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Membership
Download the Membership Application:
Word Document (22k) or PDF
file (13k)
Associate, Active, and Artist/Signature Member dues are
$30.00 per year. Patron membership is $50.00 minimum per
year.
The annual membership dues, qualifies an artist as
an associate member and entitles one to: 1) attend meetings
and vote 2) be eligible for workshop attendance at a
membership price 3) inclusion in the website (at nominal
fee) 4) exhibit in membership shows (non-juried) 5)
enter the TnWS Biennial Exhibitions and 6) receive all
TnWS publications; newsletters (2 large issues/yr) Spring
& Fall, president’s Medium (2 – 3/yr),
and The Biennial Exhibition full-color Catalog. TnWS
schedules general meetings for the membership that include
socials, field trips, business sessions, lecture/presentations,
demonstrations, and/or programs focused in water media.
Application for Associate membership in TnWS may be
made by artists who are 18 years or older and who reside
in the state of Tennessee. Where cities border the state-line,
artists who work or reside within the greater metropolitan
area, whether in Tennessee or not will be eligible for
membership. Acceptance into a TnWS Juried Biennial Exhibition
qualifies one automatically as an “Active Member”.
Following acceptance in any three Juried TWS Biennial
Exhibitions, an active member becomes an “Artist/Signature
Member.” Patron membership is acquired by making
yearly contributions that indicate an abiding interest
in the purposes and aims of the Tennessee Watercolor
Society. Patron members need not be watercolor painters.
Patron members may attend meetings and receive the newsletter,
but are not eligible to vote or hold office. The membership
year runs annually, January through December and dues
are payable in January each year.
No person on the basis of race, color, national origin,
disability, age, religion or sex shall be excluded from
participation in or otherwise be subjected to discrimination
of services, programs, and employment provided by the
Tennessee Watercolor Society.
A Brief History
The Tennessee Watercolor Society became an organization
in 1971 after two years of meetings and exploratory
letters. The name “Tennessee Watercolorists”
was originally given to the group but was abandoned
later because of the trend across the country to call
such an organization a “Society”.
When first exploring the possibility of a state organization,
Chattanooga Artist, Mary Britten Lynch began by contacting
Budd Bishop, director of the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga,
George Cress, chairman of the UTC Art Dept. and Kermit
“Buck” Ewing, Art Department head at UT
Knoxville. All were very supportive of a state organization
and provided lists of artists across the state.
The first meeting held in Nashville at the University
Club, included Mary Britten Lynch, Chairman, Anton Weiss,
Don Cannichael, Louise LeQuire, Mildred Cantrell, Gordon
Holl and Norman Worrell.
Helping the organization get off the ground at the
very start were Gordon Holl and Norman Worrell of the
Tennessee Arts Commission. Jim Franklin, a Chattanooga
architect and exhibiting artist, provided expertise
in organizing and writing bylaws. Memphis Artist, Jason
Williamson accepted the challenge to become the first
president, with the support of 26 founding members.
The First Annual Exhibition was held in 1972 at Chattanooga’s
Hunter Museum. Ohio artist and author Robert Laessig,
AWS, juried the exhibition. It was a great success.
Artists and collectors from all over Tennessee attended
the opening.
Today we are a Biennial Exhibition organization with
a statewide membership of more than 200 members.
Purpose and Mission
The Tennessee Watercolor Society (TnWS) was formed in
1971. The purpose of the TnWS is to elevate
the stature of watercolor and educate the public to
the significance of watercolor as an important, creative,
permanent painting medium. The organization
purposes to further the interest of painters in all
water media by its programs, competitive exhibits and
workshops, encourage the study of water media by art
students and others engaged in the medium, as well as
supporting all the visual arts.
The Tennessee Watercolor Society is a statewide
organization. Membership includes artists who
reside in the state of Tennessee. Where cities border
the state line, artists who work or reside with the greater
metropolitan area, whether in Tennessee or not, will be
eligible for membership. We have five geographical/metropolitan
regions: Region 1-Memphis, Region II-Nashville, Region
III-Chattanooga, Region IV-Knoxville, and Region V-Tri-Cities.
This system is in place to pull together our large statewide
membership for efficient and inclusive communication and
organization. The Biennial Juried Exhibitions rotate around
the state through the five regions.
The TnWS sponsors workshops, regional activities,
membership shows, and biennial juried exhibitions.
The TnWS Exhibitions are strong and well respected competitions,
with an abundant award structure that is enhanced each
exhibition with new patrons. Artists throughout the state
eagerly await the Exhibitions. The last 3 biennial exhibitions
were held in Chattanooga- 2002, Jackson- 2004 and Clarksville-2006
respectively while the 2008 exhibition is scheduled to
be held at the Ned McWherter West Tennessee Cultural Arts
Center in Jackson. All membership shows and juried exhibitions
require that the paintings are executed in an aqueous
manner, on paper and framed behind glass or Plexiglas.
The Tennessee Watercolor Society is stretching its boundaries;
while remaining true to its mission of promoting an
appreciation of watercolor and water media, it strives
to bring exciting shows having versatility and innovation
in both traditional and cutting-edge paintings in water
media.
The society is open to artists and patrons, eighteen
and older, throughout the state of Tennessee.
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