You are invited to participate as a vendor in the Thrifty Artists Garage Sale being held at Westside Community Center on Saturday May 8th. Please contact Rose Rutherford for more info.
Cards were sent out to the following:
Tom Kerr – Welcome New Member
Sheila Scarborough - Sympathy on husband passing.
Barbara Mathewson
Courtesy Chair
Lutheran Church of the Master - 2617 South 114th Street,Omaha, Nebraska
Lutheran Church of the Master – 2617 South 114th Street, Omaha, NE
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
$4.00 members/$5.00 non-member
Pre-Registration required: Contact Shirley Schmidt
Social distancing will be followed as well as mask-wearing.Please bring your own drinks.
Margaret (Peg) Watkins holds undergraduate degrees in FineArts (thesis work in ceramics) and K-12 Education. She hasalso earned a Masters Degree in Management. Peg has taughtall areas of art in a school setting, as well as a recreationalsetting and worked for the Omaha Parks & RecreationDepartment for 27 years before retiring in 2007 to devote herefforts to her art.
Over the years she has worked in a variety of media - thirtyyears hand building clay, over 16 years exploring glass fusion,and in 2011, Peg re-discovered her paint brush. After manyyears working with glass and clay she had been anxious to seehow that background would translate to acrylic & oil painting.She has taken a number of classes, and attended the 2017Autumn Art Workshop in Aurora. This past fall Peg joined anonline Cold Wax group.
Omaha Artists would like to thank Rhonda Bruggeman for joining the Fun Shop committee.
Also, this is advance notice that our April Fun Shop will be held on Saturday, April 24th – 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (The date in the roster book is incorrect.) There will be more information in the April Newsletter, but this will give you a heads up that the April class will be held on Saturday (instead of Wednesday) in the hopes that this will allow many of our members who work would be able to enjoy coming to a Fun Shop.
March 24 at 11 a.m.
LaCasa Pizzeria
4432 Leavenworth St
(in basement party room)
March 24 at 2 p.m.
Lauritzen Gardens
100 Bancroft St.
Tickets need to be purchased in advance!
Tuesday, March 22nd at 7:00 p.m.
Barbara Egr will send out email invitations on Sunday, March 20th.
Normally, when the world is not experiencing a pandemic, our club meets at Joslyn Art Museum. However, we cannot meet there this year...
Instead, we invite you to luncheon with us at LaCasa Pizzeria at 11:00 a.m. We will order from the menu, pay separate checks, wear masks, and social distance. Easier access from the parking lot is available at the entrance at the rear of the building. Due to limited parking, please arrive promptly at 11:00 a.m.
Following a brief business meeting, the 2021 scholarships will be announced.
Please make your reservations for the luncheon at the March Fun Shop sign up sheet or contact Linda Guynn by Friday, March 19, 2021.
After lunch members are invited to meet at Lauritzen Gardens (Omaha’s Botanical Center, 100 Bancroft St., Omaha, NE 68108) at 2:00 pm. We will explore the current Fantastical Folklore exhibition produced by artists from Hot Shops in Omaha. The show is described as:
Non-refundable tickets must be paid in advance by credit card at lauritzengardens.org $10.00. Due to Covid-19, we encourage you to reserve your place as soon as possible as numbers are limited.
The ANAC Conference in Fremont has been canceled due to Covid-19. ANAC will be conducting a virtual Conference including an Exhibition, juried competition and a virtual travel show. Award certificates and money will remain as usual.
All rules for the artwork will still apply except it should be photographed before matting and framing. All information will be available in the next newsletter and at the time of the selection show. The ANAC committee for OAI is looking to have the selection show either, April 8th , 9th or the 16th.
Winners of the selection show will be provided with all the information that is needed to proceed with entering the event. This will be the responsibility of the artists. The selection show will be in the same manner as before (at the church) with the exception of being very very COVID distancing. We all care about our fellow artists and do not want anyone to be harmed or get sick.
See March newsletter for contacting Jo Anne Nielsen, Dick Brown or Karen Lastovica.
Omaha Artists, Inc. is seeking volunteers to fill the following positions for next year.
