GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
October 16, 2025 • 9 AM AZ Time • Pima Room

• May Market day sales  = $1,277

• June Market day sales = $803
   

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Nancy Quinlisk visit:  Nancy and hubby Wayne came back for a brief visit at the end of May.  They had rented out their AZ house this past winter and stored their personal belongings away.  Several of us stopped by to help carry totes into the house and enjoyed catching up.  A Grand way to welcome her back.  Nancy looks great and says she’s feeling stronger with more energy.  Looking forward to seeing you back here in the Fall, Nancy.

New item available:  Totem Stands are now available for sale at $18 per stand (same price for each size since materials cost same).  The stands are thanks to Laura Abraham’s husband, Bob.  There are 3-foot and 4-foot options.  The post is a sturdy rebar, and the base is a heavy paver.  Purchases are processed like all other “tools”.  BTW, the  blue tape on top of the rebar is a safety measure that prevents you from getting scraped or scratched.

Chaparral Display:  The Grand Charter Clubs have a dedicated display case in the hallway near the Computer Club and Billiards Club of the Chaparral Center.  Thanks to Jim Perez-Wood and Diane Niehof our display case has been updated.  It looks great!

Board Member Election for 2026-2027 term

Nominations for open Board positions will be solicited in August.  Jean Zeidler is leading the Nominations Committee.  These are two-year terms beginning in January 2026.  Please reach out to Jean if you’re interested in running for the Vice President, Member at Large, or Secretary position.  Serving on the Board is a great way to offer your service and learn a lot about club operations.  Position descriptions are posted on our website here.  

Summer Sharing:  Consider submitting tidbits of how your summer is going to Monique Greer at mogreer4az@gmail.com for an upcoming Newsletter.  It’s fun to hear from our clay mates, and it’s a good way to stay connected.   
 
Our Loss:  We lost a sweet soul on May 23^rd.  Betty Jackson had been a long-time GCA member who had a special talent for creating beautiful wheel-turned pieces.  She helped others and was known as “friend” to many in the club.  She struggled with cancer but kept an upbeat attitude.  We were fortunate enough to have her in our lives. We may mourn our loss, but we celebrate her life.  Rest in peace, Betty. 

Glaze Room Feedback

Do you have comments, concerns, or suggestions for the Glaze Room?  Let us know!
Use the Glaze Room Request form located on top of the refrigerator.  Post it where we’ll see it, or email: GlazeLead@GrandClayArts.com

Glaze Room Practices

One of the key responsibilities of the Glaze Team is maintaining all 32 of our glazes. But what does 'maintain' actually mean?  The most visible task is mixing more glaze when the bucket gets too low for dipping or brushing.  When glaze is too low, you can't dip larger pieces; when it's too full, mixing can get messy.  We aim to keep buckets tidy, but we rely on your help—we are outnumbered!

Glaze Consistency and Specific Gravity
Consistency in glaze performance is important to us all. We maintain each glaze's consistency using a target 'specific gravity'—a ratio of the glaze’s weight to the weight of an equal volume of water.  Each glaze has an assigned specific gravity, either from the manufacturer or set by the club.

Specific gravity of a glaze will change over time, with or without use.  When you dip your pottery, you pull both glaze and water from the bucket.  If the glaze isn’t well-mixed, you may remove more water, causing the remaining glaze to thicken.

Evaporation also increases specific gravity.  You influence this by leaving the bucket open or the lid ajar.  Our 5-gallon bucket lids have been modified to seal with a gentle press—no hammering required!  Twist-on lids should be turned fully until they stop, and the base of the lid should be kept clean for a good seal.

Sieving Glazes
Occasionally, some glazes need to be sieved, which is a labor-intensive process of mixing and straining the entire bucket through a fine mesh.  We only sieve glazes that don't have speckles (like Robin’s Egg).  Sieving is required when glazes are contaminated with debris, such as sponge fibers, paper towel lint, or dust from bisqueware.

