Author: Quilliam Collister Page 1 of 7

Thank you to all the members who attended our AGM on 21 July, it was the best turnout in many years. The proposal to change the wording of the Constitution, 11.1 to remove the word Auditor and replace it with Reviewer, was agreed and passed. The Constitution is now with the lawyer to be checkedas a number of alterations over the years have rendered it difficult to read. A number of suggestions were made at the AGM and the committee will consider these, and otherideas,over the next months. The AGM saw the current committee increased by two members (Jeanie was co-opted earlier in the year) as all were standing and the maximum number of nine had not been reached.

The RAS committee for the coming year:

President:Margaret Stephenson

Secretary: Pip Dobson

Treasurer: Jan Campbell

Committee: Carmen Smart, Russell Hobbs, Suzanne Roberts, Jeanie Taylor and Annie Guise.We continue to seek someone to work with us to understudy the role of Treasurer as Jan will need to stand down from that role next year. Jan will continue on the committee.

Tutorials have been re-scheduled. These tutorials will be at the Jubilee Centre, in the lower room. We have two definite tutorials scheduled:
• Russell Hobbs is providing a tutorial on 4 August for Portraits and advises that any drawing medium is suitable, please see his advice re materials on the entry form.
• Annie Guise has agreed to provide a tutorial in Oil Painting on 1 September. Annie is also providing the paints, Winsor & Newton water-based oils. Please see her advice re materials on the entry form. Annie will display her paintings that will form the basis of this tutorial at the Jubilee Centre on Tuesday 18 August and will also be available to assist with preparing the canvases on Tuesday 25 August. That way participants will be ready to get going on the 1st September.
Your place in these tutorials will be confirmed on payment, which can be made online any time, or cash/cheque to the Treasurer on Tuesdays. Anne Ny has agreed to provide a tutorial on Watercolour, date to be advised. The committee is working on other ideas for tutorials and await confirmation from the interested parties.

We have succeeded in arranging for a review of the RAS accounts, now completed and we have set a date for the AGM. The AGM will be held at the Jubilee Centre on Tuesday 21st July at 11:00 am, taking a fairly short break from painting, to deal with the formalities. It will be followed by a shared snack, provided by the committee. Nominations need to be in the hands of the committee by 14 July. When nominating someone, please check that you first have their consent. Nomination forms were distributed with the June Newsletter, extras will be available at the Jubilee Centre on Tuesdays. The current committee have all signaled that they are willing to continue in their current roles. However, our wonderful Treasurer, Jan Campbell, is prepared to continue as Treasurer this year only and will need to step down for 2021 due to her other commitments. If there is someone who feels they could help the committee by shadowing Jan this year with a view to picking up the role as Treasurer in 2021, please let us know. Jan is willing to continue on the committee. At the AGM we are proposing a change to the Constitution: ‘That the words ‘Auditor’ and ‘audit’ be replaced with ‘Reviewer’ and ‘review’ in section 11.1.

Those members who usually get their newsletter by mail will be receiving a call from a committee member to let them know what is going on in the society. Meanwhile the April 2020 newsletter can be read by clicking here.
What a strange time we are currently in. You should have received our updates regarding RAS procedures in the wake of the Covid-19 directions from the New Zealand government. The Jubilee Centre is now closed for the duration. Despite being unable to meet on Tuesdays, the Rangiora Art Society continues to function, but now in isolation via our members on the internet. Plein Air is suspended for the foreseeable future. We have a number of ideas re staying connected while in lockdown, please see below. We will continue to follow the NZ government guidelines. We want everyone to stay safe and well.
Staying connected during the shutdown: Jan Campbell has set up a Facebook page just for Rangiora Art Society members. It is a private, closed group so only other Rangiora Art Society members can see the posts. It is a way of helping our members who are used to meeting regularly, to stay connected despite being in isolation.
So far over 45 people have joined and some are sharing their art while in shutdown. If you are not already connected to this group, you can join by inviting Jan to share it with you. Jan will then work her magic.
Continuing art during the shutdown: There have been several suggestions on how to keep up with our art while in our personal ‘bubble’, the following are a few of them:
• Paint according to the RAS topics, these continue regardless of the shutdown.
• Try the Covid-19 Challenge e.g. Pick
• Visit a gallery: Those with internet access could try visiting museums in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Florence, Sao Paolo, Barcelona, Taipei and other exciting galleries from your computer chair, it is amazing and free until the end of May. Put in the following link: 
https://www.timeout.com/travel/coronavirusvirtualmuseum-tours and another site, the Google Arts and Culture has lots to see too:
https://artsandculture.com
• Watch YouTube videos on painting topics e.g. The series ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’. Episode 1 is dated 21 January 2020 and there are ten episodes. It is fascinating to watch the portraits in progress and then completed.

