10/19/26 ACGA Board Meeting

• • Present: Sean Alcala, Barbara Prodaniuk, Iver Hennig, Vicki Gunter, Britt Jensen, Pierre Bounaud, Tamara Danoyan, Julie Taber, Piper Christine, Mari Emori, Jan Schachter, April Zilber, Chris Johnson, Susie Rubenstein, Ren Lee, Emil Yanos, Lee Middleman
  • Absent: Cheryl Costantini

• Guests: Lindsay Lansdale, Chloe Kobernuss, Amanda Klimek, Diana Greenleaf, Taka Unno, Dan Osorio, Janet Wolf

• The meeting began at 5:15 PM and ended at 7 PM.

Welcome (Mari) 

• Mari welcomed everyone and several board members shared shows they will be involved in
  • April was invited to be in a show at the Palo Alto Art Center next fall about women in Glass
  • Emil is doing a show, “Of People & Earth,” in partnership with a portraiture painter at Eppeson Gallery
  • Vicki has been invited to show at the NY2CA gallery in 2027 

Guest Intros (Mari) 

• Lindsay Langsdale – Lindsay is based in San Francisco and works in clay, creating pieces with knit-like textures. She owns Brick & Mortar Studio and recently took on the role of General Manager at Ruby’s Studio. She also has a long background in textiles, printmaking, and illustration.
• Chloe Kobernuss – Chloe is based in San Francisco and works in clay. She part-time manages Uncle Paul’s, a mid-fire studio in North Beach, and teaches at the Pottery Studio in the Mission. She also created ClayMade, an app that helps ceramic artists track their work.
• Taka Unno – Taka recently moved from San Francisco to Berkeley and now works out of a home studio. He primarily makes functional pots using soda firing. After three decades in tech, Taka left the industry and is interested in becoming more involved in the arts community. 
• Amanda Klimek – Amanda is a ceramic artist based in San Francisco who is excited about building a stronger ceramics community. She brings strengths in project management, logistics, and attention to detail. 
• Diana Greenleaf – Diana creates sculptural cats in playful, acrobatic poses. She uses terra sigillata finishes and has recently begun exploring burnishing and graphite powder for surface finishing. She has been involved with ACGA for many years and has participated in the festival for the past two years, which she loves for the inspiration and creative energy it provides. She is interested in helping with the exhibition committee and has previously participated in ACGA exhibitions.
• Dan Osorio – Dan primarily makes wheel-thrown porcelain pieces with illustrative decoration. After moving to Palm Springs last year, he found inspiration in the desert and has been developing cactus-inspired work. He is becoming involved in the local arts community, connecting with gallery owners, and recently joined Kiki Clay Club. Dan previously worked as a project manager in tech and enjoys social media and creative work. He is considering getting involved in social media for ACGA.
• Janet Wolf – Janet is a ceramic artist whose work features surface decoration and sgraffito. She is currently exploring sculptural coil-built pots. Janet serves on the board of the New Museum Los Gatos and chairs the Arts Committee in Los Altos. She is mindful of balancing her existing commitments and may be interested in helping with jurying or exhibitions.

Board Recruitment (Mari/Britt)

• Mari announced that she will be stepping down as President at the end of this year. The board will be looking for new energy and leadership for the coming year.
• Britt has expressed willingness to step into the role of President.
• With this transition, the board will need to find a new Secretary and Vice President. Traditionally, the Vice President steps into the President role at the end of the President’s term.
• There will be five open positions on the board next year.

Festival Jury (Tamara/Britt)

• There were 43 submissions, of which 15 were accepted. All accepted applicants work in clay; only one glass artist applied.
• Ren asked Tamara to send information about the accepted artists so she could preview their work in the newsletter.
• Mari asked that the list of accepted artists be sent to April and Emil to update membership records.

