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Local Clay Notes
In attendance : Rhoda Fleischman, Susan Fishel, Frank Gosar, Holly Dubrasich, Kathy Lee, Katie Swenson, Paula MacCullen, Merry Newcomer, Mary Briggs, George Vidas, Dan LaFollette (guest), and Don Clarke as recording Secretary. Opening Discussion Question : What will your pots/work look like in 5 years ? The question was passed around the room and individuals shared their perspective on how their work would have changed (or not) in the next five years. Some of the thoughts were :
There was a lengthy discussion about Frank Gosar’s full-size cow installation/project which lead to the suggestion that he make a presentation at an upcoming meeting on life-size projects like this.
Minutes from the September 14th meeting were approved as written. Treasurer’s Report : Susan presented her update report (available from her if you are interested in the details) which indicated that Local Clay had $5114 in the bank. Committee Chair Reports ClayFest : Don gave an overview of the show which he said was spectacular this year. The attendance was up substantially which made the show seen alive (there were few of those horrible periods when the building felt empty of customers) and sales were up 16% to just over $76,100. For those who want to view the minutia of Don’s graphs on the show’s historical data/performance, they are posted on the Local Clay members’ webpage located at = http://members.efn.org/~clayfest/clayfestnotes.htm Don mentioned that the Steering Committee had its debriefing meeting and, after lengthy review of this year’s show, came up with four pages of suggestions for changes/improvements to make for the 2006 show. Of prime importance is the recruitment of candidates for openings on the Steering Committee. For the 2006 show there are no Chair position openings, but there are eight openings for Trainees.
The list (above) covers the Trainee openings which we hope to fill in the January/February time period. For those who are interested in working on ClayFest’s Steering Committee, a Trainee position gives you an excellent opportunity to work with the current Chair and learn the ropes before taking over in 2007. Those who are interested in a Trainee opening can contact the current Chair (listed above) or check out the 2006 openings and job descriptions online at = http://members.efn.org/~clayfest/clayfestnotes.htm ClayFest 2006 is currently scheduled for October 14th and 15th Empty Bowls : Mary Briggs commented that there had only been one meeting so far and that things really hadn’t gotten rolling for the 2006 sale yet. She expects things to run smoother next year since they already know the location (Opus-6) and the group has grown in experience. She mentioned that Joshwaa Allen was the Trainee and would be taking over from her. Workshops : Rhoda gave a recap of the wonderful workshops we had this year and explained that Michael Morrison (not in attendance) was the Workshop Chair for 2006. Clay In Education : Paula told us that seven artists had done Clay In Ed projects this year in venues that ranged from schools to elderly groups. Currently there is still about $580 in funds available to anyone wishing to provide ceramics outreach to the community. Paula has a few leads (both recovery/rehab organizations) that are interested in some ceramics work if anyone would like to contact her. Election of Local Clay Officers Local Clay officers and Committee Chairs are voted on at the January meeting, and Rhoda outlined the positions that needed to be filled :
The Treasurer position is filled by Susan Fishel and Frank Gosar will be President next year. There was considerable discussion about the openings and some initial nominations; however, the positions are open for further nominations (self-nomination is perfectly acceptable) until the January 2006 meeting. At this point the following individuals have expressed an interest in the openings :
Anyone wanting more information on the positions is encouraged to talk to the current Officer/Chair about the scope of their duties or contact Frank Gosar (localclay@clayfest.org) or by phone. For those interested in the Secretary position the job description has been posted on our website at = http://members.efn.org/~clayfest/Forms/LCSecretary.htm New Biz Old Biz and stuff like that … Holiday Guide Update : Rhoda explained that "time had run out" on doing a brochure for this year and the goal was to finally (after four years of trying) get one done for 2006. Virginia Taylor had worked up an excellent format for a brochure which would accommodate up to 20 members (including an image and map to their studio/location). The goal is to get the information and sign-up forms out to the membership in a more timely manner so that the brochure will be available for distribution at ClayFest 2006 in October. Pre NCECA Show Update : Katie Swenson gave an overview of the work done to date and mentioned that the next meeting is November 16th at Pereginos on Willamette (7PM). To date approximately 40 Local Clay members have signed-up (and paid their fee) to be part of the show at DIVA, time is quickly running out and anyone still interested should contact Katie immediately. There was discussion about the promotion for the show. Apparently DIVA does a postcard but since there will be two other shows running simultaneously with ours that postcard would cover all three events. There was concern that perhaps this would not be the best way to promote "our" show and it was noted that DIVA has no mailing list and does not therefore mail out the cards they do. There was discussion about doing our own card and the option of having Local Clay fund the postcard and mailing was broached. Unfortunately there were no budget numbers available from the committee so there was no action on this idea. Rhoda did mention that she felt Local Clay would help with the promotion efforts and asked the committee to bring their proposal (complete the costs) to the January Local Clay Board budget meeting; however, it was noted that this may be too late in the timeline. The discussion stopped without any real resolution. Katie told the group that the upcoming (11/16) meeting was one that all those interested in participating in the show should attend. At this point the committee is starting to hand out assignments and those present will have a better chance at getting a job/task that they are interested in (others will simply be assigned work by the committee). Local Clay Membership Directory : Rhoda broached the question of how to keep the directory current. Right now we publish the directory once in April of the year (membership fees are due January 1st but we wait a few months for late-comers before publishing the directory) but there is no update mechanism. There was general consensus that we didn’t want to post the membership directory online as it contained our personal contact information. The current Secretary posts the minutes online rather than emailing them so the concept of including them in the minutes was discounted for the same reason. Sending out multiple directories is simple a cost issue as each printed directory costs about $1.25 to mail out and this would have to be added to the budget if this was what the membership wanted. Don mentioned that sending out electronic directories has no costs associated and can easily be done at anytime a member asks. It was agreed that if the new Secretary continues to post minutes online (as is currently done) then any additions to the membership will be noted in the email that tells members that the minutes have been posted online. If the new Secretary chooses to distribute the minutes in a different manner than the subject will have to be revisited at that time. Local Clay meeting dates for 2006 : The following are the agreed upon dates for meetings next year : January 11th - March 30th - May 17th - September 14th - November 8th Local Clay Membership Dues : There was considerable discussion regarding the dues being raised from the current $10. A number of ideas (such as sliding scale) were discussed along with the hardship that an increase may impose on some members. After a lengthy discussion a proposal was made to raise the dues to $20 per year; however, after still more discussion on the rational for an increase this proposal was withdrawn and replaced with an alternative. The proposal that was put forth was for dues to be raised to $15 per year with the increase ($5) being split equally to fund Clay In Education and Workshops. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. It was noted that members who had already paid their 2006 membership dues would not be required to pay any additional fees (only four members). 2006 Membership form is available online at http://members.efn.org/~clayfest/localnotes.htm Members News : several members mentioned upcoming sales
The meeting was adjourned and Rhoda gave a brief overview of how she does booth layout and show preparation. |