MAEA Winter Retreat 2019 
Cathryn Reitler, Presenter

February 8th & 9th, 2019, ​Fort Benton, MT

Workshop Description
 
What does your personal history say about you? In what ways are the recent echos of your cultural history reverberating throughout your life? 
 
In rural Montana, I have found that the passing of time is less noticeable. Our domestic interiors are often embellished by items that were handmade by family members, or close friends. Most linen closets will contain at least one doily handmade by "Great Aunt So & So". Most farmyards contain decades of family history. Often the current generation cultivates fields originally sewn by great-grandparents using implements who still sit quietly in grassy fields, a hundred years after their last use. 
 
In THIS place, we are surrounded by history, and it is a thread interwoven among the pattern of our lives with such ceaseless regularity that we often take it for granted. 
 
You are invited to take a closer look at history throughout this workshop. 
 
As instructor, I ask you to bring up to three historical items of significance for use in a multi-media artwork you will create during the weekend. These items can be paper, fabric, metal, wood, plastic... pretty much anything that can be affixed to a 24"x 24" surface. We will use these items with other surfaces provided at the workshop to create a surface that is the first layer of our story. 
 
 In addition to these historical items I want you to bring three contemporary photos you have recently taken. These photos could be of a place, a still life setting, a domestic interior, a picture taken at work, etc. Ideally, no photos of people. The images should be a snapshot of your life; a glimpse at what "modernity" looks like in Montana. These images should reflect some element of your personal life; perhaps a flower in your windowsill that is thriving and whose beauty never ceases to bring you pleasure. Perhaps a photo of the rock garden you and your kids spent the summer building. We will explore these photos and the significance of the content you have chosen to represent a snap-shot of your life. 
 
The historical objects and the photos themselves will be used together to create a piece of artwork that reflects on and is made of both your past and your present. Be prepared to take a closer look at the history surrounding you, and the life you have built in spite of (or perhaps because of) that history. 

How Much:

Member registration is only $78 this year, however you will need to bring your own supplies.  Her is the list from Cathryn:

Here’s the link to the suggested Amazon shopping list.
Cathryn wanted to let us know, however, if we have our own brushes, acrylic paints, etc.  we can just bring those instead of buying new. Probably the item you might need to procure is your painting panel.  Most of us probably have most of the other items in our studios.

And in addition to the Amazon shopping list please plan on bringing:

• Paper towels and/or painting rags
• 1-2 small cups or glass jars for cleaning brushes
• Hair dryer
• 2-3” paintbrush (doesn’t need to be new)
• Antique heirlooms (including fabric pieces, printed materials and small items that could be affixed to the painting surface, family photos, maps etc)- note that all these items if used in the painting surface will no longer be available for use in any other purpose. 

Non-member rates are $100. Join today and receive the reduced rate benefit now.  MAEA is an affiliate of NAEA and for a mere $80 you can become a member of both your national and state art education association.    

After registration online please mail your checks to: 

April Fox
​MAEA Treasurer
PO Box 131
Turner, MT 59542

Make the checks out to MAEA.  Registration is $78.

The participants are required to cover their own room and board. Dinner on Saturday night will be a potluck, however participants need to provide their own breakfast, lunch and snacks. Fort Benton also has a grocery store and their are several area restaurants.  

Earn OPI Credit:

OPI Renewal credits will be available for all instructional hours completed.

Cathryn Reitler, Glasgow Artist

---

About the Artist:

Cathryn Reitler (formerly Sugg) is a fine artist and arts education specialist residing in Glasgow, Montana.

She earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada in 2006, and her Master’s of Fine Arts at the University of Montana in 2011. Her work has been exhibited in Seattle, WA., Troy, NY., Las Vegas, NV., and in many other locations across the country. 

In her studio she maintains a lively practice; working in multiple genres but through all of them exploring rural Eastern Montana culture. Often her artworks incorporate non-traditional materials and surfaces including antique textiles, rusted found objects, and historic documents.
​
She is widely known for producing client-specific commissioned artworks, and has recently dedicated herself to pursuing her career as an artist full-time.

When not at her easel Cathryn can often be found exploring the countryside and ranches surrounding Glasgow. 


 
More available on the web: https://www.cathrynreitler.com/​

---

Thursday, February 7th, 2019 - Optional
Dinner on Your Own
5:00 - 7:00 PM - Possible art reception at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art for MAEA Secretary and working artist, Monica Thompson.  More to come soon.
​
Friday, February 8th, 2019
8:00 - 8:30         Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00       Session 1         (3 hours)
12:00 - 1:00       Lunch On Your Own
1:00 - 3:00         Session 2            (2 hours)
3:00 - 3:15         Break
3:15 - 6:00         Session 3       (2.75 hours)     
6:30 - 7:00         Happy Half Hour
7:00 - 8:00          Potluck Dinner        
8:00 - 10:00        Session 4 (critique session)(2 hours)

Saturday, February 9th, 2019
8:00 - 8:30         Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00       Session 5            (3 hours)
Noon-                Goodbye and Safe Travels

​Total Instructional Hours       (12.75 hours)
Total PIR Credits                      13 PIR Renewal Units    

​Supplies you need to bring:

• TBD

​

​​​
​
​

Where:  Fort Benton, Montana
​
​Reserve a room... 

Pioneer Lodge
406-622-5441

Grand Union Square
P.O. Box 1119 Fort Benton, MT 59442
406-622-1882
info@grandunionhotel.com 

---

---

Register for the Workshop: 

The Winter Retreat is open to only 20 participants. This is an event put on by your Montana Art Educator's Association, thus, priority registration given to current MAEA members. Members only can register prior December 31, 2018.  On January 1st, 2019 the available spots will open up to all interested parties.  

Please sign up below to indicate you are coming and what you can share for the Pot Luck Dinner.  Once registered online send your payment to April at the address listed above.  

If you cannot attend the workshop please let Eric Hanson know so your spot can be opened to someone on the waiting list. If the class fills, please sign up anyway and we will offer open seats to the next person on the list.

---

Corrections, additions, or changes? Contact the MAEA webmaster Eric Hanson to update this page.