• Tamara raised the question of whether jurors could be exempt from festival volunteer jobs, noting that the number of applicants (and the time required to review them) continues to grow. 
  • April felt the festival could manage juror commitments within the existing volunteer job structure. She noted that the issue was also raised last year, but the group did not reach a consensus.
  • Ren reiterated her position that artists should not be universally required to volunteer for festival jobs. However, she supports allowing jurors to opt out of festival jobs if the general volunteer policy remains in place.
    • Mari noted that Ren had raised this issue previously. Last year, the festival allowed members to pay to opt out of jobs, and Messenger Events hired additional staff. April emphasized that the policy needs to be reassessed.
    • The Festival Committee will continue discussing festival jobs.
  • Mari clarified that jurors are specifically invited rather than selected through an open call, so any exemption would not be publicly advertised as an exchange or benefit of applying. Jurors would continue to be invited individually.
  • Jan agreed that serving on the jury requires a significant time commitment and that exempting jurors from festival jobs would be appropriate. However, she emphasized that member volunteering is an important part of the community, beyond simply saving money. Lee agreed with Jan’s perspective.
  • Lee moved that jury service count as a festival job for the following year. Susie seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

Festival Report (April/Piper)

• The Festival Committee took a break last month and will resume meeting this Thursday. There are no new updates to report.
• Piper is still waiting for one person to submit receipts for reimbursement totaling approximately $200.
• Piper shared a report on Festival sales data with the board via email. The board will review it in more detail at next month’s meeting.

ACGA Logo Use Guidelines & Workflow (Mari)

• Logo usage: 
  • Mari raised the discussion about ACGA logo usage and asked for feedback on the documents sent to the board the previous week
  • Susie expressed concern that the Communications Committee could become responsible for handling logo approvals.
  • Mari clarified that members cannot use the ACGA logo to promote their own events. Logo use would apply only to events that ACGA co-hosts or co-sponsors, so the number of approvals each year should be limited.
  • The board will discuss logo usage as needed, and these decisions will not be made by the Communications Committee.
• Logo format & design: 
  • Lee noted that including ACGA’s name with the logo is important, given the existence of other groups that use the ACGA acronym.
  • Ren noted that the lettering in the current logo is prominent, while the accompanying words are relatively small.
  • Britt raised the possibility of redesigning the logo.
  • Mari agreed that a redesign could be considered but emphasized that, in the meantime, the board needs to determine how best to work with the existing logo.
  • Vicki stressed the importance of having a logo that can be used flexibly across different formats and applications.
  • April explained that Fred designed the current logo many years ago to replace an even more unconventional design. The original intent was to create a logo that conveyed the handmade nature of the work, possibly around 15 years ago.
• Decision: Table the discussion until next year and revisit the possibility of redesigning the logo.

Exhibitions 

Santa Cruz (Iver)

• The exhibition is going well and continues to attract strong attendance.
• A panel discussion featuring several artists in the exhibition will take place on Sunday, November 8, from 2–4 p.m.
• First Fridays remain free, with the venue open until 8 p.m.

Sebastopol (Cheryl)

• Cheryl was not in attendance.
• Diana Greenleaf clarified that the exhibition reception will take place this Saturday, October 24, from 2–4 p.m.
• Ren noted that the newsletter includes a comprehensive list of artists participating in the exhibition.

All-Member Meeting 2027 Planning (Mari) 

Meeting Format and Purpose

• The all-member meeting takes place each January, with the board electing new officers at the beginning of the meeting.
• Julie noted that last year’s meeting went more smoothly, but the hybrid format can still feel distracting.
• Ren emphasized the importance of offering a Zoom option for ACGA as a statewide organization.
• Lee appreciates the opportunity for members to gather in person once a year.
• Britt proposed separating the formal Zoom meeting from an in-person social gathering or potluck. Mari agreed with this idea.
• Ren expressed concern about using organizational funds for a gathering limited to the Bay Area.
• April noted that if ACGA funds social gatherings, similar funding opportunities should be made available to other regions.
• Dan emphasized that the meeting format and broader organizational activities need to feel inclusive for members across the state, particularly for those considering board involvement.
• Mari asked what would make the all-member meeting more compelling and engaging for members.

