Meeting Minutes

Minutes recorded by Angela.

Penni Jo began the meeting by greeting our 5 guests.  We then had “Show & Tell.” Connie brought inchies from the retreat, finished retreat items, tools and supplies, a Bottle of Hope lid idea, and light-up pumpkins. Penni Jo brought stencils. Tom brought a Sutton slice tin and a Bottle of Hope with a screw-top lid.

Laura presented our lesson for the day, a herringbone cane inspired by Matt Kernan’s project on the Polyform site. She made available small metal tins to cover, and the resulting projects looked great. Thank you, Laura!

During our business meeting, we discussed the following:

Previous meeting minutes from March 2015 were approved, with a motion by Jane, seconded by Angel.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• July: Earrings with Kay
• August: Instructor Needed
• September: Light-up pumpkins with Connie
• October – December: Instructor Needed

Inchie swap: Our next inchie swap will be in July. The theme is intentionally broad — summer, summer holidays (America, red/white/blue), vacations, etc.

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We have 23 paid members.

Old Business:

• Randee Ketzel Class: Penni Jo gave an update about Randee Ketzel’s upcoming class, “Jade, Turquoise & Cinnabar.” The class will be held October 3rd from 9 to 5, and the cost will be $70, which will include Randee’s $65 class fee plus $5 toward a box lunch. (Kay moved, and Marsha seconded, that the guild cover any additional lunch fees above the $5/person.) Those interested in attending should contact Penni Jo to sign up. Class fees (cash or check made out to Central Oklahoma Polymer Clay Guild) must be paid by August 8th.
• 2015 Retreat: We had a brief review of the retreat. Connie asked about holding it at a different place in the future, such as a church retreat grounds where food would be provided (by someone other than hard-working guild volunteers). Discussion ensued. Connie offered to continue to search for other options.

New Business:

• 2016 Retreat: Tom shared the good news that our 2016 retreat guest artist/teacher will be Lindly Haunani. We will be adjusting the schedule (dropping a demo, extending the hours of the class) to allow more class options. There have also been discussions about moving the auction and changing its format.
• State Fair Polymer Clay Competition: Angela reported that the creative programs manager from the Oklahoma State Fair asked whether the guild wished to continue sponsoring the Polymer Clay Creations division in the Creative Arts competition. They sent us a new contract, with wording that concerned Angela. Since the contract would have needed to be signed prior to the group’s meeting to discuss, Angela emailed the officers. They decided that it the return on investment was not sufficient to continue sponsoring the division. The new competition guide is out, and there are no changes to that division except that we are no longer listed as the sponsor.

We held our raffle, with winners Marsha, Tom, Angel, Victoria, Debbie and Angela. They will bring raffle prizes for our next drawing, which is in August.

Our next regular meeting will be July 11th, 1:30 pm at Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

Minutes recorded by Angela.

We had 14 members at the March 14, 2015 meeting.

Penni Jo called the meeting to order, and we started with “Show & Tell.” Penni Jo brought a new mold and a necklace with dragonflies. Jane, Elizabeth, Tom, and Angel brought Bottles of Hope. Angel also brought her completed container from last month’s lesson. Wendy brought a beautiful platter made by artist Angie Wiggins.

During out business meeting, we discussed the following:

Previous meeting minutes (2/14/2015) were approved, with a motion by Marsha, seconded by Deborah.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• April: Retreat (no meeting)
• May: Instructor Needed
• June: Earrings with Kay
• July through November: Instructor Needed

Raffle: In May, we will have our raffle! The March winners (Laura, Angel, Penni Jo and Kay) will bring the raffle prizes.

Inchie swap: Our next inchie swap will be in July. The theme is intentionally broad — summer, summer holidays (America, red/white/blue), vacations, etc.

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We have 23 paid members, including Ruth who re-joined during today’s meeting. Kay and Jane moved to accept this report.

Nance, our Bottles of Hope project coordinator, was not able to attend.

Librarian Jane told us about the Spring 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, which should be arriving in our library  soon. Our very own Penni Jo has an article in this issue! Angela reported that she mistakenly allowed that magazine subscription to lapse some time back, and asked whether the group would like to purchase back issues. Tom moved and Marsha seconded that we purchase the back issues the next time we add to our library.

Old Business: Penni Jo sent around photos of Randee Ketzel’s class options. Members who plan to attend the class voted on their top choices, with the final selection being “Jade, Turquoise & Cinnabar.” The class will be held October 3rd from 9 to 5 (setup at 9:00, class to start at 9:30, clean up at 4:30). The group discussed where to hold the class; Angela will contact Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center for availability and costs. We will also look into box lunch options.

