2012 NIOSA Poster and Medal Unveiled

2012 NIOSA Poster and Medal Unveiled

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2012 NIOSA Poster and Medal Unveiled

"A Night In Old San Antonio®" Chairman Kathy DeWaal, Society President Nancy Avellar and well-known artist Kathleen Trenchard unveiled the 2012 NIOSA poster at a private reception on Thursday, March 1 in the gardens of Casa Villita for Society board members, NIOSA volunteers,special guests and Fiesta dignitaries. The South San High School Mariachi troupe performed.

Titled “Sounds of Celebration,” the poster captures a scene from “A Night in Old San Antonio” in front of the Little Church of La Villita, with mariachis entertaining the NIOSA guests.

Only 200 posters have been produced; all are double-matted, signed and numbered. The 17” x 22.5” vertical posters cost $45 andare on sale now at the NIOSA office (at 227 S. Presa) weekdays from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.; on the NIOSA website at and at Sigoloff’s Frame and Art at 8222 Broadway. If any are still available, posters will be sold during NIOSA on the front porch of the NIOSA office at 227 S. Presa; Kathleen will attend NIOSA on opening night (April 24) to personally sign the posters. Notecards and postcards with the NIOSA poster artwork can also be purchased at NIOSA souvenir booths.

“The idea for this year’s NIOSA poster came while I was standing on the patio of Casa Villita and I looked toward the Little Church of La Villita,” DeWaal told the reception guests. “There was a decorative archway at the entrance of the patio and I looked at the church through the archway and loved the way it looked, so I took some pictures with my phone--hoping that if I was ever elected chairman this could be the poster. When I took my idea to Kathleen I was thinking of a painting, but then she suggested using the traditional Mexican papel picado (punched paper) technique instead, and the 2012 NIOSA poster was born.”

“I wanted to limit my palette of colors, using black to hold the work together, somewhat like the WPA posters produced in the early 1940s,” artist Trenchard added. “The entire piece was cut with hammer and chisel from sheets of red and black paper, stacked together with my sketch on top. Then I began cutting away some of the black to reveal the red layer underneath. The tedious and challenging layering and gluing of tiny bits of cut paper followed. I used graduated colored paper in the background to add a sunset glow and a 3D effect. The border is sort of ‘Mexican tile meets traditional papel picado.’ Overall, the poster is a cut paper, multi-media work, and a new adventure for me. Viva NIOSA!”

A native of New Orleans and graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. with a Masters in Painting and Printmaking, Trenchard maintains a studio near downtown San Antonio. She has researched, collected and worked in traditional Mexican papel picado (punched paper) ever since she was introduced to the technique while visiting Huixcolotla, near the City of Puebla, Mexico, in the early 90s. Her work continues to explore contemporary designs, applications and materials suitable for cut work using hammer and chisel. Trenchard has a permanent installation of cut vinyl window panels and banners at the AT&T Spurs arena in San Antonio. She has participated in many solo and group exhibits, while teaching design, painting, drawing and art appreciation at San Antonio and Palo Alto Colleges. Her sold-out book, “Mexican Papercutting,” was published by Lark Books in 1998. Kathleen designed the NIOSA medal in 2010 and 2011.

The NIOSA medal was also introduced at the ceremony. Produced in limited quantities and always a hot seller, the 2012 NIOSA medal was designed by NIOSA Chairman Kathy DeWaal, herself an artist who draws for relaxation and donates her artistic talents making banners and such for NIOSA and St. Pius Catholic Church. The cloisonné medals are available for $10 at the NIOSA office, on the NIOSA website and at The Fiesta Store on Broadway. If supplies last, medals will be sold at NIOSA’s souvenir booths.

NIOSA occurs April 24-27, 2012, from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. nightly during the city’s 11-day Fiesta celebration. For more information, call 226-5188 or visit