Ideas for Making the Meeting More Engaging and Inclusive

• Lindsay shared that Ruby’s Studio holds hybrid community meetings and empathized with the format struggle. She agreed that ACGA gatherings should not be exclusive to the Bay Area. She suggested that potlucks could be one option.
• Diana said she would be more likely to attend an in-person gathering if it were held during the day, allowing her to avoid driving at night. She also suggested rotating gatherings among different Bay Area locations.
• April clarified that ACGA’s agreement with the Palo Alto Art Center includes access to a meeting room several times a year. Public libraries could also be explored as potential meeting venues.
• Vicki suggested sticking to a remote meeting, but creating a format that felt more inviting than a series of reports.
• Julie highlighted that several essential components of the meeting are required by ACGA bylaws, including presenting the previous year’s financials and announcing the new officers.
• Britt offered to help brainstorm ideas for the all-member meeting.
• Ren suggested forming an All-Member Meeting Planning Committee to develop a proposal and bring it back to the board.

Regional Gatherings and Community Building

• Ren noted that exhibitions provide valuable opportunities for members to socialize and suggested that social activities could be organized at the local or regional level.
• Jan recalled that ACGA had previously tried organizing local regional gatherings, but they did not gain traction. She was unsure why the efforts had not succeeded.
• Ren shared that ACGA held regional Zoom meetings during COVID, with an emphasis on sharing members’ current work.
• Amanda shared her experience running company meetings and noted that hybrid meetings are difficult to execute well. She observed that hybrid formats can unintentionally create a divide between in-person and remote participants.
• Amanda supported separating the formal all-member meeting from social gatherings so that all members could participate in the business meeting on equal footing, while allowing more energy to go toward regional meetups.

Key Dates 

• The first board meeting of the year is scheduled for January 18.
• Saturday, January 23, was proposed as a potential date for the all-member meeting.

Financial Report (Julie)

• ACGA currently has approximately $173,000 in the bank. While this may seem like a substantial amount, the organization aims to maintain reserves equivalent to more than one year of expenses. With an annual budget of $140,000, current reserves are only slightly above the expected annual expenses.
• Regular income is approximately $9,000 below budget, although many members renew their memberships in December, which is expected to help close the gap.
• The festival budget was approximately $118,000, and actual revenue was $124,000, a surplus of $6,000 compared with the budget.
• Net revenue was projected to be $8,000 but is currently approximately $16,000.
• Ren asked about the source of the additional income. Julie clarified that the higher-than-projected net revenue reflects both the festival’s financial performance and expenditures coming in below budget. Together, these factors account for the difference between projected and actual net revenue.

Approving Meeting Notes (Britt)

• Britt reminded board members responsible for presenting specific sections to review the meeting notes, make any necessary edits, and leave a comment in the document to indicate their approval.

Date of next meeting is November 16, 2026

Minutes prepared by Britt Jensen, ACGA Secretary.

9/21/26 ACGA Board Meeting

• Present: Cheryl Costantini, Sean Alcala, Barbara Prodaniuk, Iver Hennig, Vicki Gunter, Britt Jensen, Pierre Bounaud, Tamara Danoyan, Julie Taber, Piper Christine, Mari Emori, Jan Schachter, April Zilber, Chris Johnson, Susie Rubenstein, Ren Lee, Emil Yanos
• Absent: Lee Middleman
• The meeting began at 5:15 PM and ended at 7 PM.

