Top 10 Reasons to Enter Your Artwork in Our Holiday Art and Gift Show

Hey Artists (and Shoppers!),

Our 10th Annual Holiday Art and Gift Show is coming up in November/December of this year and we want to celebrate big. Our first step is to get some great art, so here is why you should enter your art into this exhibition:

Photo of art-packed room from one of our first holiday art shows

1. The Holiday Art and Gift Show is our highest selling art show of the year at VSA Texas.
2. The show is up for 6 weeks during the busiest shopping season of the year.
3. You don’t have to be here in person to sell your work. We have friendly staff on site ready to talk up your art for you.
4. We only take a small 30% commission on sales. The artist gets the remaining 70%.
5. We handle the sales tax so you don’t need your own permit.
6. We are open to fine art, crafts, CDs, books, or any other creative homemade product you are interested in submitting.
7. Artists with disabilities from across Texas can participate as long as you can get your art to us.
8. We pay for the return shipping of anything that doesn’t sell.
9. There is no fee to enter.
10. This is our 10th year hosting this art show and we want to celebrate with the best work available from Texas artists!

Custom aprons, mugs, oven mitts, and potholders from our very first holiday show

Headpiece made with peacock and other feathers from an early holiday art show

Sounds great, right? The first step is to ask for an entry form. Contact April at april@vsatx.org or 512-454-9912 to get an application.

Tour of the Holiday Show 2017

Have you been over to VSA Texas lately? Our boring old classroom has been transformed into a Unique Boutique for our 9th annual Holiday Art and Gift Show. And it looks great!

You need to come by in person to really see the details and quality in the artwork and handmade items we have for sale. But for now, here is a video tour of some highlights of the show:

The artwork in this room was created by 45 artists with disabilities from the state of Texas. So far we have sold about $3,000 worth of art and we wrote checks to 13 artists to help them support their goals as working artists. But we want to make more sales and write more checks. So please come by and support Texas artists, support the good work of VSA Texas, and support buying handmade for the holidays!

We are hosting an artist reception this Saturday, December 16th from 1-4 pm. Please come out and meet the artists, hear live music, and nibble on treats. Or visit us any day Monday-Saturday 10-4 all the way up to December 23rd. We are in Room 101 in the AGE of Central Texas Building and can be easily found if you direct yourself to 3707 Home Lane, Austin, TX 78705 and look for the signs.

Happy Holidays from the VSA Texas family!

Behind the Scenes at the Holiday Art Show

I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet and all the holiday bazaars are opening their doors to entice all the early holiday shoppers. Well not to be outdone, we have a unique opportunity for our “Unique Boutique” to support artists with disabilities and VSA Texas at the same time.

We started this tradition nine years ago at our ACCESS Gallery on 34th Street off Guadalupe. After closing the gallery, we moved our little bazaar to the AGE Building where our offices are located. We took the opportunity to transform our large classroom (Room 101) into a holiday bazaar filled with lights, music, arts and crafts of all kinds, and delicious holiday smells. We have knitted dresses, jewelry, braille cards, paintings, wood carved clocks, the cutest little spoons with designer spoon handles, glassware, and so much more. Artists get 70% of the sale price and VSA Texas gets 30%.

Here's a glimpse of just what it takes to produce this thing:

1. Before we even receive the art, we alert the media and begin to promote the show on social media.

2. We send out a statewide call for art.

3. Our Artworks Director and Executive Director review submissions and determine which pieces will work best in the show.

4. Selected pieces make their way here through the mail or hand delivery and down the hall to Room 101 where everything gets categorized and unpacked.

April hauls empty cardboard boxes out of Room 101.

5. We print the artist statements to be hung in Room 101.

6. Linens get steamed, panels go up, tables pulled out, shelves painted, lights strung (BLING).

Bright overhead lights shine on the art in Room 101.

7. Showcases for jewelry and glassware are lit up (more BLING).

8. We hang the art, and everything gets put in its alluring place.

9. Pizza figures into the weeks of set-up.

Pizza pie!

...and the box it came in

10. Signage arrives for the outside of the AGE Building.

11. The banner is printed (after finding out the file isn't right and having to rush the order, but it gets done, sigh).

12. Posters and postcards arrive (poster may have a problem, but it gets resolved, another sigh).

13. Signage assembled and ready to post outside

14. Lights strung around our stellar new banner at the entrance to the show

15. The opening reception is around the corner: food ordered, people invited, hair pulled, “where is that battery for our lights???”

16. SHOWTIME

Whew! And that doesn't even cover it. After several months of preparation and promotion, we finally open the show, and it’s MAGIC. We have over 70 original pieces on display with multiple replacements, so we are really looking at hundreds of items ready to be sold.

