The first five Merit Artists for 2009 were named Saturday, December 6 at the reception for Currents, the annual all-member exhibition. A sixth Merit Artist will be chosen by popular vote and named in late January.

Thom and Deb invite you to their Art Reception on Saturday December, 13, 2008. 

Hope to see you there!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The 2008 National Medal of Arts was awarded to Jesus Moroles and presented by President Bush on November 17, 2008 in an East Room ceremony.

Congratulations to Jena Kirmse who was one of 4 students chosen as 'best actors' out of the 300 students in the University of Texas at Austin theater and dance department.

RCA Features Member Artist Marilyn Herzik in the November Spotlight.

Each year the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center holds a competition for the Wildflower Days Poster Artist.

The Art Center is set to unveil and dedicate a sculpture by Charles Umlauf, generously donated by Mr. Cam Leonard. The dedication ceremony will take place on November 1, 2008, at 4:00 pm, in the Art Center's Sculpture Garden.

RCA Features Judith DeShong Hall in October's Member Spotlight.

For more information, contact artmuseum@tamucc.edu

The 2009 Rockport Art Festival Artist will be Rockport Artist Lisa Baer. Chosen by a special committee, Baer will be honored with a solo exhibition in the summer of 2009, as well as create the artwork for the official 2009 Art Festival Poster.

Over 30 Aransas County Artists celebrate Art and Environment at Rockport Center for the Arts, benefiting the Nature Conservancy.

Anticipating heavy demand on its resources in the wake of Hurricanes Ike & Gustav, CERF is reaching out to raise funds for its Disaster Relief Fund.

Wind Way Gallery opens an exhibition with art work by Anita Diebel, Mary Frazier, Mary Lou Lewis, Don Jackson, Caro Jackson, Elsa Lopez Mathews, and Karen Neyland on Saturday, August 30th. Please join the artists at the opening reception on August 30th from 5 to 8 pm. Wind Way will have extended hours during Hummer-Bird Festival.

The Margaret Sue Rust Foundation has donated a gift to the Art Center's Sculpture Garden in memory of Lola L. Bonner, a trustee of the foundation and a former president of the Art Center Board.

As the summer comes to a close, RCA welcomes back the Member Spotlight.

Sculpture Garden Founder Cam Leonard recently donated a sculpture by the late Charles Umlauf, whose work is in the collections of the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The sculpture will be dedicated into RCA's Sculpture Garden in November.

Leo Osborne's burl wood original of "Return of Ancient Wisdom" is released; Osborne receives highest honor from the Society of Animal Artists

JOHN PEMBERTON "JACK" COWAN, considered a founding father of sporting art and Texas Coast Wildlife Conservation, died June 27, 2008, in Bristol, Tennessee at age 87. Cowan was born in Bristol, Tennessee on October, 20, 1920.

Congratulations to the 2008 Rockport Art Festival Award Winners, and to Best of Show Winner Robin Renee Hix of Wimberley, TX.