ACGA News

ACGA BOARD MEETING Minutes — JANUARY 20, 2025 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  Absent: Chris Johnson  Guest: Jacob Miller

The meeting began at 5:15 pm.

Welcome (Mari)

The first order of business was to elect officers for 2025.  Those present voted unanimously (Yes:16) to accept the following slate:

President: Mari Emori

Vice-president: Chris Johnson

Secretary: Sally Jackson

Julie Taber was elected Treasurer (Yes:16, Abstain:1)

Piper Christine was approved as the new Festival Treasurer (Yes:16)

Guest member Jacob Miller introduced himself. He is a Bay Area ceramicist working at Higher Fire, Foothill College, and CSMA.

Membership Report (Emil)

Emil is working on hiccups with the renewal process, mostly related to payment using credit cards.  313 members have renewed so far, 57 of which are new members. Non-renewing members total 59.  The board briefly discussed other membership platforms.

All-Member Meeting (Mari)

The All-Member Meeting on January 25 will be a hybrid meeting using Zoom for those who cannot come in person to the Palo Alto Art Center.  ACGA member Britt Jensen will run the meeting.  Mari will organize the agenda.  Sally and Tamara will cover hospitality with coffee, etc.  Three ACGA artists will give virtual studio tours.  Mari has prepared a member survey asking for feedback about the organization, and hopes to report the results.

Festival Update (April)

Currently there are 78 artists registered for the 2025 Clay & Glass Festival, more than we usually have by this date.  The booth map has been redrawn to accommodate some smaller and larger booth sizes as well as highlighting premium corner booths.  A glitch with PayPal which prevented some registrants from paying has been fixed.  The possibility of selling beer and wine at the festival is still being investigated. The cost to ACGA will likely be around $2000.  If sales are robust, we’ll recoup some of that from the vendors.  Julie and Susie are examining the festival’s volunteer jobs.  The Board discussed possible options for artists who do not want to leave their booths to volunteer during the festival.

Residency Program Participation in the ACGA Clay & Glass Festival (Mari)

Mari presented the Festival Committee’s recently drafted proposal for Residency Programs (like Cobb Mountain Arts and Ecology Project) to participate in the festival. Discussion focused on how restrictive or inclusive our policy should be.  After a few edits, the board voted unanimously in favor of the proposal (Yes:17).

Financial Report (Julie)

At the end of December, 2024, our assets totalled $130,069.  More will be coming in soon for booth registrations.  We budgeted a total net income for 2024 at $1700, but in fact ended the year ahead by $13,000.

SoCal Fire Fundraiser (April)

We have collected money through a GoFundMe fundraiser for ACGA members who have lost homes and/or studios in the Los Angeles fires.  April will consult with a nonprofit lawyer to find out how to give the money through the proper channels.

The meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm.

Next meeting: 5:15 pm, Monday, February 17

Present: Mari Emori, Julie Taber, Cheryl Costantini, Lee Middleman, Susie Rubenstein, April Zilber, Jan Schachter, Vicki Gunter, Barbara Prodaniuk, Ren Lee, Tamara Danoyan, Sonja Hinrichsen, Iver Hennig, Chris Johnson, Emil Yanos, Sally Jackson (recorder), Scott Jennings, Trudy Chiddix  Absent: none

Guests: Piper Christine, Sean Alcala, Haley Tessler, Diana Adams

Welcome New Guests and Bid Farewells (Mari)

Mari welcomed members who rejoined our meeting as guests and introduced a new member guest, Haley Tessler.  She also offered the Board’s gratitude to Trudy Chiddix and Sonja Hinrichsen, both of whom will step down from the Board at the end of the year.  Trudy will move to Santa Barbara and resume her work with clay and glass, while Sonja will return to Europe to look for studio and living space.

Review the Board Timeline 2025 (Mari)

Mari has prepared a draft of the Board Timeline to guide the Board’s activities through the next calendar year.  She will work with Ren, Vicki, April, Chris, and Emil to finalize the Timeline in the next weeks.

