Meeting Minutes

Minutes recorded by Cheryl Rains.

With 19 members in attendance, Tom opened the meeting with Show and Tell. LeeAnn showed a Bottle of Hope and a pendant made from Helen Breil’s new book. Nance showed her fall leaf brooch. Tom displayed two Bottles of Hope.

Chris and her friend taught a dual class on making a witch pendant and a fall leaf pendant using glass pebbles as a focal point for the piece. It was a lot of fun.

In the business meeting, August’s minutes were approved with a motion by Connie and a second by Lori.

Connie gave a report on upcoming classes. October’s meeting will be a sharing of ideas of how to use inchies and a demonstration by Penni Jo. In November, Penni Jo will be teaching us how to make her darling dress earrings with the hanger as part of the findings. Connie asked that the treasurer send a $40 check for the rental of the church for this month’s meeting.

The treasurer’s report was given. We currently have 25 paid members.

There will be five attendees to demonstrate at the State Fair.

Jane reported that our new book, Design Basics by David Kraus has not arrived yet. Penni Jo said that the book really helped her own design process and would be a great addition to our library.

There was no old business.

In new business, Penni Jo told about a company, CaBezel. CaBezel is a tool to help you create consistent bezels and cabochons every time. They have teamed up with Best Flexible molds. The CaBezel CJM013 works with the Almond Cabs and More, PJ001, to make bezels that fit the cabochons.

October will be raffle month. If you won in August, please bring a prize for the raffle. November will be inchie swap. Our theme will be Thanksgiving.

Our next meeting will be October 11 at 1:30pm at the Arts Center on the State Fairgrounds.

We had 15 members (including this month’s new members Marsha and Alice) and 1 visitor at the August 9, 2014 meeting. Show & Tell items included Bottles of Hope, a fish sculpture, pendants, earrings, and Best Flexible Molds texture sheets.

Angel was our instructor this month. She presented “Let’s Swellegant.”  Her pre-baked pendants and countless samples showing different coating/patina combinations were so helpful in learning about these coatings. Thank you, Angel! Angel also brought product samples and coupons, which were provided for the group by Christi Friesen. Thank you, Christi!

During the business meeting, we discussed the following:

Minutes from the last meeting were approved. Jane motioned and Cheryl seconded the motion.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• September: Chris Crossland– glass pebble project
• October: things to do with inchies

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We have 25 members.

Bottles of Hope coordinator Nance told of the great reception we received form our last batch of donated bottles. The hospital is giving the bottles to patients just before they go into chemo, and is even auctioning off some of the bottles to raise money for cancer funds.

In new business, we discussed putting out a call for artists for our 2016 retreat. We also discussed the upcoming state fair where our guild sponsors a polymer clay category. Entry forms need to be submitted online by August 15th. The guild will be demonstrating polymer clay at the state fair on September 14th.

We selected a color and design book as the new choice for our library.

We held our raffle, where Marsha, Connie, Deborah, and Jane were the winners. They will bring prizes for October’s raffle.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be September 13th at 1:30. Because our usual meeting place at the fairgrounds is unavailable during the state fair, we will be meeting at the Covenant Life Church at 3106 N Utah Ave (near NW 30th and Utah) in Oklahoma City. The theme for September’s optional inchie swap is “back to school.”

Minutes recorded by Angel M.

We had 12 members and 1 visitor at the July 12, 2014 meeting. Show & Tell items included Bottles of Hope, jewelry, dragons, Best Flexible Molds texture sheets, and a pen. Penni Jo also asked the group to offer opinions on the texture sheets as a focus group.

Jane was our instructor this month. She presented “Extruder: Retro & Beyond”.  Many samples were sent around to inspire us to get our extruders out and use them!  Jane took us through the steps to make a retro cane.   Jane and Myra brought and showed extruder discs from a couple different companies.   Myra demonstrated two discs that worked together to make a heart cane.

During the business meeting, we discussed the following:

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

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• August: Angel – Swellegant
• September: Chris Crossland– glass pebble project

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

Librarian Jane described the latest addition to the library, the current Polymer Café. The challenge listed in the magazine is “Faux What?” due August 31, 2014.

We discussed where to have the September meeting due to the State Fair of Oklahoma during the month.  Many questions were raised, and we are checking on an alternate date in the same location.