Jubilee Centre: There was a frisson of excitement on our first day in the Jubilee Centre where the space of the new venue and ease of parking have been well received by members. We celebrated with cake at each of the sessions. Adding to the atmosphere was some concern about the fires nearby in the Ashley River area. The fires were put under control quickly and no danger to RAS members occurred.
There are plenty of areas for lunch and a chat either at the outdoor tables or the downstairs seating or the sofa area. Please keep the area around you tidy, we are responsible for any mess we make. We are seeing more people attending the morning session than the other sessions, the afternoon group is starting to build up and the evening sessions have proved popular with a steady attendance and some new members.

 We are proud to announce that we will once again be hosting the North Canterbury Collective Exhibition at the Charles Upham Retirement Village. This year’s event will be on the 22nd, 23rd & 24th November. There will be an opening ‘do’ for artists and invited guests on Friday evening 5:30 – 7:00 pm, hosted by Rymans, all artists who enter are invited to attend with a guest.

People’s Choice Award winner  ‘Evening Reflections – Lake Coleridge’ by Karin Werner

What a show that was! Our annual exhibition of members’ works was a celebration of talent, reflecting the joy of spring. Many thanks to all who helped us, it was also a celebration of teamwork and generosity as members gave goods, time and physical effort to help us put the show on. It is the nature of our society that we run thanks to our volunteers, there were many and some braved bitter weather in their effort to help our exhibition run well. We congratulate the winners of the categories. This year we received sponsorship for prizes from both Gordon Harris who selected one work and from The Drawing Room who gave us vouchers to celebrate success in the main categories. A big thank you to both Gordon Harris and the The Drawing Room for their generosity. The RAS decided to provide some prizes as well as the certificates so that all successful artists were rewarded. In addition to their certificates the successful artists receiving a Merit award were also given a voucher and the Highly Commended artists received wine.

Rangiora Art Society winners for 2019:

Russell Andrews’ Memorial Cup  ‘Hesitate’ by Paul Smith – Acrylic

Gordon Harris Award  ‘Jack the Joker’ by Trish Woods – Acrylic

People’s Choice Award   ‘Evening Reflections Lake Coleridge’ by Karin Werner  – Oil

Watercolour & Pen & Wash Merit ‘Notre Dame, Paris’ by Quilliam Collister

Watercolour & Pen & Wash Highly Commended ‘The River Wanders’ by Carol Moffat

Acrylic & Ink Merit ‘Bunch of Flowers’ by Sharon Soderberg

Acrylic & Ink Highly Commended ‘Time Passes’ by Joanne McDougall

Oil Merit ‘Evening Reflections – Lake Coleridge’ by Karin Werner

Oil Highly Commended  ‘The Albatrosses’ by Jenny Baker

Drawing – Pen, Pencil, Pastel Merit ‘Becoming Transluscent’ by Mandy Palmer

Drawing – Pen, Pencil, Pastel Highly Commended ‘Winter Roses’ by Viv Knowles

Mixed Media Merit  ‘Divided Loyalties’ by Russell Campbell

Mixed Media Highly Commended ‘Beautiful Roses’ by Ann Filshie Workshop/Tutorial Merit  ‘Architecture -Over there’ by Robyn Cassidy

Workshop/Tutorial Highly Commended ‘Linelle Stacey workshop – Landscape’ by Jan Campbell

30-Day Challenge Merit          by Antonia Rankin

30-Day Challenge Highly Commended by Chris Heaphy

RAS Calendar of Events: Please keep these dates in mind:
August 6 – 13,20, 27 Tuesday sessions at the Gospel Hall.
August 6 – Entries close for the RAS Spring into Spring Show.
August 6 – 30-Day Folders to be handed over to Jan Campbell our Treasurer with the entry form.
August 20 – Raffle sales table outside Rangiora New World supermarket 9:00 to 3:00pm.
August 21 – Receiving work entered in the show, at the Rangiora Bowling Club 7-8pm.
August 22 – Receiving works entered in the show, 8:30-10 am at the Rangiora Bowling Club.
August 23 – All raffle ticket butts, sales money and unsold tickets to be returned to RAS committee.
August 23, 24, 25, 2019 – ‘Spring into Spring’, RAS annual exhibition at the Rangiora Bowling Club.