Festival Planning Updates (April)

April and Piper (who will serve as ACGA’s new Festival Treasurer) met recently with Messenger Events to discuss the 2025 Clay & Glass Festival.  April reported that volunteer job descriptions will be reviewed by Susie and Julie. She is open to suggestions for how to assign more volunteer hours before and after the festival, since artists often find it difficult to serve during the festival.  The Board concurred with April that volunteering is a good way to build and strengthen the ACGA community.  Nevertheless, some artists ask to pay not to volunteer, which could provide hourly pay for hired help at the CERF+ table, for example.  April will consider how these options might appear on the festival application.  Ren suggested that ACGA find other ways to build community, especially online.  Mari proposed ordering more water bottles and Cheryl offered to explore options.

Financial Report (Julie)

As of the end of November, our assets totalled $125,000.  Income for the month was $1500 and expenses were $1200.  Our net profit for the year thus far is $8500.  We expect much of our membership income to come in during the month of December.  Emil and Julie are working on issues with renewal on our website.

2025 Budget (Julie)

Julie presented a budget for 2025.  She used information from last year’s finances as well as input from various committees.  April is still working out festival plans and finances but  recommended raising the ad design expense from $600 to $1000.  The Board voted unanimously to accept the current 2025 Budget with that change, and with the understanding that other adjustments will be made as needed (18 yes, 0 no).

ACGA/NY2CA Gallery Show: Arts of Fire (Vicki)

Vicki Gunter is organizing the exhibition “Arts of Fire” with Vickie Marchand at NY2CA Gallery in Benicia.  A call for entries will go out on February 21, 2025.  She proposed opening the call to non-members for a slightly higher fee that could include a discount on first-time ACGA membership dues.  This would boost income from the call, and more importantly it would bring in some new members. The Board agreed with Vicki that ACGA should have more exhibitions in addition to planning the festival each year.  Vicki proposed paying those who organize exhibitions because of the amount of work. The Board discussed the role of exhibitions for our diverse mix of members.

All-Member Meeting Jan. 25, 2025 (Mari) 

The All-Member Meeting will take place in two ways: in-person at the Palo Alto Art Center, and online via Zoom on January 25, 2025, 10 –11:30 a.m.  Those meeting at the Art Center will then have a potluck lunch. The agenda will include introducing the new Board members, gathering feedback from members as to what they would like from ACGA, watching some virtual studio tours, and summarizing our accomplishments in 2024.  Mari suggested conducting a member survey prior to the All-Member Meeting, and using the collected data as a foundation for discussion. The officers will work on developing the meeting agenda and will seek input from the Board in the coming weeks. Jan proposed making multiple announcements to members leading up to the meeting to increase awareness and attendance.

Festival Jury Summary (Chris)

The recent festival jury had 16 applicants, 5 of whom were accepted.  Some of those who were rejected requested and received notes explaining the jurors’ decisions.  Chris would like to set up a pool of mentors for those who apply in the future.  He would also like to improve our description of what jurors need to see in the images submitted, and he would like more applications from glass artists.  He will be organizing his list of potential jurors in order to smooth recruitment for the next round. Mari suggested having two spring and fall jury coordinators, forming a team, or doing one jury per year, but most seemed to agree that two juries, in March and October, served our purposes better. Tamara expressed interest in assisting Chris with the jury process.

The meeting adjourned at 7:00pm.

Next Meeting: January 20, 2025, 5:15pm via Zoom

Present: Mari Emori, April Zilber, Sally Jackson (recorder), Jan Schachter, Lee Middleman, Scott Jennings, Vicki Gunter, Ren Lee, Barbara Prodaniuk, Sonja Hinrichsen, Tamara Danoyan, Emil Yanos, Julie Taber, Iver Hennig, Trudy Chiddix, Susie Rubenstein, Chris Johnson   Absent: Cheryl Costantini

Guests: Sean Alcala, Deb Sullivan, Diana Adams, Britt Jensen, Piper Christine

The meeting began at 5:15pm.