Welcome (Mari) 

• Mari welcomed everyone
• Congratulated Britt on her wedding
• April spoke about her father’s passing and thanked the Board for the flowers and cards.
  • He was an avid supporter of ACGA artists’ work and helped answer questions about legal nonprofit matters 
• Katie Morris joined as a guest thanks to Barbara’s invite. She gave a short intro 
  • She has done the ACGA Festival for 4 years and she loves it
  • She thinks it’s a great festival with many serious buyers in attendance
  • She’s interested in the board, but not sure given other responsibilities

Festival Eligibility Jury (Tamara)

• Tamara and Britt are meeting with the jury tomorrow to do an introduction to the jury process 
• As soon as the application process closes, we’ll have the jury start filling out individual score sheets and then meet October 15 to review and make decisions
• Tamara plans to send out acceptance and rejection letters the week right after the meeting
• Right now we have 10 submissions, all clay, no glass unfortunately 
• Ren will post (and boost post) on Instagram to get more applicants in this final week
• April suggests doing another Google Group announcement – especially encouraging people to tell their friends who they think might be ready to apply 

Exhibitions

Santa Cruz (Iver)

• The show is officially open until January 3 and the opening had a great turnout
• Iver says the team at the museum has been great to work with
• Thanks to all the ACGA members who came for the opening 
• There will be an open mic with some of the artists and people who have been part of ceramics in the area in November
• Mari thanked Iver for all his hard work
• Every 1st Friday is free admission to the museum
• Susie brought up that there’s a binder with all the artists talking about where they got started – nice to have personal history
• Iver has done some interviews with artists in the show and will post on YouTube shorts 

Sebastopol (Cheryl)

• Application window is closed (over 200 submissions) and notifications have been sent out
• Sebastopol Center for the Arts has been in touch with Ren about marketing the show
• Based on her experience and Iver’s experience, Cheryl thinks there’s a lesson learned to try to find exhibition partners who are organized and have mutual interest – she feels their experiences with these two exhibitions have been a lot easier than some others in the past where partners were less bought-in

NuMu (Vicki)

• The museum is still mulling on this, so we don’t know anything yet, but Vicki is still in touch 

Festival Report 

General updates (April)

• April acknowledged the suggestion to do away with valet parking – she brought up that this is supportive for older/more mobility impaired visitors 
  • They discussed this at the last Festival committee meeting and Sean had a suggestion to staff the parking lot ourselves – we wouldn’t valet, but we would monitor the lot so folks who need the proximity can use it – to be discussed further 
• Annie suggested changing artist check-in/load in time to officially start at 9AM Friday to allow opportunity for rental tables to arrive in time – people would be able to start before, but no tables before 9AM
• 4 individuals were interested in talking at length about the festival and April will be doing phone “interviews” with them – she’ll bring feedback to the committee
• The festival committee will not meet this month since there’s no pressing agenda and need for some time to do individual work

Festival treasurer’s report (Piper)

• Festival finance from this year is almost done: 
  • 1 person needs to provide receipts for reimbursement 
  • 1 artist needs to confirm their sales amount
  • 1 artist needs to pay festival commission
    • Piper will remind them about eligibility in future – April confirmed the contract says they would forfeit participating for 1 year
    • April will also get involved in communications with this person
• Piper suggests we maybe add late fees for next year
• Piper will use the ACGA logo in future festival-related communications with participants so that the emails do not come across as scam emails

Financial Report (Julie)

• Assets: $183K (including what’s in PayPal) 
  • $43k in Fidelity
  • $5k in PayPal
  • Rest is in bank accounts
• We lost money in August, but that’s because we had a lot of festival expenses coming through and all the income from the festival was in previous month
• Net revenue for 2026 = $20k 
• We are under budget on membership by $12k – that’s because a lot comes in in December 
• We made $5k more in revenue than we budgeted on the festival 
• We were $2.5k under budget on expenses for the festival 

Report on Madhvi Subrahmanian’s Artist Talk and the Global Ceramic Heritage Stamps Exhibition (Mari)