New Business:

• State Fair: Angela reported that the creative programs manager from the Oklahoma State Fair contacted the group about doing a demo September 20, 2-6 p.m., during this year’s fair. Angela asked whether the group was interested in demo-ing again. Several members were interested, and expressed no problems with the proposed date.
• Retreat: The retreat goody bag stuffing party will be March 28th, 1:30-4:30, at Jane’s house.
  • Tom reported that he spoke to the church regarding retreat setup. According to Terry, they will have someone there Wednesday starting at 6:30, to help us set up tables, etc.
  • There are 30 registrants. Both of Lisa Pavelka’s classes are full. Connie has lined up plenty of demos. Tom has received lots of donations for our goody bags, auctions, and door prizes. If there are any donors that aren’t already listed on our website, please let Myra know so we can recognize them properly.
  • Connie talked about the hand scrub she and Angel have been working on for the retreat and the goody bags. Connie is donating the essential oils. Lori moved and Jane seconded that the group reimburse them for the other ingredients and for the containers.

Following the business meeting, group members shared some ideas and inspiration for inchies. Tom showed his dragon eye cane inchies, and Connie took us step-by-step through the creative process for her retreat inchies. Members spent the remainder of the meeting time working on their retreat inchies. We also enjoyed demos from Penni Jo (molding a dragonfly), Kay (NEVERknead machine), and Lori (D.R.E.A.M machine).

The meeting was adjourned. There is no meeting in April because of our retreat, which will be held April 9-11. Our next regular meeting will be May 9th, 1:30 pm at Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

Minutes recorded by Angel.

We had 14 members and 1 visitor at the February 14, 2015 meeting.

Three members brought “Show & Tell” items.  Jane brought a cookie cutter box that looked like it was made of chocolate. Tom brought two Bottles of Hope: a castle and a red encrusted design. Penni Jo brought samples of her experiments with coloring on polymer clay.

Angela was our instructor this month. She presented “Cookie Cutter Containers”.  This is a project she taught 9 years ago.  The original project comes from the book Polymer Clay: 20 Weekend Projects Using New and Exciting Techniques by Irene Semanchuk Dean entitled “Silver Heart Box”. The lesson was great! Angela was very through, with written directions for later reference.  It was fun to learn a construction technique that will have many applications.

During the business meeting, we discussed the following:

Previous meeting minutes (1/10/2015) were discussed.  Angela had a couple questions about the minutes:

• “Isn’t Lee Ann actually my teammate for Treasurer, not our teammate for Secretary? At least that’s what she did last year, handling petty cash, managing money for the raffle, plus accepting dues or other money stuff in my absence…?”  After some discussion with the group it was confirmed that the minutes should state “Lee Ann also agreed to be co-treasurer with Angela” this was a misconception on my (Angel) part.
• “You said no decisions were made on the inchies, but I felt pretty certain we moved it to quarterly with themes based on the seasons…?”  After some discussion with the group it was confirmed that a decision had not been made.

With the change listed above regarding Lee Ann the minutes from the last meeting were approved, Marsha motioned and Jane seconded the motion.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• March:  Open work time with a focus on inchies
• April:  Retreat – No Meeting
• May:  Instructor Needed
• June:  Instructor Needed

Raffle:  In March we will have our raffle!  The January winners bring the raffle prizes, those winners were: Shirley, Wendy, Laura, Angel and Connie.

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We have 20 paid members.  Angela asked if members had received the membership list emailed and if they would check that their information is correct and notify her if changes need to be made.

Nance our Bottles of Hope project coordinator was not able to attend.  She did send an update with Angela, who reports that Nance is having a hard time finding someone to fill her shift at work.  She asked if someone could meet her and bring the bottles we currently have. Angel volunteered to contact Nance and deliver the bottles.

Librarian Jane told us about two new books for the library, Fast Polymer Clay by Sue Hester and Polymer Clay: 20 Weekend Projects Using New and Exciting Techniques by Irene Semanchuk Dean. Tom donated the former, and Angela donated the latter. Jane also asked for suggestions which prompted a discussion about if we are still getting The Polymer Arts magazine. Jane will check on this and if we are not she will renew the subscription.

Web Master Myra reported that we have 29 registered for the retreat. 36 is the attendee limit so spaces are filling up fast! The classes with Lisa Pavelka are full and a waiting list has been started.

Old Business: A group discussion about inchies resulted in a decision to do them in July with a summer theme and November with a fall theme.  This somewhat covers both quarterly and seasonal.