Welcome (Mari)

Mari introduced our guests, who spoke briefly about their work: Piper Christine (clay, Berkeley), Sean Alcala (glass, Salida), Deb Sullivan (clay, Alameda), Diana Adams (clay, Long Beach), and Britt Jensen (clay, San Jose).

Treasurer’s Report (Julie)

Total assets in our accounts were $125,200 as of October 31.  Total October expenses were $10,656.10 and total income was $2,376.18. Our gross profits to date ($122,000) are slightly above budget, and our expenses to date ($114,309.84) are almost exactly on budget.  Membership income will bump up in December when many members renew.

Exhibitions: “Above Board” Final Report (Ren)

Ren reported that “Above Board”, the exhibition that ACGA organized with Clay Hand Studio in Fresno, received 44 entries.  Revenue received from entries totalled $1540.  ACGA broke even after paying expenses.  Clay Hand Studio netted $79 after paying artist commissions for work that sold.

Festival Report (April)

April reported that the last checks due from festival artists have been received.  The Board discussed how to share final sale numbers with our membership, since this would not interest everyone.  April will send out an announcement with a link to the artists’ sales summary report.  She is still working on a budget for the 2025 festival.  The Festival Committee will meet on November 24.  April will be working closely with Messenger Events to remap the festival grounds.

Membership Proposal (Mari)

The Membership Committee presented a proposal to eliminate Collaborative Membership, effective February 1, 2025. Since this will involve a change in our bylaws, it needs to be voted on by our members.  This proposed change will be announced in early December and will be included on the January ballot along with our board member election.  A “Frequently Asked Questions” section will be added to our website, and updated as needed.  The Board voted unanimously (17 yes, 0 no) to approve the proposal (with slight edits requested) so that it can be submitted for consideration by our membership.

Handwork 2026

Craft in America has announced Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, “a national semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and celebrating the diversity of craft that defines America”. This initiative will generate craft-focused exhibitions, documentaries, digital resources, education programs, and more. Its organizers are seeking partnerships and participants for a wide-ranging, nationally advertised series of events in 2026. The Board agreed to explore ACGA’s best options for joining this initiative.

Code of Conduct (Emil)

Emil presented a concise Code of Conduct for ACGA members. It will be sent out through our GoogleGroup and will also be added to our website.  When members join or renew, they will be asked to acknowledge that they have read and understood the Code.  After discussion and slight edits, the Board voted unanimously (18 yes, 0 no) to accept the Code of Conduct.

Jury Report (Chris)

Our recent jury call received 15 applications.  The jury will meet later this week, and again the following week before announcing the results. The next application deadline will be March 15, 2025.

All-Member Meeting (Sally)

ACGA has reserved the Meeting Room at the Palo Alto Art Center for its All-Member Meeting on January 25, 2025.  In-person attendees will gather there.  The Board discussed how to make the meeting run smoothly if many are attending virtually.  We will work out the details in the coming weeks.

The meeting adjourned at 6:55pm

Next Meeting: December 16, 2024, via Zoom

PRESENT: Mari Emori, April Zilber, Chris Johnson, Sally Jackson, Jan Schachter, Lee Middleman, Trudy Chiddix, Emil Yanos, Tamara Danoyan, Susie Rubenstein, Barbara Prodaniuk, Cheryl Costantini, Scott Jennings, Iver Hennig, Julie Taber, Ren Lee

ABSENT: Sonja Hinrichsen, Vicki Gunter

GUEST: Piper Christine

The meeting began at 5:15 pm

Welcome (Mari)

Soon it will be time to nominate board members for the next two-year term, which starts in January 2025.  Current board members whose terms are ending should let Mari know if they plan to run for another term.  We should also be recruiting new board members from our membership for the December ballot.

