The Ellenville Arts Council, led by the village's director of visual arts, Judy Sigunick, gathered on Sunday, June 24, 2007 with a quick meeting prior to the premier of John Hazard's documentary, No Time for Beauty: Eeo's Choice. When asked about the brevity of the meeting, Sigunick replied, "The movie is the meeting," adding, "This is John's night."

The first order of business was the council's next meeting, scheduled for August 4, time and place to be announced. The meeting will feature conversations with the new batch of 10x10x10 artists, and will feature a pot-luck supper.

Next, the new E6 event, a collaborative mural project, was given a time and a date of August 18 from 5-8PM. The art created at the event will then be sold off via silent auction. For more information, Sigunick or event organizer Chuck Davidson are available for contact.

At this point, Sigunick reminded the audience in attendance that because of the film, there wasn't going to be time for her to field questions, a policy that both Sigunick and the audience stuck to doggedly. Sigunick segued immediately into announcing a reception for an upcoming hospital exhibit on July 11, from 5-7 p.m., featuring four local artists, two of whom are Sigunick and her husband, Phil. Phil added, "attendance mandatory," which drew good-natured laughs from the crowd. "Our hospital is a wonderful venue, and it's a wonderful place," added Judy before moving on to the next order of business, the upcoming 10x10x10 event.

She addressed any of the new 10x10x10 artists in the audience at the time, telling them that their cards would be finished by the middle of next week, presumably to aid them in promotion for the upcoming event. Sigunick then told the audience that July 6, 7 and 8 would be the days during which the windows in the event's storefronts would be cleaned, and that volunteers were now being accepted. The opening reception for the event follows the Farmer's Market on Sunday, July 15, from 2-5 p.m., and told everyone to come early so they can shop at the market. The event ends on Sunday, August 26.

Next, Sigunick addressed the Ellenville Arts Center, mentioning how everyone wants to know when it's happening, to which she could only reply, "It's happening," unable to put a specific date to it. "I'm sure by the end of August we'll have classes running," she added.

"June 30: special day. It's going to be a Cragsmoor day—all day," said Sigunick next. Cragsmoor Day will feature historical tours, art, lectures at the Stone Church, food, book signings at the library, a barbecue, and a square dance. Also on June 30 will be the appearance and performance of Uncle Floyd at the White Wolf restaurant at 6:30 p.m. According to Sigunick, tickets are running out, so if anyone is interested in attending, purchase the $20 ticket soon. She then urged all in attendance to go, saying, "artists helping artists is a wonderful thing."

Lastly, Sigunick talked about the "Ellen Project" finally being up and running, with much thanks to "mastermind" Phyllis Rubin. "The projected timeline is October, 2007—basically 'leaf season,' for the sculptures to be on the streets," she said. "Then Spring 2008 for the auction which will go into funding the arts. We need $20,000, either in sponsorship or to raise it, so we're looking for seed money to get us going so we can move this forward."

Having concluded arts council business, the meeting segued into the showing of Hazard's film. For more information regarding the Ellenville Arts Council, contact Judy Sigunick.

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