Please contact Katie Johnson if you are interested in serving!
The gala will be upon us before we know it. Tickets will be coming soon. October 2, 2021 Save the date!
There are many exciting events going on that evening but we could use your help.
We need:
We are also looking for talented vendors to display and sell their work. Nothing will be more fun than shopping on our special night out. If you are interested please click here to get an application to fill out below. Our team will make the selection as we only have 12 spots available.
Send to: Patricia Kounkel. See March newsletter for postal mailing address.
Omaha Artists Inc. is including the cookbook page in this newsletter. We still need a few more recipes to make this the greatest cookbook. Thank you all in advance.
Your cookbook committee,
Jo Anne Nielsen, Susan Stevens and Katie Johnson.
Tell us about you!!!
I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. I grew up in the Keystone neighborhood where we rode bikes to Keystone Pool and had horses as neighbors. I am a Benson Bunny. I went to Lincoln to attend Nebraska Wesleyan. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and minors in Art and Music in 1972. Omaha Public Schools offered me a job teaching second grade.It was the start of a 26 year career that also included teaching on the Pine Ridge Reservation (4th grade), and the one room school my mother went to in Sheridan County in Nebraska (K-8th grade). After living in western Nebraska for 4 years we relocated to Elkhorn. I taught at a one room country school as head teacher for 8 years (K-3rd grade) then back to OPS for 11 years (2nd & 3rd grade).
I went out on a health leave as I had fibromyalgia that created migraines 3 to 4 times a week. I also struggle with a LOT of osteoarthritis and a little rheumatoid arthritis. I retired early but felt like I needed to do something, so I started a pet sitting business called Paws 4 Me for 10 years. I taught in the warm water pool at Lakeside Wellness then became certified in Tai Chi in 2015. I have taught Tai Chi since 2015 and am now at Elkhorn Common Ground. I became a Certified HealingTouch Practitioner in 2017. I am a life-long learner!!
I have one son and two granddaughters here in Omaha. I met my husband in 1996 when his son was in my 3rd grade class! He waited till the summer to write me a nice thank you note. In the note he asked me out and gave me his phone number as I had an unlisted phone. We married in July of 1997!
Tell us about your history with Omaha Artists Inc.
I joined Omaha Artists in 2018. I have always been doing some type of art as a classroom teacher and calligraphy as a College for Kids class and freelance for the NE State Historical Society. I enjoy drawing, watercolors, acrylic and oil and cold wax. In the last 3 years I have taken a variety of online art classes. I would like to learn encaustic! I love the Fun Shops that Omaha Artists promote as well as the meetings. I always meet someone new! When I paint my aches and pains fade away as I focus on the project!
I have a website: highergroundsacredart.com. I also display my art on Fine Art America.
Tell us about a couple of your favorite books you have read (name and author)?
In my spare time I love to do art and read historical fiction. A couple of books that I highly recommend are “The Dovekeepers” by Alice Hoffman, “The Book of Longings” by Sue Monk Kidd and “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. I love authors Alice Hoffman, Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah and Kate Morton and Omaha author Jonis Agee. I also love to connect with my friends. My goal is to keep up with my 93 year old mother!
What are your travel experiences?
Jerry and I honeymooned on Maui. Scuba diving at the Cayman islands as well as Hawaii was beautiful. I was lucky to travel with my mother and stepfather to Berlin and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Air lift in which Chuck flew. We then traveled to Paris where we had an apartment for two weeks.
It was amazing and I would go back in a heartbeat! I have been on a barge in Scotland and gone to the town where my great grandmother was born. I have traveled with family to Italy, France, Ireland and Canada. I love the Nebraska Sandhills and love to travel west.
What are you known for?
I am known for my smile and my laugh as well as my “evil twin” who gets into mischief!
Has anything or anyone changed your life?
My husband has changed my life by honoring who Iam and being my steadfast rock through health and illness. He gives me the space I need to learn and grow. Every year just gets better! My family and my friends are my inspiration and my love.
What is your favorite quote or saying?
My favorite quote is “Be still and know that I am God.” I also like “This too shall pass.”
Katie Johnson
Member Spotlight Reporter