New Business:  Penni Jo opened discussion about bringing in a teacher to do a one day class like we did last year with Patty Barnes. The group was open to this idea.  PJ told the group about Randee Ketzel and her book Polymer Clay Gemstones: The Art of Deception she co-authored with Kim Schlinke.  PJ has been in contact with Randee about the possibility of coming to Oklahoma and teaching a one day class in October.  Randee was available in October and sent pictures with descriptions of classes she could teach. The cost for the class is $65.00 per person. Guild members were asked to look over the pictures and vote which one they liked best.  Randee lives in Texas so she would drive to OK and stated a travel cost of $100.00.  She also preferred a home stay instead of a hotel. Jane agreed to have Randee stay at her home.  A suggestion was make to cover the workshop cost of Jane as a thank you for her and Bob generously opening their home to our guest. The group was agreeable to that idea. Angela stated that the guild could cover transportation costs for bringing in teachers.  Discussion was opened for where the class could take place. Tom was checking on availability of the Arts Center, the location in Norman from the Patty Barnes class was also suggested. More information will be needed for a decision on location.  PJ asked if there was a motion to bring Randee in for a one day class. Angela motioned and Jane seconded the motion. All in attendance were in favor.  We asked for hands of interested parties, and had 9 – 10 interested.  PJ will contact Randee with some questions.

• Can we send the PDF’s out to guild members?
• Does Randee have a minimum and or maximum for classes?
• How soon would she need to know which class we chose?
• Dates?  First or fourth Saturday in October?

In addition to the regular business meeting the retreat committee met to discuss retreat business.

The retreat business minutes will follow the regular meeting minutes.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be March 14th, 1:30 pm at the Contemporary Arts Center on the OKC Fairgrounds. Don’t forget to bring your inchies to work on!

OK Poly-Clay Twisters Retreat 2015 Meeting Minutes

Sponsors – We currently have 15 sponsors: Best Flexible Molds, AMACO – American Art Clay Co., Nunn Design, Tinker Federal Credit Union, The Polymer Arts Magazine, Poly Clay Play, Class Act Designs, CraftArtEdu, Munro Crafts, Shades Of Clay, Kalmbach Publishing Co., Van Island Jewels, Polyform Products, The Great Create, CraftCast, Polymer Clay Adventure, and Art Clay World.

Tom asked if anyone had heard back from any additional sponsors or received donations. Art Jewelry magazine donated a subscription. Marsha spoke with Hobby Lobby and they declined donating saying they only donate to schools.

Registration – Myra states we have 29 officially registered for the retreat as of 2/14/2015. That means only 7 spaces are left. Lisa Pavelka’s classes are full.

Programs, Website, Newsletter – If anyone has information for the retreat that needs to be in the program, on the website, or in the newsletter, submit to Myra.  Penni Jo talked about a newsletter that she got samples of to use as a template for a newsletter for the retreat attendees. Everyone liked this idea. The newsletter would contain general info like time frames (ie start times, meal times), snacks, inchies, and what will be provided. We also talked about if a packing list is needed. All agreed that it would be helpful.  Jane suggested that we have some sort of follow up comment sheet for retreat attendees. Maybe in their registration packet, so they can give comments and suggestions.

Printing & Artwork – We talked over the printing needs which are: program printing, name tags, and signage.  Some of the signage from last year would be used, and the program would be printed at a print shop same as last year. We talked about lanyards, Angel donated some last year and we are going to locate those to see how many we have. Myra will make the name tags.

Thank You Notes – Marsha reported that she is working on Thank You cards and wanted to remind everyone to make sure to get return addresses for all donations. On this same subject Penni Jo spoke about Sandy Camp and that a self-addressed stamped envelope & thank you card were included to send to the auction donor. All agreed that this was a nice idea.

Goodie Bags – Stuffing date has been set for Saturday, March 28th – 1:30 pm at Jane’s house in Norman.

Publicity – Tom asked about how and what our guild did for publicity in past years.  Penni Jo stated that Shirley had posted to forums in the past.  Tom will speak to Shirley about doing it again this year.  Shirley agreed to handle this detail.

Demos – Connie has 5 demos scheduled so far.

Meals – Jane spoke about meals.  Her plans are about the same as last year, keeping things simple for a quick turn around and minimal prep/clean up.  The group discussed vegetarian meals and needing advance notification should we have requests on the registration forms. Myra will look over the registration forms and get Jane that info.  Jane opened discussion on what worked & what didn’t work with the menu last year. All present agreed that we had plenty of breakfast options to make everyone happy.  Some of the options we talked about were yogurt, hard boiled eggs and waffles. These were all deemed easy to prepare and clean up. Lunch options would be the same as last year with pizza & salad and sandwiches & chips. Saturday lunch will be prepared by Chris Mance, and will be Italian Beef & Salad. The group was fine with these options, but wanted to make sure that salad or a vegetarian option would be available.  Jane asked for a volunteer sign up sheet for help setting up and cleaning up meals.

