Art of Play
The Art of Play, August 9 – September 7, includes Diana Greenleaf’s “Swimming Dogs”. The opening reception, August 9, 2-4 and multi media exhibit explore play, reflecting juror Cas Holman’s interest in playground and toy design. Holman is featured in the Netflix series Design for Play. Exhibit at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S High St, Sebastopol.
ACGA Board Meeting Minutes – June 16, 2025
Present: Mari Emori, Sally Jackson (recorder), April Zilber, Julie Taber, Piper Christine, Emil Yanos, Tamara Danoyan, Jan Schachter, Sean Free Alcala, Lee Middleman, Scott Jennings, Susie Rubenstein, Iver Hennig, Vicki Gunter, Barbara Prodaniuk, Chris Johnson (late) Absent: Cheryl Costantini, Ren Lee
The meeting began at 5:15 p.m.
Welcome (Mari)
Festival Update (April)
At present we have a full festival with 140 booths. April thanked Piper for all her contributions as our new Festival Treasurer. Because of sparse voting and sign-ups, we are not offering People’s Choice awards again this year, nor do we think it worthwhile to conduct a gift certificate drawing for people who sign up for our mailing list. April will bring this last decision point to the festival committee. We will however continue collecting emails to add to the mailing list, both with a QR code on signs, and through mailing list sign-ups in artists’ booths. We have 25 new artists this year. They will have bright-colored labels for their booths. We will have a paid CERF+ staff person. We are still seeking one person to staff Clay for All in the courtyard. This job will pay minimum wage.
Website Report (April)
We have a new Festival landing page on our website. It was designed by the Mega Jewell Agency and we can refresh it each year. The Board discussed how to best archive Festival landing pages from past years. One suggestion is to keep the most recent ones easily accessible with live links to the artists, and archive older ones as PDFs or screenshots.
Meyer Fund Proposal (Scott)
Scott and Vivien Hart have been exploring ways to use the funds donated to ACGA by James Meyers. They propose funding a robust selection of needs for ACGA members rather than restricting awards to a narrow category. Examples might include travel or tuition funds for conferences or workshops, jury and booth fees, organizing a workshop, and so on. Vivien and Scott would review the applications for amounts in the $250/$500 neighborhood, available to all ACGA members in good standing. The Board discussed when the application period might fall, and whether the awardees would be required to report on how they used the money. Other questions arose as to how to verify need, and whether we can enlarge the fund with contributions from other donors. The Board will discuss these questions further at a future meeting.
Exhibitions: Arts of Fire (Vicki)
The call for Arts of Fire received entries from 83 clay and glass artists, most submitting multiple pieces for consideration. Jurors Lisa Reinertson and Demetra Theofanus selected about 40 pieces by 34 artists. Income from entry fees and membership sign-ups was robust. Vicki acknowledged valuable help from James Aarons, Ren Lee, and others. The Board discussed how to feature the show on our website. Options include a page of thumbnail images or simply a written list of the artists with a link to the NY2CA Gallery page featuring the artwork. Vicki will look into the costs. The opening reception for Arts of Fire will be August 17, 6-7 p.m., at NY2CA Gallery in Benicia.
Financial Report (Julie)
We currently have $130,000 in the bank. $32,000 of that is in PayPal at the moment, reflecting payment of booth fees for the Clay & Glass Festival. Julie is moving it gradually into our bank account. Income in May was boosted by the Arts of Fire entry fees. Expenses were high as is usual at this time, when we are paying for many of the festival expenses. Paperwork for Piper to have access to our Bank of America account is finally complete and has been submitted to the bank.
Jury Process: Proposed Changes & Discussion (Mari)
Before the Board met, Mari wrote and shared a document listing proposed changes or refinements to the jurying process. Topics included jury frequency and structure, jury committee and role clarity, scoring and meeting format, and communications with applicants. Discussion of these important and complex subjects will continue in the coming weeks until the Board feels prepared to vote.
Date of Next Meeting: Monday, August 18, 2025, at 5:15 p.m. via Zoom
ACGA 🔥ARTS OF FIRE🔥
Venue: NY2CA Gallery, 617 First Street, Benicia CA 94510
OPENING RECEPTION — Saturday, August 16, 2025 from 5-7pm
SHOW DATES —August 7, 2025 — September 21, 2025
OPENING RECEPTION — Saturday, August 16, 2025 from 5-7pm
ACGA Board Meeting Minutes – May 19, 2025
Present: Mari Emori, Sally Jackson (recorder), Julie Taber, April Zilber, Piper Christine, Cheryl Costantini, Susie Rubenstein, Barbara Prodaniuk, Scott Jennings, Jan Schachter, Tamara Danoyan, Vicki Gunter, Iver Hennig, Sean Free Alcala, Ren Lee, Emil Yanos Absent: Chris Johnson, Lee Middleman Guest: Diana Greenleaf
The meeting began at 5:15 p.m.
