ACGA BLOG

Present: Mari Emori, Sally Jackson, Julie Taber, April Zilber, Piper Christine, Jan Schachter, Lee Middleman, Scott Jennings, Barbara Prodaniuk, Susie Rubenstein, Cheryl Costantini, Iver Hennig, Ren Lee, Vicki Gunter, Chris Johnson, Sean Free Alcala, Tamara Danoyan, Emil Yanos

Welcome (Mari)

Mari reported that in March the Board voted via emails to contribute $500 to Stewards of the Coast Redwoods to sponsor their inaugural fundraising event at Pond Farm Pottery in Guerneville. An anonymous donor matched our donation for a total of $1000. The event will take place on April 27^th and is part of an ongoing effort to restore and use this historic property.

ACGA Merchandise at the Clay and Glass Festival (Cheryl)

Cheryl has been investigating the cost of ACGA-branded items that could be made available at the festival, either as gifts or for sale.  Aprons and water bottles were two that she presented to the Board.  T-shirts were also proposed. After some discussion, the Board decided that this type of sale is not a priority for ACGA, whereas gifts for, e.g., new artists and throwdown contestants are.  Sean proposed handmade gifts with the ACGA logo. Cheryl will pursue this idea with a subset of Board members who are interested in helping.  The Board approved a $600 budget for this.

Festival Report (April)

There are 144 artists signed up for the 2025 Festival, with a short waitlist.  Twenty-one of those who’ve registered are first-time participants.  Annie at Messenger Events is working to ensure that she has enough staff for this larger festival.  April has spent a great deal of time investigating the regulations and insurance requirements if we want to sell wine and beer at the festival.  The costs will be significant and logistics complex.  After discussion, the Board voted unanimously to forgo alcohol sales at the festival for at least the next two years (18 yes).

Orientation on Zoom for Festival Artists (Cheryl)

Cheryl and Susie are creating a document for festival artists, particularly first-timers, that will help them prepare for the weekend.  They will also conduct an open Orientation on Zoom on Sunday, May 4, at 10 a.m. All artists are invited.

Corporate Sponsorship (Lee)

Lee proposed that ACGA pursue more corporate sponsorship and that we could offer free ad space for sponsors in return.  Ren countered that while she is in favor of ACGA seeking contributions, she does not recommend that we take on any model that requires someone with expertise to solicit funds, design ads, and update them regularly.

“Arts of Fire” in Benicia: Exhibition Update (Vicki)

The “Arts of Fire” call has received several entries and will remain open until May 21.  Vicki has had postcards printed and is distributing them widely in an effort to encourage more entries.  She will also send out an email to our members.  The clay juror is Lisa Reinertson and the glass juror is Demetra Theofanous.

Santa Cruz: Exhibition Update (Iver)

Iver and fellow ceramicist Carlos Dye have been working with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History to organize a four-month-long exhibition of clay and glass work.  The museum’s deputy director, Marla Novo, is enthusiastic. This show could take place possibly as early as fall of 2026 in the museum’s main gallery.

Jury Report (Chris)

The six jurors for the March jurying met twice and accepted 25 out of 44 applicants for festival eligibility.  Of 33 clay applicants, 18 were accepted.  Of 11 glass applicants, 7 were accepted.  A Jury Committee will convene soon to discuss best practices for future juries.  Jan suggested limiting future juries to a more manageable number of applicants.  Chris feels that the large number was not an issue.

Financial Report (Julie)

Julie reported that we have $171,000 in assets, held in our bank accounts and PayPal.  She is working with the bank to get account access for Piper, our festival treasurer.

Guest Artist Talk/Presentation on April 5th (Mari)

On April 5, ACGA hosted a well-attended event featuring visiting artist Adil Writer from India.  The event was live-streamed on Instagram and Facebook.  Mari expressed her appreciation for all who helped make this possible: Guangzhen “Po” Zhou, Lee Middleman, Iver Hennig, Ren Lee, Sally Jackson, and the Palo Alto Art Center.

The meeting ended at 6:30 p.m.

Next Meeting: Monday, May 19, at 5:15 p.m. via Zoom

Present: Mari Emori, Sally Jackson (recorder), April Zilber, Vicki Gunter, Lee Middleman, Julie Taber, Ren Lee, Sean Free Alcala, Susie Rubenstein, Iver Hennig, Piper Christine, Jan Schachter, Emil Yanos, Barbara Prodaniuk, Tamara Danoyan, Scott Jennings, Cheryl Costantini, Chris Johnson   Absent: Vicki Gunter    Guest: Britt Jensen

The meeting began at 5:15 pm.

Welcome (Mari)

Lapsed Membership Survey (Emil)

Emil sent surveys to 46 non-renewing members asking why they chose to let their membership lapse. To date five surveys have been returned. Emil will share the results before our next meeting and we’ll discuss them in more detail.

Festival Update & Media Consultant Festival Page Redo (April & Ren)

As of now, 122 artists have registered for the Clay & Glass Festival in July.  Piper reported that the new map offers space for 142 booths. Invitations to newly-juried artists will go out later this week.  Our media consultant has drafted two examples of what a new festival landing page could look like on our website.  Ren and April felt that either one would be suitable.  The main benefit would be a more professional platform with greater connectivity to our larger festival publicity efforts.

