Current Newsletter - May, 2025
May is here, bringing the warmth of spring and the arrival of new life. Birds and animals of all types are emerging from winter, offering an excellent opportunity for artists to capture them on canvas and take in breathtaking landscapes.
It is also a time to reflect upon the wonderfully successful 70th Annual MLAA Art Show held at the Sonora Opera Hall on April 11, 2025, and the subsequent Art Week. The Show brought out an amazing level of participation from the art community, with 246 pieces entered by 87 people, a new record. Nearly 40% of the entrants were not MLAA members. A record amount of funds was raised for our local schools and Arts in Education in our community.
Christine Halley, the show chairperson, brought everything together, supported by a wonderful management team and volunteers. Their months of planning and hard work collectively produced the “Historic 70th Annual MLAA Art Show." The Juried Art Show also featured art from the Watch Program, a Red Church Group, and Youth Art.
Highlighting the Second Saturday portion of the Art Show on April 12, 2025, was the 3:00 PM special art demonstration for the kids put on by our Vice President, Kelly Telfer, with assistance from his wife, Beth. The event was hosted by our Fundraising/Membership Chair, Suzanne Dudek, and it was a truly fabulous occasion that captured the attention and hands-on participation of kids, parents, and adults. It was a wonderful success.
NEW AND IMPROVED MLAA WEBSITE
We are launching an upgraded and updated website with a much more convenient address: https://www.mlaa.org. Check it out! Bill Heiser, our Webmaster, has done an outstanding job, including both the old components and many new ones. Our new website looks very professionally constructed and offers ease of navigation.
In addition to the new website, our Vice President, Kelly Telfer, with input from Keith Kelly and approval from the board, created a new logo for the Mother Lode Art Association. We think you’ll agree that the brush strokes, signifying our county’s beautiful mountains and blue skies, really pop.
MAY ART DEMONSTRATION
Our next art demonstration will be presented by artist Carlie Vogt on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 1:20 PM, following the Regular Board/General meeting from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The demonstration will focus on using alcohol markers and colored pencils. It’s a game-changer. Instead of spending grueling hours with colored pencils, the alcohol markers provide a beautiful base of colors before blending. This technique reduces pencil usage by half and offers a wonderfully new experience with color theory.
THE SONORA PHOTO CLUB
The Sonora Photo Club meets every other month on the second Sunday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 pm in the Tuolumne County Library meeting room at 480 Greenley Road in Sonora. The next meeting is on Sunday, May 11, 2025, and the photo theme is “natural framing”. All are invited to attend. Contact Bill Heiser at bill@billheiserphoto.com.
PLEIN AIR
The Plein Air Group continues to meet throughout the year. Claire Chateauneuf is the MLAA Plein Air Committee Chair and plans outdoor painting excursions at selected locations and times. To get on Claire’s mailing list, contact Claire at Clairechateauneuf@yahoo.com.
VENUES
New venues for art displays for our membership are ongoing by our Venue Chairperson, Bill David. We will approach the Chicken Ranch Casino in Jamestown next month, as well as the Sonora Inn for potential art display for our MLAA Membership.
2nd SATURDAY MLAA ART DEMONSTRATION
The MLAA is launching a new trial demonstration program coordinated by Suzanne Dudeck. The Sonora Inn will serve as our venue for the 2nd Saturday Night Art Program hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Our first guest artist is our own Kelly Telfer:
🎨 You're Invited to a Free Kids' Paint Party
📍 Location: Sonora Inn
📅 Date: May 10, 2025
🕔 Time: 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Join us for a fun and creative paint party led by renowned motorsports artist Kelly Telfer! Open to all ages—from 6 to 96. This lively, hands-on event is perfect for young artists and the young at heart. Kelly will guide you step-by-step to create your own motorsports-inspired masterpiece in a relaxed, colorful setting.
🎨 All art supplies provided
🎉 No experience needed
🚗 Free event — first come, first served!
Come for the fun and leave with your very own work of art!
We thank Kelly for his generosity in hosting this event and providing all art supplies.
Regular Monthly Meeting Artist Demonstrations:
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May 10, 2025 Kelly Telfer – Kid’s Paint Party at the Sonora Inn
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May 19, 2025 Carlie Vogt - Alcohol markers and colored pencils
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June 16, 2025 Lydia Osias – leading a clay activity
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July 21, 2025 No scheduled meeting (summer break per bylaws)
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August 18, 2025 No scheduled meeting (summer break per bylaws)
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September 15, 2025 Open
In closing, it promises to be an exciting second half of the year for the Motherlode Art Association. We have an excellent MLAA management team working for everyone and are in good fiscal condition.
All the Best,
Bob
Robert Feigen
President
Download this newsletter as a PDF
Past Newsletters
April 2025
It’s Show Time!!! The 2025 Mother Lode Art Association Art Show at the Sonora Opera Hall opens on April 11, 2025!
I am proud to announce that, as of this writing, 87 artist entrants and 246 pieces of original fine art have been submitted for the 2025 MLAA Art Show. The level of participation and enthusiasm of our local artist community, both MLAA members and non-members, is outstanding and truly reflects the health and vitality of our community... [Download to read more]
March 2025
March is a time for the final planning and preparation for the 70th Annual Mother Lode Art Association Art Show. On February 26, 2025, the MLAA Art Show Committee and Board members held a formal meeting at the Visitors Bureau Conference Room to address and deal with all aspects of the Show. Christine Halley, Show Chairperson, stated the MLAA is ready and in good shape, and previous issues, such as food and drink, have been resolved. Art show entries are coming in, and it promises to be another well-attended show... [Download to read more]
February 2025
February 2025 is an exciting month for the MLAA as planning and preparing events for the calendar year are taking place by your MLAA Board of Directors. From April 10 to April 24, 2025, the Mother Lode Art Association will host its 70th Annual Mother Lode Art Show at the Sonora Opera Hall. Original fine artwork will be professionally judged, awards will be given, and the pieces will remain on display in the Opera Hall for the entire two weeks for viewing and sale... [Download to read more]
December, 2024
December brings in lower temperatures, the holidays, and good family times. Our next
scheduled monthly Board and General meeting and Artist demonstration will be on Monday,
January 20, 2025. Our Guest Artist will be our good friend Judy Cain, who will critique
everyone’s artwork brought to the meeting. This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about
your and others’ artwork techniques and composition... [Download to read more]
November, 2024
Fall is definitely in the air as we experience the change of colors and seasons and
lowering of temperatures. This can be a special time for Plein Air artists and
photographers and a chance to get out with friends and fellow artists to capture
the changes on canvas and on film.
For our MLAA it is also a time to start planning for the 70th Annual Mother Lode
Art Show to be held during the week of April 6 - April 13th, 2025... [Download to read more]
October, 2024
I am pleased to report that all of our MLAA Board and Committee positions are filled, working, and communicating with each other. I don’t ever recall that being the case for the MLAA. All of our existing programs are in place and in motion. New ones will be discussed at our next meeting such as an annual membership drive and approaching different potential membership groups.
The MLAA Application for 501 (c)(3) status has been formally submitted by our Treasurer, Keith Kelly. We are hopeful for a response by the IRS by the end of the year... [Download to read more]
September, 2024
As kids return to school, MLAA continues to contribute to the Arts in Education for our
communities through MLAA Scholarship grants to our schools and involvement in their
education programs. We believe that attracting young families and involving students at
an early age helps our membership grow, and we are always open to ideas on how to
accomplish this process... [Download to read more]