Announcements week of December 9-14

Announcements:  Week of December 9^th – December 14^th

LEC HOLIDAY CLOSINGS:

• Monday, December 23 – Wednesday, January 1: LEC Closed

COMING ATTRACTIONS 2025:

• Wednesday, January 8: Deadline for bringing State Fair entries to LEC
• Thursdays, starting January 9: Beginning Drawing with Tim (10am -12pm)
• Thursdays, starting January 9: Poetry (hybrid) with Mish (10:30am -12pm)
• Saturday, January 18: Acrylic Pour Workshop with Mary Eastman (closed to new sign-ups)
• Saturday, January 25: Colored Pencils Workshop with Mark Menendez
• Friday, January 31: Field Trip to the 50^th Annual Miniature Arts Show (in Largo)

SPECIAL EVENTS and DEADLINES:

• Wednesday, January 8: January Potluck (Guest: PYHOT)
• February 6-17: Florida State Fair–Demo Artists needed daily (sign up today)

Volunteers needed

• For those interested in being volunteer demo artists at the Fair (Feb. 6-17), there is a sign-up sheet on the Resource table. Shifts are 3-4 hours, and you must remain at the table for the duration of your shift.  Demo volunteers receive a free ticket to the Fair for the day they demo. You can also email info@lectampa.org or call (813) 932-0241 to sign up or for more information.

• Looking for 4 volunteers willing to help LEC make a clean start in 2025. Let us know if you can come to the LEC on Monday, December 30 to organize the supply room and the easel room. Lunch included!

Festive Fun! 

Paint an ornament and add it to one of the LEC door wreaths.  Or, make a 2-D ornament of your own to add. Ornaments and wreaths are on the tables near the frame-and-easel room.

Florida State Fair 2025

• If you submitted your participation form to the LEC, your artwork needs to be at the LEC by January 8.

• Tim Gibbons will be available on January 8 from 11am – 1pm to help correctly wire art for display at the Fair.

Creative Fire 2024

The LEC’s latest anthology, Creative Fire: Embers and Ashes vol. 25, is now available for purchase on Amazon (click here). You may also pre-order your copy at the LEC.  If you have writing or art published in the anthology, your complimentary copy is coming soon.

Artists of the Month

We are preparing a new cycle of Artists of the Month to start in January 2025. Nomination forms are now on the resource table. You are encouraged to recommend a fellow LEC artist or yourself for this honor. Forms may be submitted throughout the year.

Class and Workshop News

• Plein Air opportunity! At 9 am on Monday, December 9, LEC members are invited by the Pastels class to gather outside the clubhouse at Al Lopez Park to do plein air art.   Bring all your materials because supplies will NOT provided.  You are not limited to painting with pastels—the choice of medium is yours.

New Year, New Opportunities

• Tim Gibbons will be offering a 6-week Beginning Drawing class on Thursday mornings (10am-12pm) starting January 9. Learn perspective, shading, shadowing, and different uses of materials. Come out to have a fun time turning on your imagination. Register online here, or you can email info@lectampa.org, call (813) 932-0241, or sign up in person.

• Mish Murphy will be returning with an 8-week Poetry class on Thursdays from 10:30am-12pm starting January 9. The class will be in person and online.  Register online here, or you can email info@lectampa.org, call (813) 932-0241, or sign up in person.

• Guest instructor, Mark Menendez, will be giving a Colored Pencils Workshop on Saturday, January 25. The image for the workshop is an Eastern bluebird sitting on a flowering dogwood branch. Register online here, or you can email info@lectampa.org, call (813) 932-0241, or sign up in person.

• A field trip to the 50^th annual International Miniature Arts Show, in Largo this year, is planned for Friday, January 31. Sign up on the Resource table, or you can email info@lectampa.org, call (813) 932-0241, or sign up in person. Please indicate whether you are willing to drive.

Club News

• Walk away your stress! Cooler temperatures have arrived. Take advantage of the nicer weather and go for a walk.  Don’t want to go alone? Join the new LEC Walking Club (starting this month).  If you are interested, contact Arleen or Sheila for more details (email info@lectampa.org or call 813-932-0241).

• PHOTO CHALLENGES: Photos for the November & December Challenge will both be reviewed during the Photo Club’s December 18^th Zoom meeting.  December’s challenge is Winter. That can be seasonal, holiday cheer or whatever else inspires you there.

• MERMAID PHOTO DATE: The Photo Club will photograph the unveiling of the fifteen new mermaid statues at Weeki Wachee on Saturday, January 11 at 11:30am.  Attend the December 18^th Photo Club Zoom meeting or contact Dave Beebe to learn more.

Other LEC News

• Art supplies for sale at the LEC! In the small room off of the Library, you can find supplies for a wide variety of creative needs, from canvases to clay to pencils and paints and everything in between.  Stop by and check it out!  Ask a volunteer or staff member for assistance if you want to make a purchase.  If there is a supply you would like us to stock, please let us know.

• Our own John Chaplick has just published a new book, A Dragon at the Gates. It is available now on Amazon for $14.99.

• The January Potluck will take place on Wednesday, January 8. Paint Your Heart Out Tampa (PYHOT) will be the guest.  If your house needs a new coat of paint and you are a senior who owns your home, PYHOT may be able to paint your home for free!