The next general meeting of Grand Clay Arts is Thursday, December 15, 2022, at 9:00 AM in the Hopi Room of the Chaparral Center.  This is an important meeting for our club and we encourage you to attend.

The past several weeks have been hectic for GCA.

• Fall Fest Art Walk
• December Market at Grand
• Holiday "60's" Party, Party, Party!

Thanks to everyone for their participation in these successful events!  It really takes a team effort and club membership support for positive results.

Holiday "60's" Party, Party, Party!
Wow!  What a turnout in The Grand Palm Center and Patio.  Tasty food, enjoyable entertainment, terrific pottery prizes and lots of GCA socialization.  Special recognition and THANK YOU goes out to the wonderful GCA Event Co-directors Diane Palley and Trish McGinniss for the months of planning, developing and follow-up on every party detail.  Diane and Trish had a vision of the type of holiday party they wanted to host for fellow members and we enjoyed the results!

• Education Director                Lynne Shanrock
• Event Co-Directors                Diane Palley, Trish McGinniss
• Gallery Director                     Terry Cullen
• Glaze Room Director             Jean Zeidler
• Membership Director             Pat Conlen
• Monitor Director                    Cindy Wright
• Kiln Room Director                Al Dadd
• POP Co-Directors                  Laura Abraham, Diane Palley, Trish McGinniss
• Safety Director                      Jacqueline Wodach
• Studio Admin Director           Cathy Rick
• Supply Director                     Theresa Fritz

Supply Room Tales
Supply chain issues continue to disrupt the flow of clay and glazes to the marketplace.  Reacting to the club needs, Theresa Fritz was able to score 3,000 pounds of highly sought-after Laguna clay.  To add to supply chain woes, our supplier, Marjon, temporarily has discontinued delivery service.  To 'get it done,' Theresa quickly put together a team of members, rented a truck, picked up the clay from Marjon, and had a team in place to unload and stack the clay plus fill the sales storage bins.  Thank you Theresa and Team!
Larry Zetocka...the fine art of details
During your next visit to the studio, check out Larry's flower sketching and underglazing artwork on his vases.  Larry is parked in the hand-building area for hours on end focused on the delicate detail work of his clay arts passion!
 

Big Changes on the Horizon!
The procedures for sales of Gallery pieces are being revamped!  In late December, we will begin to migrate from using the "Record In-Studio Gallery Sale" form on the GCA website to using Square for all sales.  No longer will members need to enter information on the website form - we will make ALL sales in the same way, whether an art piece or a tool or bag of clay.  The process will also be the same regardless of the method of payment (cash/check or credit card).  I will begin training key people on the new system in late December/early January, and they will then begin training other GCA members.

The most exciting part is that the listings for Gallery pieces in Square will include photos and a search function, which will make it very easy to identify the item being sold.  Using Square will also help the Treasurer issue payments to members, because cash, check and credit card sales will all be handled the same way.  And because almost all members already know how to use Square for supply and tool sales, once the Gallery pieces are added, it should be a very seamless transition.

In addition, once these procedures are fully implemented, it means GCA will be using Square for both Market/Artisan Fusion sales and In-Studio Gallery sales, so members will then be able to take Gallery pieces outside to sell during those events without having to ask the Gallery staff to remove the Gallery listing beforehand.  We are also purchasing new, larger tags for gallery pieces to make them easier to identify at outside sales.  I am planning to test the implementation of these new procedures and make any needed adjustments at the January 7 Market at Grand sale.

So, I'm sure I'm not the only one.  Our kids never know what to get me for birthdays, Mother's Day, Christmas.  I started giving them lists of pottery tools that I'd like.  Then I came across websites for fun t-shirts.  I wear them regularly in the studio and I frequently get comments/compliments.  So I thought I'd share some websites with y'all.

Membership
Currently the club has 269 members which is now above pre-COVID levels and, as you may have noticed, the studio is getting crowded.  Please be patient with your fellow potters and share tables so we can accommodate as many members as practical.  This year we are not providing any non-member events, such as Give Clay a Try or Ghost (trying out the wheel), to solicit members but the club is open for membership to anyone who wants to join.

Checking In
Remember to "check-in" to the studio at the monitor's desk by swiping your CAM card through the card reader or use the scanner to read the QR code on your card.  It is important for us to keep track of studio attendance since CAM looks at these numbers when making decisions about allocating resources to the various clubs.  You only need to swipe in once per day.  If you have any problems with your CAM card or door code not working, please send an email to Membership@grandclayarts.com.

Service Hours
Service hours expire after 12 months, so don't get caught short.  You can check your service hours and when they expire as follows:

• Log in to the grandclayarts.com
• Go to "Volunteering" (same place you go to sign up for Monitor, Kiln or Glaze)
• Scroll down and click on "Volunteering Reports"
• Click the green "Run Report" button (this will show your hours for the past year by month earned)

90 Days or Less
GCA differentiates between part-time and full-time members.  Part-time members are members who reside in Grand 90 days or less.  If you are a resident of Grand for 90 days or less, you are required to have only 6 service hours to be in good standing.  Also, you are not eligible to rent a cubby.  If this situation applies to you, please log in to grandclayarts.com, go to your profile and check the box that says "Reside in Grand Less Than 90 Days."  This will ease the burden of trying to acquire 12 service hours when you are in Grand for such a short time.

