Showing posts with label PWAS Meeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PWAS Meeting. Show all posts

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Post 584: A PWAS Meeting to Meet Your Friends

A PWAS Meeting to Meet Your Friends

Monday, June 23, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) is an art group in Prince William County, VA that is comprised of many artists with plenty of diversity in art styles, subject matter, art experiences, and art goals. We meet monthly to review what we do, what we have planned, and going into the future. Our meetings often have a guest speaker showing their art and how they do what they do. 

PWAS Meeting Moments

The PWAS Members meet on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Road, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm. A typical meetings with a program begins with:

  1. Guest Speaker Program
  2. Refreshments with a few minutes of conversation with fellow members.
  3. PWAS Board - updates on finances, art shows, to-dos, concerns and Q&A.

This meeting was a new experience for the membership. Designed by PWAS Member Tom Payne and his wife Becky, the members began with grabbing their refreshments and a seat at a table around the room. We were given envelopes with a word printed on it. We were instructed to find the person with the opposite of our word - making that person our "partner". Like Positive found Negative, Yellow found Purple, etc.

PWAS Interviews in progress 

We opened our envelopes and inside was a paper with a list of great interview questions and a pencil and we spent some time LISTENING to our partner as we asked and took notes about their answers. After a period of time, we then switched and were interviewed by our partner who did the same. 

Eric Ndofor, Sandra McClelland Lewin, and Scott Elliot 



Sheri Herrick and Evelyn Chatters 
Bettie Sperty and Staci Blanchard 
Kathy Ross and Rebekah Keener
Staci Blanchard and Bettie Sperty 
Mark Murphy and Richard Tyler 
Kathy Ross and Rebekah Keener 
Katharine Owens and Anna Gatling 
Robert Dew, David Dillon, Sheri Herrick 
Members mingling 
Bettie Sperty, Evelyn Chatters, and Becky Payne 
Sheri Herrick and Evelyn Chatters 

As I get this blog post ready, I can't help but hear (again...see the notes below too) the lyrics "Getting to know you, getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me..." (From the movie The King and I - Deborah Kerr, uncredited voice double Marni Nixon - although you could swear that was Julie Andrews voice.)

Finally, each team of partners stood in front of the room and told the group about our partner, what they had learned about them - where they were from - some of us are from very far away! Others are from the same city and share those memories although our time frames put us there at different times. We learned how long they have been doing art with their earliest memories and some have been members of PWAS a LONG TIME!

Robert Dew and Maureen Guillot 
Ana Quispe and Penny Shaw 
Donna Liguria, Maria Briganti, Katharine Owens 
Katharine Owens and Anna Gatling 

 
Bettie Sperty and Staci Blanchard and Mark Murphy looking on

Richard Tyler and Mark Murphy  
Sheri Herrick and Evelyn Chatters 
Eric Ndofor, Sandra McClelland Lewin and not pictured was Scott Elliott - he's to the right of Sandra in the picture below on the edge of the photo
Patty Gulledge, David Dillon, Robert Dew and Maureen Guillot 
Penny Shaw and Ana Quispe 
Maria Briganti and Donna Liguria 

Not only were there so many great laughs, but there were so many very interesting life experiences and backgrounds from everyone. We learned we have so many different life journeys yet we all share a love of art that some began early in life, never having put a pencil down and while some of us began somewhat later in life. 

Our jobs and skills sets were quite varied - from IT job skills and experience, to military, to submarines and Navy, to a butler. To restaurant work with food and beverage, a mean cheesecake maker, to music, to accounting, to a few of the Washington DC acronyms and graphic design. Teachers and some art teachers, to raising families and children, and globe trottting - we all cover a lot of ground. Some of us are retired and some of us are still in the midst of our careers while still putting in our art time. 

We learned about our goals, our future with art and something the art group didn't know about that person. 

People always work better in a team especially when they communicate. Everything is always about that, right? Now where does all this take us next?

