We had a great October meeting! Six members attended, but sadly, there were no guests this month. Jane began the meeting with **Show and Tell**. As requested, some members brought their state fair entries so everyone could get a better look. Others brought recent creations, some of which were made during our polymer clay demonstration at the state fair.
**Program:** Our own resident author, Angela (“Crafty Goat”), taught us how to cover a business card case with carved faux ivory, a project from her new book, Polymer Clay 101, which will be published in January 2011. She brought several beautiful examples which she had carved. For many of us, this was our first experience using a lino carving tool. No one finished, but Jane urged us to bring our finished pieces next time. Many thanks to Angela for an excellent lesson!
**Business Meeting:**
Minutes from the September meeting were approved.
**Old Business:**
**Guild Retreat Planning:** Jane announced that Penni Jo is currently in California, at Sandy Camp, a polymer clay retreat, doing demonstrations and gathering ideas for a possible retreat for our guild.
**Guild Show April, 2011 at Midwest City Library:**
Jane reminded us to be planning for our show in April, suggesting that our state fair entries will be appropriate, but that we will need additional pieces. Shirley reported that there are three display cases, and if memory serves, each is approximately 5′ wide and contains three levels for display. We will be able to display our guild information, as well as leave business cards. Nance suggested that part of the space be used to display a few basic polymer clay tools and some books, and we all agreed. The library will provide books from their collection, if we need to fill space.
**State Fair Re-Cap:**
Jane asked for fresh thoughts or ideas for next year regarding our state fair display and demo. For the demo, it was suggested that we need to have more sign-up sheets for visitors who are interested, and that a member should do a follow-up call or email with an invitation before the next meeting. Shirley volunteered to do that. She also suggested that we request a support behind our demo tables on which to hang our banner, such as the lattice we had this year, as it was much better than bringing in something of our own for that purpose.
For the fair entries, we re-opened our discussion about whether to divide entries into hobby and professional categories, so that everyone would have a greater chance of winning a top prize. We decided not to do so, as each judge will have different ideas on what is good, and our group is very small at this point.
Several members voiced concerns about tightening the wording of our guidelines for entries: specifically, providing a definition of “beads” and writing more specific guidelines regarding the percentage of the entry that must be polymer clay. The question of adding a new category for “mixed media” was also brought up. Decisions will be postponed until next spring, in time for the 2011 fair.
**Paseo “Hold It” Show:**
Jane reminded us that the due date for entries into the Paseo Art Association’s container show is October 23rd. The entry fee is $25.
**New Business:**
There was no new business.
**Reports:**
**Programs:** April reviewed our upcoming meetings, and we planned several more as follows:
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**November:** Faux Cloisonne or Faux Enamel with Angela
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**December:** Members’ Ideas and Optional Swap
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**January:** Vessels with Lee Ann
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**February:**TBA
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**March:** Mosaic with Angela
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**April:** Kaleidoscope Canes with April
**Treasurer:** Angela reported that we have 10 members and a current balance of $490.39.
**Bottles of Hope:** No new report.
**Library Report:** Jane showed our newest library purchase, *Artists at Work: Polymer Clay Comes of Age*, by Pierrette Brown Ashcroft and Lindly Haunani.
**Drawing for New Library Book:** All agreed we should order Penni Jo’s phoned-in suggestion, **Mixed Media Mosaics: Techniques and Projects Using Polymer Clay Tiles, Beads, and Other Embellishments**, by Laurie Mika.
**October Swap:** Artistic covered pens were brought and swapped by Angela, Lee Ann, Jane, and Nance (see picture).
November Raffle: As winners of the September raffle, Penni Jo and Shirley will provide items for November’s raffle.