Meeting Minutes

Three members showed up for the September Play Day, where we snacked on goodies provided by our host, Penni Jo (thanks!), and learned all about photographing our work. Penni Jo showed us her photography set-up, where we snapped a few photos. We then moved to the computer to learn how to optimize those photos (and scans) using Photoshop. A very informative & enjoyable meeting!
In the business portion of our meeting, we discussed the following items:
* The National Polymer Clay Guild will be having its Synergy Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, February 21-23, 2008. Registration begins tomorrow. Angela handed out postcards to the attendees with additional information (more postcards will be available at the next meeting). Or you can find out more on their website.
* Penni Jo offered additional ideas for future meeting topics: how to make an Inro box, and how to do the torn paper technique. Anyone interested in demonstrating these techniques for the group? If so, give me a holler!
* Jane suggested we might consider holding the Play Days in a different section of town for the members who don’t live in the Moore/Norman area. Those in attendance agreed.
* Angela handed out some business cards she made up with guild information on them. These will also be available at the next meeting.
Thanks to Penni Jo for hosting a very enjoyable Play Day!

Six members and one guest attended the September meeting. We had a fun time making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), with members trying various techniques — skinner blend backgrounds, transfers, rubber stamps with mica powders, molding, antiquing — and even a beach scene complete with sand & shells! April also shared a successful inkjet transfer she had done using JetprintPhoto Imaging & Photo (Matte) paper (available at Wal-Mart, $10.00 for 100 sheets). Thanks to everyone who attended. And a special thanks to Jeanne Rhea of Heart of Clay for sending along gorgeous sample ATCs for us to drool over!
When we finished playing, we discussed the following business items:
* Group Swap: We will hold a swap at the October 13th meeting for anyone who wants to swap ATCs. You may participate regardless of whether you attended the September meeting. To get an idea of the number of cards each person needs to make, please RSVP by September 22nd if you’re interested. We will be organizing this swap via our mailing list, so be sure to sign up for the list if you haven’t already.
* Other ATC Swaps:
* There’s a polymer clay tree-themed ATC swap listed on Swap-bot with a sign-up date of September 15th. This one is open to newbies, so it’s a good place to get your feet wet if you haven’t done a swap before. You might even consider incorporating one of your leaf canes from our June meeting.
* Looking for more swap action? Here’s a list of all of Swap-bot’s current ATC swaps.
* The group modified, then voted on, the points reward system. Here is the system we unanimously decided on:
* Members will earn 2 points for each book or video they donate to the guild library.
* Members will earn 4 points for each lesson they teach or co-teach.
* Members will earn 8 points for holding an office for a year.
* At the end of the year, points will be calculated. For members who’ve earned 11-20 points, their yearly dues will be discounted $2. For 21-30 points, dues will be discounted $4. And for 31+ points, dues will be discounted $8.
* We held our first drawing to start populating our guild library. The two winning books (which should be ordered in time for the next meeting) were:
* Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay: 30 Techniques & Projects That Imitate Stones, Metals, Wood & More, by Irene Semanchuk Dean
* Polymer Clay Jewelry, by Debbie Jackson.
* We discussed holding a joint meeting with the Tulsa guild, probably next spring. We’ve been emailing them to start arranging something like this and will keep everyone posted.
* We discussed the schedule for the rest of the year, and decided we should not have the 5th Saturday Play Day that would normally be scheduled for December 29th, since most people will probably be out of town or otherwise busy with holiday festivities.
* We decided on plans for the next two meetings & discussed additional ideas for meeting topics. If you are willing to teach us one of the unassigned topics, please get in touch.
* September 29th Play Day – Photographing your Artwork – Penni Jo.
* October 13th – Halloween Project – Cassy (Deviled & Angel Eggs) & Angela (glow-in-the-dark clay)
* Covering Switch Plates – Penni Jo
* Extruders & Canes – April
* Christmas Projects
* Ink-jet Image Transfers
* Rubber Stamps & Clay
* Faux Techniques
* Beads & Bead-Making
We look forward to seeing everyone at our September 29th Play Day!

We had a smallish-turnout for our August meeting — but we still had a lot of fun! There were 4 people present for our “Sculptures Inspired by Christi Friesen” lesson — our teacher April Salcedo & her daughter, Cassie; Angela; and first-time visitor (and brand new member!) Shirley. April explained how to make the starfish first, then a baby turtle. She also went over some of the goodies in Christi Friesen’s various books. Everyone seemed to have a great time creating beautiful marine life.
Because we had such a small group, those in attendance decided to hold off til September on the library and points system discussions. We decided that the September 8th football game would probably not cause traffic problems since the game starts at 11. No other games’ times have been announced, so we’ll play it by ear on the next few meetings.
The next meeting will be September 8th, when Angela Mabray will be teaching how to make polymer clay Artist Trading Cards. Hope to see you then!

Our July meeting was in a new location — the Hobby Lobby in Norman — & I have to say I was impressed. The store is right off the interstate and easy to find. Not only did they give us a nice big spot to advertise in their front display case, but they were also extra-friendly — peeking in on our meeting a couple of times, asking if there was anything they could get for us. The longer meeting time was nice, too — allowing a much more leisurely pace for finishing & baking projects. We had more than enough room for the 7 people in attendance — and we think creative table arrangements would be possible for seating our larger groups. Those in attendance seemed happy with the new meeting location for now, though football season may create some challenges (more on that below).

