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1st Quarter Member Meeting February 16, 2023

20th Anniversary Celebration

 

Masonic Lodge in Hickory Flat, GA

 

11:00 am A little time to meet, mingle, and catch up with long-time friends. Party games were enjoyed by all with a few prizes to boot!

 

Lunch: 11:30-12:00 Taco Bar opened & cake for everyone!

 

Meeting: 12:00 p.m. – The meeting was called to order by Julie Nunn.

Meet the New Board:

- President: Julie Nunn

- Vice President: Barb Murphy

- Treasurer: Kathryn Somers

- Secretary: Megan Baker

 

Financial:

Treasurer Report by Kathryn Somers – Current balance is $6,586.63

 

Recent Expenses - Yearly payment for the Secretary of State has been made this past quarter.  

 

Upcoming Expenses - Expenses for this meeting, but no other significant bills coming due now. 

 

Current Membership - Invoices have been sent out for 2023 membership to all past members of 2022 and 2021. Several are outstanding. We’ve had notices that 6 members will not be renewing, most have moved away and one passed away last fall. 

If you haven’t paid for 2023, please look for an invoice from the GCC through Square and pay it online. If you’d like to send a check, make it payable to GCC and mail to P.O. Box 4905 Canton, GA 30114

 

Shows and Exhibits: 

 

Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association / Art Center - January 14 - February 24, 2023 

Update from Caroline: The traffic is good, interest is good, but sales are low.  

Dates to note:

February 25, 2023 - Pick-up Artwork 11am-4pm ***As of the writing of the minutes, BRMAA sent an email asking artists to pick up on Friday, February 24th or Sunday, February 26th

Conversation about the lack of work for this show commenced. In the past the members of the GCC have filled the large gallery with enough work to make a strong show. This time there wasn’t enough work and the gallery moved in another collection to fill the space. The GCC show was moved to the small gallery (located behind the kitchen). This was not a show that reflected the strengths of the GCC. There were many small pieces but larger work was needed for the large gallery space. A distinct lack of enough wall pieces was crucial to filling the large gallery and resulted in the move to the small gallery. 


 

The Harris Arts Center in Calhoun - August 25 - October 12, 2023 

Dates to note:

Drop off - August 17-19th

Exhibit Opens - August 25th

Reception - Sunday August 27th, 3:00-4:30 p.m.

Pick-up - October 13 - 18th

 

Discussion about the Harris Gallery and the work we need to bring included:

  • The gallery looks best when it’s full.

  • The gallery has many places for hanging work, not only in the gallery, but in the entry and hall leading to the gallery. These are great areas to showcase your wall pieces.

  • Dan & Mary DeFoor’s last show there included 30+ large sculptures.

  • An estimate of 100 pieces from our group, including small 3D to wall pieces, sounds good for filling the space.

  • Expect a commitment call prior to finalizing your submissions; estimate your number of wall pieces and 3D work so we can plan to have enough for a full show.

 

A few remarks about the focus of GCC shows stemmed from these conversations:

  • Participation is important.

  • Variety makes our shows unique. All skill levels combine to create a show that has something for everyone to enjoy. 

  • No one is too new to clay to show. The most humble beginner piece next to an advanced piece from an experienced artist shows the capacity of clay to reach every artist and level. We want to showcase the breadth and depth of clay and all the artists that use it.

  • This is the venue for emerging artists to emerge. No matter the skill level, people want to see the work and there are few, if any, restrictions to showing with the group.

 

In the Works:

Creative Arts Guild (Dalton) May/June 2024. 

Kathryn, Dan, or Mary will touch base on the schedule when it is finalized.

 

Workshops :

Glazing Techniques Weekend – 2 days to play! Come learn all about finishing your pieces. From mixing your own glazes, exciting options in commercial glazes, and unconventional finishes - we want to learn it all! Look for details coming soon. 

  • Some highlights will be:

    • Oxides for dramatic or subtle effect

    • Mixing your own glaze recipes

    • Spray your glaze!

