Crafty

Minutes recorded by Angel M.

We had 15 members and 5 visitors at the March 2014 meeting. For Show & Tell, Tom, Jane, Connie, Lee Ann and Elizabeth shared Bottles of Hope. Lee Ann shared a braided wire bracelet, and Penni Jo shared a pair of Fancy Dress earrings.

Connie was our instructor this month. She taught the group how to cover serving utensils with polymer clay. The utensils were embellished with rubber stamped polymer clay pieces. The lesson was fun and enjoyed by all. Thanks Connie!

The business meeting began with a motion from Penni Jo and a second by Lee Ann to to approve the February minutes.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• April: Retreat
• May: Nance – Faux Opal
• June: Penni Jo – Using Molds. Guild Members – Bring your favorite tool to demo
• July: Jane – Something Fabulous
• August, September, October & November are OPEN

Angela sent treasurer’s report with Angel. We have 19 members.

Nance was not able to attend. Angel agreed to collect the finished Bottles of Hope and get them to Nance on the following Monday.

Librarian Jane suggested and brought two books to look at. After looking over the books we decided to order “The Polymer Clay Artists Guide” by Marie Segal.

Myra reported that we have 4-5 spaces left for the retreat, and that a couple of people have dropped out of classes. Myra will now got to the waiting list for the classes and offer the spots to them.

This month’s raffle winners were Connie, Elizabeth & Penni Jo. Our next raffle will be in June.

We then discussed our upcoming retreat:

• Our Goody Bag Packing Day is April 5th
• Setup is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9th
• Connie has the table covers and will bring them for setup
• Penni Jo has fabric prints to decorate in safari theme
• Printing costs are estimated to be the same as last year
• Penni Jo has received silent auction items from Bonnie Kregor and Lupe Meter. Lee Ann also donated two silent auction items
• Two receipts were received for re-imbursement: Tom – Dollar Tree for door prize bags, and Jane for place mats to be used in Christi’s classes.
• Penni Jo suggested we re-arrange the set up for registration to take advantage of the space in the hall for demos. This idea was well received.
• Angel asked about purchasing cord cover for the retreat instead of taping down the cords. The cord cover is reusable and will eliminate the tedious cleanup of the tape residue. Penni Jo moved to approve this idea, Jane made a motion and it was seconded by Kay. Angel will look into this purchase.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be May 10th at 1:30 at the Contemporary Arts Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

We had 13 members at the February 2014 meeting. The group brought many beautiful polymer clay items for Show & Tell, including several things made with the Cardiogram/Razor Wire technique Angel taught at the January meeting. Tom shared some very nice wooden rollers and stamps he had purchased from MKM Pottery Tools.

For this month’s lesson, Tom Gibson taught how to make a Damascus Ladder cane. His handout was a tutorial written by the late Alan Vernall for Polymer Clay Central. Tom contacted PCC, and they generously granted permission to reprint the handout for our guild. Attendees enjoyed seeing the different results that came from varying the color schemes and twisting the cane more or less before slicing. Thank you, Tom, for a great lesson!

The business meeting began with Angel motioning and Nance seconding the approval of January’s minutes.

Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• March: Connie will show how to cover serving pieces
• April: Retreat
• May: Nance will teach how to make faux opal
• June: Everyone can bring their favorite tool and show how to use it
• July: Jane will teach something fabulous, TBA

Angela gave the Treasurer’s report. After renewals, we have 19 members.

Nance gave her Bottles of Hope update. Mercy Oncology has been very enthused about BOH and sent a Thank You card. They have been very generous in providing bottles to cover, which Nance encouraged us to take with us. She said that we may soon have enough covered bottles to take to another hospital, if someone has a favorite to suggest.

Jane reported on our new library book and CD from Helen Breil. We also received the latest PolymerCAFÉ. The theme of their upcoming reader’s challenge is black and white, and the deadline is in April.

Webmaster Myra said there’s plenty of space for members to post photos they take at meetings to our Yahoo group.

We discussed the following items about our upcoming retreat:

• Christi Friesen’s classes are full, and there is a waiting list. There are only 5 spaces left at the retreat.
• Angela asked about our refund policy, and suggested that we allow full refunds until March 10th, our “early bird” deadline. The group discussed and agreed.
• Penni Jo sent word that the church approved our proposal they they contract out clean-up in exchange for us paying an extra fee.
• Angel brought backpacks donated by TFCU to use for our retreat goody bags.
• Angel also said her husband had offered to cook Saturday’s lunch. Cheryl motioned and Lori seconded that we accept the generous offer.
• Cheryl shared an idea from another polymer clay retreat, where the attendees make pins to swap. They wear these pins on their lanyards and exchange them as they meet each other. We discussed whether we might want to do this instead of our regular inchies swap. We finally decided that we will use an in-person swap as our method, instead of the paper bag swap method from previous years. We will stick with inchies as our swap item this year, in part because some folks may have already started their inchies. However, if individuals want to make their inchies into pins or charms, they are welcome to. Attendees should make as many inchies as they want to trade.