• Madhvi Subrahmanian’s artist talk took place at Atherton Library on September 15, in collaboration with Atherton Library, Atherton Arts Foundation, and ACGA 
  • Madhvi is a member of the Geneva-based International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), a large international ceramics organization
  • Originally ACGA was asked to help with live streaming, but after reviewing the statistics from last year’s artist talk and considering the lecture’s length, we thought this maybe wasn’t the best way to promote the event – in the end we helped them promote through the ACGA newsletter and Google Group
  • Atherton Library is a great venue for small educational events
  • Mari pointed out that hosting artist talks is a great way to introduce visiting international artists and their work to our community while they’re in the Bay Area 
• The Global Ceramic Heritage Stamps Exhibition was a traveling exhibition of the IAC and was held at the Santa Clara Asian Art Center from September 12 to 20. It was curated by ACGA members Guangzhen “Po” Zhou and Yilin “Rebecca” Sun. 
  • We’ve previously featured Po’s article about his journey around the world collecting stamps in our newsletters, and we helped promote Po’s exhibition this time

Define ACGA’s Role in Events and Set Logo Use Guidelines (Mari)

• Mari put together guidelines for when/how to use the ACGA logo
• We will discuss the guidelines at next month’s meeting since not everyone has had a chance to review them

2027 Leadership: Presidential Succession Without a VP and New Board Member Recruitment (Mari)

• Jan explained that the vice president typically steps up to become president, though this year presents challenges since there is no current vice president and several board members are planning to step down.
• Mari encouraged someone on the board to step up to the president role and that we should definitely have a VP so future succession is more clear
• Barbara is going to step down from the board/festival committee this year, but has already invited a number of members to attend board meetings and see if they’re interested in joining the board (Katie Morris who was in attendance was one of these people) 
• Vicki is wondering if it’s a good idea to invite someone who has never been on a board, there was discussion that this is okay as long as they’re committed and here for the right reasons
• Katie Morris mentioned James Aarons as a potential board member – Cheryl spoke up and said she has asked him in the past and will try to reach out to him again 
• Ren mentioned that several people said they were interested during the festival and Britt recorded their names so we can follow up
• Mari suggested we post in the newsletter/Google Group. After some discussion it was decided that the Google Group was most appropriate 
• Emil asked about whether board members needed to be members of ACGA – Julie clarified that it is a requirement, but anyone interested in the board could easily become a member, they don’t need to be an artist
• Chris is wondering if we can find people who are experienced professionals who have been on boards and grown nonprofit orgs 
• How we speak about the board
  • Ren brought up that it’s important that we specify this is a position focused on service, not prestige 
  • Julie brought up that this is “working” board
  • Cheryl brought up that this is NOT a “fundraising” board
• Britt will draft a letter that we can send to the Google Group 

Other Topic – Glass Artist Interviews for Newsletter (Ren)

• Our newsletter has interviewed every single glass artist who responded to our request for an interview, and we’re now struggling to balance our newsletter with glass coverage
• Chris offered to follow up with some people and can also make a visit to BAGI 

Date of next meeting is October 19, 2026

Minutes prepared by Britt Jensen, ACGA Secretary.

8/17/26 ACGA Board Meeting

• Present: Cheryl Costantini, Sean Alcala, Emil Yanos, Barbara Prodaniuk, Iver Hennig, Vicki Gunter, Britt Jensen, Pierre Bounaud, Tamara Danoyan, Julie Taber, Piper Christine, Ren Lee, Lee Middleman, Mari Emori, Jan Schachter
• Absent: April Zilber, Chris Johnson, Susie Rubenstein

The meeting began at 5:15 PM and ended at 7:10 PM.

Welcome (Mari) 

• Mari welcomed the group and congratulated everyone who participated in the festival 
• Mari reminded everyone that the formal name is “ACGA Clay and Glass Festival,” not “Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival” – this is important because there’s one with a similar name 
• Our guest Dan Osorio introduced himself – He’s a ceramic artist who used to live in Santa Cruz and now lives in Palm Springs. His work involves porcelain thrown pieces and underglaze illustration. He’s shown at the festival for two years and is interested in getting more involved with the board, potentially with a focus on social media! 

Board Leadership and Succession Planning (Mari)

• Mari reminded everyone to reach out to anyone who might be a good fit for the ACGA board. She noted the best way to learn about how the organization is run is for interested folks to join a board meeting. 
• Mari reminded everyone that this is her last year serving as president. She thinks it would be good to select someone who has been a board member to step up because they understand how it works. 

