Tom opened the meeting.  There were 11 in attendance for our Christmas meeting.  We began with Show and Tell.  Connie told about her miniature nativity set.  She used another nativity set for the textures and Loctite gel control glue to hold it together.  She also showed an angel and a Bottle of Hope.  Kay showed a flower cross.  Both LeeAnn and Tom displayed their Bottles of Hope.  Penni Jo showed Christmas tree earrings.  Jane showed abstract buttons that she entered at the fair.  They were made from ultra-lite clay and decorated with transfers.  Jane said she was not sure that the clay was light enough for buttons.

The treasurer’s report was given.  We currently have 25 members.  We paid the deposit for Christi Friesen to teach at the retreat in April.  The guild’s annual dues of $24 dollars are due in January.  You can pay on-line with PayPal or pay at the January meeting with cash or check.

Jane showed several of her personal books.  She reviewed the Polymer Arts magazine.  She said it packed full of informational items.  The theme for the Polymer Café challenge is “Summertime.”  The deadline for submission is February 28.  We agreed to purchase a Helen Breil e-book.

January is the month that we vote on officers.  The positions are as follows:

President – conducts the meetings and sets the agenda

Vice-President – monthly program chairperson

Treasurer – keeps financial records and accepts orders

Secretary – keeps minutes of the meetings and uploads them to the website

Webmaster – assists in uploading items as needed and works with the retreat director in setting up on-line registration

Volunteer Positions include:

Librarian – store and bring the guild’s books, etc.; maintains the sign out sheet

Bottles of Hope – distributes Bottle of Hope to oncology centers; raises awareness about the project

Photographer – takes pictures at meetings and the retreat; posts pictures of same

We discussed the retreat on April 10-12.  Christi Friesen will be our guest artist this year.  She will be teaching a moveable mermaid and a panda with lily for her two classes.  She will be doing two Make ‘n Takes.

Syndee Holt will be Polyform’s representative at the retreat.  She will also do a Make ‘n Take.  This will take the place of one of the demonstrations.

Lisa Pavelka has agreed to be our guest artist in 2015.  Penni Jo has already requested the church for the 2015 date.

We agreed that bringing food in, rather than cooking on site, was very effective and made it easier for everyone.   Penni Jo has suggested that for an additional fee of $100 we have the church set the fellowship hall tables up after we are through on Saturday.  This was met with approval.  It was also suggested that we set up clean-up committees so that a few are not stuck with all the work.

We closed the meeting with a “Dirty Santa” exchange and enjoyed the snacks that were brought.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, January 11 at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center at the State Fair Park.  The meeting will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

Tom opened the meeting with Show and Tell. Angela brought a pillow box with a reverse mold leaf gift tag made with alcohol inks and liquid polymer clay. Angel showed the faux malachite pendant and dichroic glass that she made at the class with Patty Barnes. Penni Jo showed the malachite necklace that she won at Fandango. Penni Jo also showed the new kitty mold that they have developed for the Beads of Courage. Lee Ann displayed the ovals and ideas that she tried out. Kathy made a covered Altoid tin with faux abalone and a votive candle holder. Karen displayed her Christi Friesen influenced heart necklace. Elizabeth showed her darling turkey. Nance presented a Hopi gourd mask, made from half of a gourd and decorated with feathers.

Penni Jo made the motion and Angel seconded that the minutes be approved.

Lee Ann announced the following programs:
December – annual display and Dirty Santa “exchange”
January – Angel will teach a cane
February – Tom will teach the Damascus ladder

February’s Affair of the Heart will be the same weekend as our monthly meeting. Cheryl made the motion and Lori seconded that we move the meeting to February 15th. Angela will check with the center to see if we can schedule the room for that date.

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

Nance said we now have an unlimited source for bottles for the Bottles of Hope program. She asked that we take home bottles to decorate for donation to the oncology center.

Jane shared that the Polymer Café challenge is “Youthful Textures”. To enter, you only need to submit a picture of your project and the entry form from the magazine. She also reviewed the Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Polymer Clay. Jane said there were lots of great ideas and an extruder guide.

It was decided that we would not have the raffle at the December meeting. Those who want can also bring snacks to the meeting.

In New Business, Penni Jo announced that our original polymer clay artist will not be able to attend. We voted to try to have Christi Friesen come again. We agreed to see if Lisa Pavelka would be available for April, 2015. If so, we will set the date and secure the location for that time.

The meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting will be December 14 at 1:30 pm at the fair ground OKC Contemporary Art Center.

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.