“Cat” painting by Allison Merriweather

Fused glass tray made by Jordana Gerlach

Be sure to join us for our Preview Party Monday, November 13th, from 6:00-8:00 PM in Room 101 of the AGE of Central Texas Building off 38th Street, east of Guadalupe. Look for the signs! Direct yourself to 3707 Home Lane for the most convenient entrance. All doors are locked for this secret event, but phone numbers will be posted so that we can let you in. RSVP and invite your friends to our Facebook event page here.

AND REMEMBER THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: This is an opportunity for these artists to showcase their talent, be recognized, and sell their art! Every year I have a favorite piece, and this year it's a wonderful Flamenco Dancer (below), but I also like the fused glass wind chimes. Hmmm...

“Flamenco Dancers at Fiesta” by Miguel Vasquez

Fused glass wind chimes made by Sue Lloyd-Ducette

Library Live!

Hey friends! Eric here, and I'm excited to tell you all about a concert we have organized with Austin Public Library (APL). It is a special edition of Library Live, an APL program that brings free musical performances to the Austin community, and this one will specifically highlight acts that feature musicians with disabilities. The concert will be held tomorrow, Saturday, January 28th, from 2:00-4:00 PM at the Carver Branch (1161 Angelina St., Austin, TX 78702).

This concert idea organically grew from a number of inspirations, mainly from my own experiences as an aspiring musician living with a physical disability and frequently struggling in an industry that is largely inaccessible. Just take a ride through the city of Austin, the live music capital of the world, and count the number of wheelchair-accessible stages. You would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful, and those you would find would be stages designed primarily for other mediums (think school theaters), or they may not be stages at all (bookstores) – certainly not where average Austinites typically gather for live music.

Even if the venue is accessible, shows are often so late that those of us who require attendant care or a full night of sleep to physically function simply cannot attend or perform with the regularity needed to truly progress. And beyond the mere inaccessibility, the music industry is so frequently centered around a singular ideal body image and flashy displays of vocal range and instrument prowess (can you tell I listen to punk rock much?) that someone who plays with extreme physical limitations must work twice or three times as hard to compete.

For these reasons and others, I have long wanted to bring opportunities to musicians with disabilities, not just to benefit myself but others like me, because I have recognized through my work with VSA Texas in addition to my own experience that I'm not the only one who has this dream to share music with my community. So when Andrew Murphy from the APL attended our Lion and Pirate open mic at Malvern Books and mentioned that maybe I could play a song or two at the library, I jumped at the chance to share my own music and also include peers and friends I have gotten to know through our open mic and other VSA Texas programs.

All right, enough about me! Let me tell you about the musicians you can look forward to seeing tomorrow:

Michael Noriega will open the show, and he is a versatile artist who dabbles not only in music but also in film. He participated in our 2015 Side by Side Film Internship, and his recent '60s- and '70s- inspired concept album was featured in our 2016 Holiday Art and Gift Show. You can stream his album and check out some of his film work on Michael Noriega's YouTube channel here.

Michael Noriega playing at our Holiday Art and Gift Show (courtesy of VSA Texas)

Our second act will be Michael Tidmore and the Rollers, a country group with assorted covers from the likes of Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash as well as originals written by Michael Tidmore you'd be surprised you haven't heard on the radio, songs with classic titles like "I Want to be a Famous Country Singer" and "Torn Between Tennessee and Texas." His Rollers include Josh Tidmore, Matt Bushak, Rudy Sanchez, and Meredith Gaines. I first met Michael during one of our Side by Side Music Internships and have seen him deliver a number of heartfelt, energetic performances at the Lion and the Pirate.

 Meredith Gaines, Michael Tidmore, and I on the air at KOOP radio (courtesy of Austin Artists) 

Lion and Pirate regulars The Old Hats will play third and bring frontman John Meinkowsky's witty songwriting to life with acoustic guitar and ever-present harmonica provided by Southernmost Smoke. They all wear hats, and as their name suggests, they are all over the hill. Expect audience participation!

Then, last but hopefully not least, Dude Choir, my own group of rotating musical characters, will play, and I am extremely happy to once again be playing with the original choir members Ryan Simmons and Felipe Archer! They not only make my music possible; they are the reason I make music. We haven't had the opportunity to play together since April of 2014, so I look forward to this reunion and I hope you will too.

For more information about the show and/or to RSVP (if you're into that sort of thing), you can visit our Library Live Facebook event page here. Otherwise, we'll see you there!

Flyer for Library Live show, January 28th, 2017, 2 PM, at the Carver Branch (courtesy of Austin Public Library)

Michael’s Story

Every day I come to work, I love my job a little more. I could try and explain the magic of VSA Texas to everyone I know, but experiencing it firsthand is the only way to truly grasp what we do here. No other time do I feel more connected to our cause than when I spend time with our artists and their loved ones.

