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October 2008 Meeting Notes

What an interesting technique Jane Linn presented at our October meeting! With her guidance, eight members and three guests tried the layering effect, using layers liquid polymer clay, inclusions, and stamping. Thanks to Jane for all of her research in preparation for the meeting! Thanks also to new member Sue M., who had made sets of triangle cutters and very generously gave them away to any of us who wanted them!
**Business Meeting:**
**Reports:**
April G. reviewed our meeting schedule:
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**Nov. 8:** Christmas Ornaments with Angela
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**Nov. 29:** 5th Saturday Play Day
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**Dec. 13:** Christmas Trees with Nance
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**Jan. 10:** (Open)
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**Library Report:** Jane L. gave a very positive review of one of last month’s purchases, *Polymer Clay Techniques*, by Sue Heaser. It is available to check out.
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**Bottles of Hope Report:** BOH coordinator Nance R. announced that we may have about 50 bottles. Telemundo aired a story on our BOH project on September 19 at 5 and 10 p.m. It included interviews with Angela M. and Nance R. Angela said she had sent members a link where they could view the broadcast. Angela also reported that she has taken initial steps to set up a BOH donation event for our guild at Mercy’s Cancer Resource Center and was expecting a call back to set up a time to show them the bottles and discuss details.
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**Treasurer’s Report:** Angela reported a balance of $386.42 in our treasury. She had spent $11.74 to purchase more group clay at Hobby Lobby’s last sale. (Group clay is kept available for the use of first-time visitors.) Our membership currently stands at 14.
**New Business:**
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**Guild Website:** Angela has set up a section where members can set up individual pages listing their specialties, linking to their websites, etc. She has sent an email with instructions and asked whether anyone had questions.
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**Elections:** New officers will be elected in January. Angela reported that members may look at the list of officers and their responsibilities at [http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddcr7zzx_31ct2grp]. As officers are limited to serving two years, Angela will be stepping down as president.
**Library Drawing:** There were no suggestions for a new title to purchase this month.
**Bi-Monthly Swap:** Four members brought items to swap. Next month we will be a raffle month. Winners of last month’s raffle, Lee Ann and Sue, will bring raffle items.
Swap themes for upcoming months are: **December:** Angels; **February:** Birds; **April:** Blue; **June:** Fruit.
Our meeting ended with a show of beautiful items made by members, including some wonderful necklaces and very creative Bottles of Hope.

October Meeting: Multi-layer Pendent/Pin

10070010.jpgThe Saturday October 11th meeting is going to be another great one! Jane Linn will be showing us translucent layering techniques similar to those of Kathleen Dustin, the amazing polymer clay artist. Jane has included some gorgeous examples of her work using these techniques. Come one and all and participate in this exciting meeting!
* When: Saturday, October 11, 2008, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check out stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What To Bring:
* Clear Liquid polymer clay
* Clay for background-approx. 1/2 block (1 oz.) each-your choice of colors. Jane encourages everyone to chose 2 colors-maybe a light and dark
* Pearl powders and/or Acrylic paints-your choice of colors
* Metal leaf/glitter-optional
* Canes-optional-(it looks like Kathleen Dustin used a number of canes using transparent clay and one color on her work, if your’e going for that look)
* Wire for bail -optional, if making pendent and prefer a bail to a cut hole
* 2 clean ceramic tiles
* Small stamps and stamp pads Penni Jo will be bringing some small face stamps that we can purchase (they are wonderful!). Except for the very smallest size, the stamps are not mounted so they easily stamp a curve (bead,etc.) *
* Heat gun — I think there will be enough people who already have one who are willing to share. However, Hobby Lobby has the heat gun on sale this week for $10, if you do want one *
* Flat brush-approx to inch optional, if rather use your finger to spread
* Sharpie pen-any size, any color. If you don’t have one we can share *
* Scissors
* Work surface
* Brayer *
* Exacto knife
* Pasta machine *
* Paper towels and/or wet wipes for clean up
* Wire cutter-optional-if using a wire bail in pendant
* Note: If you do not have the starred items, do not feel you have to buy them for this meeting. The guild and members have them and are happy to share.
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Reminder: Our swap theme this month is Harvest. To participate, bring one item. In exchange, you’ll receive one item from another swap participant.

