Meeting Minutes:  Women in Focus - October 8, 2008
Taken by:  Valerie Gruner (drafted for the job that evening, so be kind)
 
Officiating the meeting was Gittel Price, and other Board members present were Linda Rathke, Cindy Sheffield Michaels, and Anupama Vishwamitra.  The attending members were welcomed along with one newcomer, Anna Brady Clark.  Anna is a professional wedding photographer with her husband, and they operate the business Anna and Spencer Photography.  At the end of the meeting, Anna got a membership form and signed up.
It’s October, so a lot of members announced a lot of shows:
Cindy Sheffield Michaels:  Solo show at Mocha Match Coffee Bar in Decatur thru October.  M-F 7am-7pm, Sat. 8am-7pm.  www. mochamatch.net
Valerie Gruner:  Juried photography show at Atlanta Artists Center, gallery on Grandview in Buckhead.  Invitational show at the Buckhead Public Library.
Ruth Gogel:  Pieces at Artist Atelier on Miami Cir., the Northside Library, the Buckhead Library, with the Atlanta Photographic Society at the Unitarian Gallery, and at the Emory Clinic.
Gittel Price:  Opening Oct. 10, 7-9, the Roswell Photography Society at the Visual Arts Center in Roswell Park.  Also in this show are members Kate Lynch, Joanne Green, Denise Lee, Debra Booth, and Theresa Sicurezza.
Shelia Robinette:  Shots ’08 at Showcase.  Opening October 10, 6-9.
Nafisa Valita Sheriff, Debra Booth, and Shelia Robinette are all in the Love vs Fear show in Dalonega
Nafisa Valita Sheriff:  Sistography show, “Good Vibrations,” at the New Art Exchange in Grant Park.  Also, Nafisa has pieces in the Buckhead Library show.
Call For Entries:
An announcement was made about the MOCA pin-up show, happening Thursday Nov. 20.  It’s a non-curated show, open to all artists who are MOCA members.  One can join and participate for $25.  Delivery and pin-up of one unframed, unmatted, no larger than 12x16, piece is to happen Wednesday Nov. 19.  Gittel will send out an e-mail with the full details.
Politics & Religion in Art - Deadline Oct. 10 - In Winston-Salem.  Details on the WIF website.
Women in Focus Board Positions for 2009: Linda described the duties of all Board positions; President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
PRESIDENT:
  1. •Represents the organization to the public
  2. •Responsible for final securing of exhibit venues for juried shows.  Entire Board collaborates to find locations, but contact info ultimately goes through WIF President.
  3. •Runs all WIF meetings
  4. •Arranges all show promotions, including post cards and newspaper advertisements (this can be delegated to VP if necessary)
  5. •Attends monthly Board meetings
VICE PRESIDENT:
  1. •Runs WIF meetings in the absence of president, and shares organizational responsibilities (including finding venues for juried shows and non-juried shows)
  2. •Is responsible for collecting info for and producing of WIF Agenda for each meeting; creates draft for review two days before official WIF meeting
  3. •Bursts WIF agenda out to membership a day in advance of meeting; makes printouts to take to WIF meeting
  4. •Attends all Board meetings
SECRETARY:
  1. •Takes minutes of each WIF meeting, and shares draft with all Board members within 3 days of monthly meeting
  2. •Must appoint substitute (or co-secretary) to take minutes in her absence
  3. •Responsible for attendance and making sure late-comers are noted
  4. •Drafts of minutes must be complete.  For example, if a member announced a show at a meeting, the secretary must include the date/time/name of artist in the body of the draft.
  5. •Draft must be returned to secretary within 2 days of her having sent it; once corrected/revised/OK’d, secretary sends minutes to Website coordinator for posting
  6. •Takes care of member name tags at meetings
  7. •Attends monthly Board meetings
TREASURER:
  1. •Collects all money and forms for all juried shows and non-juried shows
  2. •Maintains WIF P.O. Box and answers all membership inquiries
  3. •Gives monthly treasury report at WIF meetings
  4. •Is the keeper of the scrolls:  Tracks paid members and maintains membership lists, complete with name/addresses/phone numbers.  (This includes collecting membership dues and forms.)
  5. •Maintains WIF directory, keeping it up to date
  6. •Issues checks to quest speakers
  7. •Attends monthly Board meetings
FOR ALL BOARD MEMBERS:  In the event a Board member must miss a monthly Board meeting, it is the Board member’s responsibility to:
  1. •Send a proxy to vote in her absence
  2. •And/or give all relevant info to a Board member in advance of the meeting
  3. •Officers are expected to support all WIF events
  4. •Collaborates to find exhibition locations
Nominations were made:
Gittel Price - President
Lorikay Stone - Vice-President
Joanne Green - Treasurer
Denise Savage - Secretary
Valerie Gruner - Secretary
Further nominations may be made via e-mail to Linda, photography@lindarathke.com, BY OCT. 28.  It would be great to double-up on Board positions to split responsibilities and to cover meetings in case of a Board Member’s absence.  This is two weeks before the November meeting, when Board Members for 2009 will be elected.
Meeting Program and WIF in General Questionnaire:
Cindy Sheffield Michaels is preparing a questionnaire to be handed out at the November meeting to probe our members for program ideas and other ideas to benefit/improve WIF.  Some of the program ideas tossed around were portfolio/artist statement, artist permissions with a PPA lawyer, the business of photography, artist reps, a Photoshop workshop, focus evenings on members’ work, roundtable discussions (i.e. self publications, self matting, polaroid transfers, selling work, etc.), and critique sessions (member, professional, photos by category or theme).
Field trips will be included on the questionnaire, and shooting excursions were suggested.  Some specific locations suggested were Castleberry Hill, the Botanical Gardens, Oakland Cemetary, and a studio shoot at Lorikay’s studio.  Field trips to galleries and lectures can be listed on the questionnaire.
The website will also be a topic on the questionnaire, and some discussion was had about difficulties finding certain information on our website.  Also, blogging was brought up, but as this member doesn’t understand blogging, my notes on this discussion make absolutely no sense.  Bloggers, wait for the questionnaire.
The benefits of WIF’s membership in Photographic Society of America and the Decatur Arts Association will be on the questionnaire, and members should think of other organizations to which WIF can apply.
Show venue ideas will be asked for on the questionnaire, like, do we want to return to Art Station with our juried show?
Outreach ideas were pitched.  Lorikay suggested photographing at a nursing home for the clients and ourselves.  Linda suggested photographing orphans for adoption brochures.  Other ideas were photographing for the Humane Society, doing photography with the Girl Scouts or Girl’s Club.
Nafisa announced that Samaritan House, which benefits the homeless, is having a silent auction, to which artists may donate one piece, on Oct. 30-31.  For details, go to samhouse.org.
Do we want WIF business cards printed as a promotional item?  Easy to hand out, easy to carry.  Or what about postcards rather than a folded brochure?
The discussion about Cindy’s questionnaire was to get the member’s minds and imaginations stewing with ideas, so simmer, ladies, and be ready to write down your terrific ideas.  If you have names/contacts for specific programs, all the better.
Pick Up Work:
Art Station:  Pick up your work 1pm-3pm Saturday Nov. 1.  Yes, we bemoaned the tiny time window.
Digital Arts:  Pick up your work Nov. 1, or the next week, regular business hours.
 
