MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Our February member meeting will be held in person on February 20 at the Wheeling Township Community Center, 1616 N. Arlington Hts. Road, Arlington Heights.  Hope to see you all there!

MEETING FORMAT and THE USUAL REMINDERS

The social part of the meeting starts at 6:45 pm. Every member is welcome to bring a work of art (finished or not, framed or not). These paintings will be on display in our room for all to enjoy prior to the start of the meeting.

The business part of the evening begins at 7:15pm. 

Janet Grochocinski will have a Treasurer’s Report available at the meeting.

OUR 2024/2025 DEMO SCHEDULE

Many thanks to Eileen Fogell for her efforts in lining up all the wonderful demos for this season!

2/20 Kwame Boama, Acrylic

3/20 Cynthia Dybsky, Oil

4/17 Thomas Trausch, Watercolor

5/15 Critique

Artist Statement – Kwame Boama 

Born Bernard Mensah in 1978, but changed my name to Kwame Boama Mensa-Aborampa to fit my heritage  but my signed name B. Mensa. I was born to Ghanaian parents in the Ashanti region of Ghana but raised by a  single mother, whose efforts and resilience, propelled me to be who I am today through the trading business  she owned. In my mind and thoughts, nature abounds with the aesthetic fullness thereof and as an artist, I only  try to mimic what is already present in nature. I create to portray how I see nature and to exhibit artistic  qualities in me. I produce works that are easily identifiable not merely through my style but through the subjects  as well. The characters I portray, the stories I tell, are all part of one very elaborate narrative.  Website  https://www.kwaboama.com/bio 

MEETING AGENDA

- General announcements from our President and Board members

- Artist demo

MEMBERSHIP

Membership notes from Patti Jostes, our Membership Chair:

When you arrive for the general meetings, please check your name off the Attendance List and make yourself a nametag. 

The 2024-2025 Membership Directory will be available to pick up. Please use this directory as a source for contacting other members rather than calling the officers and asking for phone numbers! Keep it handy!   I can also send a pdf of the directory.

Guests are welcome to attend our meetings for a fee of $5. If you know someone who’s interested in more information, direct them to our website https://arlingtonheightsartguild.com/

New members are welcome to join any time of the year.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT THE GUILD:

The Arlington Heights Art Guild is always looking for volunteers to fill positions and help out. We are a volunteer organization, and we cannot operate without all of us.   Sign-up sheets will be available at each member meeting. Current volunteers will be in attendance; if you are interested in learning more about any position, these members are more than happy to discuss the various opportunities available and how you can help.   

A Special Thank you and Congrats to our new Walk in Park Coordinator, Laura Butolph!  

An Important Note: This will be Trish Ramsey’s last year as Corresponding Secretary. 

I will continue through May, 2025. At that time, starting next season, Mickey Mantas will take over as our new Corresponding Secretary. A huge thank you goes out to Mickey for taking on this responsibility!

Heartfelt thanks to all our current/continuing (and new) volunteers!

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

• Artists’ Association of Elk Grove Village - Visit aaegv.org for information.

• Des Plaines Art Guild/Park Ridge Art League – Visit dpag.org for information.

• Colored Pencil Society of America – Visit cpsadc103.org for information.

EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES

 1) The Arlington Heights Senior Center offers wonderful opportunities for our members to exhibit their work. The Dining Room, Hallway and our usual room at the end of the building (Room 1) are available. Several of our members have sold paintings while exhibiting at this location. Anyone interested needs to contact Paula Rebbeck (847-359-5918). Thank you, Paula!   

• Irnya Shkrobach is exhibiting her artwork in the Dining Room until the first week of March.   

• Mary Hess and Tracey Colagrossi are exhibiting their artwork in the Hallway at the Center until the first week of March.   

• Various artists are displaying their works in Program Room 1 until March 27. On that day, current exhibitors need to pick up their pieces between noon and 1:30pm. Also on the exchange day, all Art Guild members are invited to bring 2 pieces of their artwork for display.  Please come to Room 1 between noon and 1:30pm. Contact Paula Rebbeck for questions or confirmation.  

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES:

We can only include local items of interest in this newsletter. However, for information about other events around the country, please visit https://festivalnet.com/

1) Arlington Hts. Art Guild will have an art fair/exhibition at the Arlington Hts. Senior Center during the month of June. Set-up day will be May 28, with the opening reception on either May 29th or 30th. Details to come. Contact Eileen Fogell with questions. Thanks, Eileen!  

2) The AAEGV is having their annual Trees Exhibition, March 1 - 29. 

Registration is open to all; the deadline to register is February 8. The entry form is an attachment to this Newsletter. Sorry I don’t have a website to direct you to at this time.  

3) Prince of Peace Church in Palatine is hosting the 5th Annual Community Art Show (and Juried Competition) this spring. Find details and registration info at http://pop.church/artshow  .This year’s theme is “building bigger tables.”  

4)  From Kari Johnson, Business Manager, Mainstreet Art Center and Mainstreet Gallery:

Display your artwork at  Mainstreet Gallery in Lake Zurich.   

Main Street District is a Fine Art Gallery exhibiting work from local and

regional artists. The gallery represents artists in many different media and is always looking for new work to keep the gallery fresh. If you’re interested in filling out an application to jury into the gallery

Please contact Kari Johnson, at kari@mainstreetaartcenter.com

In our Showcase Gallery, we can host 4 artists each month. Some of these artists reserve this space for several months at a time. The walls are rented monthly which gives the artists an opportunity to show 6 to 15 paintings, depending on their size. The larger gallery known as the Artistic Impressions Gallery provides space for many artists who are either invited or juried in as space becomes available.

SCHOLARSHIPS UPDATE:

Judging for this year’s scholarship awards will be done on February 11 at 4:30pm at Elk Grove High School. Rita Molepske will have a follow-up at our next meeting. Thanks, Rita!  

GETTING THE WORD OUT:

Art-related News from and about our Members 

All Arlington Heights Art Guild members are encouraged to share their exciting news about exhibits, contests, and other happenings for inclusion in this Newsletter. 

Please contact me, Patricia Prakope Ramsey (Trish Ramsey), via my email address in the Directory if you’d like to be mentioned in this Newsletter.   

1) Toby Abrams and Iryna Shkrobach are exhibiting in the College of Lake County Robert T.  Wright Community Gallery of Art 2025 Members Exhibition, running from January 21 through  February 13, 2025. Work from over 75 different artists is on display. The college is located at 19351  W. Washington St., Grayslake, IL.   

2) Mary Kay McMahon, Rita Molepske, and Iryna Shkroback are exhibiting in the AAEGV “Winter  Blues” exhibition through February 22 at the Elk Grove Library.  

3) Jill Stark illustrated her first children’s book entitled She Heard Her Footsteps  – October 21, 2024,  by Brenda Schmidt (Author), illustrated by Jill E. Stark   Check it out at:   #lilysfootsteps @lilys_footsteps https://a.co/d/jfb8yXp  Congratulations to all!   

Congratulations to all!

AHAG Newsletter compiled and submitted by Trish Ramsey, Corresponding Secretary