The next jurying deadline in October will be publicized now on social media and through ACGA’s GoogleGroup.

Code of Conduct (Emil)  

Emil proposed an official ACGA Code of Conduct to be included on our website.  This code would serve as a guide for behavior and language in communications. It would also remind our members that we are a community that must work through problems in a civil and appropriate way.  The Board expressed support for this proposal and discussed ways in which our members could acknowledge that they’ve read and agree to the code once it is made available.

Festival Report (April)

April reported that Reconciliation is complete for the 2024 Clay and Glass Festival. There are still a few payments due from artists, and a few who will receive payments.  We have not received all festival bills yet, but overall this was a good year in terms of sales and revenue.  The next Festival Committee meeting will address the possibility of adding wine and beer sales in 2025.

Exhibitions Update: “Above Board” in Fresno (Ren)

Ren thanked everyone who sent work to “Above Board”, the show that she has helped organize in Fresno.  She especially thanked Mari, who drove all the Bay Area contributions to Fresno.  The show features nearly 100 ceramic and glass pieces arranged in 16 place settings.  We extend our sincere gratitude to Ren for all her work!

Financial Report (Julie)

As of the end of August, our total current assets equal $143,922.

Proposal: Remove Collaborative Membership & Redefine General Membership (Mari)

Mari proposed removing Collaborative Membership, thereby simplifying our membership into three categories: General, Student, and Sponsor. General Members would include a diverse array of individual artists (or their businesses), businesses, educators, collectors, art professionals, enthusiasts, etc.   Discussion focused on several implications for this change in terms of dues payments and festival jurying. Do businesses larger than an individual pay General Membership dues and jury in as a business entity, or do the artists associated with a business jury in separately?  What does festival eligibility look like for larger studios with employees? A committee of Board members, led by Jan, was appointed to work on the language that would specify the proposed changes and details.  The Board voted to put these changes on the ballot in December for approval (or not) by our membership (15 yes, 1 abstention).

Festival Eligibility after Lapsed Dues (Emil)

When asked, Emil has forgiven lapsed dues payments on a one-time basis.  There is however a policy to collect any past due membership dues if a lapsed member wants to apply for the festival.  Emil tries to make sure that everyone gets multiple reminders when their memberships are about to expire. He also helps anyone who is having trouble renewing through our website.

Proposed use of $1000 annual gift to ACGA (Julie)

Julie has written a proposal for the use of a generous, ongoing gift from one of our members.  She will send it to the Board via email and ask for comments.

The meeting adjourned at 7:07pm

Next Meeting: 5:15pm via Zoom on October 21, 2024

I have sad news to share with the ACGA community. Chris Esparza passed away unexpectedly during the first weekend of August. Many ACGA artists will remember Chris as the head of Giant Creative. He and his team worked with us to produce the ACGA Clay & Glass Festival in Palo Alto for nine years, from 2013 through 2021. I learned a lot from working with him and appreciate the ways he and Giant Creative helped us to improve the event over time.

More about Chris and his contributions to local culture can be found here: San Jose cultural leader’s death shocks community

Present: Mari Emori, Chris Johnson, April Zilber, Julie Taber, Sally Jackson (recorder), Jan Schachter, Susie Rubenstein, Lee Middleman, Trudy Chiddix, Barbara Prodaniuk, Ren Lee, Vicki Gunter, Emil Yanos, Scott Jennings, Tamara Danoyan, Iver Hennig, Cheryl Costantini    Absent: Sonja Hinrichsen

Guests: Sean Alcala, Piper Christine

The meeting began at 5:20pm

Welcome (Mari)

Mari introduced two guests for this evening’s meeting, ACGA members Sean Alcala (glass) and Piper Christine (clay).

Promoting the ACGA Google Group (Jan)

Jan uses our ACGA GoogleGroup frequently to post news and other items of interest to our members.  She finds it very easy to use and encourages all of us to take advantage of this great resource.   Instructions for use are posted at the bottom of every issue of our newsletter, but we will post them more prominently occasionally to bring more members on board as users.

