ACGA News

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.

ACGA Board Meeting Minutes

May 20, 2024, 5-15pm-6:45pm, via Zoom

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

The meeting began at 5:15pm.

Welcome (Mari)

Mari introduced and welcomed two newly juried festival artists, Rebecca Love and Ruth Ehrenkrantz.  Sally introduced Victoria Buck, who teaches ceramics at Gunn High School in Palo Alto.

Revised Budget Approval (Julie)

Julie presented a revised 2024 Budget that reflects Board-approved changes since the budget approval in January, and minor changes resulting from our recent transition to using QuickBooks for bookkeeping.  The Board voted in favor of accepting the revised budget (13 yes, 0 no, 2 not yet present)

Financial Report (Julie)

Our current bank balance is $128,814.  An additional $6000 is held in PayPal.  Upcoming expenses will be related to the festival.  We expect that festival income in July will offset these expenses and likely provide a small profit.

Festival Update (April)

Booth Space: Seventeen new festival-eligible artists were accepted by our recent jury.  Depending on how many of them apply for the festival, we may need to start a waiting list for booth space.  Mari agreed with April to stop accepting double-booth requests, put them on a waiting list, and prioritize the newly juried artists. She also suggested that if spaces are available as the festival approaches, then offer double booths or two single booths to those on the waiting list who wish to purchase them.

Alcohol Sales: If we want to sell beer and wine at the festival, we have to apply for a license and purchase alcohol liability insurance.  The vendor pouring the alcohol would also need insurance.  The applications might take a while to process and the insurance would be a significant added expense.  After much discussion, the Board agreed that even though we’re in favor of this idea, we should wait until next year to organize alcohol sales properly at the festival.

Pottery Throwdown Proposal: Miki Shim-Rutter is looking into the possibility of having several wheels available for short “throwdown” competitions during the festival.  Ren recommends a “hands-free” competition.

Media & Publicity: April and Ren are working with our new media consultant, Mega Jewell, to distribute ads and publicity for the festival.  Emil is designing the advertisements.

Flags & Kiosks: We have permission to mount flags and kiosks at the festival.

Meetings: Mari requested that the Festival Committee meet more regularly in order to work through most decisions ahead of our Board meetings.

Proposed Website Changes (Susie)

Susie has found many aspects of our ACGA website that are out-of-date or in need of editing.  For example, our Privacy Policy needs to be rewritten and our History section needs to be updated and improved with photos.  The videos vary greatly in terms of relevance, organization, and interest.  The Board acknowledged the need to edit the website. Susie will continue working with Pam Carpenter on this. Ren mentioned that she has requested videos from our artists many times in the past, but has had little response. We discussed the possibility of having someone making short videos with artist interviews during the festival.

Exhibitions: NY2CA Update (Vicki)

Regarding the ACGA show at NY2CA Gallery in Benicia in 2025, Vicki noted that the gallery has hired Suzanne Long to install the show.  Two jurors have been chosen: Lisa Reinertson will choose the clay entries and Demetra Theofanous will choose glass.  UPS in Benicia will allow accepted artists to ship their work there.  Mari requested that the entire Exhibition Committee and Ren meet periodically to discuss the challenges of planning future exhibitions as a team before our Board meetings.  Tamara expressed interest in joining these meetings.

Membership Committee Report (Emil)

The membership committee is still working to come up with an unequivocal definition of Collaborative Membership.  When this task is completed, an explanation will go out to the membership, both in a members-only newsletter and a post to the GoogleGroup.  Existing Collaborative Members will retain that designation even when the new definition is posted.

ACGA Presentation at the Pacific Art League (Tamara)

A friend of Tamara’s at the Pacific Art League has invited us to make a presentation about the organization and the festival sometime before the festival.  Tamara and Jan will work on this and find a date that works.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05pm.

Next Meeting: Monday, June 17, 2024

5:15-6:45pm, via Zoom

We are thrilled that this year, the ACGA Clay & Glass Festival will feature the Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project and its resident artists! Directed by Scott Parady and located Lake County, CA, Cobb Mountain offers studios, wood-firings, and living spaces for resident artists dedicated to ceramics.

These talented artists fire their pieces using three types of wood-burning kilns. The wood comes from trees responsibly thinned to promote forest health. This sustainable approach not only creates stunning ceramics but also supports ecological balance.

Having Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project join our festival brings a dynamic new community of clay artists into the mix. Participation in our festival provides Scott and the resident artists with an opportunity to promote the program and sell their beautiful wood-fired creations. We hope this inaugural participation will be a resounding success.

Don’t miss the chance to visit their booth #29, meet these incredible artists, and explore their unique and beautiful work.

For more information about their project and residency program, visit Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project.

See you at the festival!

Sincerely,

Mari Emori, ACGA President, and the Board of Directors

ACGA Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, April 15th, 2024 via Zoom

Present: Mari Emori, Chris Johnson, April Zilber, Tamara Danoyan (recorder), Vicki Gunter, Barbara Prodaniuk, Emil Yanos, Julie Taber, Susie Rubenstein, Jan Schachter, Sonja Hinrichsen, Scott Jennings, Iver Hennig, Trudy Chiddix, Scott Jennings, Cheryl Costantini (15). Absent:  Sally Jackson, Ren Lee, Lee Middleman (3).