As the Prince William Art Society moves into its fifty-fourth year as a community non-profit art group, and with our elections for a new Board coming at the end of this year, knowing more about each other helps us grow as a group. We have goals, desires, wish lists and challenges to make the visual arts in Prince William County bigger and better for all of us whether artist or art lover. The arts culture is something fantastic and extremely valuable for all residents of the county. 

A Few Notes from Our Team

"I really enjoyed getting to know everyone better. Who knew Staci was so dangerous!! I especially want to thank Tom and Becky for putting this together and running the program. I heard numerous comments on how the members enjoyed the meeting and I believe we should do this kind of thing more often." - Sandra McClelland Lewin, PWAS Interim President

 

"I thought the meeting activity was a fantastic success. And what a great night to have several new people show up. Our meetings have slowly but continuously grown more interactive, which is great, but this one really got people talking to each other. It wasn’t just the Board speaking from the front of the room and a few people making comments. We enjoyed a lot of laughs and learned “secrets” about each other. Our members are wonderfully diverse. And now we know that many of them can cook!" - Bettie Sperty, PWAS Secretary

 

"I had fun as well. I really liked learning a little bit about everyone. It was fun hearing the diversity of the group." - Staci Blanchard, PWAS PWC Arts Council Representative

 

"I think the "Getting To Know You” activity provided a unique opportunity for PWAS members (and visitors) to interact and engage in meaningful conversations for the purpose of building stronger relationships and learning more about each other. While Bing Crosby sang “Getting To Know You” in the background, the group broke into pairs.  Each pair asked and answered a few interview questions, and reported out the answers with the whole group. The heartwarming stories, anecdotes, and artistic revelations that were shared about every person in the group were enjoyed by all! PWAS is an inclusive and extremely diverse group of very talented artists. For proof, we needed to look no further than the members meeting on Monday evening.

 

The activity was a tremendous success and those in attendance indicated that they would like to learn even more about their PWAS colleagues." - Tom Payne, PWAS Member-at-Large

 

"Great meeting. Got to meet and get to know Katharine Owens. I believe we both enjoyed our time of laughter together." - Anna Gatling, PWAS Member 

"I was thinking recently that I missed those days of volunteering where you would be at one of our galleries or a show with a fellow PWAS member and between visitors you could just talk. Those days were grand getting to know the other person - great sessions and sharing thoughts on PWAS, art in PWC, art tips, and good golly, so much more. This meeting brought the group closer and let everyone learn something new about each attendee as well as so many things so many of us have in common. A great meeting." - Donna Liguria, Social Media and Artistry Spin Blogmaster

"I enjoyed Monday's PWAS meeting! I learned a lot about our members' backgrounds, families, careers, and unique talents.  There were  many commonalities among us. Kudos  to Tom and  Becky for organizing the activity!" - Evelyn Chatters, PWAS Member 

Were you at the meeting? What did you think? Drop a comment below please.


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Photography/Video Credits: Tom Payne - Thank you Tom and Becky!!!

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Post 572: PWAS Scholarship 2025 Faith Garcia Young

PWAS Scholarship 2025 Faith Garcia Young

Monday, May 26, 2025. At our monthly meeting for the month of May, the Prince William Art Society awarded the Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award to a very well deserving young artist, Faith Garcia Young. Faith's family and Mr. William O'Connor, M.A. Fine Arts Department Chair, from Saint John Paul the Great High School in Dumfries, Virginia, were in attendance.

Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship

Read more about the Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship here and on the Prince William Art Society website here.

Emily Hawes (PWAS Programs and Scholarship Committees Chair) presenting the Scholarship Certificate and Check to Faith Young. The PWAS Board (seated)


Here is some of Faith's portfolio artwork that she had on display.
The PWAS Members enjoyed the stories behind each piece with what inspirations went into the creation of each one. The first is a nod to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - the Keira Knightley version of the 2005 movie with Matthew Macfadyen. (Three cheers from me!)
By Faith Garcia Young
By Faith Garcia Young -Inspired by Easter morning at the empty tomb.
By Faith Garcia Young
L-R: Tom Payne, Faith Garcia Young, Bettie Sperty, Staci Blanchard and Eric Ndofor 

Photos from Emily Hawes




What an inspirational meeting! As the Prince William Art Society members listened to Faith's plans and hopes for her future in art, it was so heart warming. A very well deserved Scholarship Award winner! We truly hope those dreams come true and see her working at the National Gallery of Art one day!  Art World - here she comes!