There was no other old or new business. Following our no-theme inchies swap, the meeting came to an end.

Our next meeting will be March 8th at 1:30 p.m.

Tom opened the October meeting by greeting our guests. We had a family visiting who had spoken to us during the guild’s demo at the State Fair, and whose 9-year-old showed some very nice clay pieces. We also got to meet our newest member, Karen, who recently moved to Oklahoma from California. We had 17 attendees, including 4 visitors.

In addition to our regular Show & Tell, several members brought their prize-winning state fair entries for us to admire. Great work, everyone!

Nance Ross taught the October lesson, a jack-o-lantern pin with glow-in-the-dark elements. She also demonstrated how to make a leaf cane. Her lesson was enjoyable, her handout was excellent, and everyone seemed to have fun make their own “Spooky Jacks.”

During the business portion of the meeting, Tom made a motion that the August meeting minutes be accepted. Penni Jo seconded.

Lee Ann announced the following meeting topics:

• November: Penni Jo and Lisa – Gourds and Polymer Clay Together. Penni Jo piqued our interest by showing a beautiful gourd she taught in a gourd class recently.
• December: Annual Christmas Exchange
• January: Angel – Cane (or something wonderful)
• February: Tom – Damascus Ladder

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. The guild now has 25 members.

Nance had bottles available to cover for Bottles of Hope. She said she likes to save up 30-35 completed bottles before taking them someplace, and spoke of the warm reception she’d gotten from her last Bottles of Hope recipients.

Jane talked about the newest additions to the library, including Polymer Clay Global Perspectives and the latest issue of two magazines. She informed us that the next Polymer Cafe challenge theme is “Texture,” for those who are looking for an opportunity to have their work published. We drew for a new library book, and selected The Absolute Beginners Guide: Working with Polymer Clay.

Patty Barnes will be teaching an all-day class on Faux Dichroic Glass and Faux Malachite in Norman on Saturday, October 19th. Cost for members is $60 ($75 for non-members). Please contact Jane if you wish to register for one of the remaining spaces. Participants may bring approximately $10 if they wish to order from Jersey Mike’s for lunch.

Penni Jo reported that she confirmed with Memorial Presbyterian Church in Norman that we are on their calendar for next year’s retreat. Lisa Pavelka will be our teacher, and Penni Jo will be contacting her for more info on class projects.

Penni Jo and Lisa announced two current calls for entries:

• Steampunk 4 (deadline November 5th): Submit a photo of a steampunk piece for possible publication.
• IPCA’s 2014 International Polymer Clay Awards (deadline January 20, 2014): Submit up to 3 pieces in the following categories:
  • jewelry (functional as well as art to wear)
  • functional containers (also includes vessels, receptacles, reliquaries and purses)
  • non functional sculpture and figurines
  • 2 dimensional hanging art

   

Penni Jo, Connie, and Tom brought wonderful raffle prizes, and we also raffled off one of the extra goody bags from the retreat. The winners were Tom, Karen, Connie, and Penni Jo. They will be responsible for bringing the prizes for our next raffle in a couple of months.

The theme for our inchie swap in November will be water.

The meeting adjourned. Our next meeting will be November 9th from 1:30 to 4:30 at the OKC Contemporary Arts Center on the state fairgrounds.

Our meeting this month was at the SW OKC Library because the OKC Arts Center was not available due to the state fair. Lee Ann opened the meeting with show and tell. Nance showed a bargello necklace she had made. Tom showed his prize winning sculpture, “Dog Days of Summer.” Penni Jo displayed her mica shift experiments. She made several pairs of earrings. Lori shared several items that she made at the bead show in Wisconsin, including a faux fossil, water creatures and some copper etchings.

Penni Jo taught a class on making a rose cane. Everyone had very successful attempts. It was fun to see the variety of colors.

The treasurers report was given and the guild now has 21 members.

Lee Ann announced the upcoming classes:

• Oct – Lisa will teach the Ikat cane
• Nov – Cheryl will teach covering an Altoid tin
• Dec – will be a swap, usually something we’ve learned during the year
• Jan – Lori will teach

The guild will again demonstrate at the State Fair on Sunday, Sept 16. The demonstration will take place in the crafts building which is next to the OKC Arts Center. You may enter through Gate 3. LeeAnn has the banner. Bring a polymer item to work on and be ready to answer questions. Nance will have Bottles of Hope available at the fair.

The April retreat was discussed. Lisa will help with donations. Penni Jo handed out the submissions for teacher selection. The guild voted and selected Syndee Holt. She will teach her “Four Fauxs” and transfer techniques.

There was no swap this month. For next month’s goodies, Tom, Cheryl, Lori and Kay are responsible to bring items.

Next month’s meeting will be Saturday, Oct 13, at 1:30 pm back at the OKC Arts Center.