September 2008 Meeting Notes

There were seven members and one guest at our September meeting. Before we adjourned, our guest became our newest member. Welcome Sue!
We had lots of fun trying out the mokume gane technique, under the tutelage of Nance Ross. Nance brought in lots of finished projects to show us, including pendants and covered pens and boxes. Thanks, Nance!
**Business Meeting:**
The schedule for upcoming meetings is:
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**Oct. 11:** Translucent Layering with Jane
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**Nov. 8:** Christmas Ornaments with Angela
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**Nov. 29:** 5th Saturday Play Day
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**Dec. 13:** Christmas Trees with Nance
**Reports:**
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**Library:** Jane called our attention to the newest issue of Polymer Cafe magazine, which will be added to our library. The August book selection had been postponed until September.
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**Bottles of Hope:** Angela reported that our news story, taped at Studio Mid-Del, was aired on News 9 five different times during the day on Tuesday, September 9. BOH Coordinator Nance reported that we have had several calls and one email regarding the story. A woman who is a shut-in cancer survivor, and credits her cure to a miracle from the angels, requested an angel-themed bottle after seeing Penni Jo’s angel bottle in the news story. Nance is working with the Telemundo television station on another BOH story to be taped sometime this coming week at Studio Mid-Del and invited the participation of anyone who can come. **BOH Donation Event:** Our BOH mentor, Cindy, has asked that, if possible, we hold our event at Mercy Hospital’s Cancer Resource Center. Angela has a contact name there and will follow up. Angela said she believes we could hold our event when we have at least 50 bottles completed. Nance said that we now have about 30.
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**Treasurer:** Angela reported a balance of $403.97 in our treasury and a total membership of 13.
**New Business:**
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**Temporary Replacement for Vice President and Webmaster:** April S. will have to step down from her duties for a while. April G. offered to take over program scheduling duties, and Jane offered to take pictures at the meetings. A replacement for Webmaster was not found.
**Old Business:**
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**Meeting Space:** Because we are growing too large for our current meeting space, Studio Mid-Del has been approached about the possibility that our guild could meet there. They will discuss it with their board.
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**Swap with Tulsa Guild:** Angela has not heard back from her contact at the Tulsa Guild, so no date has been set.
The themes for our bi-monthly swaps are:
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**October:** Harvest
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**December:** Angels
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**February:** Birds
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**April:** Blue
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**June:** Fruit
We held a drawing for library purchases for both August and September. The two books to be purchased are *Polymer Clay Techniques*, by Sue Heaser and *Making Beautiful Beads*, by Suzanne Tourtillott.
The three winners of July’s raffle brought items for this month’s event. Winners were Lee Ann and new member Sue. The winners will bring items for November’s raffle.
For Show and Tell, we had an outstanding display. April G. brought an experimental bowl in which she combined pottery with polymer clay. Penni Jo brought kimono pendants and earrings that she had made, using the brocade effect. Angela brought some Bottles of Hope she had completed.

September Meeting: Mokume Gane

This month, Nance Ross will be teaching a Mokume Gane project. Here’s a summary from Nance:
Most of our Guild members have already done some makume gane projects in the past, so for the benefit of new members, we will do a basic stack of thin layers of clay, do the usual holes and/or texturizing, and add a few inclusions. The end result is to make some slices that can be used to cover an altoid tin, a ball of scrap to make a fan pull, or pendant, or other useful and attractive project.
This is planned to be an interactive exchange of ideas on what to add, what products work well with clay (inks, foils, leaf s of various kinds, paints, inclusions etc.) and ways in which to add textures and depth to impressions in the brick prior to stacking. Ways to use the patterns produced on useful and decorative item will also be discussed.
* When: Saturday, September 13, 2008, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check out stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What To Bring:
* Your ideas to share.
* The usual rollers, slicers, work space, plus three or four of your favorite colors of clay that work well together, pre-rolled to the desired thickness (new members will have the chance to roll their own at the meeting, if you are not sure how to do it for Makume Gane), and any product or inclusion you wish to use, knitting needles or other implements for making holes through the stack of clay, and any example you wish to share of completed projects done with makume gane as a start to creating the project.
* Also might be useful to bring materials for taking notes, as this should be a meeting packed with lots of ideas…..just in time for making Christmas gifts!
Reminder: We will be having a raffle this coming meeting. The prizes are to be provided by Angela, Lee Ann, and Shirley. Members will purchase tickets and place their tickets in a container for the prizes they would like to win. The winners take home the prize and are to provide a prize the next time we have a raffle (every other month).

Bottles of Hope Program Featured on News9

News9.com Bottles of Hope VideoThe Central Oklahoma Polymer Clay Guild’s participation in the Bottles of Hope program was featured on News9 This Morning (see Group Bottles Hope under Featured Videos).
Our group became actively involved with Bottles of Hope in March after local cancer survivor Cindy Matteson shared her story with us. Since then, we’ve created about 40 bottles (view some of them here). Some of the bottles were created in guild meetings, some in classes with community groups like the Newcomers, and many by group members working on their own at home.
Once we have 50-75 bottles, we plan to hold an event at a cancer treatment facility, where we can give these bottles to cancer patients and survivors.
If you have questions about Bottles of Hope, please contact us. If you would like to get involved, we welcome you to create and donate your own polymer clay-decorated Bottles of Hope. (Here’s more info on making Bottles of Hope.) And as always, feel free to visit one of our meetings to learn more about using polymer clay. We meet the second Saturday of every month at the Hobby Lobby in Norman.
Thanks to the group members and class participants who came out and made bottles, to Studio Mid-Del for hosting our bottle-making session, and to News 9 for the great story!

