JONES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA Reflections for the Arts

Aimee Jacobs of the Dorris Jones PTA contacted Darlene to see if RAL could provide three artists to judge the Jones Elementary School Art Reflections contest.  Joetta Currie, Betty Foster and Darlene Dittoe had the privilege of judging some very creative and talented artwork on November 18.  The judges selected eight winners representing written arts, performing arts and the visual arts.  The winners will go on to compete in a district wide art competition.  We wish them all the best of luck.

On November 30 the last regular RAL monthly meeting for 2011 was held.  We had a great turnout of over forty people who watched and listened to Valery Guignon describe her career in the art world and share her knowledge and experiences with all of us.  Valery is a multitalented lady who paints, sculpts, sews and uses everything in her visual world to inspire her. If you missed the presentation then you really missed a wonderful evening. Thanks to our vice-president Betty Foster for introducing all of us to another side of art besides watercolor, acrylic and oils.

THREE DAY ART SHOW FINISHES WITH AWARDS for RAL MEMBERS

The Rockwall Art League held its annual art show from October 14-16 at the Rockwall Rotary Building. There were seventy-two judged entries in six categories competing for top honors. This is the only fine art show held annually in Rockwall.

This year’s judge was John Pototschnik from Wylie, a recognized artist and judge throughout the U.S. He commented that the show was well organized, well displayed and had an interesting and wide variety of artwork. Betty Foster, Vice-president of RAL, was this year’s outstanding show chairman. Once again, we had a terrific turnout for this year’s show. Many people from outside the Rockwall area and from out-of-town commented favorably on the quality of artwork in our community.

2011 Rockwall Art League Fall Show Winners    BEST OF SHOW $500 LAURA WHITMORE AWARD $100 Poppies by Tommie Ledford Southern Morning Pick-me-up by Laura Antony (Sponsored by Joetta Currie and Art Ventures Studio)               OIL   First Place $300 Simon by Susan Jump (Sponsored by Toyota of Rockwall) Second Place $100 Southern Morning Pick-me-up by Laura Antony (Sponsored American National Bank) Honorable Mention Aspens by a Creek by Darla Hill   ACRYLIC   First Place $300 Onions and Garlic by Jimmie Trotter Second Place $100 Moonlight Pier by Laurie Huff (Sponsored by Lake Pointe Hospital) Honorable Mention The Provider by Doug Agee   WATER MEDIA   First Place $300 Umbrellas by Doris Vasek (Sponsored by the Dr. Carnell Barnes Memorial Fund) Second Place $100 Our Cabin in the Woods by Ginny Hibbard (Sponsored by Barbara Kelly Insurance) Honorable Mention The Pond in Winter by Linda McCasland   MIXED MEDIA   First Place $300                 Urban Reflections by Laurie Huff Second Place $100 Nature of Clay by Susan Jump Honorable Mention Morning in America by Tanya Slate   THREE DIMENSIONAL ART   First Place $300                 Fire and Brimstone by Gini Nichols Second Place $100                           Ruby by Kathleen Finan Honorable Mention                                        Free to Fly by Susan Jump   PHOTOGRAPHY   First Place $300 Country Church by Pat Szalay Second Place $100 Flower Power by Barbara Scurlock ( Sponsored by Willis Fine Jewelry) Honorable Mention Cornflowers by Marcus Yarbrough     People's Choice Award Americana by Claudia Holt

ROCKWALL COUNTY ALLIANCE FOR THE ARTS 2011 GALA WINNERS

	THE HEART OF JAZZ. Five RAL members attended the RCAA Gala on Saturday evening, September 24th. Altogether it was a JAZZY experience. Following are the results of the GALA People's Choice Awards for the participants in the art exhibit. First place winners donated their artwork, received a check for $250, a medal and a donation receipt. Second place winners receive a medal. Be sure to congratulate the winners for their talent and effort.
Susan Jump The Soul of the South		Thom Loafman Big Easy
Tanya Slate Painting the Town Red	Bob Gaston New Orleans Voodoo	Linda Driver Will I Get My Saxxing Back
	CATEGORIES 1. The Heart and Soul of Jazz 2. The Heart and Sound of Jazz 3. The Heart and Look of Jazz
Darlene Dittoe Notes of Jazz		Doug Agee Golden Sounds of Jazz

1. First Place in Category 1: Susan Jump's " The Soul of the South"
2. First Place in Category 2: Doug Agee's "Golden Sounds of Jazz"
3. First Place in Category 3: Thom Loafman's" Big Easy"
4. Second Place Ca tegory 1:Tanya Slate's "Painting the Town Red"
5. Second Place Category 2 had a tie: Bob Gaston's "New Orleans Voodoo" and Linda Driver's "Will I Get My Saxxing Back"
6. Second Place Category 3: Darlene Dittoe's "Notes of Jazz"

Claudia Capeau Holt of Rockwall, TX was the winner of a trifecta of awards at the Visual Art Guild Juried Photography Show in Frisco, TX on July 23, 2011. Claudia is an RAL board member and handles publicity for our organization.

Accomplished photographer Chris Fritchie of Style Creative Photography and staff photographer for Frisco STYLE Magazine juried the show. There were 42 entries with 9 awards given.

Claudia received Honorable Mention in the Alternative Process Category for her work Dalrock Social. Of this work Claudia says every time I pass this particular intersection at dusk, the telephone poles, wires and bushes are crammed with black birds vying for a space to roost. I just couldn’t resist doing a triptych. 

Americana took 1^st Place in the Enhanced Photo Category. Claudia took this shot in Dallas Deep Elum neighborhood after her husband, Charles, pointed out the scene while driving home from an Art show.

