Expert: Valerie Zwart - 3/24/2007

Question
Often when I'm reading about an artist, the term "signature member" is used.  Example: Dan Wiemer, is a signature member of the Minnesota Watercolor Society.  As a member, who is a "signature member" and who is not?  Or, how is that determined?  Thank you for taking the time to clarify this for me.

Answer
There are many societies and art guilds which form around media, artistic style and region, and how they organize themselves is governed by the institution. There are no hard and fast rules. Sometimes members are juried in, sometimes not, sometimes a signature member has achieved a particular distinction purely by dint of longevity, or sometimes they are referred to as charter members for helping establish the society. In this instance I believe it's best to contact the MWS directly. I'm sure they would be pleased to address this query.