EL VALLE
ARTISTS ASSOCIATION

EVAA

Cottonwood and the Verde Valley of Arizona

Info: evaaccmail@gmail.com

It’s Time for the Most Exciting Creative Season Yet!!

First Meeting of the 2026-2027 Season is September 10th at 1pm

We’ll be Meeting again at
Mountain View United Methodist Church
901 S. 12th Street (between 89A andFir) Cottonwood, AZ 86326

See you there!!!

September 10 meeting notice and plan

We are looking forward to seeing you at our September 10 meeting. Here is an informal plan for the meeting on Thursday, September 10. We will meet at Mountain View United Methodist Church on 12th Street in Cottonwood. Our venue has changed to the Worship Center which is the building at the top end of the parking lot.

Aside from one item noted below, there will not be a business meeting.

Except for one business item – By-Laws Change – we no longer have monthly business meetings. Meetings no longer have a rigid agenda. Meetings will be more casual with much opportunity given to showing and promoting members’ artworks and activities, and group participation in activities, programs and presentations.

You are invited to share stories and images from your summer activities including road trips taken, art events attended, community activities, classes or workshops attended.

Bring along any flyers or promotional materials about exhibits or events you will be participating in over the next few months. You will have an opportunity to tell us about them.

You are strongly encouraged to bring in your artworks for our first Artist of the Month exhibition. We want to have lots of artworks to choose from so that we can have a good show at the Cottonwood Library to kick off our year. We need to restore participation in this exceptional opportunity to be selected by our colleagues to exhibit works at the Cottonwood Public Library.

September brings opportunity to place new artwork on the library walls. If you have work currently displayed on the “Water Wall,” please let Christine know. You can pick it up on Tuesday, September 15th  at 8:15am. But don’t just take your piece, bring something new to replace it! 

We need a new theme for the 4-month wall in the library. Do you have any ideas? It must be Verde Valley and no red rocks. The art will hang from January 2027 through May 2027. 

You are also encouraged to bring your membership renewal forms and dues payments to the meeting.

BRING PACKAGED FOOD TO SHARE WITH THE CHURCH FOOD BANK.

Notice to Members By-Laws Change on Article III – Membership DISCUSSION

Currently, recurring/renewing members may pay their annual dues in September as has been done in the past. Dues reminders are now being issued with a fillable PDF form to be submitted with the member’s dues payment. Recurring/renewing members who don’t renew by November 30 will be dropped from the rolls per current Article III Section 6 of the By-laws.

We are implementing a digital membership management system. This system will allow new members to join at any time during the year via the membership management system.

This change to the By-laws makes the membership a year-round opportunity and benefit. In the past, visitors to our spring meetings (particularly April & May) have been advised not to join until September. We ran the risk of the visitor not returning after four to six months had gone by.

Some current and future activities of the association take place during the summer months. The Art on the Hill Gallery is open to visitors all year round, and new member applications have been issued to some of them.

Keeping membership opportunities available all year is an investment in growth of our organization. We don’t have to turn away anyone who wants to join at any time. The membership management system captures joining and renewal dates by member and sends out renewal reminders as needed.

 By-Laws Change - Article III – Membership

Section 3 (Current wording)

Dues for regular members shall be $30.00 per individual per year and $40.00 for a family. Dues are payable in September at the beginning of the program year.

Section 3 (Revised wording)

Dues for regular members shall be $30 for individual per year and $40 for a family. Dues are payable when the member joins. Memberships renew annually, and dues are payable on the member’s annual renewal date.

 Section 6 (Current wording)

Members who have not paid their annual dues by November 30th will have their name(s) removed from the membership rolls and will not be eligible to participate in Association activities. They may sign up for 1 workshop per year by paying the non-member premium.

Section 6 (Revised wording)

Members who have not paid their annual due within 60 days of their renewal date will have their name(s) removed from the membership rolls and will not be able to participate in Association activities.

 Vote will be taken at the September 10 meeting.

We have joined local Chambers of Commerce Jerome (Please see Kathi if you’re interested in helping out.) Greater Verde Valley (Please see Barbara Hagerman or LJ Rivera if you are interested in helping out.)
Upcoming events

Walkin on Main-Route 66

There is still time to participate in the Route 66 Event. It will be a great event! Please pay your registration fees if you haven’t done so. Also, please send a clear jpg, title, media, size and price along with a short description of your piece to Nori Thorne at norithorne@gmail.com. Nori is preparing a wonderful show catalog. She will present a slide presentation preview of the catalog at our September 10 meeting.

Halloween party at Jerome Art Center (Maybe?)

Workshops at Mt View Church September, October, December (check with Barbara for flyers). Signups will be available at the September meeting. Please bring a check or cash to secure your space. The September workshop fees are $65 for members and $75 for non-members.

 In accordance with a change approved by the Board of Directors in March 2026, the fees will change beginning with the October 2026 workshop. Member fees will decrease to $60 and non-member fees will increase to $90. The changes are intended to benefit members. Visitors and non-members who would like to take a workshop could join the organization for $30 and immediately get all subsequent workshops during their membership at the reduced fee of $60.

(9/26) Painting Smarter with Mary Rochelle Burnham

(10/31) Petroglyph Art with Mark Vranesh

(12/5) Painting with Coffee with Denise Tax

Making connections with other regional art organizations

We will be implementing a new approach in our monthly meetings which will include regular sharing what is going on with our local artists associations. Several people have been invited to say something in our regular meetings about what is happening with other arts organizations; flyers or printed materials could be available as well. We would be happy to have you contribute to this conversation at our meetings.

Fundraising ideas

To build strong EVAA financial status, a team being established by Trish Hansen to implement a variety of fundraising activities throughout the year. For example, all our artists could design seasonal cards and ornaments (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) to sell online and in the Gallery. We could occasionally hold “Unsold Art” or “Affordable Art” Sales where all members could display and sell artworks at reduced prices. In these and other ways, the members could share some of the proceeds with EVAA.

Jerome Art Center Waiting list for Art on the Hill Gallery

Beginning at the September 10 meeting, there will be a waiting list for EVAA members for a permanent space at the Gallery to exhibit your art. There will also be a waiting list for EVAA artists who would like to do a single month visiting artist exhibit at the Gallery.

 Opportunity for expansion

On August 24, we advised you that we are considering a new opportunity to expand the gallery into additional space in the building. This new space would not only include EVAA members’ artwork for exhibit and sale, it would also be used for EVAA-sponsored community art education, exhibitions and workshops, and other related activities. We would like to know if you have an interest in exhibiting in the expanded gallery space, offering classes, or perhaps giving a solo special exhibition. If you have questions, please contact us right away.

Help Lighten the Load

You are invited to help lighten the load of the board of directors by volunteering to

support us as Members- at -Large. Members-at-Large do not have specific

position descriptions but will support other board members as requested and

serve on at least one of the Association’s committees or focus groups. Our By-

Laws allow for three Members-at-Large.

Presidents Message