‍ ‍ARDEN ARTISAN COLLECTIVE Newsletter

WE URGE EVERYONE to log onto our website - https://www.ardenartisans.com

First, you can pay your annual membership dues for 2026 ($35 for a single artist or single creative entity; $0 for those under 21; hardship scholarships available through steering committee). The deadline for renewing membership is March 1st, so act now please! After March 1st, website content by a member who has not renewed their membership will be removed. If you want to join as a member and not just renew your membership, you will also need to pay a fee for inclusion on the website. 

Also, while you’re on the website, if you didn’t fill out a survey form at our January meeting, please fill out the survey form. It will help us identify those who would be interested in working on specific initiatives or who have specific expertise. With the help of many, we’ll strengthen our connections with one another and strengthen our group. As my grandmother always said, “many hands make light work.”

Updates

Following a very well-attended and productive member meeting in January, there was great guidance from those present as to the hopes and wants for the Arden Artists Collective without Jill Althouse-Wood’s energetic and strong leadership. 

The new steering committee met on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. As was hoped, there was good continuity among the members of the committee, but there was some shifting, as Betty O’Regan stepped down and Will Ramirez stepped forward to join the committee. We thank Betty for her work over the past three years and Wlll for joining the committee.

The steering committee began by reviewing the notes from the January AAC meeting and affirmed the following directions for the AAC in the coming year:

1. We will have two member meetings during the calendar year. The first was held in January and the second will likely be scheduled for early June.

2. We will have at least two socials that are open to all.

3. We will definitely add food, hopefully potluck suppers, to our get togethers. The importance of socially connecting with fellow artists is something that was clearly felt at our January meeting and will be continued as much as possible.

4. We will aim to publish quarterly newsletters.

5. We will continue to keep the website updated.

6. We will work towards continuing the Ardens Studio Tour, which has been so successful and valued for the past two years. We will work to partner with David Burslem on this annual event.

7. We will work to continue partnering with the Craft Shop Museum for the Afternoon with the Artist program.

8. We will work to sponsor at least one new venue for an AAC art show in 2026.

9. We will work to explore other possibilities, both those suggested at our January meeting, other ideas that the steering committee generated, and other ideas that come to our attention during the year.

10.  We will work to increase our presence at the Arden Fair with an Arden Artisan   Collective exhibit in the Backstage Gallery.

11. We will place a promotional ad in the upcoming ACRA directory. 

We are all aware that no single person can take on Jill’s energy, expertise, and time commitment to leadership of the AAC. We talked about the thoughts and opinions expressed at the January AAC meeting. However, we decided that a shared leadership model will work well now. We have champions for many/most of the new or ongoing initiatives listed above. The surveys completed at our January meeting identified folks in our group who are happy to help with specific events or initiatives. It is our hope that more helpers will be identified as artists become members of the AAC, a new model which will generate revenue for our group to use for programming (think food!), for publicity, and to eliminate the need for seeking commissions on works sold during any of our events in order to fund AAC needs and activities. Note: that does not, of course, exclude commissions due any venue where an exhibition is held.