Summer in the Studio…

Remember, during the summer you can monitor and continue to work on your projects. Sign up for a monitor slot and set up your workstation at the tall table adjacent to the lobby. We hope you will consider monitoring often.

Clay & Glass Expansion…

We are waiting for the architect to prepare a plan based on the civil engineer identifying what could be a ‘maximum’ footprint. It will still be another few weeks, at a minimum.

Once we have the drawing, we can begin to work towards what will be a good floor plan for each Club. There will be meetings and communications between the architect and the LPT.

Jim Donaldson, Jenny Mieras, and I, as part of LPT, will be working closely with each Club to review the proposed plan to help ensure the final plan is one with which both Clay and Glass are comfortable.

We have several teams in place and ready to act once we have a firm plan and dates. As we enter the Design Phase of the project, our next step is to acquire a plan that shows the maximum footprint for the expansion.

Member Input…

Many of our Members have headed home for the summer and may be able to continue to do clay projects where they live. Some of the studios or facilities where they can work on their art may offer some things that are different from what we have at Grand Clay Arts. If you do continue to work with clay, we would appreciate your input about what features, tools, and procedures you like in your summer studios. Place your comments in our Suggestion Box by clicking the link on our home page. As an example, the Donaldson's spend time in Logan, Utah's Cache Valley Pottery, where Jim and Leigh are able to work on clay art. Jim has said their stools are more comfortable, the sinks are different and better in some ways, and the setup for their pottery wheel classes is better.

Please let us know what positive features, tools, equipment and layouts you find that you feel might be beneficial to our Club. 

GCA Summer Potters: The Grand Summer Markets are coming!
You may bring additional items in to the studio to sell for the July 20th and August 17th markets.  Use white tags and place items on hightop tables in the studio. Tablecloths and stands can be used to enhance the display of items.  You'll need to stay in the studio to help with sales and wrapping from 9am - 1pm and take unsold items home.  
 

When I think of Lynne Shanrock, one word comes to mind: Elegance.  Her demeanor, her artwork … for me, there’s no other word.

As a teacher, she’s the best!  Everything she says makes sense.  Another example of her elegance!  Lynne loves teaching and is inspired by working with like-minded people.

“Clay is all I do. I take classes at Marjon every week. Pete at Marjon is very talented and helps us in every way.  I get lots of value from every class I take.  I’ve learned how to fix mistakes!”

Lynne gets her ideas from Pete and from Pinterest.  She uses these ideas as guides, not to duplicate.  “Classes are an important part of growth.  We’re always learning tricks to improve our skills. My first Kachina class gave me the spark.  It hit the right mark for me to create and design my own pieces.”  

Lynne’s clay career began 23 years ago, after retiring.  Professionally, she started out as a secretary and worked her way up to Executive Assistant to a corporate President.  After functioning at the pinnacle of her career, she switched careers to product management for computer terminals.  

She discovered art from her grandfather, a prolific sketcher.  She was fascinated by his sketches and was inspired by him to learn painting.  When she and her husband retired, they moved to Sun City Grand because of all the art classes. She joined Grand Clay Arts in 2001 and took a woven plate class from Mary Wolke.  “I still have that plate, too!”  She spent all her time at Clay and had so much fun in the Kachina class, that she designed her own and taught the class.  “I was shocked that they paid me to do it!”  

She still loves teaching.  “I get lots of satisfaction from teaching.”  The benefits and joy of teaching come from the students.  They inspire her.  

Lynne became a driving force in Grand Clay Arts. She created the newsletter, ran the Education Committee and expanded the class offerings, became a board member, and continues to teach many popular classes.  

Check out the Clay Arts window facing the courtyard.  Every slot is filled with Lynne's work.  It's quite beautiful and very impressive.  Enjoy!

Bio

by Lynne Shanrock

Although art was never part of my formal education, having a creative outlet has always been high on my priority list.  I was fortunate to have a wonderful artist as my painting tutor and pursued oil painting as a hobby for many years.

