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November 2007 Meeting Notes

We had 8 people at our November meeting & had a wonderful time learning all sorts of nifty things! April showed us how she does the watercolor/torn paper effect with polymer clay. She also squeezed in a clay extruded cane demo (which was met with much ooh-ing & ahh-ing) plus a demo on sanding and buffing polymer clay pieces for a great shine. Here’s copies of April’s handouts, in case you missed the meeting:
* Watercolor / Torn Paper Steps
* Quick Hand Sanding & Buffing Tips
And for those of you who missed the sanding/buffing demo or just want more info, April recommends checking out fellow member Christie’s sanding & buffing video.
Thanks to April for a great lesson!
Our upcoming meeting schedule is as follows:
* Dec. 8: Covering Switch Plates with Penni Jo
* Jan. 12: Faux Techniques with Jane
* Feb. 9: Hearts for Heroes with various member demos
* March 8: Extruder Canes with April
In the business portion of the meeting, we drew a new item for our library, a 1-year subscription to Polymer Cafe magazine. And speaking of Polymer Cafe, our own Penni Jo is in the latest issue — she’s even mentioned on the cover! Way to go, Penni Jo!
Dana joined the group (welcome, Dana!), so we’re now up to 11 members.
We discussed the Hobby Lobby display. Angela expressed concern that our poster had disappeared, but April found it after the meeting — it had just fallen behind the display case. April and Jane offered to help keep the display “fresh” by updating it with new items after the monthly meetings. If you have an item you would like to loan us for a month to display, please bring it with you to the next meeting.
We also discussed the upcoming officer elections in January. Shirley requested that the officer duties be posted, so that folks can read through them and consider which office they would like to volunteer for. Angela agreed & will be sending this information out to the email group.

November Meeting: Torn Paper / Watercolor Effect

Watercolor Technique Bead by kreativekarmaThis month, April will be showing us how to do a torn paper/watercolor effect with polymer clay. If time permits, she will also give a quick demonstration on finishing pieces by sanding and buffing.
* When: Saturday, November 10, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay: April suggests either Premo or Kato clay for this project; you don’t want your clay too squishy. Bring 1/2 to 1 block of black, 1/2 to 1 block of white, 1/2 to 1 block of translucent, and 1/2 to 1 block of any other color you would like. (She suggests 1/2 block of clay to save on time and space). Also bring some scrap clay for the base of your projects. Optional — if you plan on making beads, you might want to try pre-baking some beads prior to the meeting, to cover.
* Pasta Machine: A must for this project! (though we can probably share if you don’t have one to bring)
* Wax or Deli paper: We will end up with sheets of clay and will want
to lay it on a clean surface.
* Bead Baking Supplies: If you plan on making beads with this technique, then bring items to bake them on.
* Tissue Blade: To trim our stacks of clay.
* Brayer or Acrylic Rod
* Ceramic Tile: If you are choosing to make something other than
beads, then you may want to cook your items on a tile.
April will also be showing a very brief demonstration on the world of extruded canes — a little teaser for the upcoming meeting dedicated to extruded canes. No supplies needed for the demo — all you need to do is sit back and watch!

October 2007 Meeting Notes

We had seven people at our October meeting, & everyone seemed to have a spooky-good time. Cassy kicked things off by showing everyone how to sculpt Halloween pumpkins, then “angel” and “deviled” eggs. After that, Angela & Penni Jo demonstrated how to make a beaded spider using glow-in-the-dark clay & alcohol inks. (See Penni Jo’s beading diagram here.)
It was a free-for-all when card-swapping time rolled around. The five members who signed up for the ATC Swap (based on September’s ATC project) eagerly grabbed up each others’ cards. All the swappers brought — and took home — beautiful creations!
In the business part of the meeting, we discussed the schedule for the next two meetings:
* November 10: April will be teaching the Watercolor/Torn Paper technique (unless there’s a game conflict — in which case Angela will have a fall project to share)
* December 8: Penni Jo will be teaching how to cover light switch plates in polymer clay
Other upcoming classes include the extruder/cane technique and an inro project.
We drew two new book selections for the guild library:
* The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects by Donna Kato
* The Art of Jewelry, by Katherine Duncan Aimone
Penni Jo showed us her preview copy of the Fall 2007 Bead Unique magazine, where her “Circling Dragonfly” article will be appearing. The article looks great, & she even mentioned the guild in her bio — so we’re all famous now!
Angela offered guild business cards for members to help spread the word about the group. The business cards, along with the fliers Penni Jo created, are now available on our new “Member Resources” page — so members can feel free to print these out as needed.
Angela also mentioned that officer elections will be held in January, and that we’re looking for interested volunteers to fill these roles: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Photographer, & Guild Librarian. Please be thinking about which role(s) you would be interested in filling.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the November meeting!

October Meeting: Halloween Fun

Glow-in-the-dark Beaded SpiderJoin us Saturday, October 13th, for an afternoon of Halloween fun. First, one of the guild’s youngest members, Cassy, will be showing us how to make her angel and deviled eggs (see photo here), as well as a simple pumpkin. Then the guild’s founders, Penni Jo & Angela, will team up to show us how to make beaded spiders using glow-in-the-dark clay and alcohol inks.
* When: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay: Cassy’s sculptures don’t require a lot of clay — though it depends on how large & how many you want to make. Colors include red, black, white yellow, orange and a little green or brown for the stem of the pumpkin. The spiders require less than a block of glow-in-the-dark clay.
* Alcohol Inks: We’ll be using alcohol inks to tint the glow-in-the dark clay. Alcohol inks are sold under a few brand names, including Ranger and Pinata, and are usually found near the stamping section of the craft store. Please bring alcohol inks if you have them (or have been looking for an excuse to buy them!); otherwise, we’ll have a little extra to go around.
* Gloves: Alcohol inks can be *messy* — so we recommend bringing gloves if you don’t want tinted fingers. Alcohol inks can also stain clothes — so if you’re the messy type, you may want to bring an apron or wear older clothes…
* Beads & Beading Supplies: If you have a bead baking set, bring your piercing pins — and we could use an extra bead baking rack too, if someone doesn’t mind bringing theirs. You’ll also need wire (24 gauge works great), and assorted beads/seed beads for spider legs (the pictured example used 40 black seed beads and 8 black 6 mm bicones), along with any wire-working tools you have. If you want to make your spider into a brooch, bring along a pin back too.
We hope you’ll drop in for some frightful fun!

September 2007 Play Day Notes

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!

September Play Day: Photographing Your Work

September has 5 Saturdays, so that means it’s play day time! This month, we’ll be learning more about an important skill… how to best photograph your clay creations. Penni Jo Couch (check out her photos here!) has graciously offered her home for the play day meeting place, and she’s also offered to tell us a thing or two about photographing clay work — including things like scanning vs. photographing, and how to use your handy-dandy computer to tweak your images. Some of our members use light boxes for optimal photo lighting, so we’ll discuss those as well. It’ll be a pretty informal information-sharing time, so if you’ve got a favorite photo tip, we hope you’ll come and share it!
* When: Saturday, September 29, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: Penni Jo’s house (Moore, OK). Note: Address/directions have been sent out to our mailing list. If you’re interested in attending, but aren’t on the list, contact us.
* What to Bring:
* If you have something you’d like photographed, bring it & we’ll use it to practice with. Otherwise, you don’t need to bring anything. We won’t be doing any clay work at this meeting.
Hope to see you Saturday! And afterwards, I hope to see our Flickr pool filled with lots more clay photos!

September 2007 Meeting Notes

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!