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Clayers on the Move

We’re thrilled that our membership has soared in the past few months — so many more opportunities to learn new things from each other! But one of the first things we’ve learned is that we can’t comfortably fit 20 (or even 15) clayers in our old classroom. After lots of looking and deliberation, we’ve decided to make our move to a larger space.
Starting with our next meeting on July 14th, we will be meeting at the City Arts Center at the State Fair Park (3000 General Pershing Blvd, Oklahoma City). They have several large rooms available, all of which have plenty of space, good lighting, durable floors, and plenty of sturdy tables and chairs to accommodate our group. We liked Studio 2 the best, and hope to make it our main meeting room; however, we may be moved to other rooms, depending on what’s available on a particular day. We’ll post the current month’s meeting room on our website in the monthly meeting announcement.
It’s easiest to get to the City Arts Center off May Ave at the fair’s Gate #3 (most other gates stay closed). You can use this map to help find your way to the building. Once there, you can load in and out using the drive-through. For those of you carrying heavy items, they have large rolling carts available — just ask at the front desk. Their staff can also assist with any other questions you might have.
We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting!

Minutes for May 2012 Meeting

We had 10 members present for our May 2012 meeting. We started with Show & Tell, where several members brought items they’d made or started at the retreat. Tom showed his dragon sculpture, complete with glowing eyes, and his pheonix from Christi Friesen’s class. Ruth and Lisa showed a necklace they had collaborated on. Myra showed a necklace she made using animal print beads. Angela showed a notepad cover made using Pluffy clay and her CF-inspired moth and Make & Take items. Everyone shared great tips on how they made their show & tell items.
**Questions & Answers**
Instead of doing a lesson this month, we had an informal Q&A session. Some of the topics discussed included using polymer clay on canvas, different ways of using mica powders, and how to create armatures. We’re so fortunate to have such knowledgeable members who are so willing to share!
**Raffle**
Our bimonthly raffle included a prize from Alex plus a retreat goody bag and a mish-mash of leftover retreat items. The winners were Lisa, Tom, and Lori. They will be bringing July’s raffle prizes.
**Next Meeting**
The next meeting will be **Saturday, June 9, 2012 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm** at the Hobby Lobby in Moore, when Kay will show us how to stamp and texture name tags.

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Fun on the Safari: 2012 Twisters Retreat in Review

retreatphoto1.jpgThe tables and chairs may be all put away… but the excitement from the 2012 Twisters Retreat remains. We had 30 retreat attendees, 6 scheduled demos (plus countless impromptu ones), 2 Christi Friesen classes, and 3 days of fun. In fitting with our “Safari” theme, we had epic battles (in the Polyform-sponsored bead competition and the silent auction bidding), grazed on all sorts of goodies, and even learned some animal print canes!

Here’s what some of the attendees had to say:

  • “All 3 days were great, well organized, kept on time, good vendor presentation etc., etc., etc. I could go on beyond e-mail ability. In other words we had a GREAT time and will remember it all year.” – Julie
  • “The creative energy in that room just washed over me like a warm wave. I don’t get to work on my clay as much as I like because….well, because my life interferes! IF I have my way, next year, I will be at the retreat from “the opening bell” till the end because I was grieving just a little knowing all the information and creativity that I was missing this time. Thanks so much for your kindness to me…..I felt right at home.” – Chris

Check out these photos, plus lots more, in our Facebook photo album (we’d love it if you shared your favorite on our Facebook page, too!)

retreatphoto_animalprint.jpgretreatphoto_chat.jpg

retreatphoto_demo.jpgretreatphoto_pennijo-christi.jpg

We want to say a special thanks to our sponsors for all the goodies they donated. We’d love for you to visit their websites and say thanks for their generosity.

retreat-sponsor-logos.jpg

Thanks, too, to all who attended and to those who spent so much time and effort making our retreat enjoyable. While the bags full of goodies and swapped inchies are nice souvenirs of our time on the safari, the real treasures are new friends, new ideas and memories that last forever.

COPCG February 11, 2012 Meeting

**Welcome/Show & Tell**
Shirley welcomed us and opened the meeting with show and tell.
Penni Jo brought items of “Lessons Learned”. She brought dream catcher items using the wood grain that LeeAnn taught at the last meeting. pjdreamcatch1.jpg
She was trying out Pardo brown and transferring an image. She tried pearl and translucent clay. The image had a tendency to disappear using the Pardo translucent. She also learned you should preheat your oven and use a tile to bake. She gave us all a copy of the interior of the dream catcher transfer. It’s nice to know that the learning process continues even after years of working with polymer!
Angel brought two pendants that she had experimented with using alcohol inks, thick embossing powder, and liquid polymer.
angelpendents1.jpg Very pretty!
Tom brought a neat little jar with a lid of hearts and roses. Little conversation heart candies peeked out of the heart cut outs on the sides. Tom lined the cut outs with Angelina film.tomhearts1.jpg
Lessons learned seemed to be a theme of show and tell this month, as Tom had tried super glue to attach the film on one side. He discovered that the glue clouds the film. However, the lesson did not detract from the sweet container.
Shirley showed several items and their progression for the lesson that she will be teaching this month, Mokume Gane with a Twist. mokumesample2.jpgThey are very attractive pieces that she sanded with increasing grits and then buffed. She learned that sweat shirt material will do a nice job of buffing a piece.
**Makume Gane with a Twist**
Shirley started her lesson by giving each of us a bag of items to use for texturing and other effects. Fun stuff!! She taught the makume gane technique, including an easy way to slice the clay evenly. janemokume1.jpg
Awesome little tricks. The results were many terrific creations with wonderful colors and textures.
pjmokume1.jpg
tommokume1.jpg
**Valentine Themed Swap**
Our bimonthly swap had a Valentine theme this time. LeeAnn got Jane’s polymer covered ink pen; Jane got Alex’s little bottle filled with hearts; and Alex got LeeAnn’s heart pendant.
**Next Meeting**
The next meeting will be Saturday, March 10, 2012 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Hobby Lobby in Moore.
If you’d like to see more photos of our group meetings, check out our [Mokume Gane album](http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.360935700603938.86485.258680690829440&type=3) on Facebook!