Regional Exhibition in Fresno Update (Ren)

The deadline to apply to “Above Board”, a regional exhibition in Fresno, has been extended to encourage more entries from ACGA artists.  Ren will arrange collection points for accepted work in the Bay Area for those who might be unable to deliver or pick up their work in Fresno. Mari has offered to transport the collected work to Fresno. Ren encourages all ACGA artists to apply as we are currently underrepresented in the applicant pool. She will send out reminders this week and next.

Festival Reports

1. Overall Festival Report (April)

Reconciled sales totals are not in yet, but total sales in 2024 (with 124 artists) were slightly lower than in 2023 (with 110 artists). However, both years have been great overall.  The new throwdown competitions were popular and well-attended, while the 10 a.m. demos were poorly attended.  We’ll move them to 11 a.m. next year.  The Giveaway Table did not receive any donations, but the Language of Clay booklets that April brought from ACGA storage were all taken. The new checkout arrangement needs adjustments next year to run more smoothly.  Annie of Messenger Events will remeasure the festival grounds next year to improve the layout and spacing of booths based on input from the Palo Alto Art Center.

2. People’s Choice Award (Barbara)

The QR code that allowed visitors to vote for their favorite booths was visible at each booth, but many artists were hesitant to mention it, or they forgot to mention it, or they simply weren’t worried about whether people vote. In any case there were only about 70 votes total, fewer than last year.  The Board discussed whether this award is important enough to continue – does it engage the public, boost attendance or sales, connect artists?  What is the best way to get more people to vote? Further discussion is needed.

3. Pottery Throwdown (Mari)

Mari gave special thanks to Vicki and Iver for volunteering to emcee the throwdown competitions.  Both of them did an excellent job making the event lively, fun, and interesting for the audience. Mari also pointed out that all but one contestant were non-members, making this a good outreach opportunity for ACGA.

4. Zoom Workshop: Festival Jury Application & Festival Participation (Mari)

Mari proposed Zoom meetings to help artists prepare for the jury application process and for the festival when they become eligible.  She envisions meetings with experienced festival members mentoring those who have questions.  Several Board members agreed to help set up a meeting ahead of the next jurying deadline on October 15.

Defining Collaborative Membership (Emil)

The current draft of ACGA’s Collaborative Membership definition reads, in part, “Two artists whose individual contributions interact to create the artistic identity of more than 50% of a body of work. Assisting or working under the direction of the artist does not qualify as collaboration . . . .”  The Board discussed small edits, and Vicki volunteered to reword the definition to make it clearer.  A revised version will be presented to the Board for further review before it is approved.

Membership for Larger Businesses, Membership Leniency (Sally for James Aarons)

The Board received a letter from member James Aarons on August 18 advocating for a clear and broad definition of membership status and eligibility for festival participation.  He urges a measured degree of flexibility for members whose dues lapse. More importantly, he urges the Board to come up with a clear, broad definition of festival eligibility that includes larger clay and glass studios with helpers.  The Board will discuss these issues further at a later meeting. In the meantime, Mari requested that Board members carefully review the letter and share their thoughts before the next meeting.

Financial Report (Julie)

We currently have over $100,000 in bank accounts with total assets at $148,000.  Festival expenses are still being reconciled, but currently we show $28,000 net revenue for January-July 2024.

Best Use of Donation by James Meyer (Chris)

ACGA has received a generous offer from James Meyer to donate $1000 annually. The Board discussed possible ways to use this gift, but agreed that concrete proposals need more time and thought.  We will address this again at our next meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 6:55pm

 Next meeting: September 30, 2024   (NOTE: This is not the usual 3^rd Monday)

ACGA BOARD MEETING – JUNE 17, 2024 via Zoom

Present: Mari Emori, April Zilber, Sally Jackson (recorder), Lee Middleman, Ren Lee, Scott Jennings, Julie Taber, Susie Rubenstein, Jan Schachter, Emil Yanos, Tamara Danoyan, Vicki Gunter, Iver Hennig, Barbara Prodaniuk, Chris Johnson, Cheryl Costantini, Trudy Chiddix  Absent: Sonja Hinrichsen

The meeting began at 5:30pm

Welcome (Mari)

Mari expressed gratitude to all the Festival and Communications Committee members who are working to organize the Clay & Glass Festival in Palo Alto on July 13-14.  She especially thanked April and Ren for their leadership and hard work.

