Ahhh, July in Sun City Grand Arizona! Great for suntans, open tables at favorite restaurants and unlimited GCA studio time.
This period also gives the Education Committee an opportunity to consider a well-balanced class schedule for Fall 2022 through the holiday season. Basically, the club operates from a pool of ten instructors. Included in this group are a few non-resident teachers. Based on the successful spring 2022 season, plans are to offer invitations to Donna Repaty (the "Flower Lady") and Carol Commins to return as non-resident instructors.
The club is now running the two basic classes 12 months a year to accommodate new members:
Monthly inclusion of Basic Clay/Basic Glazing sessions ensures beginner courses are offered a minimum 12 times throughout the calendar year. The goal is to engage new members in basic clay classes immediately upon joining GCA. This year-round approach goes a long way toward enriching new members' clay experience.
Also on deck beginning at the end of July Connie Johnson will be offering a new class: "One Piece Folded Plate." Note the photo below. This is the first time GCA is offering the course. Stay tuned for additional new class offerings as the Fall 2022 season draws near.
New members, upon completing the Basic Clay and Basic Glazing courses, 90 percent of classes offered are in your wheelhouse. Our professional-level instructors look forward to assisting in building your arsenal of clay arts skills! Don't hold back!
Exuberant Glazers
More glaze on our masterpieces may result in diminished beauty.
As an example, please take a moment to review the glazed items below. Note the glaze dripped off the edges during firing. Besides the disappointing results to the finished artwork, over-glazing causes additional expense to the club in that kiln tiles (shards) and occasionally shelves are damaged due to dripping glazes. Grinding dripped glazes off tiles and shelves is a time-intensive process that falls on the Kiln Committee. Also, tile and kiln shelf replacement due to dripped glaze damage is expensive. The club is experiencing the over-glazing issue on a weekly basis. This situation needs to be resolved moving forward.
Over-glazed pottery submitted for firing will be rejected by the kiln team whenever they are able to detect the issue. We urge members with rejected pieces to seek help from fellow members in order to reduce the amount of glaze on the rejected pottery in question. That means washing off all glaze, drying the piece for 24 hours and re-glazing appropriately before resubmitting for firing.
To help members address best blazing practices, the club established ongoing glaze classes several months ago. Instructors include Margo Cuthbert (glaze), Walt Fuller (glaze), Connie Johnson (glaze), Mary King (underglaze), and Brian Marx (glaze). The team conducts regularly scheduled year-round sessions. For sure, these sessions are popular given the consistently "sold out" participation rate. Should more glaze/underglaze classes be needed to meet demand, sessions will be increased this coming September through the holiday season.
2023 Grand Clay Arts Board of Directors
It's time to begin thinking about the 2023 board. Over half of the current GCA board of directors will be exiting, making way for new board member participation. The openings include both president and vice-president positions.
We encourage more recent GCA members (circa 2 years) to consider an active role in board positions. New ideas drive creativity! Please take the opportunity over the next several months to chat up current board members to discuss positions you may have interest in exploring.
A well-balanced board, with varying ideas and viewpoints, will keep GCA moving forward in a positive direction.
Art Call
The Gallery continues to sell pottery through the summer months. Should you have a special piece that you are willing to share with GCA Gallery customers, take a shot, post it in the Gallery presentation.
Last week a resident fell in love with a Pat O'Brien plate. This plate was used as a class example, not even for sale, just sitting on the studio shelf resting until Fall 2022 classes begin. Over a period of several days, the resident interested in the plate aggressively pushed to acquire the item. In the end, Pat gave in, priced the plate and closed the sale. Summer Gallery traffic is certainly reduced compared to in-season activity. However, shoppers are present and often serious buyers. You never know...
New Kiln Room (update)
On July 11, 2022, Al Dadd and I met with CAM to review the final (90% completion) architectural plans for the new kiln room. This is another step in a very long process toward the goal of a new kiln room. A copy of the final plans should be available in the studio for membership to review mid-next week.
GCA Newsletter
The Grand Clay Arts Newsletter enjoys an 80 percent sustained monthly open/read rate. That is a remarkably high percentage compared to newsletter overall averages! Thank you, LYNNE SHANROCK, for your dedication to the monthly newsletter and for continued guidance as editor and founder!
Have a GREAT month!