    • How to finish your raku and alternate fired pieces

    • Cold finishes - what does that mean and what can I use?

 

Raku Workshop - Look for an upcoming Raku Kiln Building Workshop with Fred soon! We’ll be learning how to make a raku kiln and how to test fire it. 

At a later date we’ll have a raku night with time for everyone to fire a piece or two. 

 

Possible Workshops:

Three possible workshops were presented to the members and all were voted on as good to proceed with details:

1. Microwave Raku Workshop with Denise Muckleroy Young. Use a kiln insert in a microwave for small raku pieces or test pieces. https://www.facebook.com/happyturtlekilnarts/  https://www.instagram.com/happyturtlekilnarts/?hl=en 

2. Throwing and altering forms with Lynnette Hesser https://www.lynnettehesserceramics.com/   & Steve Loucks https://www.stevelouckspottery.com/  

3. Pots with Personality: Sculpting with Rebecca Zeimer; monster figurines with an emphasis on expression and character development. https://www.beckyzee.com/about  https://www.facebook.com/BeckyZee38104/  https://www.instagram.com/beckyzee38104/?hl=en 

 

Alabama Clay Conference Report - 

The conference was so much fun! It was a weekend of inspiration, learning, and socializing. We had the opportunity to watch 4 artists work for several hours each day and ask questions. Lectures were available in the evenings. Gallery exhibits were close enough to walk to. Other fun events included a mug exchange, attendee show, presenters sale, clay vendor market, Auburn University student show, and raffle. 

 

Current Projects - 

We are collecting and updating our member mailing addresses for a future Pin Map of Members and Resources. We’d like to be able to see where our members are located so we can work on connecting members and having events that are as convenient as possible. 

 

Member Page Updates on the website - it’s time to renew the images and artist profiles. Everyone gets a page! You can have as little or as much on your page as you want. Please email images and info to gaclaycouncil@gmail.com  Subject: Member Page info, Attn: Megan. 

 

Empty Bowl Event this Fall! Jenna Samples has been working hard to research and begin planning a GCC sponsored Empty Bowls Event! We will need lots of bowls….  You can learn more about Empty Bowls and how it began here  https://emptybowls.com/ The charity we’re focusing on is Backpacks of Love. This organizations’ goal is to eliminate hunger in school-age children by providing food for their weekends. If you’d like to help out with the event, please reach out to us (gaclaycouncil@gmail.com) or Jenna (jennarsamples@gmail.com).

 

Building our Network - Business cards and an updated brochure are in the works for members to share with other artists you meet.

 

Education and Outreach:

 

Annual Scholarship:

Start exploring workshops and courses you may want to attend in 2024. Applications are due at the end of November. See the website for more details.

 

Next Meeting: Night Meeting. May 11, 2023 @ 6:00 pm 

This meeting will likely be held at the Harris Art Center in Calhoun so the members can see the space for the upcoming show. Stay tuned for confirmation.

 

In attendance:

Barbara Murphy, Julie Nunn, Patricia Reeves, Sue Chisholm, Lynna Gron, Charlotte Barron, Janet Smith, Deborah Macknight, Susan Blanchard, Laura Ellis, Fred Ellis, Megan Baker, Kathryn Somers, Valerie Diamond, Triny Cline, Mary DeFoor, Dan DeFoor, Phoebe Maze, Cathay Meincer.

 

 

If you have not yet done so, please like/follow/join the GCC on the following social media platforms.  We’ll do our best to promote member shows, as well as group events.   Feel free to tag us in your own marketing efforts or email us with your event information so that we can add it to our feeds:

 

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/737121216769743  This is a private FB group where members can communicate and ask questions about upcoming events.

 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/georgiaclaycouncil  This is a public page where anyone can see and post about group events.


Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/gaclaycouncil/  This is a place where the group or members can post images from events  or of their work.   The group can be tagged @gaclaycouncil,  #gaclaycouncil or #georgiaclaycouncil.

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