Decorations – Tom asked for a volunteer to handle the task of decorating the entry table, snack table, serving table and watering hole.  Angel volunteered.

Snack Monitor – Tom asked for a volunteer to organize and tidy up the snack table throughout the retreat.  Marsha volunteered.

Location – Connie suggested that we look at the Gold Star Convention Center on SE Shields for a future retreat or meeting site.

Minutes recorded by Angel.

We had 17 members and 1 visitor at our January 10th meeting.

Show and Tell included Penni Jo with samples of her experiment with the French Ribbon Effect, Angela with examples of the Cookie Cutter Box she will demonstrate at the February 2015 meeting, and Tom with the Jumping Jack Owl sample he was demonstrating at the meeting.

Our presenter this month was Tom, who showed the group how to make a Jumping Jack Owl! His instructions, handouts, and extras made the project one that could be completed during the meeting! Thanks Tom for a great project.

In the business meeting we did not have minutes to approve because Angel had lost them over Christmas. They have since been found and submitted!

Treasurer’s report shows we have 27 paid members.

Librarian Jane talked about the new Polymer Clay Magazine we received, and the upcoming challenge “All White” due February 28th.

Web Master Myra reported that the classes for the retreat were half full at that point.

Discussion about holding a position in the guild was brought up by Tom. Tom is ready to move out of the president position, and Penni Jo was nominated and she agreed to be the new president. Connie agreed to serve another year as vice president. Jane agreed to serve another year as Librarian with Lee Ann as co-librarian. Lee Ann also agreed to be part of the “team” for secretary, with Angel and Angela. Lee Ann also agreed to be co-treasurer with Angela. (Edited 3/2/14, per February meeting discussion.) Deborah wants to wait and serve in 2016.

We had 5 items for the drawing. The winners of the drawing were: Shirley, Wendy, Laura, Angel and Connie.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• February: Angela – Cookie Cutter Box
• March: open work time with a focus on inchies
• April: Retreat – No Meeting

Connie wanted to discuss inchies and how the group felt about continuing to do them. Many suggestions were thrown around. Monthly, quarterly, seasonal and every other month were discussed. Tom suggested having a contest to encourage everyone to participate. No solid decisions were made.

Retreat Discussion: A question was raised about the convection ovens, Tom said they were purchased over Christmas.

We currently have 6 sponsors: Best Flexible Molds, AMACO, Nunn Designs, TFCU, The Polymer Arts Magazine, and Poly Clay Play.

Angel brought the bags TFCU donated to show the group.

Minutes recorded by Angel.

We had 17 members and 0 visitors at the December 14, 2014 meeting. Show & Tell items included Santa’s, Dragons, a Sock Monkey, Jewelry, Bottle Stoppers, Gingerbread Men, Fireplace Night Light, Scarf with pull, and Snow Globes.

This month instead of a demonstration, guild members brought a large array of treats ranging from sweet to savory and most everything in between! Everyone enjoyed the food and fellowship.

During the business meeting, we discussed the following:

Minutes from the last meeting were approved, Penni Jo motioned and Jane seconded the motion.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• January: Tom – Jumping Jack Owl
• February: Angela – Heart Box
• March: Open
• April: No meeting due to the Retreat

Angela sent the treasurer’s report. We have 27 paid members. Reminder: dues are due in January $24.00

Librarian Jane indicated that we did not have a new book, and asked for suggestions. Penni Jo recommended the book “Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay” by Katherine Dewey. Shirley also had a suggestion, but could not remember the name and would email Jane.

Web Master Myra spoke about the registration page for the retreat and that it would be up soon. She also went over prices for the retreat $65.00 for members.

Retreat Business: The members present worked through many details of the retreat. Tom indicated he needs help with different areas of the retreat. This prompted members to come forward and commit to help. Angel was tasked with purchasing more cord cover, and volunteered to get bags for the “goodie bags”. Marsha volunteered to make thank you notes. Lori volunteered to take on the auction. Tom has purchased gift bags and table cloth for use at the retreat.

