Remembering Shelley Simon
Repost from “The Slip Bucket” Newsletter for the Friends of Ruby’s Clay Studio & Gallery
Remembering Shelley Simon
Shelley Simon, a great artist, teacher, friend, and core member of the Ruby’s community for many years, passed away in July. Shortly before she died, Shelley donated $10,000 to Ruby’s to purchase badly-needed new kiln furniture, which we may come to know as “Shelley’s Shelves”. During a celebration of Shelley on August 27, dozens of people filled the studio to share beautiful photos, humorous stories, and—in true Ruby’s style—a vast array of delicious food! We fondly remember and are incredibly grateful for Shelley’s wonderful spirit and generous contributions to Ruby’s over the years.
ACGA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes — August 2023
ACGA Board Meeting Minutes
August 14, 2023 via Zoom
Present: Mari Emori, April Zilber, Sally Jackson (recorder), Jan Schachter, Ren Lee, Susie Rubenstein, Cheryl Costantini, Iver Hennig, Emil Yanos, Barbara Prodaniuk, Chris Johnson, Lee Middleman (Absent: Sonja Hinrichsen, Joe Battiato, Vicki Gunter, Trudy Chiddix)
The meeting commenced at 5:30 pm.
Welcome (Mari)
Mari thanked everyone for making the recent Clay & Glass Festival a huge success. Several issues were addressed quickly at the beginning of the meeting:
Mari noted that Cobb Mountain Arts and Ecology appreciated our invitation to participate in the festival, but did not have enough time to prepare. They would like to participate next year.
Emil encouraged everyone to change their password occasionally when logging onto our website. This is the best way to prevent unwanted cyber activity and security breaches.
Mari warned us to be alert for phishing emails, especially those that appear to be from us to each other. This happens now and then. Mari also noted that if you forward our newsletter to others, and they activate MailChimp’s “Unsubscribe” option at the bottom of the email, it will unsubscribe you. The easiest solution is to delete that part of the MailChimp email before forwarding the newsletter.
Treasurer’s Report & Preliminary Festival Report (April)
April has been working with Julie Taber to teach her the Treasurer’s job. Our total assets as of June 30 were $89,037. By July 30 that number jumped to $120,300 because of festival income. Preliminary results show that total sales at the festival were around $418,000 and the average per artist was around $3800. Net festival income as of July 30 was $34,012. This number will decrease as additional bills come due, but the overall outcome was excellent. CERF+ earned $2347, similar to $2400 last year.
People’s Choice Award (Barbara)
Barbara reported that the People’s Choice Award at the festival received 86 votes from visitors. She suggested that next year we use a juror (rather than visitor votes) for the selection process. Other Board members felt that getting visitors to vote was an important way to engage the public. Better publicity and more signs promoting the award would perhaps increase the number of people voting.
Communications (Susie)
Susie proposed that we add Linktree to our Instagram account at $5/month. This will enable us to connect our IG posts to the ACGA website, shop, forms, and so on. Those present voted unanimously in favor of adopting this.
Payment for Festival Publicity on Social Media (Mari)
Mari proposed paying Ren Lee for all the extra social media posting before and during the festival. The Board agreed to give this issue some thought between now and our next meeting, when it will be discussed in more detail.
The meeting adjourned at 7:03 pm.
Next Meeting: 5:30 pm, September 11, 2023 via Zoom
Pierre Bounaud at the Los Angeles Pottery Show
The Los Angeles Pottery Show, now in its 23rd edition, will be held the weekend of October, Saturday the 14th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday the 15th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. LAPS has a strong emphasis on the collector’s market, with a mix of antique art pottery, vintage art pottery, and contemporary ceramics. It is one of the few places on the West Coast where ceramics enthusiasts come to grow their collection and discover up and coming artists. More information available at https://thelapotteryshow.com
The de Young Open 2023
The de Young Open 2023
de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118
September 30, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Mari Emori’s work was chosen for The de Young Open 2023!
The de Young Open 2023, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s second triennial juried community art exhibition, features work by artists from the nine Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Artworks are hung salon-style and installed nearly edge to edge and floor to ceiling in the de Young Museum’s Herbst Exhibition Galleries, maximizing the number of works on view. Designed to celebrate and support our local arts communities, The de Young Open 2023 invites you to see the creativity of the Bay Area under one roof—you might even find an artwork to make your own!
Finding the Form: Bay Area Sculpture
Three of my sculptures have been selected to be included in the show, “Finding the Form: Bay Area Sculpture”, at the Sausalito Center for the Arts, 750 Bridgeway, Sausalito. The show dates are September 15-October 8.
ACGA CLAY & GLASS ARTISTS CELEBRATE SUCCESS!
I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible success of the 30th ACGA Clay and Glass Festival, held on July 15th and 16th. Your presence and unwavering support have helped to build our Festival into a Palo Alto tradition.
A special acknowledgment goes to our talented artists, 110 in total, including 18 new talents, whose limitless creativity illuminated the Festival and ignited inspiration in us all. To our treasured visitors and patrons, your purchases serve as a direct endorsement of our artists’ journey and our shared community; your support is cherished.
Each artist’s creation is a manifestation of their heart and soul, a unique piece that takes on its own life. Observing the connections formed between customers and these works is the pinnacle of my experience as an artist at the Festival. This distinct experience cannot be replicated elsewhere, like online sales or gallery representation. Many fellow artists at the Festival echoed the same sentiment.
This is a moment to extend gratitude to our esteemed partners: the city of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Art Center. Your steady support spanning three decades has been the foundation on which this Festival thrives. Let’s also acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the Festival Committee, the Marketing Team, and our Producer, Messenger Events. Your tireless efforts behind the scenes have played a pivotal role in ensuring the Festival’s continuing success.
Congratulations are due to the winners of the inaugural “People’s Choice Award”: Ren Lee (clay-tied), Kevin Scheer (clay/new artist-tied), and Daniel Wooddell (glass/new artist). This unique program has enriched our Festival experience, and we thank everyone who voted and celebrated their exceptional talents.
As we reflect on this year’s Festival, we recognize that every event offers insights for growth. We have much to learn from this experience and are steadfast in our commitment to continuing to work on improvements. The thought of coming together again, surrounded by art and our wonderful community, really gets us excited. Until that moment comes around, please take care and continue to nurture your creative endeavors!
With genuine gratitude,
Mari Emori, ACGA Board President, and Board of Directors