Penni Jo & Sue did an excellent job teaching us the Explosion Accordion Folded Album. Not only did the group get instructions on folding the paper into an album — but we also learned about using Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (UTEE) with polymer clay to create a glass-like window. As usual, there were lots of different artistic interpretations of the project & plenty of creativity to go around. See a few photos of completed projects here. If you were at the meeting, we’d love to see photos of your project too — feel free to contact us if you need help adding your photo to our Flickr pool.
In the business portion of our meeting, we talked about the following items:

Read More »July 2007 Meeting Notes

Our leaf cane demonstration went great — with various members “catching the caning bug.” Pictures are available on our Flickr! group — & thanks to our new group photographer, April, we even have pictures from during the meeting! Thanks to everyone who came, and thanks especially to Christie Wright of DragonflyLane for doing a great job teaching.
A few notes from the business portion of our meeting:
* Our next play day will be held June 30 — but it’s being held at a new time and place! Angela has offered to host the June Play Day at her house, starting at 5 p.m. and continuing as long as folks want to stay. We’ll plan to have some snacks & drinks available — if you have something special you’d like, please bring it. And bring a couple of bucks if you’re interested in pitching in for pizza. We thought we’d try having the play day at a home so our time isn’t as limited. Hope you’ll come join the polymer clay party!

Read More »June 2007 Meeting Notes

For the May meeting, Angela Mabray (who sells crafts at CraftyGoat.com and blogs about crafts at CraftyGoat’s Notes) taught the group how to cover pens with polymer clay. The pens were a lot of fun, & we ended up with some very nice ones. Check out our Flickr pics for some examples.

Pen-covering Notes

Angela brought the following types of pens, all of which are oven-safe:
* Papermate FlexGrip Ultra (difficult to find) or Papermate Flexgrip Elite (available at Office Depot)
* Amazing Twist Pen from Boston Clayworks
* Keychain Pens from Penn State Industries
Some other potential oven-safe pen candidates are listed below — but you may want to check these in the oven without clay first, to make sure they hold up okay:
* Bic Round Stic (white, not clear)
* Bic Soft Feel Stic
* Pilot Bettergrip
* Rose Art’s Great Grips
* Zebra F-301 ball point pens
Angela showed the group how to cover the barrels and re-assemble the pens. She also pointed out a couple of interesting alternatives to standard pen-covering:
* Covering a copper tube with clay, then inserting a pen refill.
* Covering a bamboo skewer with clay, removing the bamboo skewer while still warm, then inserting a pen refill.
See more about these ideas, along with a full list of potential pens to try, at Glass Attic’s pen page.

Other Group Business

* Angela reminded the group that the Bottles of Hope Challenge deadline was extended til June 1st, so members still have a chance to submit their entries. She also mentioned the National Polymer Clay Guild’s request for Synergy presentation proposals.
* Penni Jo had forwarded information about Munro Crafts, an online craft store that gives a 50% off orders over $200. Angela told the group about it, saying she’d send out the link so folks could decide if they wanted to put together a group order.
We had a new record attendance at the May meeting with 12 people. We’re so glad y’all came out & hope to see you again soon!

Christie Wright did a great job demonstrating the mica shift technique at April’s guild meeting. Mica shift involves using metallic clays and rubber stamps, then shaving off the top layer to leave an illusion of texture. We had five people there — and at one point of another, I think every person ran their fingers over the clay surface and expressed amazement that it was smooth instead of textured. It’s a fun technique, and Christie was a wonderful teacher. If you couldn’t make the meeting, be sure to catch her mica shift video.
Although time didn’t allow us to properly sand and buff the beads — which really heightens the illusion — Christie brought some of her tools and explained the process. She also gave us a handy tip about a place called Harbor Freight, which has a location just around the corner from the Hobby Lobby where we meet. That’s where she got the tools she showed us — a Chicago 3″ Multipurpose Bench Grinder and an Enkay 5 Pc. Buffing & Polishing Kit. The prices she mentioned sounded great, so it might be worth a visit. You can also order on their website, but Christie said their online selection varies a bit from their in-store selection.
In the business portion of the meeting, we discussed the following items:
* Penni Jo Couch won the group’s logo design contest. She also created the miniature logo we’re now using as our Flickr! group logo, and a “Proud Member” logo that’s available to everyone who’s paid their dues. Thanks to Penni Jo for her excellent logo work!
* Angela has sent out membership profile pages for those who have paid their dues. Members have the option of including their information on okpolyclay.com.
* Our group has 6 members, with $189.37 in the treasury. A check for $25 will be issued for the contest award. [Note: Another member joined after Saturday’s meeting, so we’re now up to 7!]
* Angela recommended a points system for rewarding members’ contributions to the group. Members could earn points over the year by doing things like teaching a lesson or holding an office, then the next year’s dues could be discounted based on points earned. She offered to write an email to the group with more specific suggestions.
* Upcoming Events:
** Bottles of Hope Designer Challenge Contest: Entries must be received by May 1st.
** May 12 Meeting: Artist Trading Cards with Angela Mabray
** June 9 Meeting: Leaf Canes with Christie Wright
** June 30 Play Day: Open
** July 14 Meeting: Accordion Books / UTEE with Penni Jo Couch and Sue Kerr