How You Can Help Prevent Contamination
- Use sponges that are in good condition.  Replace degraded ones that are shedding.
- Help us limit paper towel fibers getting into glaze buckets.
- Rinse your bisqueware (inside and out) before glazing—and let it dry.
- Never bring greenware (unfired pottery) into the Glaze Room.  If greenware enters a glaze bucket, it will disintegrate and probably ruin the entire bucket.  This is an expensive and preventable mistake.

Adding Flocculants
Some glazes require the addition of a flocculant to stay in suspension long enough for use.  We typically use a saturated Epsom salt solution for this purpose.

Share Your Glaze Combinations

Let us know what glaze combinations you're experimenting with—we're always excited to see and share your results!  

Glazing the Inside:
- Pour clear glaze into the inside of the jar. Let it dry completely.

Xavier Green Base:
- Hold the jar upside down and pour Xavier Green glaze over the exterior.
- Wipe the bottom clean and allow it to dry thoroughly.

Accent Layer – Sunflower Yellow:
- Mix 1 teaspoon of Gum Solution into half a yogurt cup of Sunflower Yellow glaze.
- Apply three coats by brush, waiting for each coat to skin over before applying the next.
- Taper the glaze toward the bottom to avoid runs.
Note: Glaze mixed with Gum Solution can be returned to the original bucket.

Final Layer – Forest Green Spray:
- Assemble the lid on the jar and place it on a turntable. 
- Turn ON the spray vent switch while spraying.
- Use an atomizer to spray Forest Green glaze.
- Focus the spray on the lid, fading out on the shoulders of the jar.

Firing:
- Fire the jar and lid as two separate pieces, with the lid supported on stilts.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please text Jim Donaldson or send an email to GlazeLead@GrandClayArts.com

I'm sure many of you were encouraged a couple of weeks ago when you saw the removal of the palms on the west side of the building and became very excited when water started to rise around your feet!  For those of you (like me) who were not present, the workers removing the palm hit an irrigation line and water started running into the studio from underneath one of the sinks.  The new building will expand into this space so these trees were transplanted to replace some that have died over at the Palm center.  The photos give you an idea of what it was like that day.  Thanks to everyone there who notified CAM and helped mop up, and to Sheila Kovac for documenting the event.

The following is an update on what we know as of June 1.  If you want to stay updated on what is going on with the Grand BOD relative to our project or other projects, all meetings are recorded and a can be found on the Grand website.

First, let’s talk about the Photo Club renovation. It is a much smaller project ahead of ours but is following the same defined LPT process.  The following two meetings are worth watching for the questions raised and to better understand the players involved.

- The Finance Advisory Council (FAC) 5/12 meeting video:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/11516410/video/1083706668
- Then, the Grand BOD had their meeting to vote on this subject (based on success in the prior FAC meeting):  https://vimeo.com/1084033189
Start at about 5 mins into the video with Tony Spata’s (CAM Project Manager) presentation and brief BOD discussion.  The Grand BOD voted unanimously in favor of Tony’s recommendations and approved the go ahead for Photo club construction! 
Congratulations to the Photo Club on their progress.  The Photo Club renovation started in June and is expected to be completed by October. 

So what about Clay and Glass renovation? 
Here is a link to the 5/29 Grand BOD meeting with Tony's presentation where he is talking specifically about Glass/Clay.
https://vimeo.com/1088917809 - our club portion starts at timestamp 37:31

Next steps
For the last few months, the discussion has been on finding an architect, as the prior has been released from their contract.  Detailed Clay and Glass Club content for a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the architect search has been provided but the RFP has not yet been finalized.  When the RFP has been sent to prospective architects, their proposals received and an architect chosen, this will be a reason to celebrate. 

In parallel with this activity small groups of our members have been identified and tasked to help provide guidance on specific tasks, areas and specific topics:



Other comments
A distillation of our club request for this project is available for your review and comment.  This is a PDF snapshot of a frequently changing document.
It is located at the following link. Anyone with the link should be able to view.
Note that you may have to copy and paste this link in your browser: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hn9YFweoJR7c-rmD0ySu7IN-xgdycbru/view?usp=drive_link or try the following link:  Architectural requirements detail_Clay_0531.pdf - Google Drive

Until then, let me know if you have any questions.

