March 17 - 21
Viking Union 565 

SCHEDULE:

Monday, March 17: 11 AM - 5 PM
Opening Reception, 3 - 5 PM

Tuesday- Thursday, March 18-20:
Exhibit is open 11 AM - 4 PM

Friday, March 21:
Exhibit open 11 AM - 2 PM

Admission is free and open to the public.

For questions regarding the show or your entry, contact Nancy Phillips (x3407).

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A Message from

WWU President Karen Morse

HISTORY OF WWU's STAFF ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW:

The first Annual Staff Arts and Crafts Show opened on April 4, 1995. While the show was initially planned for WWU classified staff, it was broadened to include exempt staff and administrators.

Gayle Shipley, Director of
Environmental Health and Safety, brought up the idea at a meeting of the BFA Management Group, which included Vice President George Pierce, other BFA Directors and Nancy Phillips, Assistant to the Vice President. Following discussion with Nancy Phillips, Linda Strock, Staff Employees Council representative, and Paul Brower, Western Gallery Preparator, Vice President Pierce then took the idea to President Karen Morse, who wholeheartedly embraced the idea, and provided funding for materials to construct the art display panels needed to hang the first show.

As Shipley explains:

When Eileen Coughlin [Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Support Services] first came to Western, she talked about her philosophy of student learning – how students learn within the framework of a campus community. She told us that students are enriched by everyone they encounter at a university. The university must strive to create an environment that honors experiences from all sources.

I was extraordinarily taken with her ideas. At the time, the Art Department faculty and alumni were having exhibits, and student artists were participating in the 100th anniversary of Western, talking about how art had enhanced their lives. The Western community included talented staff members some of whom were artists in their own right. There is creativity and talent around campus that is generally hidden. My favorite thing [about the art show] is to see different facets of people I know.

Each year, since the Staff Arts and Crafts Show began in 1995, the exhibits have become more accomplished and diverse as our talented staff gain in their skills and artistic vision. Their works remind us that the people with whom we share our working day are multifaceted.

This show annually also provides wonderful evidence of the truth of our conviction as a university that we must educate the whole person – encouraging our students, faculty and staff, no matter what their chosen field, to cultivate their artistic side.

We thank the artists and artisans for sharing their creations. And we thank the show’s organizers and sponsors for making it possible for them to do so: the Professional Staff Organization and the Western Washington University Foundation. Appreciation is also due to Vice President George Pierce for his ongoing encouragement of these endeavors. -- Karen W. Morse, President

One of the joys of these exhibits is the discovery that someone we thought we knew has talents and abilities we never suspected. We are delighted to continue to support this effort and to encourage all of us to share our artwork to the show. --George A. Pierce, Vice President
Business and Financial Affairs

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