Paint in the Pods - Westin Hotel:
A FREE artist’s choice exhibit, so sign up! A volunteer is needed to print the labels, contact Gittel.  The Westin folks will be choosing images to print on promotional materials, so send a 300 dpi jpeg image to Gittel of one of the two images you plan to exhibit.
Deliver pieces Sunday Nov. 2, 2pm-3:30pm.  No need to park, pull up to valet park, and Daniel will take the pieces from you out of your car. A volunteer is needed to tape the wall labels to the back of the pictures, and the Westin folks will be hanging the exhibit.
The Opening is Turner 1stThursday, Nov. 6, 7-10, and we’re told that there will be quite a spread.  In addition, members can bring prints to sell at the opening reception.  If you have a basket or box in which to place the prints, bring that, too.
Pick up is Sunday Nov. 30, any time, go up to the gallery and take your pieces off the wall.
Parking is pricey at the Westin, but a validation stamp can comp the price down to $5.
Field Trip - Wednesday, Nov. 5:  Only $10 if a group can be mustered, $12 if not.  “The Impact of Women on Photography and the Arts” at the High Museum.  Lecture is at 7pm at Hill Auditorium.  Speakers are Naomi Rosenblum and Meg Partridge Rosenblum, whose books include “A History of Women Photographers” and “A World History of Photography.”
Digital Arts Trunk Show:  A new opportunity!  Digital Arts will hold a trunk show of our prints thru the month of December.  Prints should be sleeved in plastic, with a thin backboard, and should have a business card with artist info and price inside the plastic sleeve.  Any size, any amount (maybe no more than 20-30).  Bring prints to Digital Arts the week before Dec. 1.  Further details will be announced at the November meeting.
Holiday Party - December 10, 7-10:  We have two choices because our sponsors are treating us to our fun, so NO WIF funds will be used.  Plan A is for Lorikay to close on her studio space so that we may gather there for catered food and BYOB beverages.  Plan B is to party at Emory.  Membership will vote on the party at the November meeting.  No business will be discussed during this, our December meeting, as voted by the the members, only the party and print swap.  Remember your print in an umarked 9 x 12 envelope for the print swap.
 
The meeting ended with Gittel presenting those present with a gift bag from our new sponsor, Clear Bags.  Terrific products, lovely catalog, a source every photographer needs.  Order up in time for the Trunk Show!