Welcome (Mari)
Arts of Fire Exhibition (Vicki)
The deadline to submit entries to Arts of Fire is May 21. To date there are 36 complete entries and several more pending. Most of the entries are clay rather than glass. When the jurors have made their selections, Vicki will coordinate carpooling for delivery to the NY2CA Gallery in Benicia. The gallery might need to borrow some of ACGA’s pedestals for the show. Jan commented on the excellent publicity for this call.
Santa Cruz Exhibition (Iver)
Iver and fellow artist Carlos Dye have written a successful proposal for an exhibition of clay and glass at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Museum curator Marla Novo has blocked September 26, 2026 – February 27, 2027 for this show, which will accommodate around 20 invited artists and 40 juried artists. It will also include a pop-up sale of work by accepted artists in the museum’s gift shop. It may be necessary to use some of ACGA’s pedestals stored in Santa Clara. ACGA will assist in organizing the exhibition, but all artists in California will be eligible to apply to the Call for Entries.
Financial Report (Julie)
Our total current assets are $163,863, higher than this time last year. Year-to-date income is $20,000 more than we budgeted, and expenses are slightly over. The large pool of applicants for the last jury and the high number of booth applications for the festival have boosted our bank balances.
Zoom Orientation for Festival-Eligible Artists (Cheryl)
Around 20 artists attended the virtual orientation that Cheryl and Susie presented on Zoom on May 4th. The hour-long event went well, with good discussions and sharing of information. Participants appreciated the document that Cheryl and Susie had put together. Cheryl thinks that this orientation should be held annually. ACGA artist Diana Greenleaf, who had originally suggested the gathering, reported that it was very useful. Suggestions made by artists during the presentation have been passed on to April.
Jury Discussion (Mari)
The next window to apply for festival eligibility will be September 1-30, 2025. The jurors’ decisions will be announced in October. The Board discussed pros and cons of having two juries per year (fall and spring) as opposed to only one (fall). One jurying in the fall is simpler and gives all artists equal chance to sign up for the festival when booth applications open in January. The Board also discussed whether to limit the number of applicants for juries, since the last cohort was unusually large (44 applicants). Additionally, the protocol for sharing jurors’ comments with applicants needs improvement, especially when the comments are negative. These topics will be discussed further at our next Board Meeting.
Festival Report (April)
The Clay & Glass Festival is fully booked. Waitlisted artists have all been admitted. Cancellations are still possible, but even so it will be a robust show. April is still working on matching artists with volunteer jobs. Some jobs formerly assigned to volunteers will be done by paid staff. April is still looking to fill the paid slot for staffing the CERF+ booth.
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: 5:15 p.m., June 16, 2025 via Zoom
Brent SRC Slab Roller For ASale
It good working order. These sell for $1500 new, I would like $500 OBO
email me at jtceramics@mindspring,com
Startup Art Fair: Created for Artists by Artists
I first heard about the Startup Art Fair in 2017. I don’t know when it started—possibly in 2015, but since then, the fair has expanded from San Francisco to Houston and Los Angeles. I didn’t know much about it, only that artists took over the Hotel del Sol in San Francisco and transformed their rooms into their own personal gallery spaces. I applied in 2020 but a week after being accepted, the country went into lockdown and the fair was cancelled. In early 2025 I was excited to learn of the fair’s return to San Francisco in April. I applied and was accepted.
The Startup Art Fair was developed by Artist Ray Beldner to give independent artists the opportunity to take control of their careers and connect directly with collectors and curators in an intimate boutique hotel setting. The three day event, running concurrently with the San Francisco Art Fair, attracts visitors already in the area who are interested in art.
Upon acceptance, each artist selects a room (at varying rates) which will become their exhibit space. All existing furniture in the room must remain. Some artists choose to flip up their beds, buttressing them against the wall, and store other furniture in the bathroom or closet. These are good options if you don’t plan on spending the nights in the space. I brought in ProPanel walls to display my work, since the recommended 3M Command strips would not support my ceramic wall sculptures.
There is a food and a drink vendor on-site for the duration of the fair, along with various performances, including music and dance. This helps create a festive environment, which encourages visitors to stay and see all 60+ artists.
The fair is a ticketed event, limiting the amount of walk-in visitors, but it is marketed to art professionals attending the San Francisco Art Fair to discover and buy art. I found a wide variety of visitors including art students, families, and many representing industries that support the arts.
Ray uses his experience as an artist to lead his team to organize and facilitate the process for participants. They are available prior to the fair if any questions or concerns arise. Helpful emails go out to artists alerting them of timelines and other pertinent information for a successful event. If you are considering this as a selling option, its a good idea to visit the actual event. Look for announcements near at the beginning of the year or go to startupartfair.com and get on their mailing list.