Financial Report (Julie)

Total assets as of May 30 were $134,030.  May was an expensive month as we covered costs of the festival.  Our total revenue for the year thus far is just under $7000, somewhat ahead of our budget.

Festival Report (April)

April expressed her gratitude for all the work that Ren is doing to promote and publicize the festival. She noted that the planning committee has generated some excellent new ideas for this year’s festival, but cautioned that new ideas create extra work and complications.  At this late date, we should save any new ideas for next year.  April showed mock-ups of the new feather flags in purple and yellow, as well as the new banners for Mitchell Park, the Embarcadero overpass, and the new information kiosk.  Ren has done most of the work on this.  Barbara is working on the People’s Choice Awards. One clay artist and one glass artist will each receive a ribbon and a certificate.  There are currently 127 artists signed up for the festival, many of whom are new.  Susie has edited the Artists Feedback Form, and Julie will help her turn it into a GoogleForm.  April will reenable the JotForm that captures names of people for our mailing list so that we can do a random drawing for a gift certificate giveaway at the festival.  Cheryl suggested that names can also be captured in the artists’ booths, and they will be, because the QR code will be on the booth signs and all artists will have paper mailing lists as well. April will alter the paper mailing list forms next time they are printed, adding a column to indicate something like “ACGA list only” or “Artist’s list only”.  Our website now includes a full roster of festival artists in alphabetical order with their booth number, a small photo, and a link to their Instagram or other account. This display will be reusable in future years.  Mari thanked Emil for making beautiful graphics and videos for the festival ads; Pam Carpenter, our webmaster, for making an additional Festival page upon request; and Susie for collaborating with Pam as Website Liaison to update and improve the ACGA website.  April has sent out the templates that Emil created for artists to use on social media and email announcements. Demo slots and ikebana slots are almost full.  We are still working out details for the throwdown competitions, but agreed to have one session each day in the afternoon.  Handmade ceramic trophies will be generously provided by Mikio Matsumoto of Nichibei Potters. Board members Vicki Gunter and Iver Hennig will emcee the throwdowns.  Iver will help coordinate the event based on past experiences.  Mari encouraged all of us to recruit contestants.

Exhibition Update (Ren)

The exhibitions team (Jan Schachter, Vicki Gunter, Iver Hennig, Tamara Danoyan, and Ren Lee) met via Zoom to create a Call for Entry on EntryThingy. Ren made the recommended revisions and Julie Taber created the PayPal integration.

In order to install the Call for Entry on our website, Ren provided content to Pam Carpenter and asked her to set up a notice on the ACGA Homepage with a link to the exhibition page.

By mid-August the Call for Entry will be live. It will be shared via MailChimp email to ACGA members, San Joaquin Clay & Glass Association Members, and Clay Hand Studios.  It will be posted to the ACGA Google Group and there will be links to the ACGA website exhibition page from the SJCGA website and the Clay Hand Studios website.

Collaborative Membership (Mari)

Mari informed the Membership Committee that they would meet after the festival and before the August Board meeting to finalize the proposal on Collaborative Membership.  This meeting is necessary because the next fall jury will open on September 1st. Mari explained that Collaborative Membership is a special category under General Membership, designed specifically for artists participating in the festival.  The situation has become increasingly complex due to inquiries from artists with more unique circumstances.

Next Meeting:  Monday, August 19, 2024, at 5:15 pm via Zoom.