Last weekend, we had our second Meet the Artist Reception for our Annual Holiday Art Show and I had the chance to sit down with Michael Noriega. Michael is a musician with a CD for sale in our show and he provided the musical entertainment for our reception, but he is also an actor, filmmaker and has his own YouTube channel. He heard about VSA Texas last year through friends and the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services.

VSA Texas artist Michael Noriega practices a few chords on his guitar before he performs at our Meet the Artist Reception

“Everybody here is really nice and cool with everybody. I’m meeting a lot of people with disabilities. It’s great to feel part of something. My whole life I felt left out.”

Michael hopes to work for VSA Texas in some capacity as he grows up. He sees his experience with us as life changing and says that it has helped him discover more things he is interested in. One of his favorite experiences with our organization was being chosen as a participant in our Side by Side Film Internship where he worked on a documentary that was filmed in the AGE Building, where VSA Texas’ offices are. The building was built in 1908 and was originally the Confederate Women’s Home and is considered to be one of the most haunted places in Austin.

“My first project with VSA Texas was A Ghostly Encounter on Cedar Street, about the AGE Building being haunted. It was a lot of fun reporting and writing and editing the documentary. And we got paid for it! Which was really cool.”

You can view Michael's documentary "A Ghostly Encounter on Cedar Street" here.

Title shot from A Ghostly Encounter on Cedar Street, the mini documentary Michael worked on for our Side by Side Film Internship in 2015

I also got the opportunity to sit down with Michael’s mother, Lisa. One of the perks of working here is the built-in network of other parents of children on the Autism spectrum I get.  As I spoke with Lisa, I saw so many similarities between our kids and it was like viewing my future. I got to talk to someone who actually really understands my life.

“VSA Texas has given my son Michael a way to express himself. He is actually proud of his disability in a way. He now sees how it can benefit him.”

Lisa Noriega sits out on the AGE Building veranda and discusses her experience raising her son and his journey with VSA Texas

I asked Michael what the best thing was about our organization and his response brought tears to my eyes:

“I’m just so glad it exists. I wish I had created it. It almost feels too good to be true. Everybody here gets a chance to do something and build each other up.”

So, next time you ask me why I love my job so much, think of Michael and his mother and the joy and understanding our programs have brought to their lives. I want to ensure VSA Texas is around to help my son when he is old enough to join our programs.

You can follow Michael Noriega on YouTube or stop by our Holiday Art Show at 3707 Home Lane and pick up his CD Vivid Dream.

April's Book Review Series Returns!

Our Holiday Art and Gift Show is under way and I wanted to tell you about some of the merchandise we have besides our standard art and jewelry. We also have some CDs by local musicians and books by people with disabilities and their advocates. Here is a review of a few of these items:

The Sulak Family is a story about autism and hope by Sandra Sulak. The Sulaks live in the small town of Louise, TX and I have been happy to know them for several years. David Sulak is an artist with autism who has been involved with our Artworks program since the early 2000s. He creates detailed drawings and constructions of trucks, cars, and buildings. In 2015, on a trip back from Corpus Christi I got a chance to visit the Sulaks at their home. It was great to see David’s home studio and gallery and to visit with his mother who is always so pleasant on the phone. Getting to know her better, I learned more about the troubles her family went through raising two sons with autism. She mentioned she had a book coming out, which luckily was published just in time to include in our holiday show. I just finished reading it and I recommend it as a quick read and powerful book to gain some insight into one family’s struggles with the school system in the 1970s. A simple farming couple is thrust into a world of medical diagnoses and disability rights legislation in order to secure a good education for two young boys with very different versions of autism. Danny, older than David by 13 months, has anger issues and is placed in a group home. David, negatively affected by his older brother’s behavior, is treated badly in school until lawyers get involved. The book moves swiftly through their schooling and into adulthood where they both become as well adjusted to life as they can thanks to the hard work and determination of their mother, Sandra Sulak.

The cover of The Sulak Family features a photo of Sandra Sulak, smiling, wearing a white dress with red polka dots, and holding her infant son dressed in a bright red outfit.

We also have two CDs of original music in the holiday show. One is called Vivid Dream by Michael Noriega. We met Michael in 2015 when he was one of our summer film interns. He is a friendly and intelligent young man who is driven to succeed. I didn’t know he was a singer and musician until we received his CD for the holiday show. Listening to this 16-track album, I am blown away by Michael’s talent. As he says in his liner notes, “This concept album took me three years to complete. I based it on personal experiences. It’s about spirituality, daydreaming, romance, imagination and my thoughts about reality.” The title is Vivid Dream and the CD has an overall dreamy quality to it with the keyboards, orchestration, and overdubs. Michael does a great job of arranging the songs to a nice arc that starts off strong and upbeat, moves into darker and dreamier songs, then back up. Overall it is a very well-conceived group of songs that can transport you to a dream state while listening. Listen to a sample below:



