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CWA Forums | Return to List of Forums |
October 1997, Little Rock |
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The Birth of CWA
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| John and Robyn Horn organized a weekend for those who collect objects made of wood In October of 1997 in Little Rock, Arkansas. | ||||
| Robyn Horn was seeking a way to promote wood artists, and to educate everyone about the exciting work that was being done in the field of wood. While the list of artists doing new and innovative work was growing, the number of collectors passionate about wood was not increasing at the same pace. | ||||
| Robyn invited all participants to a meeting to state the problem and suggest forming a collectors' group. The group voted to form Collectors of Wood Art (CWA) as a major step in organizing collectors and artists to support the wood field, and to elevate wood to the stature of fine art in the minds of the art community. | ||||
| Attended by 125 collectors, artists, gallery owners and museum directors, the weekend (now called the Forum) was an exciting time for those who attended. | ||||
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The first evening, the Horns hosted a reception to show both their new home designed by John Connell, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, and their magnificent art collection. On the last day, they treated what had become a very cohesive and enthusiastic group to a great catfish fry by the lake. |
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| The Arkansas Arts Center's Decorative Arts Museum hosted an incredible exhibit of wood, half of which sold during the weekend. The Arkansas Arts Center purchased five of the pieces for its collection. | ||||
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| The University of Arkansas at Little Rock held a regional exhibition. The slide show presented there by attending artists was the event most talked about, and has been a component in subsequent Forums. | ||||
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On the last day of the weekend, the artists presented available work at an instant gallery. Below is a picture of the Instant Gallery and of two pictures of work shown there. More photographs are at the end of the text. |
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Participants met and formed Collectors of Wood Art, CWA, and appointed a Steering Committee. |
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| The Steering Committee voted to involve the galleries, as wood art needs their support in presenting work to the public and to the membership. From this point on, galleries have become an important facet of the CWA Forums. Robyn Horn was elected president. | ||||
| The enthusiasm and passion that emerged from the weekend in Little Rock was overwhelming. Ron and Anita Wornick volunteered to have the 2nd Forum in San Francisco and CWA became an official supporter of art made from wood. | ||||
More Pictures |
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