath Falls photographer Jeremy Franklin as fabric “Art Quilts”. Each photo was enlarged to 80” x 60” and divided into eight vertical sections. Each artist then recreated a slice from the original picture using fabric, paints, inks, yarns, thread painting and special embellishments. Although the group met several times over the year, each “slice” was completely the work of an individual artist. The end result is three stunning large wall quilts.
The Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday May 15th this year, from 1 – 3 pm. It will be a potluck, so bring a dish and join us. We will be electing Board members and Officers for the next year. The slate is Joan Rowe (President), Ali Litts (Secretary), Gail Ragsdale (Treasurer). We still have no Vice-President. Continuing Board Members are Mary Kelley, Charlie Matuk, Nicky Biehn, Jan Voyles, and Diane Eldridge. New Board Member is Roxy Barnett. Stepping down is Sandi Selk.
April is when we ask you to renew your membership. The cost is still $35/year, and is due by May 1st. If you had a ‘no fee’ membership for the first year then you will need to join as a paying member this year. The commission rate will drop from the ‘no fee’ rate of 40% down to the regular member rate of 30%. You can mail in a check or drop in to the gallery to renew.
So, saving the worst news for last, the gallery has suffered 3 thefts of cash since last October. Unfortunately it appears to be someone who is familiar with the way we operate, and someone who knows where to find keys. We have been giving the volunteers a bit of a run-around changing key locations, but to no avail. We have been forced to install a motion detector surveillance camera, and hopefully that will be deterrent enough. We have lost $155, and could have lost much more, so the feeling is that the thief is only taking what is needed to pay bills. Trouble is, the gallery also has to pay bills and has to watch every penny, so it’s very hard on us to lose that money.
Here’s hoping for a speedy end to winter, and a busy summer.
Two Rivers Gallery,
Board of Directors
Tags: Pacific Power Foundation, spring newsletter, two rivers gallery