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Artists will be picking up their work from the Tenth Regional on Saturday, August 1, from 9AM to 5PM. If you have a favorite artist in this exhibit and want to vote for that artist to win a cash prize, you can vote on your cell phone any time up till noon on Friday, July 31. Here's how: use your camera to focus on the QR code below. The poll will come up, and you will see a list of every artist in the show, along with the title of their artwork. When you find your artist, tap the small circle to the left of their name and number. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page where the "vote" box is and tap it. That's it, you voted! The winning artist will receive their cash prize when they pick up their work on Saturday. 
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Three young artists are enjoying summer after picking their favorite art supplies to explore and create. Luck was with them to be able to purchase these items after winning art scholarships from Cass Area Artists in June. And Cass Area Artists was happy to be able to supply the $$$ needed to make it all happen. We hope our winners--from left to right below--Kenley, Layla, and Breea, will have fun exploring and learning new ways to make art an ongoing part of their lives.
If you know a young person in grades 1 through 12 who wants to enjoy art and has the ambition but maybe not much money, let them know that Cass Area Artists provides these scholarships every year and will be doing that again in 2027. Applications will be available in early January on this website.  It took a bit of time to round up our winners this year, but it was worth it! Every one of them is an eager student ready to try new things and develop their artistic talents. That's what we're looking for--motivation and perseverance. If you know any of these budding artists do us a favor and let them know how much you appreciate their talent and efforts! And if you know any young artists from grades 1-12 who are looking for some $$ to support their efforts, be sure to let them and their parents know that they can apply for next year's scholarships beginning in January. Entry forms will be available in January on our website, www.cassareaartists.org
 We got a bit distracted planning and hosting the 6th Regional Exhibit at the Cass County Regional Gallery, but we did want to let you know a couple of very important happenings along the way.
We have been appearing at quarterly gatherings of a wonderful group of ladies who comprise a local charitable group called 100+Women Who Care. The members meet 4 times a year and each time, a 501(c)3 (such as Cass Area Artists!) can appear and make an appeal for funding. Three organizations picked "out of a hat" can present their case at each meeting. Cass Area Artists presented a year ago but didn't get another chance until this July. We held our breath--would you believe the announcer at first called another organization the "winner" (we exhaled deeply and dropped our shoulders) but then quickly said, "Oh no, Cass Area Artists" has won! It was almost like someone had called the wrong Oscar winner then quickly corrected it. We were gobsmacked! Each 100+ member is required to contribute $100 to the winner, whether they were present at the meeting or not. We collected over $2000 at the meeting that evening, and over the following weeks hundreds more came slowly rolling in until we finally finished with $5100. This has been a lifesaver for us--we are all volunteers and we give away almost every dollar we take in, whether it's supplies for classes, scholarships, or awards at the Regional exhibits. Because we do a lot of work with youth--classes and scholarships--we may be eligible for matching funds with another organization. We have no information on that yet--we may get a full match, partial match, or nothing. But we're still giddy as all getout at having $5100 drop in our lap! Oh, and by the way, our Treasurer can now sleep a bit better at night. If you would like to make that $5100 go even farther, you can always drop a few greenbacks into the treasury by clicking on the "Donate" button at the top of our home page, and the upper right hand corner of this news page. We're not picky, you choose whatever amount suits you. And thank you so much for following us.  Our Assistant Director Paige Linback entered a commemorative coin design contest for Cass County Michigan, AND SHE WON!!! Paige is a graphic designer with WNDU-TV in South Bend, Indiana, so the process wasn't new to her. However, she stood out above the rest and we are so proud and happy for her. There will be 50 coins minted, and each will eventually be presented by the Chair of the County Board of Commissioners to residents who contribute to the community in ways that merit special recognition.
Who could ask for more? Our opening reception for the Fourth Regional Exhibit at the Cass County Regional Gallery was held on Saturday, August 6, and from the looks of it a good time was had by all. $1200 in prizes were awarded to artists, and you can see the prize winners in this video. Our judge did a good job of explaining her criteria for winners, and admitted that a few of them were close calls in their categories. If our friends and followers keep donating (convenient donate button is at the top right of this post!) we may be able to give away even more next time. Awards well deserved by all!
 Winter Exhibit's judge Marie Remington explains her judging process to artists and art lovers. We'll see what our summer judge has to say on Saturday! Our Fourth Semi-Annual Regional Exhibit at the Cass County Regional Gallery will be on Saturday, August 6 from 2PM to 4PM. Awards will be presented by our judge at 3PM.
We have a great assortment of artwork once again, so stop by and get a good look while you munch some cookies and engage with the artists about their work. Sarah Ayers of Patch & Remington Gallery in Marcellus will be presenting our awards. And, this is your chance as a visitor to walk off with our customary door prize, a flower arrangement from Dussel's Farm Market in Cassopolis. See you at the Gallery, 120 N Broadway, Cassopolis, Michigan.  Keep an eye out for our "Donate" button--it's a lovely shade of blue with a pink heart in the middle. We've had a "Donate" button on our website for a while, but hoped not to have to use it. Alas, we have had to accep the fact that funding is difficult for all small arts organizations. Members of Cass Area Artists are facing the necessity of reaching out beyond their own community, due to many factors but high on the list are the significant toll taken by the pandemic, seemingly runaway inflation, and the fact that so many organizations need help and are universally asking for monetary support. Cass Area Artists is collaborating with Donorbox.org to create an essential fundraising campaign to keep up their work through the beginning of next year. If you are reading this post, you probably already know about all the work we do to promote art and artists in Michiana--our free exhibits with cash prizes, our youth scholarships, and our work with 4-H®. We hope you will be one of the generous people who will help us continue by clicking that "Donate" button and sending a few $ our way. If you're reading this on your phone, here's a handy QR code which will take you directly to our fundraising page which is hosted by Donorbox.org. Thank you for any amount you wish to contribute, large or small!
 We've made some changes! We're now officially a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which means that any donations made to aid our efforts to promote the arts in Michiana are now tax-deductible. We'd like to encourage any friends and fans of CAA to feel free to chip in any amount, large or small or in between. All contributions gratefully acknowledged.
Our second change is our meeting place. In January 2022 we moved our meeting location to the Cass County District Library in Cassopolis, Michigan. Our next meeting will take place this coming Saturday, February 19, from 9:30AM to 11AM. We hope this new location and meeting time will enable more people from all ages and all walks of life to attend our meetings, get informed of our future plans, and join us in our mission. Feel free to stop in and get acquainted! |
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