 April 2025 Monthly Newsletter | |||||
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Wow, this 2024-2025 peak season went by fast!
There is a possibility that the demolition of our building for the planned expansion may happen before summer travelers return next Fall. So, please clear out your cubbies if you aren’t going to be here this summer. If you’ve already left before seeing the requirement to clear out your cubby, please reach out to someone who’s here to do it for you. We’ll keep you posted on expansion plans as things evolve.
We plan to move the iPad and Square charging device out to the lobby. The iPad will be secured to a wall-mounted device that swivels/tilts. This will allow any member to process a Gallery sale.
If you’re here for the Summer, please consider participating in the anticipated monthly Markets. Plans for dates and indoor location(s) have not been finalized as yet. As soon as we get word from the CAM Activities department, we’ll provide that information.
Three of our club Board of Directors positions will be up for election in the Fall. The Nominations Committee will be soliciting candidates for Vice President, Member at Large and Secretary positions for a two-year term (2026 & 2027). Please consider becoming a candidate. The Board meets on the first Thursday of each month and spearheads the monthly (peak season) General Membership meetings. Board members routinely contribute to monthly Newsletters as well. You’ll find a description of Board position duties here. We are in the process of reviewing the descriptions to ensure that they are current.
Speaking of our Newsletter, please consider sending your summer “news” (happenings, pictures, fun messages etc.) to share with your club mates throughout the Summer months. You can send your submissions to me at cathyrick9@yahoo.com or directly to Monique Greer, GCA Newsletter Editor at mogreer4az@gmail.com.
Next General Membership meeting: October 16, 2025
GLAZE ROOM
Do you have comments, concerns, or suggestions for the Glaze Room? Let us know! You'll find the Glaze Room Request forms on top of the refrigerator. Post it where we’ll see it, or email: GlazeLead@GrandClayArts.com
Glaze Room Practices
Do you use a Pottery atomizer to spray in the Glaze Room?
If so, turn ON the switch (pictured above) in front of you while spraying. This removes the invisible glaze dust you are creating.
Test Tiles - Our Party, Your Clay!
We have run out of Test Tiles and the Glaze Team is always looking for a reason to party. Our annual "Test Tile" party is coming up on the evening of April 10th in the studio. We hope to crank out enough for another year.
If you have soft clay that you were going to toss, we can use it for making tiles. Leave your bag of clay in the corner of the Glaze room. Thank you.
House Rules
Clean up after yourself. One more month to be on your best behavior!
Update on GCA Expansion Plans
Our next steps will be working toward architectural drawings and construction drawings. Will we get through this during the summer? … time will tell. Last year had its challenges, and this year will offer different ones. The request to clean out your cubby is precautionary.
As with any renovation, there are a lot of details to work out as well as trade offs. Teams and points of contact have been identified to provide assistance. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Jim Donaldson.
KILN OPERATIONS - RULES & PROCESSES
There is a MUST READ new document for all members of the club that describes and defines all the rules and processes for kiln operations in the club. The document is too lengthy for this newsletter and can be accessed from a link under Member Information, which can be found by scrolling all the way down on the Homepage of the club website.
It is important that you read the entire document. We hope it will answer any questions you may have regarding the kiln operations and member responsibilities. This document will be dynamic and will be updated as necessary. If anyone has comments, questions, or suggestions, please contact Al Dadd at aldadd6550@gmail.com.
GET TO KNOW - Barb and Denis Carpenter
We are introducing a new section called "Get to Know" that will feature a person(s) from our club in an effort to help build community. If there is someone you would like to recommend for this section, let me know.
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When did you move to the Grand and where did you move from? We live in Madison, WI, and we were renting for about six years. Last March, we purchased a home and currently spend 3 months of the year here. We have a total of 7 grandchildren here and in Madison, so we stay very busy.
Out of all the activities offered at the Grand, why did you choose to join the GCA club? Our son bought us a wheel class back in Madison and we really liked it. When we saw the studio here, it was an easy decision. |
What other activities do you participate in? We both play pickleball and canasta; Denis golfs, and Barb does paper arts.