Financial Report (Julie)

• Currently have $202,330.51 in assets 
  • Clarification on undeposited funds line item (~$17,510.03): there are checks that were received in July, but not deposited until August 
• Julie is moving money over from PayPal and into the bank
• Currently have $39,554.90 in income so far this year (mostly from the Festival)
  • A big chunk of income will also come in December from memberships 
• Julie projects that our income will exceed our expenses this year
  • We’re about half way through what we budgeted on our expenses ($140k for whole year and we’re almost to $80k) – Note: we still have a few expenses that need to come through for the festival 
• Note: Piper has written a $32k check to Messenger Events since July books closed – this is not currently included in the financials, but we’re still under budget 

Festival Report 

General updates (Piper presented April’s notes)

• Critiques and potential changes for next year
  • Consider doing away with valet parking – it’s been progressively less fruitful 
    • This year we lost $1290 on valet service (similar to last year, but 2x as much as 2024)
      • ACGA pays $3890 
      • Cost to people parking = $13 per person (and expected to leave a tip)
      • 200 people utilized this service
    • Lee asked about cost to break even – we would need to charge about $20 to break even if we paid $3890 and had 200 people utilize it
    • Festival committee will discuss this further
  • On Friday some tables aren’t there by the time people are setting up, would it make sense for check in to start at 9am (So check in windows would be 9-11am, 11am-1pm, 1-3pm)
    • Barbara said she likes early time because it gets so hot, she suggests that people who need tables should sign up for later time slot
  • Jan brought up that check-in tent wasn’t staffed for several hours on Friday – not sure if this is a Messenger Event issue or a festival job issue
    • Piper will bring this up with April and Messenger events
  • We need to remind artists that if there’s an emergency, artists can call 911 themselves rather than go find someone in the art center
  • Thinking of raising food truck fee (it’s currently $500) to $550 
    • They’ve been paying by check and one check got lost and some are late → would be nice to have them pay online and this increase would cover our processing fees
  • Demo artists were running over
  • Throwdown sound system could use improvement 
    • Vicki clarified that the mics that Iver worked hard to get wouldn’t work unfortunately → it would be really great to have a cordless mic set up in the future 
  • Job waiver program 
    • 25 artists paid to get out of doing a job and allowed Messenger events to hire extra staff, especially to help during Sunday evening crazy time 
    • Messenger Events complaint – non-festival participant volunteers were taking hours away from Messenger event staff 
• How it went
  • 10,000 estimated attendees (from Laura giving intuitive sense based on what she’s seen at other festivals)
  • Moving artist party to Historic Courtyard seemed to go well and PAAC is happy to let us use that space again next year
• Throwdown 
  • This year we had 2 volunteers from Cobb Mountain who helped Vicki and Iver and it worked really well
    • No one signed up originally, so Laura asked Cobb Mountain – wasn’t an official job for them 
  • Thanks to Iver for making trophies, we should figure out who will make them next year 
  • Great to expand geographic area – we had more contestants from Santa Cruz Mountains 
  • Jennifer Hennig, a new throwdown coordinator, did a great job
  • Vicki had a fun celebrity moment and was recognized at Clay People a few weeks later as the pottery throwdown MC!!
  • Mari is wondering how we can better promote Clay People as throwdown sponsor – festival committee will discuss this further 
• Piper thinks there were about 60 responses to the festival artist survey so far and someone will share feedback soon 
• Mari asked if it would be possible to get feedback from members who attended the Festival but were not participants
• Ren has an idea to offer local supply stores a table space to promote their business at the festival (maybe a 5×10 booth) – Mari clarified that they were already offered this – we should revisit this, festival committee will look into it

Festival treasurer’s report (Piper)