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February 2012 Meeting: Mokume Gane with a Twist

This month we will be exploring a really fun new twist on an old technique. Some of you have been experimenting with it already. It’s a lot of fun, but there are several preliminary steps, so you’ll be better off bringing your clay already conditioned and rolled to the right thickness, if possible.
**Shirley Conaway** will be teaching this fun **Mokume Gane with a Twist** pattern.
Shirley Mokume Gane ProjectOur meeting will be held **Saturday, February 11th, 2012, from 1:30-4:30**, at the Hobby Lobby on I-35 and South 19th in Moore (2650 Service Road, Moore, OK 73160).
**Supplies you will need to bring:**
**Clay**:
– 4 half-blocks (1 oz. each) of four contrasting colors, 2 lighter and 2 darker, rolled to strips about 2″ x 4″ on thickest setting of pasta machine
– ½ block of a color to use as a base (will show through holes).
– ½ block of a backing color – rolled on thickest setting
– Scrap clay equal to about 2 blocks worth
**Tools and Equipment**:
– Pasta machine
– Brayer or clay roller
– Clay blade, very sharp for horizontal slicing
– Needle tool
– Shaped clay cutters, various sizes, if you have them
– Tile for baking
– Work surface that clay will stick to and not move if pressed down. Your baking tile may work. Glass and acrylic work well.)
– Spray bottle for spritzing
– 4 new 3×3″ square sticky note pads (optional, but they make horizontal slicing easier)
– Waxed paper, paper towels, alcohol wipes
**Optional**:
– Household implements to make shaped punctures in clay: I will bring some to share and some for you to take home, but if you have small items you think make interesting holes or impressions in clay, bring them. Examples are tubes or clay cutters that make various size holes; cake-decorating tips; embroidery thread spools; crochet needle; hardware items; seashells that make spiral cuts or wavy lines.

COPCG January 28, 2012 Meeting

**Introduce/Welcome Guests**
Shirley opened the meeting by welcoming us and our return guest, Alex, Tom’s daughter.
The guild received a Christmas card from the Midwest City Library.
The American Craft magazine included an article about polymer in the Oct/Nov ’11 issue. Shirley will send a link for the article. The magazine is only available by joining American Craft.
**Show and Tell included the following:**
April showed two mixed media necklaces. One had silver turtles with liquid polymer and glitter. The second had a silver shell, pearl and glitter mixed with hobby sand and held together with liquid polymer. Both had beaded chains.
Myra had lavender beads with chrysanthemum canes
Penny displayed a badge holder finished with the embroidery technique she taught to the guild.
Lee Ann made a Myra inspired pendant necklace with grommets and bulls eyes canes.
**Program**
Lee Ann taught how to make a wood grain cane. We used the slices to cover stick pens. Several people tried using different colors for a variation of grains. The slices can be used to cover a form and have a very realistic “wood” box.
**The Raffle**
This month’s winners were: Jane (won Kay’s), Angela (won Stacey’s), Penni Jo (won Lee Ann’s), and Kay (won Penni Jo’s)
**Next Month’s Swap**
The February swap theme is Valentines.
**Next Meeting**
The next meeting will be Saturday, March 10, at the Hobby Lobby in Moore.

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January 2012 Meeting: Faux Wood

**UPDATE 1/23/12: Meeting is rescheduled to Saturday, January 28th, at the regular time 1:30pm to 4:30pm. Lee Ann will be teaching her Faux Wood technique, the materials list is below. We look forward to seeing you there!**
Update 1/13/12: Due to a scheduling conflict at our regular meeting place, we’ve been forced to cancel the January 14th meeting. We’re still trying to figure out a new date and will post here once it’s scheduled. Our apologies for the last-minute change!
Lee Ann faux wood projectsThis month, **Lee Ann Kelly** has generously offered to teach us a beautiful **Faux Wood** technique. Lee Ann’s artistry in polymer clay is always an inspiration, and we know this project will be no exception!
Our meeting will be held **Saturday, January 14, 2012, from 1:30-4:30**, at the Hobby Lobby on I-35 and South 19th in Moore (2650 Service Road, Moore, OK 73160).
**Supplies to bring:**
– Half a block of each: gold,burnt umber and black
– Bic Stick pen
– Pasta machine
– Craft knife and/or tissue blade
– Pliers — needle nose preferred
– Ruler
**Raffle**
This month we’ll be holding a raffle, so bring a few extra dollars if you want to participate. November’s winners (Kay, Stacie, Lee Ann, Sue and Penni Jo) will be supplying the prizes.