What does it take for a tiny Arts Council, on a tiny budget, to get everything done? Volunteers! Lots of fabulous volunteers.
How does our Arts Council keep a Gallery open, have a Permanent Collection, put together a Wheeling Gaunt Sculpture Project, an Art History Series, run an Open Studios event and have a Holiday Art Jumble and …well, just do so much?
We have a Board of volunteers and a few part time staff- but it’s the volunteers that make so much possible in Arts Council!
So who are these wonderful volunteers?
The Board. Jerome Borchers, Nick Gaskins, Matt Cole, Valerie Blackwell-Truitt, Tim Barhorst, Sean Devine and Christine Klinger
Mary Cargan, Kathy Moulton, Dianne Collinson, Theresa Mayer, Jonatha Wright, Mia Knight, Maxine Skuba, Angie Day, Talitha Greene, and Angela Smith
I call them the Glorious Gallery Committee because they are Glorious. We meet once a month.
They help plan what is coming up, one thing we’ve got planned for next year is a wonderful, goofy, interactive surprise for the community.
We discuss things that come through the arts council e-mail and how to answer it.
This past year we started an Art Blog on the YSAC Website, thanks to our newest member Angela Smith.
The Gallery Committee gives advice when I’m panicking-they get e mails titled Help!
They hang the members show and make the party happen for the reception.
They put together the Jumble in November, which is a lot of work sorting, cleaning, hanging, arranging and pricing the myriad of fabulous arty stuff that we get donated.
They plan special events and help host at receptions and bring yummy food.
Kathy Moulton makes individual name tags and wonderful reception games and beautiful signs for us.
She also painted (for the second time, she made our last one too!) a fabulous new Arts Council sign for the building.
The Gallery Committee shows up to scrape fences and pull weeds.
This past year they have put together a new program we are starting next year called The Emerging Artist Program. Dianne Collinson and Maxine Skuba wrote the details and designed a brochure.
The Stewardship Committee
Julia Cady, Kathy Moulton, Anna Arbor, Margrit Petrie, Brian Maughan, Bette Kelley, Pat Robinow, Debbie Chlebek, Nancy Howell-Koehler, Aaron Zaremsky, Christine Klinger and Paige Babbs is our Archivist
The Stewardship Committee was started to support and protect the Permanent Collection. The Permanent Collection is about the art and the artists of Yellow Springs.
The Stewardship Committee makes decisions about what, when and where the art is collected, keeps records of donations of art and struggles with how best to keep the collection safe and in view of our community. Kathy Moulton is making a wonderful book of pictures and information about each piece in the collection. For years she has kept a spread sheet record of the collection that grows ever larger as the collection grows. A couple of years back, Kathy made us a wonderful brochure for the collection with a map of where all the art is.
This past year we planned and hung and did the receptions for the “Timeline Show” and the “Nature of Things” show. These shows take place at the John Bryan Community Gallery which is the home base of the Permanent Collection. The Village Arts & Culture Commission partners with us in care giving for the Collection. Much of the Collection is still hosted by Antioch University Midwest. So there is a lot of moving of art between our 2 venues. Right now we are working on moving about half of the art from Antioch University Midwest to the John Bryan Center.
Mia Knight, Mary Cargan, Susan Harrison, Chris Hodgson, Brian Maughan, Holly Underwood, Margrit Petrie, Deb Henderson, Chris Zurbuchen, Susan Gartner, Christine Klinger, Mary Frost Pierson, Brian Millar, Luan Hite, Gayle Sampson, Talitha Greene, Marty Davenport, Angela day, Barbara Vandecreek, Nora Chalfont, Maxine Skuba, Harriet Dadras, Parviz Dadras, Jonatha Wright, Julia Cady, Bruce Parker, Sondy Kai, Lincoln Castricone
Gallery Hosts- We couldn’t have a gallery without them! They greet guests, take sales with our very primitive receipt system and are our early warning system that something needs fixing or changing. Like the toilet is broken, the lock box key has gone awol again or we are out of paper towels or please give us information about the artists, so we can talk about them to our guests. They come up with great ideas. And after sitting with the art for 3 hours, they tend to purchase art!
Sara Gray, Dianne Collinson, Kathy Moulton and myself.
These volunteers are powerhouse women and artists, they created the YS open Studios and work hard on it every year. Karen Wintrow and Alex Scott from the Chamber work on this event too as partners.
And the wonder man is Nick Gaskins, of Bing Designs who volunteers his time to design the
YSOS Web Site, banners, brochures, rack cards, and ads.
I have a very soft spot in my heart for the Jumble Elves, because I love the Jumble and it takes a ton of people to make it happen- people donating and people getting the donations unpacked, sorted and cleaned and people who set up the Jumble, coordinate the Members Only Sneak Peek reception, and restock the Jumble daily and the ones who Gallery Host and do all the sales.
They are the Gallery Committee plus Susan Gartner (a woman of great heart and ingenuity, creating lovely things with bits of this and that. She designed gorgeous window scenes for the Jumble for a couple of years.), Sondy Kai,(who has also helped design and fix and refix our garden many times and for years was a member of the Gallery Committee) Holly Underwood (who has given us storage space for our left over arty stuff for a couple of years now-thank you, thank you!) and Julia Cady (who basically has done everything from cutting green boughs for decorating the tables to spending hours, gently untangling long strands of fiber art for a huge textile sculpture we were donated.)
Arts Council Shleppers
So whats a shlepper? It’s some one who moves stuff-art, boxes of Jumble arty things, tables and chairs for receptions etc.
Hays and Kathy Moulton answered an emergency, need-help-now kind of call to move tons of Jumble boxes this past year, Jerome Borchers our Arts Council President, is like the Ghost Busters- when we need something done”Who ya going to call?” He is a man with a van and a trailer and he is not afraid to use it. He is a shlepper par extraordinaire.. Holly Underwood, like superwoman, moves tons of jumble boxes into her attic and out of it each year. Julia Cady shlepps boxes of jumble donations to her home for overflow storage. Steven Deal is my husband and tends to pick up the pieces when I am desperate, he made up the shlepper designation. He has much experience in shlepping.
Gallery Host Coordinator
Mary Cargan is amazing- she quietly handles coordinating the Gallery Hosts- which can be a lot of communicating with people. She does many Hosting sessions herself and has personally pulled many a weed in our garden plots. All this besides being a member of the Glorious Gallery Committee.
Help with Advertising– Julia Cady was a well loved member of the Gallery Committee for years and still puts in our monthly gallery press on local internet calendars. She is also a member of the Stewardship Committee and bakes delicious cookies for our events! She gallery hosts and is storing boxes of jumble goodies and cuts greens to make our Jumble shop smell like the holidays. Nick Gaskins, of Bing Design is our Vice President and has designed our YSAC web site and the YS open Studios web site for us and updates them with Alex Scott. He designs our Brochures, monthly flyers, banners, 4 ups and ads.
Alcove Gallery Coordinator– Angela Smith is our latest member on the Gallery Committee. She moved to town 6 months ago and immediately started volunteering. Angela bowls me over with her answer to questions she says “I can do that.” And she can.
Art Shorthand Blog– Angela Smith said Yes and now runs our Art Blog.
I didn’t even add in all the volunteers on the Wheeling Gaunt Sculpture Project which is an amazing group on it’s own, with many wonderful partner organizations.
So that’s how a tiny Arts Council can do so many things. You are all appreciated greatly!
Thank you!