Festival Swag (Cheryl)

Cheryl has found an infinite online supply of merchandise that can be printed with ACGA’s logo: thermal water bottles, aprons, shopping bags, etc.  The Board discussed whether selling this kind of merchandise is beneficial, either from a financial standpoint or as a way to spread ACGA’s brand.  We would likely need to pay someone to handle sales at the festival, which would be hard to organize for this year. Ren advocated for a strong marketing plan before jumping in.  This year, branded merchandise might be a source of prizes for throwdown contestants or gifts for new artists.  Cheryl will provide a proposal for our next meeting.

Exhibitions (Jan)

Jan would like to step down as head of the Exhibitions Committee and encouraged the Board to find a successor.  Iver is exploring a couple of exhibition possibilities in the Santa Cruz area.  Many galleries and other venues are still recovering from Covid.  Jan and Sally are also exploring a possible show in Sebastopol for 2026, but details are yet to be determined.

Handwork 2025 Participation (April & Ren)

Craft in America’s project “Handwork: Celebrating America Craft 2026” will showcase the importance of the handmade and highlight stories of craft artists and organizations.  Next year it will involve exhibitions, documentaries, workshops, how-to videos, publications, and more.  Its website will maintain a calendar of events across the country and live links to organizations, studios, etc.  The Board voted unanimously to join this initiative (17 yes).

Financial Report (Julie)

Our current assets are $170,000.

Approval to change month-to-month bookkeeping from accrual to cash basis.

Julie reported that our accountant recommends that we shift our monthly reports from accrual basis accounting to cash basis accounting, since that is how we file our taxes.

Her motion to approve this change passed unanimously (17 yes).

Banking Approval

Piper was voted in as the Festival Treasurer and Julie was reapproved as the Board Treasurer at the January board meeting.  Julie made a motion to remove April Zilber from all banking accounts (including; Bank of America, Checking, Festival Checking, and Savings account – Fidelity account – PayPal – and other banking/money collection accounts belonging to ACGA) and add Christine Piper to all those accounts as an additional signer.  Julie also asked for approval to get a Bank of America credit card, using the same main account, for Christine Piper.  The motion passed unanimously (17 yes).

2024 Taxes

Julie presented the 2024 Taxes prepared by our CPA, Peak Accounting Services.  Our income last year was high enough that we need to pay California taxes this year.  Although ACGA is a non-profit entity at the federal level with the IRS, the entity didn’t apply for non-profit status with California so has been paying CA tax each year.  Usually this is equal to $800, the minimum CA tax due annually.  The calculation is the greater of $800 or 8.84% of net income.  For 2024, that 8.84% calculation resulted in total tax of $1,232 so there is a balance due of $432 for 2024 and the 2025 CA tax estimate (based on prior year income) is $1,200 instead of the normal $800.  If it turns out the entity’s net income for 2025 is less than in 2024 (actually less than about $9,000), then it’ll go back to the normal $800.

Julie made a motion to pay the additional $432 in taxes due for 2024 by April 15th, plus the base amount of $800.  She also asked approval to pay the 2025 CA tax estimate of $500 on 06/15/2025.  In 2025, if we do not owe more than the $800 we usually have to pay, we will recoup the $500 from the IRS next year. The motion passed unanimously (17 yes).

Upcoming Event: Artist Talk at PAAC (Mari)

ACGA will host ceramic artist Adil Writer at the Palo Alto Art Center on April 5, 2025.  He will talk about his journey in ceramics, his work, and his collaborations with other artists in India, where he is a partner at Mandala Pottery.  He will also show two short films.  The event will be free and open to the public.  We’re also planning to livestream the event on Facebook and Instagram.

Member Survey Responses: Open Discussion

Festival Survey (Piper):  Piper summarized a survey of members who participate in the Clay & Glass Festival.  Of the responding artists, 15 said that they dislike leaving their booths to volunteer during the festival.  A smaller number said that they would like an easier way to pay their commissions.  Piper suggested setting up online commission payment using credit cards, with card fees covered by the artists. Some of those responding suggested that ACGA hold sales at other times of year.  This is a difficult proposition given the time and staff needed to organize a sale and the necessity of holding it indoors.  Ren reminded the Board that the survey only represents a small number of our artists.

Exhibitions Survey (Britt): Britt summarized a survey asking members to comment on ACGA’s exhibition opportunities.  There were 25 responses.  85% said that they are interested in participating in exhibitions.  The location of the gallery was the most important factor influencing whether an artist applies for an ACGA show.  Most artists avoid applying to shows that are geographically distant.  Most respondents would like to see more opportunities for shows, and cited positive experiences with shows in the past.  Britt summarized some of the things we should be asking, i.e., how can we get artists outside of the Bay Area involved in organizing shows for their regions, how can we ensure that shows do not lose money, and are there ways to put on exhibitions that are less cost-prohibitive?

Spring Jury Quick Update (Chris)

There are 44 applicants for festival eligibility in the current jury pool.  Jurors will make their final decisions on March 18 and Chris will send out notifications shortly thereafter. April will then invite the accepted artists to register for booths at the festival.

The meeting ended at 7:00 pm

Next Meeting:  Monday, April 21, 2025 at 5:15pm via Zoom

The Pottery, a longtime San Rafael ceramic studio, has a current opening for an independent ceramic artist. This is not a learning studio and no teaching or classes are allowed here. You will have your own individual studio space, and access to shared space, to do your work independently. We all participate in a yearly group studio sale around the christmas holidays. You will have use of a slab roller and an extruder. This is a wonderful space. If you’re interested, please call linda 415-806-9936