Lastly, Storms A Coming (pictured above with Claudia), a photo taken at Rockwall’s Chandlers Landing, was selected Best in Show. The photo consists of three separate images combined through a process called HDR.

All of these works are on display at the Frisco Art Gallery at Discovery Center, 8004 N. Dallas Parkway, Frisco, TX through August 13. Additional images are available for viewing at ClaudiaHoltPhotoArtist.com.

Rockwall Art League Announces 2011 Tom Collins Scholarship Winner

Tom Collins was a founding member of the Rockwall Art League in 1999. A talented and prolific artist, he was a good friend to many of the league's members and mentored many interested art students and enriched the community. His family set up the original scholarship fund upon his death and it has been continued and maintained by the Rockwall Art League in Tom's memory because of his devotion to the arts and the city of Rockwall.

The Rockwall Art League Scholarship Committee had a very difficult decision this year. Eight students from Rockwall Heath High School and Rockwall High School submitted applications, cover letters, requested data and wonderful portfolios of their artwork. It was not an easy choice and we were thrilled with the student interest this year. We know that their teachers and counselors all played a vital role in encouraging and assisting the students and we appreciate their efforts and dedication.

It is with great pleasure that the Rockwall Art League announces the student who was selected by the Scholarship Committee to receive the $1000.00 Tom Collins Memorial Scholarship for 2011, she is Naomi Ruiz a senior at Rockwall High School. We wish her the very best of luck in her art endeavors.

Darlene Dittoe, President
Rockwall Art League

From Artist Wendy Dean 05/30/2010

ABOUT THOSE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES served at the Founder's Day Sip-N-Stroll 2010

Wendy Dean's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Anything goes with this recipe. I will list exact quantities, but I usually don't operate that way. A little of this and a little of that is my normal way of cooking and baking. I usually combine milk chocolate chips with butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, and/or dark chocolate chips. I like nuts, but my family does not, so I add coconut instead. Funny thing is the cookies still disappear around our house—even when I add nuts to the dough. This recipe makes a large batch. You may cut ingredients in half for a smaller batch of cookies. Sugar or fat free--NOT!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
1 cup of Crisco shortening (works better than all butter)
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups of white granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups of brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (this makes the cookies chewy—may substitute Karo or pancake syrup)
1/4 cup molasses (may omit if you don't have it)
1/4 cup honey (may omit if you don't have it)
1 to 2 teaspoons Mexican or fancy Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Coconut extract (omit if adding real coconut)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (coarse sea solt adds little pockets of saltiness to the cookies)
2 teaspoons baking soda
6 +/- cups of all-purpose flour
(the reason for the extra flour is that most chocolate chip recipes have too much sugar, which may cause the dough to flatten out an become brittle when baking. Test the dough by baking the first batch. If the cookies don't hold their shape, then mix in a little more flour).
2 bags of Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips
(you may combine chocolate chips with butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, an/or dark chocolate chips, chopped gourmet dark chocolate, raisins, chopped dates, dried fruit, or whatever you may fancy).
1 - 2 cups of chopped pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, coconut (omit if you are not a "nut" person.
Lots of Love

DIRECTIONS
If you have one of those big KitchenAid mixers, GREAT! It will whip up your cookie dough in no time. Otherwise you will need a little muscle to mix up this big double-batch recipe. First thing you do is cream the butter and Crisco shortening together. While the mixer is running add the sugars, maple syrup, molasses, honey, the 4 eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix well until texture is creamy. Continue mixing and add the sea salt. Add 1 cup of flour and the 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Slowly add in the remaining 5 cups of flour. Maybe add 1/4 cup more of the flour if the mixture looks a little soft. You may have to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula once or twice. Once the dough is mixed up, you will probably have to transfer the dough to a larger bowl. Now mix in the chocolate chips and/or nuts by hand until well incorporated. Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15-30 minutes (important).

When you are ready to bake the cookies, heat your oven to 375 Deg. F. For perfect cookies, use AirBake cookie sheets (if you have them), otherwise line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lightly grease cookies sheets with a spray-on oil product like PAM. Take the chilled dough out of the refrigerator and use a scoop to make perfectly round balls of dough. I use a Pampered Chef medium scoop. Don't crowd too many balls of dough on the cookies sheets so they have room to spread while baking. Bake about 12-15 minutes. Baking time always varies depending on your oven as some ovens take a few extra minutes. When the cookies are done, let them cool on the sheet for a minute or two before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. My family usually must have a few gooey ones right from the oven.

As mentioned before, test the first batch. The cookies should be perfectly uniform and not too flat. If they spread out and flatten too much then mix in a little more flour to the dough. Store extra cookies in an airtight container. You can freeze half the dough for later if desired.

From my family to your family, ENJOY!

From Artist Wendy Dean 06/24/2010

Rowlett Glass and Mirror will cut glass for your frames—any size!

I recently needed glass cut to frame a large watercolor painting that was not standard size. Rowlett Glass was just the ticket. They are happy to cut any size glass for your frames. My piece of glass was “33 x 26” and it only cost $17—far less than a frame shop would charge. Just drop off your frame at Rowlett Glass and they will call you when the glass is ready. They will place the glass in your frame and shrink wrap it in for transport. I asked them if the minded small jobs like glass for frames and their reply was, “Not at all, it’s the small jobs that pays the rent!”

Rowlett Glass and Mirror is located just past the Hwy. 66 and Rowlett Rd. intersection. Go left on Boyd (by Whataburger) and take an immediate right into the parking lot by the automotive place. Rowlett Glass is at the end of the building.

Contact information is as follows:

Stephanie Smith
Rowlett Glass and Mirror
5251 Boyd Blvd. #G
Rowlett, TX 75088
Office: 972-475-1522
Fax: 972-475-2262
Email: rowlettgm@yahoo.com