How it All Started
Shortly after houses were constructed in Sun City Grand (The Grand), Carolyn Harrold, decided to offer a class in "Beginning Oil Painting." On Wednesday, May 7th, 1997, Lynn and Jim Tether were the first students. The following week, Jettie North joined the small group. Jettie, pictured here, became the Art Club's first President. Slowly the group began to expand, but Summer was about to begin, and most of the interested folks headed for cooler ground. Still, Carolyn continued to hold workshops every Wednesday, and gradually it became important for the group to become a club.
The new residents were all glad to have a place to paint, and try out new, as well as, perfected skills. In October, 1997, the initial charter was submitted with a list of ten on the Initial Membership Roster. By November 17th of that year, the roster had expanded to 22 members and the corrected Application for Club Charter was resubmitted. The final approval for the Sun City Grand Art Club was completed on December 17, 1997. We became a formal Chartered Club!
In the beginning the struggling club expanded significantly in the first few years. It took about two years to gain an active membership of 50 residents. Some of the more experienced artists shared their talents with the other budding artists. There were a few classes being taught during the week by these early instructors. Shirley Ewer taught oil painting, Norma Mill instructed residents in Acrylics, and Bob Mosher in watercolors.
New members increased as new homes were sold and Sun City Grand began to grow. Many of the residents painted years earlier, while others just wanted to explore their artistic possibilities.