Upon retiring, I discovered clay.  I’ve been manipulating clay for over twenty years and have yet to look back.  By participating in workshops and classes to further develop my skill set, I enjoy passing along some of that information when teaching others.

The tactile and versatile nature of clay has completely captivated me and I feel extremely lucky to have an artistic outlet that provides so many challenges along with creative fulfillment and pure delight.  

Change coming to the Online Gallery!
We will soon be retiring the GCA online Gallery site.  This is the link on the homepage that displays all the Gallery items for sale.  There will no longer be an online sales capability.

Gallery pieces will be for sale only in the studio, and sales will be handled with Square. The inventory of all pieces for sale will be managed in Square, and the public will not have access to that inventory.

This migration to Square will have little effect on current processes of posting items and sales.  Most of the impact is in streamlining the work of the Gallery Team and the Treasurer.

Why are we making this change?
The online Gallery was originally created to provide a sales outlet during Covid.  Today, online sales are rare, and the effort to maintain both the website Gallery and Square inventory is onerous.

What does this means for our Artists?
There is no change to the Submit or Remove processes.  Artists will continue to submit requests from the homepage, using "Submit a Gallery Request" or "Remove a Gallery Item".  Artists will continue to receive a verification email indicating that the piece may be brought into (or removed from) the studio.

What does this means for our Monitors?
There is no change to the sale process.  Monitors will continue to process sales through Square. We will no longer be taking cash in the studio - credit or debit cards only.

What does this mean for our Buyers?
Shoppers can explore and purchase pieces only in the studio.  Payment is by credit or debit card.

Another warm summer.   Leigh and Jim have found suitable housing for the summer and should be good until the monsoons of August. Oh, I failed to mention Costco is nearby.
 

We are taking a pottery class in Logan Utah at Cache Valley Pottery:  https://www.cachevalleypotterystudio.com/

Leigh is having fun on the wheel making all kinds of shapes.

The facility is new and growing into the generous amount of space they have. 

They use Skutt 1231 kilns and currently fire to cone 6. In the future, their plan is to offer cone 10, Raku and Soda firing options.  It is interesting to see how this club is set up and deals with common problems. We will bring back ideas for our renovated club facilities but the main message is that GCA is home sweet home.

Back at GCA, Jean is working to redo our Glaze tile board.  The new tiles will reflect the current set and vintage of our glazes.

During the summer, if you have something to share or have a Glaze Room Request, please send an email to: GlazeLead@GrandClayArts.com

If you have a favorite glaze combination to share; send a picture and your recipe.

This month’s examples:

Gloss Black (dip), Antique Jade (brushed), Power Turquoise (brushed), Archie's (spray atomizer) on WS-5.
 

Notes on Service Hours!
Per our club's Policies and Procedures, members must maintain a minimum number of service hours at all times to be able to fire, take classes, buy supplies, or sell in the Gallery.

• Minimum service requirements are 12 hours, unless you are living in The Grand for 90 or fewer days.  In that case, your requirement is 6 hours. 
• New members have 60 days to accrue the required number of hours.  New members will be given more info on service hours at their Orientation.
• Hours are good for one year, then they disappear.

Rest assured that in the case of a studio closure, hours will be adjusted accordingly.
Please contact a Board member or webmaster@grandclayarts.com with any questions.
 

Do you know a club member who could use some kind words from fellow members?
If so, please submit a name and brief description of the member's situation to our Sunshine Coordinator.  You'll find a link on our Home Page "Submit a Sunshine Request". We ask that you be sensitive to what information is shared via the submission out of respect and confidentiality.

 A special card will be placed in the club with a brief note indicating who it is for and what the situation is.  We ask that all club members consider signing the cards so that there's a full card of well wishes to mail to our teammate. Cards are often sent for someone who has a health issue, having surgery, dealing with a challenging family situation or bereavement.  

We extend a sincere THANKS to Sharon Rothzeid, Sunshine Coordinator who processes requests.