August is raffle month, members to bring items for raffle are: Myra, Connie, Tom, and Angela.

Inchies were brought by four members.  August inchies will have a theme of “Back to School.” Anyone who would like to participate should make and bring enough inchies to swap.  Connie asked if we were going to continue doing inchies, due to the low number of members participating. No solid answers were gained from this question at this time, we may need to visit this again.  The question prompted conversation about what to people use the inchies for.  It was suggested that we explore what kinds of things could be made with the inchies.

Nance handed out bottles to cover for our on-going Bottles of Hope project.

Web Master Myra reported that things were fine, and she had nothing new to report.

Tom opened the topic of renting storage space to house our library and ovens.  Tom e-mailed earlier this month about this topic discussing the need etc.  $20.00 a month was the fee for renting a cabinet at our current location.  After much discussion, it was concluded that we have funds to cover this type of expense.  The library books would be accessible when the doors to the Art Center were open.  The president, vice-president and librarian will have a key to the library cabinet. Some of the members went to check out the cabinet and where it was located. Nance motioned to approve renting the cabinet and Angel seconded, the members were in agreement and the motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be August 9th at 1:30 at the Contemporary Arts Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

We had 14 members at the June 2014 meeting. Show & Tell items included Bottles of Hope, jewelry, cat bowls, a barette, a baby footprint set, ghoulies, and goodies from Bead & Button and Fandango.

Penni Jo was our instructor this month. She taught the group how to use her tools to make Trumpet Blossoms. Other members also brought and showed their favorite tools, including a credit card, a linoleum carving tool, extruder discs, and many handmade tools.

During the business meeting, we discussed the following:

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• July: Jane and Myra – extruders
• August: Angel – Swelligant
• September: Chris – glass pebble project

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We have 23 members, including Jennifer and Elizabeth who joined during the June meeting.

Librarian Jane described the latest additions to the library. We drew Polymer Clay Gemstones: The Art of Deception by Randee Ketzel as the new book to add to our library.

We discussed whether to do a live demonstration at this year’s Oklahoma State Fair, and several people said they would like to participate.

The winners of this month’s prize drawings were Tom, Angela, Myra, and Connie. July will be swap month, with a theme of “Red, White and Blue.” Anyone who would like to participate should make and bring enough inchies to swap.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be July 12 at 1:30 at the Contemporary Arts Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

We had 9 members at the May 2014 meeting. Show & Tell items included texture tools, covered utensils, Bottles of Hope, baby footprint kit, Swelligant pieces, and auction wins from the Fandango retreat.

Nance Ross was our instructor this month. She taught the group how to make bugs captured in faux amber. We had lots of creepy crawlies… and lots of fun! Thanks, Nance.

The business meeting began with a motion from Angel and a second by Jane to approve the March minutes.

Vice President Connie gave an overview of the upcoming programs:

• June: Everybody bring your favorite tool. Penni Jo will also demonstrate using her tools.
• July: Jane – Extruders
• August: Angel – Swelligant

Angela gave the treasurer’s report. We have 21 members.

Librarian Jane talked about the latest additions to our library: the DVD from the 2013 retreat, a HandCrafted magazine from Stampington, Polymer Clay Artist Guide by Marie Segal, and the latest Polymer CAFE.

We discussed last month’s retreat:

• Folks were pleased with our decisions to buy cord covers and hire a clean up crew — said it made Saturday night’s tear-down much easier.
• We got good feedback on the round tables and mats in the classroom. The group agreed we should purchase mats again next year.
• We discussed this year’s changes to the inchies swap (instead of trying to do a formal swap with baggies, retreat attendees approached others they wished to swap with). The consensus was that this made it more casual, and worked as a nice conversation starter.

In new business, we briefly discussed next year’s retreat:

• The 2015 retreat will be the 2nd weekend in April (April 9-11, 2015), in the same location.
• Lisa Pavelka will be our featured teacher.
• Tom will be our retreat director.

Penni Jo also gave a report from the Fandango retreat that she and Cheryl both attended.

Next month will be a raffle month, with Penni Jo, Elizabeth and Connie scheduled to bring prizes.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be June 14th at 1:30 at the Contemporary Arts Center on the OKC Fairgrounds.

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.