• Still some expenses coming in – we are over and under in a few places
  • Security was under budget 
  • Office supplies/misc is over budget, but that’s because we stocked up on water bottles, tote bags, and pens (so this is 2-3 years of expenses)
• Clarification on some budget items
  • Festival producer = contract fixed fee to Messenger Events
  • ME staff = people they hire for day-of
  • Maintenance = janitorial services
  • Sanitation = porta potties + renting extra trash cans 
• We are currently slightly under budget, but will likely have a few expenses roll in 
• Reconciliation is about 95% complete.  With current artist sales totals, ACGA’s income from commissions will be $71,961.35.  This is almost $4K more than 2025
• There was approximately $540k in artist sales

Festival Jury (Tamara/Britt)

• August 18 info session
  • We have an online session tomorrow (Aug 18) night to provide more details on how to have a successful jury application 
  • Promoting: 
    • Tamara will post to Google Group
    • Britt will post to social media – will also send link so that we can all promote on our own social media 
• Updating festival jury webpage
  • 3 options for how we talk about jewelry, mosaic, and stained glass artists 
    • Option 1 – require all artists to create their primary clay or glass components
    • Option 2 – require only jewelry artists to create their primary clay or glass components
    • Option 3 – allow commercially manufactured components for all three categories
  • Discussion on whether to include fused glass in this list 
    • Ren suggests reaching out to jewelry artists so they can be part of the discussion 
    • Sean said there was an instance of an artist using decals (which can be considered commercial patterns), he’s not sure about the rules related to clay artists 
    • Ren is wondering why this would be added about fused glass artists, it’s still transformed by heat – Cheryl thinks it’s because it could involve less creativity, but not necessarily 
    • There’s general consensus that fused glass artists are covered under general guidelines 
    • Ren points out it has only been a few years since stained glass artists have been admitted and isn’t sure where the mosaic info on the website came from 
    • Vicki thinks we can leave a lot of this up to the jury’s discretion 
    • Lee is having trouble with option 2 because this has been discussed before – he’s worried about artists leaning more on technology and less on creativity 
      • Mari clarified that we still require an artist process statement which is good to prevent mass manufacturing or heavy technology utilization without creativity
      • Cherly points out that this is a slippery slope that could be extended to buying commercial glazes  – she wants to bring this back to the core about bringing people together who are authentic and passionate about what they’re making 
      • Vicki brings up whether we should say something about no work being accepted that was created using AI
    • Piper likes the line that work with minimal artistic transformation is not eligible
    • Tamara points out that etching on glass can be amazing, but there’s no heat involved
    • Lee proposes we stick with what we have given the proximity to the jury date, we reviewed what we have on the website currently 
    • We voted to take the two paragraphs out of the website titled “note to jewelry and mosaic artists” as well as “note to clay artists” 
      • Vicki proposed the motion this and Cheryl seconded
      • Passed unanimously 

Exhibitions Report

SILICA SiO2: Northern California Ceramics in Santa Cruz (Iver)

• Silica exhibition opening September 4 – the Friday night opening is free
• All pieces delivered to Iver have made it to the museum 
• Every first Friday is free until it closes in January 

FINELY CRAFTED in Sebastopol (Cheryl)

• Applications rolling in 
• Confusion about ACGA contributing money 
  • First we said $300, then we said more, then Sebastopol Center for the Arts said they didn’t want more
  • Where we’ve landed: $500 total ($250 for clay and $250 for glass) – ACGA will be credited, but the awards are being decided by people outside ACGA 
  • Ren moved we approve $500 for this exhibition and Piper seconded
    • Unanimously approved

Fresno Show “Standing on Their Shoulders” (Ren)

• Ren is participating in this October show
• She encourages anyone to apply if they have work that speaks to the contribution of their elders or struggle for equality
• Ren will be reposting about it and encourages everyone to share

Handwork (Barbara) 

• We got some coverage on festival from Handwork – not as much as she had hoped for, but it was well done
• Silica SiO2 show is up on the page, but Finely Crafted show is not yet up
• Handwork exhibit at Fresno Museum of Art is up right now showing from Forest Merrill collection 

Date of next meeting is September 21, 2026

Minutes prepared by Britt Jensen, ACGA Secretary.