August 2008 Meeting Notes

Six members and two guests were present for our August meeting. Shirley led us in using two techniques to create ink jet transfers. Each transfer became a “tile” which can be used to make an elasticized bracelet. The instruction handout is available as a pdf file. Here is a link. InkJet Transfer Handout [PDF]
Future meetings are scheduled as follows:
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**August 30:** Play Day
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**September 13:** Mokume Gane with Nance
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**October 11:** Translucent Layering with Jane
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**November 8:** Open
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**November 29:** Play Day
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**December 13:** Open
Angela volunteered to lead a Christmas-themed project for our November meeting.
She will try to reserve our Hobby Lobby meeting room for the August 30th play day.
In the **business** portion of our meeting, we discussed:
**Bottles of Hope Project:** Coordinator Nance announced that she now has about 30 bottles ready to donate to cancer patients. She requested that members help by e-mailing her some messages of hope that she could place inside the bottles.
TV News9, which taped some of our members making the bottles in July, has postponed airing the segment until a planned interview for the story can be completed. They will call Angela when it is set to air.
We discussed possible places for our first Bottles of Hope donation event. Angela will contact our project liaisson, Cindy Matteson, for recommendations.
**Treasurer’s Report:** Angela reported that we have a balance of $388.97, and our members currently number 13.
**New Business:**
**Bottles of Hope Challenge:** The theme of this year’s national BOH challenge is “A Message of Hope.” The deadline for sending entries is December 15. For more information, contact Angela.
**Munro Crafts Order:** Jane reminded everyone who wishes to add items to her order to send her their lists, as she plans to place the order on Monday, the 11th. Items will be discounted fifty percent because of the size of the order.
**Holocaust Children’s Memorial Butterflies:** Nance talked about a request for handmade butterflies to be displayed at a memorial to the children of the Holocaust in Texas. She gave specifications for the butterflies and will make information available through our web site.
**Meeting space:** With our recent increased attendance, our present meeting space is becoming too crowded. Angela asked members for ideas for new meeting places. We discussed various possibilities. Nance will check with a place in Midwest City.
**Swap with Tulsa Guild:** Angela announced that the Tulsa Guild has chosen vessels as the theme of our inter-guild swap. She sent around a sign-up sheet for those who wish to participate. TheTulsa group has 6 members.
**August Swap:** Several people brought items for the birthday-themed swap. Jane’s item was birthday brownies, and she even allowed those of us who didn’t bring a swap item to have one!
Angela asked for new ideas for the themes of our bi-monthly swaps. Our theme for the October swap will “Harvest”, and for December, “Angels.”
Reminder: Next month, instead of a swap, we will hold a raffle. July winners will provide the raffle items.
**Library Drawing:** As there were no nominations for the library drawing, we decided to postpone our August drawing until the September meeting.
**Show and Tell:** What a creative group! Several members brought beautiful items they had made.

August Meeting: Ink Jet Transfers

Ink Jet Transfer Sample by ShirleyShirley will be teaching August’s lesson on **Ink Jet Transfers**. We will be transferring two ink-jet-printed images to polymer clay, then creating two small “tiles” which can be used in elasticized tile bracelets. Each tile will use a different technique, resulting in a slightly different look. One technique will result in a transfer with bright, clear colors, and the other will yield an image that is a bit yellowed, giving it an aged look. There are many types of images that would make a nice bracelet: copyright-free artistic designs; old prints or drawings; photos of children, grandchildren, or ancestors; fragments of maps; and vacation mementos. Lots of colorful design images will be provided for you to use, but for those who wish to use their own images, an e-mail message outlining options will follow.
– **When:** Saturday, August 9, 2008, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
– **Where:** The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check out stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
– **What to Bring:**
– One-half ounce of white polymer clay (Shirley has used Kato and Premo with good results.)
– One-half ounce of translucent polymer clay (Will be rolled to the thinnest setting, so if you have a favorite brand that works well at this thickness, do use it.)
– One pkg. of black polymer clay
– One-half ounce of scrap clay
– Liquid polymer clay
– Elasticized bead cord (black)
– Brass tube, knitting needle, or some device about 1/8 inch diameter, or wide enough to measure a space through your tile big enough to accommodate a knot in your bead cord.
– Clay blade
– Pasta machine
– Needle tool
– Scissors for cutting thin slabs of cured clay
– Bone folder, stiff credit card, or plastic spoon for burnishing image on clay
– Tile(s) for baking surface
– Waxed paper, baby wipes, etc. for clean work surface
– Also helpful: Grid paper or a gridded cutting mat
Note on clay brands: Since the process involves several steps of re-baking, Shirley recommends using only clays with similar baking temperatures on one tile. Additional materials needed to finish the bracelet at home will be listed in the instruction handout.
**REMINDER** – We will be having a swap this meeting. Since our group seems to have a lot of August “babies,” our swap theme is birthdays. Think cake, babies, age, party hats, or any other festive birthday-themed items. To participate, bring one item. In exchange, you’ll receive one item from another swap participant.