A reading of Blackjack: The Thief of Possession , a comedy by Rosary Hartel O'Neill, will be presented at the National Arts Club on Monday, April 26, 2010, at 8:00 PM. O'Neill is a VCCA Fellow and playwright-in-residence at the National Arts Club (NAC). The production is presented by the President, Board of Governors and Theatre/Drama Committee of the National Arts Club, and starts NAC Governor Jo Anne Brown. The NAC is located at 15 Gramercy Park South in New York City.

Join us Thursday, April 8, from 4:30-6 pm at Sweet Briar College's Babcock Gallery for the opening of unwavering aspiration, a site-specific installation by VCCA Resident Artist and Fellow Barbara Bernstein based on research of the topographical maps of the college campus. The show will be open until May 29.

What would you do with 24 hours of inspiration? Plein air study, alla prima, collage, photograph, Photoshop - the medium, subject and size are up to you. Just get your work to 422 East Main by 3:30 Saturday, May 1. At 6 pm the same day, your WETPAINT masterpiece will be exhibited, celebrated and sold in a silent auction benefiting the VCCA. If you can't be here in person but would like to participate, you may send in an artwork for the silent auction to the VCCA, 154 San Angelo Drive. The work should arrive at the VCCA before April 15, 2010. To register or get more information, just click here .

On Sunday, April 11, 2010 at three o’clock, the VCCA will dedicate a garden on the Mt. San Angelo grounds to retired VCCA staff member Dorothy Johnson, honoring her 28 years of service to the VCCA. Tea & Refreshments will be served. Please join us. Whether or not you are able to attend, please consider sending an email or a card with a recollection, a photo or a wish for her Memory Book. Send to vcca@vcca.com or to 154 San Angelo Drive, Amherst, VA 24521. If you can join us, please let Beatrice Booker know by April 6. (434) 946-7236 or bbooker@vcca.com Photo by Karen Bell

VCCA Fellow and painter Barbara Crawford has been working with renowned artist Cy Twombly to oversee and facilitate his commission to paint the ceiling of the Salle des Bronzes in the Louvre in Paris. She mixed the colors, worked on the maquette, provided oversight of the work and did some of the actual painting herself. Twombly is one of the few artists and the only American in history to be asked to do a permanent installation in the Louvre. Twombly, of course, serves on our advisory board. We are thrilled to have a VCCA connection to this historic international art event. The ceiling will be officially unveiled on March 23, 2010. VCCA Board members Tina Walls and Pinkney Herbert will be there representing the VCCA, along with Program Director Craig Pleasants. You can read more about this project at http://www. theamericanscholar.org/a- twombly-ceiling/

Andrea Clearfield's new work for Carol Wincenc's Ruby Anniverary Series, "...and low to the lake falls home...A Memoriam to Joseph and Margaret Wincenc" was premiered at the Morgan Library, NYC on February 22, 2010 by Les Amies trio with nationally renowned flutist Carol Wincenc and New York Philharmonic principal players Cynthia Phelps (viola) and Nancy Allen (harp). The five-movement work, composed at the VCCA and The MacDowell Colony was commissioned by Carol Wincenc in commemoration of her parents. The concert was sold out and the NY Times wrote a favorable review. For more information: www.andreaclearfield.com

Beautiful drifts of snow grace the walk up to the Studio Barn. Seventeen inches of snow on December 17, another eleven on January 29, and about six inches last weekend have VCCA staff and Fellows slipping and sliding back and forth to the Studio Barn. As those of us in Virginia are accustomed to milder winters, the winter of 2009-10 has been a challenge, albeit a beautiful one.