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San Pedro River Arts Council

PO Box 1358, Benson,
Arizona 85602-1358
(520) 586-2611

You can pay your annual SPRAC dues, $15.00 for individual or $20.00 per family by hitting the donate button above.

Note: You may also send your membership payment or donation by check to:
SPRArts
PO Box 1358
Benson, AZ 85602-1358

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the lovely month of May--trees are all leafed out, the Palo Verdes are glowing with green-gold blossoms, and Cholla and Prickly Pear Cactus are covered with beautiful magenta and yellow flowers--a great time to be out and about!

As always, there is a lot of news and plenty to see and do...
Last weekend's Annual Yard Sale fund raiser was a tremendous success. Thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone who donated all the wonderful items for the sale, and another huge THANK YOU to the large crew that helped with advertising, set up, sorting, pricing, and selling!! When we closed the door on the last customer on Saturday afternoon, we found that we had raised nearly $1,400 dollars!! (And when the last check comes in, the grand total will go to $1,441.30!!). WOW. That money will go a long way toward paying the rent and buying materials for construction in the new Gallery space in the coming months!!!

The semi annual change-out of art in the Benson Hospital is taking place today and tomorrow (May 3rd and 4th). Thanks to the many members who are sharing their paintings and photos, we will have another wonderful exhibit to brighten the rooms and hallways--making a visit or stay there a much more cheerful experience. Each time we put up a new series of art work, we get wonderful comments and "thank yous" from the staff and administration for improving the ambiance in the hospital. This is always a great opportunity to do a community service, AND get our work in front of the public.

Thanks again to those participating this time; and if you haven't yet been a part of the hospital project--keep it in mind for the Fall change-out!!

There WILL be a Lunch and Learn program in May! Larry Scott, who will be teaching a class in Digital Photography and Photoshop Enhancement at Cochise College Benson Center during the summer session, will give a preview of what his course will entail, as well as show off some of his own beautiful images and techniques for creative photography. We will meet in the new gallery space at noon on our regular third Thursday--May 18th. Mark your calendars; bring a lunch, and join us--perhaps you will even be inspired to sign up for the eight week college course!!!

The featured artist in our "One with Art" program at Cochise College Benson Center during the month of May is Darlene Krueger. Darlene is primarily a photographer, but also works in a variety of other media. The exhibit displays some of her favorite photos as well as paintings in acrylics and colored pencil and some stunning mixed media pieces combining pastels over matte black & white photographs. As always, the exhibit is free and open to the public during regular college hours, and well worth a view--so do stop by! And remember--you, too, can be a featured artist--just let me know if you are interested and we will find a month for you...

News about the New Gallery space--walls were cleared and holes prepped and patched during the last work day. A small crew will be installing the "partition" walls in the next few weeks, and then we'll be ready for a large party to paint the interior walls and define our exterior space. Once the painting is done, we hope to install a metal "awning" over the door and window and mount the horizontal signage. Some really exciting news is that Doug Quarles will use the entire long wall space on either side of our entrance area to paint a gigantic life-sized "cattle drive" mural that has already been designed and commissioned by the "Benson Clean and Beautiful" group! This will be the largest mural in town to date, and should help to increase traffic in the Gallery
once we are open!! Can't wait!!

Some other interesting events-- The Bisbee 2017 Plein Air Festival is happening May 9th through the 14th and features a two day workshop with Barbara Mulleneaux on the Tuesday and Wednesday, "competition" painting by many artists throughout the town on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, a "nocturne" painting class given by our own Kaia Thomas and Clement Scott on Friday evening May, 12th, and Awards and "wet paint" sales on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This event gets bigger and better each year, and is a lot of fun to attend--even as a "spectator." For more information or to register to participate check out www.bisbeeafter5.com/plein-air-festival

During the Willcox Wine Festival--Saturday, May 20th and Sunday, May 21st--the Art League of Willcox will be holding a Members Only Art Show and Sale at Studio 128--128 North Railroad Avenue from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.. Hey--taste some wine, look at art--what's not to love?!
So there you have it. No excuse for boredom... Lots of venues to inspire you... get out there and "Celebrate the Arts!! L.