These nametags are ready for pickup in the studio.  
                       

The glaze room committee is replacing all the 5-gallon buckets of liquid glaze.  This is going to take several weeks to accomplish because each bucket of glaze has to be sieved before it can be transferred.

Please note, we have now also put alphabetical letters inside the lids and buckets, which is an additional tool to help glazers return the correct lid to its bucket.

It is also essential that glazers clean the lids and inside top of buckets, plus place the lids securely on the buckets to avoid evaporation.  And again, we are asking glazers to clean the outsides of lids and buckets as well as the surrounding platform and/or floor.  Glaze dust is as bad for the lungs as clay dust.

The glaze list (color, glaze result, etc.) has been updated and has moved to the cupboard door above the sink.  Please read or re-read to familiarize yourself with all of our glazes.

On a beautiful, cool fall morning, some of our intrepid potters met at 8 AM to experience saggar firing at Raku Park in front of the Poker Club.  We put leaves and salt and horsehair and long pine needles into a foil package with our clay work and some chemicals, then bake them in the raku kiln.  Results are always a surprise and the pieces were finished with spray or wax.

As most everyone has noticed, the past few years have been a bit of a struggle with supply chain issues.  We have worked very hard with our supplier, Marjon Ceramics here in Phoenix, to try to stay on top of some of the delays.  It has been a challenge for us both.

Amaco glazes and underglazes are now beginning to trickle in at Marjon.  Keep in mind that there are other wonderful glaze options such as Coyote, Mayco and Duncan.  If you have time, take a trip down to Marjon and check out the store.  They are very informative and offer so many options, tools and textures.  There have also been delays with receiving some tools from Kemper and Mud Tools but these are also slowly arriving in stock.  We are awaiting our horseshoe cutters sometime soon as well.

We are now fully stocked with Speckled Buff, B-Mix and B-mix with Grog clay.  We took on a new clay, Special Buff, which is the same as Speckled Buff but without the speckles.  Connie Johnson said that it is wonderful to work with.  I can't wait to see some results.  Give it a try if you're looking for something different.  Redstone and WS-5 are still back ordered and possibly coming in in the next week.  At the moment, we are offering WSO as an alternative for saggar and raku firings.

There is a clipboard on the wall near the glaze room for you to fill out your special orders.  We will do our best to fulfill those orders as soon as possible.  Continue to bear with us as we work hard to get a handle on and stay ahead of these shortages.  Thanks for your patience.

 

Please remember to notify our sunshine coordinator via the web page link (sunshine@grandclayarts.com) when you are aware of a member who could benefit from a thoughtul card from our club.  Prior to mailing, cards are placed in the studio for signatures so that recipients can see our sentiments and wishes.

Our recent reunion gathering brought back the sixties in fine style!  Looks like Grand Clay Arts members know how to have a good time.  The setting was breathtaking, the merriment and camaraderie evident, the dancing exuberant, and delighted laughter indicated a good time was had by all!     

I spend summers in Door County, Wisconsin, which is a  Midwest vacation destination.  I take in the peacefulness of the woods and the beauty of the beaches along Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  I also built a totem from my clay creations.  Using a threaded rod, I secured it in quick cement.  Each piece is separated by a washer and nut to control the weight.  I used clay spacers to cover the nut.  It's about three feet tall.  But the best part of the summer was hanging out with Henry, my one-year-old grandson!

                             

Membership renewal notices will arrive via email around 12/15.  There is a link in the email such that you can easily pay online with your credit card.  You don't need a PayPal account; you can use the "Guest" option.  This is the preferred method of payment, as it saves time for our very hard-working Treasurer.  Thank you!

The decision was made that the new website screens will roll out later in January, after the hub-bub of the holidays.  More details to come as we get closer.
 

Tall pieces are more difficult to load and take up more room in the kiln than short and/or flat pieces.  Ordinarily this is not an issue.  However, when the firing load is heavy, tall pieces may take longer to move through the process.  The kiln committee will do its best to avoid this being an issue, but members submitting very tall pieces should be patient during times of heavy kiln usage.

Cone 6 glaze firing will be conducted on the second and fourth Friday of each month.  To submit a piece for cone 6 firing, use the yellow firing tickets and apply the appropriate firing and glaze stickers (see additional sticker information below).  There is a shelf reserved for cone 6 firing submissions.  There will be a laminated sheet with the firing schedule posted at the shelf for cone 6 pieces.

Currently there are firing stickers and glaze stickers.  Going forward, there will only be "stickers."  The combined number of stickers required on firing tickets will remain the same but there will only be one type of sticker.  In the meantime, existing stickers can continue to be used until they are used up.  A new sticker will be developed to replace both types of current stickers.

When submitting multiple tiny pieces for firing, do not submit them on wooden boards.  Use one or more of the tiles provided on the bisque and glaze input shelves.

Thank you.

 

Several new events are coming to GCA during the month of February.  By popular demand, Pat O'Brien has agreed to create and teach a class for this fabulous "Bucket Purse."  Stay tuned for more details. Please check Event Registration on our website for the most up-to-date information.