When did you move to the Grand and where did you move from? 
We moved to the Grand from Denver, CO, in December 2024.  My husband is an Engineering Manager for Ball Corporation’s aluminum can plant in Goodyear.  He loves his job and promises it will be his last one.  

I retired 5 years ago.  I had my own consultancy to nonprofit arts organizations for 15 years.  My positions as Arts Program Officer at Knight Foundation in Miami and as a researcher on cultural participation for Urban Institute in Washington, DC, helped me establish my consulting business. 

Do you have a creative background? 
Well, yes, I have a Master’s Degree from University of Edinburgh in Cultural Anthropology.  I lived in Scotland for 7 years in the 1990’s and worked at the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) in Scotland where I taught around issues of race, gender, and community cultural participation. 
 

All my expertise was gained from meeting artists, in all parts of the country, who were working to establish their creative projects and partnerships that help communities and residents thrive.  I keep in touch with many of the artists I’ve worked with and have used my vacations to try new things.  For example, I attended workshops at Anderson Ranch and Haystack Mountain School of Craft and, this year, I will go to Puglia, Italy, to do a stitching class with Arounna Khounnoraj.

What other activities do you participate in?
I’m a painter and work with mixed media, collage, and encaustic, which is where you use melted, pigmented beeswax applied to wood or canvas and fused with heat.  When we lived in Denver, I had an urban farm with 15 raised beds full of plants and many chickens.  
 

We were able to find a good home for all the chickens before moving here, so that was good.  I miss gardening and hope to figure out a way to do some gardening here.  Maybe I’ll join the Garden Club.  I am a letter writer and belonged to Colorado Correspondence Coalition and often worked our mobile letter writing van, encouraging people to stop and write a postal letter.  I have thought about starting a letter writing group here, but I’m still thinking about it.

Since you have experience on the wheel, is this your main area of interest?
I do have some handbuilding experience, but consider myself an absolute beginner at throwing on the wheel.  I have very limited technical knowledge about working with clay and glazes.  I like to learn as a beginner – it’s humbling and energizing to start something new at this phase of life!  

What classes have you taken so far and what's next?
So far, I’ve taken Intro to Clay, Basic Glazing and Wheel 1.  My plan is to take the Summer Wheel class and become more skilled at throwing.

Do you prefer dogs or cats? 
I like both. Right now, we have 2 rescue dogs: Ellie, a street rescue, and Winnie, a chihuahua.  We don’t have any cats now.


 
What do you love the most about GCA?
I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive these past several months, taking time away from their own projects to help me learn.  To new people just joining Clay Arts, I suggest you come in and dive right in!
 
If there is someone you would like to recommend for this section, send a text to 206-420-9864 or email mogreer4az@gmail.com. Thanks!

Each member must monitor at least once per year.  This ensures the club can run smoothly.  Monitoring is a great way to meet people and be an ambassador for the club.  Plus, as a monitor, you'll gain more familiarity with the studio and it's workings.

If you have not monitored yet this year, summertime is a good time to check off that box!  Please note that monitor sessions are logged, and we will be reminding folks in the fall who have not had the opportunity to monitor yet this year. 

Have a fun summer, everyone!

There is a wooden piece of equipment being stored with other wooden blocks near (sit-down) wheel #10, which was being used by a former member for back support.  We call it a wheel stool support board.  The photos below show the wheel stool support board and me demonstrating how it is to be used. 

	If anyone is using this wheel stool support board, please let me know by July 1, otherwise, we will remove it from the studio.

It takes up a good amount of space, so unless someone is using it, it will be removed from the studio.  Please let me know by July 1 if you use this and want us to keep it on hand.  I can be reached at: jzeidler@cox.net.  Thanks!

 grandclayarts.com