Tom shared some of the recent donations to the retreat, Kalmbach Publishing Co – 1 year Art Jewelry subscription, and Artway – sending auction item.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be January 10, 2015 at 1:30 at the Contemporary Arts Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

We had 15 members and 1 visitor at our November 8th meeting. We kicked things off with Show and Tell that included a cat and pumpkin pin, a wide variety of personalized magnets, a turtle sculpture, bikini earrings, and a Bottle of Hope.

Our presenter this month was Penni Jo, who showed the group how to make her amazing “dressy earrings” on tiny coat hangers. Her instruction and handouts were superb, as usual. Thank you, Penni Jo!

In the business meeting, October’s minutes were approved with a motion by Penni Jo and a second by Lee Ann.

Connie gave a report on upcoming classes:

• December: Annual Christmas meeting. Bring snacks. If you want to participate in the Dirty Santa swap, bring something you made from polymer clay. No raffle or inchie swap in December.
• January: Tom will show how to make an owl similar to his state fair entry. Raffle month.
• February: Angela will show how to make containers using cookie cutters as the form. Inchie swap month.

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We now have 27 members.

Nance gave the Bottles of Hope report, and said she has bottles she needs covered. She reported that the BOH are very popular — the hospital is giving them to patients just as they’re starting chemo. She specifically requested BOH for young children.

Jane gave the librarian’s report. Our newest book, Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay, has good sculpting info for people. The new Polymer CAFE arrived and has a Sydney Holt project. This month’s Polymer CAFE challenge theme is nature, with photos due December 31st.

Webmaster Myra reported that she’s waiting on class info so she can put the retreat signup online.

In new business, we discussed the 2015 retreat. Tom passed around the retreat class options from Lisa Pavelka for us to choose from, and folks voted for their favorites. Tom asked for 3 volunteers to contact companies about goody bag/auction donations; Jane, Angela, and Deborah signed up.

Our inchie swap theme for the meeting was Thanks/Thanksgiving.

After greeting our visitors, Tom opened the October meeting with Show and Tell. Among the inspiring pieces shown were a prehistoric gecko, necklaces, Bottles of Hope, a panda, candy corns and other Halloween-themed items, and witch pendants from last month’s lesson.

Our program this month had two parts. First, various members shared ideas on how they display or use inchies. Inchies are 1″ by 1″ square pieces of art. Our group regularly hosts themed inchie swaps to give folks a chance to explore different techniques in polymer clay and share the results. Ideas shared were:

• Wear inchies on a lanyard (perfect for retreat swaps). Display a collection of inchies on a board with artists’ info written below.
• Display a collection of inchies in a painted frame, using E6000 to glue down the inchies.
• Re-use inchies to decorate cards or journals. Make your own inchies to embellish extra-special business cards. Make a mosaic of themed inchies.
• Embellish a picture frame with an anchie. Display a single inchie in an elaborate frame to make tiny art. Wrap a jar with fabric and glue on an inchie. Frame brightly-colored ribbons with inchies attached.

Thanks to members Connie, Marsha, Angela and Penni Jo for sharing these ideas.

Penni Jo taught the second part of the program, demonstrating several different polymer clay candy corn methods. She gave us info on using molds, making canes, and a special Skinner blend that does a perfect job of capturing the candy corn’s color blend. Thanks, Penni Jo, for sharing your talent with us once again!

In the business meeting, September’s minutes were approved with a motion by Penni Jo and a second by Kay.

Connie gave a report on upcoming classes:

• November: Penni Jo will be teaching dress earrings on a hanger
• December: annual Christmas meeting with dirty Santa swap and snacks

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We now have 27 members, including our newest member Katherine, who joined this month.

Jane gave the librarian’s report. We received a book, Design Basics, and the latest Polymer CAFE. We took suggestions from the group on library books, and selected Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay: Tools and Techniques for Sculpting Realistic Figures by Katherine Dewey.

In old business, we discussed the state fair. Six members participated in the group’s state fair demo. Connie asked about trying shifts again for next year, instead of asking members to stay for the entire demo. Penni Jo and Tom have been talking to the director of creative arts about providing our own judge for our sponsored polymer clay division. The group suggested local and out-of-state ideas for judges.

In new business, we discussed the 2015 retreat. Tom asked for 3-4 helpers to contact donors about goody bag/auction donations. We also need to vote to choose which classes we want guest artist Lisa Pavleka to teach at the retreat. The options will be sent out prior to the November meeting.

We finished our meeting with a raffle. The winners were Kay, Laura, Angela, and Myra.

Our next meeting will be November 8 at 1:30pm at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center on the State Fairgrounds. Our theme for the November inchie swap is give thanks / Thanksgiving / fall. Please bring inchies to swap if you want to participate.