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Photography/Video Credits: Donna Liguria and Emily Hawes

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Saturday, May 24, 2025

Post 571: The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award Night

The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award Night

In May for many years, the Prince William Art Society announces and awards the winner(s) of our annual Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award by celebrating at our monthly meeting. This Monday, May 26 is the day to award the Scholarship, so come and celebrate with us.

From May 2023: The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award presentation. Featured l-r: 2023 PWAS President Ana Quispe, Jewell Pratt Burns, and the 2023 Scholarship recipient Awaneh Sawaneh

PWAS Meeting Monday, May 26, 2025 7:30pm

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) offers a Scholarship each year for $1,000 to be used toward tuition, books, art supplies or anything that helps make school more affordable. Applicants submit an essay, a teacher's letter of recommendation, and digital images of their art. They bring original works to an interview with a panel of Prince William Art Society artists where they discuss their use of mediums, styles, and future goals in the art community. The application process is excellent practice for many later experiences within the art world, and the monetary award provides meaningful help at this pivotal time.

One of the most rewarding moments for PWAS members has been meeting these talented young students and knowing we were able to help this member of the next generation of artists - ensuring all our futures will be a little bit brighter and more creative. Attend the membership meeting this May 26th to help celebrate our 2025 student scholarship winner, Faith Garcia Young. Support her as she receives the award, talk with her and her family over cake and ice cream, and enjoy being a part of this celebration.

Membership meetings are held at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Lakeridge, VA 22192. Meetings start at 7:30 pm. All programs are free and open to the public, who are cordially invited to attend.

A Business Meeting Too

Following the Scholarship ceremony, the PWAS members will go over some of the upcoming events, shows and any announcements. A big topic of conversation is our current PWAS Member Art Exhibit showing at the ARTfactory in Manassas May 15- 30 followed by the Best of the Region Fine Art Show and Sale also at the ARTfactory June 3-15. The Art Reception for the Best of show is June 7. The Prince William Art Society is sponsoring the Best of the Region Show and features artists from all over the Northern Virginia areas.

See the Web Gallery online for each of these events at:

PWAS Member Art Exhibit https://pwasatartfactory2025.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery

Best of the Region Fine Art Show https://bestoftheregionexhibit.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery 

 For a bit of history on the PWAS Scholarship fund, please see https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2021/09/post-5-pwas-art-scholarship-program.html 

Consider a Donation to the Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Fund

Save the Date and come to our May Meeting!


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Thursday, May 1, 2025

Post 563: PWAS Meeting with the Todds

PWAS Meeting with the Todds

Monday, April 28, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) had their monthly art group meeting at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Woodbridge. PWAS meetings cover the ongoing projects that the art group is up to and there is often a featured artist. This meeting focused on two artists, a husband and wife team - Charles and Holly Todd.

Special Artist Guests

Read the about our guests, Charles and Holly Todd on this Blog Post https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2025/04/post-pwas-monthly-meeting-and-guests.html

You know a presentation is really, really good when a roomful of people are as quiet as church mice yet they are all straining their necks to see what the artists are showing. This was so very interesting! Their artwork was exquisite! And I agree with Larry Burch who said, "I want those socks!"






Click on an image to enlarge

I wish I had gotten a close up of those socks too!!

Thank you so much to Charles and Holly for showing us your work and telling the stories behind the pieces. That was so very fascinating! What do the other PWAS members think? did anyone else capture any pictures?


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Photography/Video Credits: Donna Liguria

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

pinterest-site-verification=3ad32cc9cfeae507ba5a382d62fcee17