Breakfast With Friends

Here's a great boost to overcoming hump day: invite your colleagues in the non-profit arts to breakfast. Early Wednesday morning at MadHatters Tea House & Cafe, Rod Rubbo, Kathy LeMaster, and I hosted a meet-up with the Fund's affiliates to discuss social media collaboration. We had a fantastic turn-out, and I was inspired by how generous everyone was their time, experiences, and ideas.

In attendance, we had Linsey from the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), Shelley from the Southwest School of Art, Yonnie from the Carver Community Cultural Center, Aimee from the Magik Theatre, Di Ann from the San Pedro Playhouse, Emily and Zinnia from Blue Star Art, Lee from ARTS SA, Suzan from the SA Opera, Jennifer from Gemini Ink, Katrina from KLRN, Lee from San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and Nicte from YOSA. We were also supported by fellow Fund volunteers Lauren, Anja, and Christina.

It was the first time the group met offline, getting to know the folks behind the Facebook Pages, Twitter feeds, and emails. We hope it's the springboard of many future collaborations and a stronger sense of identity and community among arts organizations throughout San Antonio.

Next month, many of us will be attending Action Camp - Social Media for Nonprofits; today is the last day to register at the discount rate of $25. And if you're interested in learning more about social media in San Antonio, there's no better resource than Social Media Mentoring.

Structural Visions and Photoshop

(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Monaghan.)

On Saturday, I attended the Jennifer Monaghan Community Photoshop Workshop at the Semmes Library. Photoshop is a complicated application that everyone wishes they knew how to use. Even if they do know how to use it, one can always learn more, so I was surprised that more people did not attend.

Jennifer’s work was displayed and provided an example of what can be done using Photoshop. Step-by- step, she demonstrated how she manipulated her photos to create intriguing artworks of unique scenes. I was in awe of the complexity of the process required in order to create this form of art, and I was amazed at how much I learned in a couple of hours with a good teacher.

Structural Visions is Monaghan's body of work that explores the subconscious mind by transforming everyday structures into surrealistic visions. These photographs have been processed and manipulated digitally to create a balance of surrealism and realism. "I want the viewer to become so involved with the work that, at first glance, they do not always realize it has been manipulated," says Monaghan, "but soon reality becomes unreality and realm of possibilities open." Curated by Alex Rubio, Program Instructor of ArtSmart Program at Blue Star Contemporary Art Complex, Structural Visions will be on exhibition in the Conference Gallery of the Julia Yates Semmes Public Library through October 30.

I also happily discovered that Blue Star's ARTsmart program hosts a series of rotating exhibits and other workshops at the Semmes Library. Several students’ artwork is on display in the Quiet Room and above the computer stations.

The Julia Laura Yates Semmes library is located at 15060 Judson Road in San Antonio. The exhibits are open to the public during regular library hours: Sunday – 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Monday – 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday – 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m

The Life of a Bexar County Workplace Campaign for theFund

The fundraising cornerstone of theFund is the Workplace Giving Campaigns in which employees are asked to make contributions to community arts and cultural organizations affiliated with theFund. Since 2005, Bexar County employees have participated in the campaigns. This year, led by coordinating team, Linda Sue Guajardo, Laura Jesse, Yvonne Escamilla (pictured here), they raised over $28,000. This post gives you a sense of how a campaign works and how you organize one at your own workplace.

For more photos of the campaign, see our Picasa album here >>.

On March 1, 2010, the sixth annual Bexar County Workplace Campaign began with a meeting between Rod Rubbo, President and CEO of theFund, and Yvonne Escamilla, the overall County Campaign Coordinator; they established a plan with goals and a time-line of events. Yvonne has organized the County campaign since the first in 2005, but this year she passed the hat to Laura Jesse, Public Information Officer.

A couple weeks later on March 16, theFund presented campaign plans to Commissioners Court for approval of theFund Campaign 2010. The campaign launched on April 28 at a leadership lunch with elected and appointed officials and hosted by County Judge Nelson Wolff. The next week, Campaign Coordinators from each county department attended a training workshop over lunch with theFund to learn how to make presentations. Presentations for the staff began the next day, May 6.

The fund-raising campaign took place over the next two months, and on July 15, they began closing out the campaign. The results were assessed, and contribution forms were turned in to the Auditor’s Office for processing. On August 24, theFund delivered a report with the campaign results to the Commissioner’s Court. After more than 55 presentations and many people’s help and support, the campaign ended with a ceremonial awards presentation.

This year, theFund established three awards of appreciation for workplace-giving campaigns: an Award for Most Funds Raised, an Award for Largest Percentage Increase from Previous Year, and an Award for Highest Percentage of Employee Participation. Each winning department received an original work of art contributed by a funded art affiliate.

"And the Award goes to"

For Most Funds Raised, Bexar County Infrastucture Services. Director Joe Aceves and Coordinator Kerim Jacamen were acknowledged for once again inspiring their department to raise the most funds. Their award Cityscape, painted by Brackenridge High School student Chrysanthemum Brown, was donated through the Blue Star Contemporary Art program MOSAIC.

For Largest Percentage Increase from Previous Year, Bexar County Planning and Resource Management. Campaign Coordinator Nancy Soto accepted the award, a Texas Mission watercolor painted by student John Darrin with SAY Sí.

For Highest Percentage of Employee Participation, the Bexar County District Clerk’s Office. Director Margaret Montemayor and Campaign Coordinator Joan Schaffer accepted the award, a framed linocut of a meadowlark on handmade kozo paper created by Linda Draper of Southwest School of Art and Craft.

Acknowledgments

TheFund greatly appreciates all the consistent and generous participation of Bexar County employees in the Workplace Giving Campaigns.

We thank Blue Star Contemporary Art, SAY Sí, and Southwest School of Art and Craft, three funded art affiliates who donated artwork produced in their programs.

TheFund would also like to thank Ms. Rose Avila of Piedras Negras Café for her contribution of tacos for the Bexar County Information Services taco sale to supplement the department’s contributions. Rose’s contribution allowed Information Services to donate 100% of the proceeds to theFund.

And a special thanks to Olivia Morales, a violinist and former YOSA student, for her performances at the District Attorney’s offices.

How to have a workplace campaign:

1. Call us at 210- 212-8303 to set up an information meeting,
   
2. Identify an On-Site Coordinator and schedule a presentation(s),
   
3. And/Or have an Open House with displays and live performances by our funded affiliate organizations.

Steve Brudniak's Exhibit Closes This Saturday

Want to see actual outer-space art?

Through the month of July, Blue Star has been featuring Austin-based sculptor Steve Brudniak's artwork, including Neumenon (pictured here).

"These sculptures appear to be machines or ritual objects operating in some bizarre institution but are in fact, assemblages of found objects imbued with science elements including: samples of the oldest life ever discovered, lenses which reflect 3-dimensional images, inorganic "specimens" in fluid and fiber optic projections. Most take months to finish, some as long as a year. This new body of work reflects upon the principal/condition Noumenon; the emptiness from which all things emerge.

The show will also include Brudniak's, Astrogeneris Mementos which were launched into outer space and exhibited on the International Space Station for the first ever art show in outer space."

Steve Brudniak's site is here >>

The Blue Star Contemporary Art Center is one of 27 affiliates of theFund. Donations to theFund help provide financial operating support to qualified arts and cultural organizations.