The other album in our shop is This Was Never Meant To Be Permanent by Eric Clow. Eric is our Opening Minds, Opening Doors Project Coordinator. We were all excited when this album came out because we have been listening to Eric perform at our monthly open mic for a few years now and his music is always a big crowd pleaser. This CD contains 8 songs, mostly originals with a few well placed covers. Eric has a unique vocal and playing style that makes you instantly recognize his music when you hear it. His songs are a strange mix of positively upbeat and utterly bleak all at the same time in the same song. His tunes are catchy and make you want to listen again and again. My favorite song on the album is "Whiskey Sours." Here's a sample from his CD:



This book and these two CDs are just a few of the unique works created with talent, love, sweat, and tears by our friends of VSA Texas. We encourage you to come out to our Holiday Art and Gift Show to check out all of the meaningful pieces that our artists put their heart and soul into creating. We are open Monday-Saturday from 10-4 through December 23rd in Room 101 of the AGE Building, entrance at 3707 Home Lane in Austin.

You can hear Michael Noriega play his music at our Meet the Artists Reception this Saturday, December 10th from 1-4 pm. And you can hear Eric and Michael plus other great acts at Library Live: Special Edition featuring Musicians with Disabilities at the Carver Branch Library on Saturday, January 28th from 2-4 pm.

The Circle of Gifting

Hi everyone! It is April here and guess what! It is time for our annual Holiday Art and Gift Show at VSA Texas. This is our 8th annual exhibition of great art and gift items made by Texas artists with disabilities. If you haven’t been before, or even if you have, I highly suggest you attend. This is an event we started back in 2009 when we had our gallery. Who remembers Access Gallery? I miss that quiet little spot on Guadalupe. But even when we closed the gallery, we continued this show, because it is a way for us to showcase the talent of our artists from all over the state. We turn our classroom 101 into a shopping extravaganza. And I must say, the room really looks great this year (thanks to the fresh vision of our new staff member Janelle, who also took the photos for this blog, so you will see what I mean by vision)!

Here is why you should come shop at our Holiday Art and Gift Show. We are calling it the Circle of Gifting:

• You buy something you like at our Holiday Show.
• You give VSA Texas the money.
• We give 70% of that money to the artist who created the art.
• We take the remaining 30% and use it to keep our outstanding programs going.
• Then you give that gift to your friend.
• Your friend now knows about VSA Texas and may know someone who can benefit from our programs.
• They send their friend to VSA Texas.
• Maybe that friend is an artist and enters next year’s Holiday Art and Gift Show.

And it just keeps going! Don’t you want to be a part of that? I know I do. So come visit our Holiday Show. Here are the details:

Our shop will be open Monday-Saturday from 10am-4pm each day in Room 101 of the AGE Building. Come to 3707 Home Lane, Austin, TX 78705 and follow the signs for the closest entrance.

Poster for the Holiday Show

Here is a sneak peak of the show:

An overview of the exhibit

Lightcatchers by Sue Ducett-Lloyd of Austin, TX

Mugs by David Lamb-Vines of Lubbock, TX

Jewelry by Denise Knebel of San Antonio, TX

This is just a small sample of what you have to look forward to when you come to the VSA Texas Holiday Art and Gift Sale. We open up next Monday and run through Christmas Eve. Have you ever seen a Thanksgiving card? In Braille? Well, we have them! And you can be the unique person who sends one to a friend and starts the circle of gifting.

'Tis the Season for Friends!

It’s time for another book review by April! This year, among all the great art prints, jewelry, and other great items at our Holiday Art and Gift Show, we have one book for sale. Friends is a children's book written by Theron Parker and illustrated by Daniel Winship, two Deaf artists. In this delightful book, Theron uses minimal text, and Daniel uses expressive artwork to tell the story of two young boys, one Deaf and one hearing.

A sneak peek inside Theron Parker's Friends

This book is great for children of all ages to read for a variety of reasons. The rich illustrations are great for younger children who don't read yet. They can be described to the kids, and families can practice the sign language in the book together. Daniel's drawings of the signs are easy to follow, even for a beginner. Children a little bit older may be able to follow the written words, or look at the gestures to tell an adult what is going on in the book. If you look closely, you see that the little dog has his own visual storyline as the book progresses. These subtle details make the book great for reading multiple times. For reading level kids, they can focus on the words as they are written and signed, and the book can be a great conversation starter about communicating with people who may be different than you, or speak a different language.

The cover of Friends

Friends combines the simple and the complex in this short, but well-written book. I recommend it to anyone looking for a children's book that covers the topics of friendship and diversity. If you are interested in checking out this book, remember that our holiday show is still open for last-minute gift purchases. Next week, we will be here Monday-Wednesday, December 21-23, from 9:30am-5:00pm. So come visit us, bring your friends, and buy a copy of Friends for them!