Do you prefer working on the wheel or hand building? Denis prefers the wheel; Barb would like to learn to do the wheel better. Barb likes making designs when hand building.
Do you take any classes? We've taken the intro to clay and glazing classes and the wheel. We want to take more classes.
Do you like cats or dogs? Dogs for sure!
What's your favorite drink/beverage? We both like Wisconsin Old Fashioned, which is made with brandy and soda. Barb's go-to non-alcoholic beverage is a diet Mountain Dew.
What is one word that describes how you feel when you're playing in the mud? RELAXED (Denis), HAPPY (Barb)
GALLERY NEWS
If you are a snowbird… you may have your 5 pottery pieces in the gallery for the summer months May to mid-September, 4 1/2 months instead of 2. The caveat is that you need to have a person in Grand that can pick up your pieces in the event that the studio shuts down for renovations. If you don’t have a person you can ask, then you will be required to remove your pieces before you leave for the summer.
If you are here all summer, then you will be allowed 8 pieces to be displayed, but will also be required to remove them if needed. It would be very helpful to me if you could submit your new pieces by the end of April so that I can arrange the gallery before I go.
We’ve had a great gallery sales season, so keep up the good work. Customers are always amazed at the beautiful pottery and talented artists!
IT CORNER - CHECK YOUR SERVICE HOURS
As we all start leaving for the summer, it's a good time to assess your service hours. We don't want to come back in the fall and be in arrears right away. Here again is the path to check hours:
Log into the website, then Volunteering > Volunteering Reports
Note that hours will roll off one year from the date they were earned, so check the "Time Slot" date on your report to know when hours will roll off.
Remember that members need 12 service hours to be in good standing. (Residents who are here 90 days or less need 6 hours.) Not having the requisite number of hours leaves members without the opportunity to purchase supplies, take classes, fire pieces, or sell in the Gallery. Since all members are required to monitor (unless exempted), be sure to include monitoring in your service hour plan. Monitoring is a great way to get to know folks and learn more about the workings of the club! Have a great summer, everyone!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GCA
Del Webb started building homes in Grand in late 1997. Some members from Sun City West moved over to Grand to start the Clay Arts club in 1998. One was Bob Mohr (see the March 2025 newsletter for a tribute to Bob who recently passed) who worked in clay and a woman who worked with slip cast pieces. The club started in the building that is now the Photo Club. They convinced CAM to buy kilns, wheels, and ceramic molds to help start the club.
In the beginning, about 50 percent of the members were people who did ceramic work. Their ceramic pieces were poured by the club into molds. Bob was in charge of making all the glazes for the club. He would measure out all the different ingredients and mix them up. The club stocked a large quantity of underglazes to paint on their pieces.
By 2001, CAM started work on a new building to house us and Glass Arts. CAM asked for our input for the new building. We asked for two drains in the floor to help keep the floors clean and some cubbies for members to store supplies. CAM wanted to put tile over the entire floor, but we talked them out of that, so only the entrance was tiled.
When we moved over to the new building, the club got rid of all the ceramic molds and Bob moved to premixed glaze bags; no more mixing them from scratch.
By 2007, most or all the people in the club were working with clay. Around 2010, the club acquired an air filter to clean the air in the studio, which was later replaced by two larger air cleaners; the small one is now in the glaze room.
In 2014, Glass Arts and the Clay Arts put together a plan to enlarge both studios and presented it to CAM. It went from the architectural committee to the finance committee. Sometimes the committee would put it off until their next meeting or send it back to the planning committee. We had plans drawn up more than once. Each time we had to start the process all over again. This took years, and when it got to the Board to vote on it, they said no. We would wait for a new board to come in and try again.
Over the years, the club has brought in people from the outside to teach or demonstrate their techniques. The club would pick up most of the cost to facilitate a larger group to take classes. With the help from the club instructors bringing in their new ideas, the quality of our work has improved greatly over the years.
Some of the things we have now that we did not have when the club started include: stand up tables, DVD and TV, larger selling area, web site, sliding monitor hours program, more wheels, more kilns, hump and slump molds, two extruders, and more glazes.
That's a little bit of background on the earlier days and why Grand Clay Arts is such an enriching, informative and a friendly place to work!
