2013 Year End Summary

Dear Encaustic Art Institute Members, Below I have summed up 2013 for you and provided a link to the 2013 AnnualReport. (Click on the link on the left to read the report.) - EAI had a fabulous season of shows in the gallery. We held our 3rd annual Juried Encaustic Exhibition and hired Juried Art Services to manage the entries. The fund-raising Gala in September changed from a night time theme to a Sunday afternoon with huge success. Member's workshops were promoted through our Blog and Face book and our gallery. For two weekends in October, EAI became part of a studio/gallery tour, featuring 29 local artists/galleries. The advertising reach through the studio tour was remarkable and attracted Albuquerque visitors, as well as the Santa Fe and Galisteo crowds. We joined the IEA conference in Santa Fe by hosting a tour of the EAI gallery the first week in November. We promoted the convention on the EAI Face book and Blog and the Encaustic Arts Magazine. Many of our members worked to make the IEA convention a success. IEA's tour to our gallery was a "sold-out" tour and the largest crowd in the gallery we ever had. This year bus tours were popular, and we happily hosted big crowds. - The free on-line Encaustic Magazine, published again in June and December featuring encaustic artists and tips for the trade. Its advertising and readership is continually growing. This year the Magazine acquired new software and a new editor, Kari Gorden. She also organizes the advertising for the Magazine and it is blossoming under her care. - The EAI website also got a facelift with new software. EAI member Kari Gorden took over as our part-time paid website manager. Her consistent follow-though and attention to detail, as well as her creative sensibilities are invaluable. - The Permanent Collection was re-organized this year and got its first showing at the Albuquerque Airport. It took member Kate Palmo investing her time to land us the deal...and three years later, we got in. The waiting list at airport venues continue to be extended as the popularity and availability of airport space dedicated to art increases. We are scheduled for a 2015 showing in the airport and are currently working on other airports in different states to show in. We continue to seek museums to display the collection in and are planning on putting together presentation material to assist in that. - The two themed member shows were interesting and pulled some free advertising press from the local newspapers. We also received some incredible press from the Santa Fean Magazine Oct/Nov issue. This is a full color magazine premier magazine that goes into every hotel room of the major hotels in Santa Fe, as well as their large subscription base. - 2013 we sent out a specific "volunteer list". We had a resounding reply and we truly appreciated the volunteer efforts of everyone local and not local. Tristina Dietz-Elmes out of Florida volunteered to be our EAI Face book manager, and has done a fantastic job. Member Cherry Rohe and her husband Jamie volunteered to gallery-sit one weekend a month, giving my wife and I time to get out of town a little with friends. We had a fantastic group who volunteered to organize the Fundraising Gala; Fionna Buck, Sherry Ikeda, Nancy Gott and Guy Baldovi. Members Sherry Ikeda and John Schaeffer volunteered numerous times to give demonstrations for bus tours and for the Gala. Linda Fillhardt continues to keep the EAI Blog going and Teena Robinson volunteered to help us with advertising and graphics. We couldn't do this without all of you and we appreciate everyone who stepped up to the plate in any way possible. We will be sending out a volunteer list within the month and hope you will consider helping us keep the Encaustic Art Institute moving forward. Your help will make our efforts run more smoothly and affordably. - EAI will continue to expand and grow and expose Encaustic Art in the best possible ways to collectors as well as to artists - that is our mission. The Institute not only represents your art, but more importantly is connecting the public to the Encaustic Art movement. Every person we meet in the gallery, every ad we place, every school we teach in - is introducing the wax movement to one more person that has never heard or seen it. I appreciate all of you who have already been volunteering your efforts. Thanks goes to our board members for all of their guidance and support; Glenn Fellows, Michael Allison and Perry Lovelace. I also appreciate each and every one of your memberships and know that we couldn't sail this art-ship without you. Attached is the 2013 Annual Report. Please click on the link on the left to view the report. - A prosperous and creative New Year to you, Douglas Mehrens Founder/CEO/Encaustic Art Institute