The meeting began at 5:15pm

Welcome (Mari)

Refocus on “Meet Your Board Member” (Mari)

Mari followed up on the “Meet Your Board Member” email that she sent to Board members on April 14. The newsletter is becoming long, and Mari proposed guidelines to keep this particular section shorter.  Other suggestions to make the newsletter more navigable included having a table of contents or headlines that could serve as links to full articles. April said it could be done in Mailchimp as long as the full article was loaded. It doesn’t work well trying to connect to our website.  This discussion will continue when Ren, our newsletter editor, is present.

Exhibitions

Benicia (Vicki)

Vicki is working with NY2CA Gallery in Benicia to schedule an ACGA show in September 2025.  Although one of NY2CA’s owners passed away recently, the remaining owner will continue to run the gallery.

Santa Cruz (Iver)

We have passed on the opportunity to have a show at MK Contemporary in Santa Cruz because of the cost.  Iver is now pursuing a possible show at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.

Festival Report (April)

We have space for 132 booths at the festival.  To date, 112 artists have signed up; 7 have asked for double booths. Thus 119 booths have been assigned, and more artists will likely apply after the next jury results are in. We’re waiting to hear from the city of Palo Alto about using water taps to refill water bottles even if the irrigation system is turned off. Joe Battiato is organizing the demos again and would like to hear from anyone interested. We may also invite the community groups to give demos.  Jan suggested that we have a Give-Away Table where people can donate or browse for clay/glass tools, books, and magazines. April will discuss placement with Annie. This table will not be staffed.

April proposed ways to spend extra money in the festival budget. Her list included redesigning the two banners for the Art Center and Mitchell Park, and purchasing six feather flags and three information kiosks.  We’ll need permission from the city to mount the feather flags. April asked for the board’s permission to spend the money and to choose between spending $1770 (overpass banners and 3 info kiosks) or $2720 (overpass banners, 3 kiosks, feather flags, and banners for Mitchell Park and Palo Alto Art Center). Those present voted 14-1 in favor of spending the larger amount.

The banners will be mounted 2-3 weeks before the festival.

April shared the pictures of the information kiosks, which will need to be staffed.  Staff will include festival participants on volunteer shifts, and possibly ACGA members who are not doing the show but would like to help out.

Clay for All will again be part of the festival, with two paid staff as well as volunteers on the busier shifts.  The staff and volunteers will be expected to engage with the public, offering advice and guidance.

Festival Jury Update (Chris)

The jury deadline was extended to April 10th and 32 artists applied.  The six jury members had their first meeting on April 14 and will meet again on April 24.

Festival Eligibility & Artists Adding Collaborators or Partners (Mari)

We’ve had inquiries from festival artists about the status of their membership if they want to sell work made in part or entirely by a partner who has not juried in.  This motivated the Membership Committee to work out a policy that we can apply to all situations of this sort.  After much discussion, the Membership Committee agreed that partners in this situation have three options:

1) The festival artist can continue as an Individual member, and may sell pieces that are collaborative, as long as they are less than half of the artwork in the booth. The partner cannot sell his/her own work.

2) The festival artist and the partner can jury into the festival together as Collaborative members.

3) The partner can jury into the festival as an Individual member, and the two artists can share a booth.

The Membership Committee will continue to work on guidelines and a succinct definition of collaborative relationships. Board members urged that the definition should be robust enough to include many different types of collaboration.

Financial Report (Julie)

As of March 31, our assets are $144,355. We‘re currently at 30% of our income budget for the year. We are also under 8% of the expenses. These numbers will change a lot after the festival.  Julie is getting everything into the QuickBooks account as we complete the shift from a paid bookkeeper to the Treasurer doing the monthly bookkeeping in Quickbooks.  April and Julie asked the Board to approve getting an ACGA credit card for our Bank of America account. April will use it for the festival and Julie for the general treasury. There would be no annual fee, and the balance will be paid every month without incurring interest.  The credit card proposal was approved unanimously (15 yea, 0 nay).

ACGA Zoom Account Access & Policy (Mari)

The Board agreed to give the Exhibitions Committee access to our Zoom account.  Mari asked everyone to keep the account info safe. Julie noted that we should let everyone know that if they are not hosting the meeting, they should be using their personal Zoom account to log in for meetings.

The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.

Next Meeting: Monday, May 20, 5:15-6:45 p.m., via Zoom

ACGA Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, March 18, 2024 via Zoom

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

The meeting began at 5:15 pm.

Welcome (Mari)

Several board members have received phishing emails that appear to be from Mari, but are actually scams.  Check the email address carefully; do not respond if the address is not Mari’s usual email.

Mari has asked Susie to be our website liaison, replacing Emil, who is now working on graphics and other projects.  Send your website questions to Susie.

International Ambassador Candidates (Mari)

Longtime ACGA members Lee Middleman and Guangzhen Zhou spoke about their enthusiasm for traveling, meeting, and working with other ceramic artists around the world. They are active members of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) and both expressed their willingness to serve as international ambassadors. This role was filled for many years by ACGA member Barbara Brown. The Board passed a motion to appoint Lee and Guangzhen as International Ambassadors (ayes: 15, abstain: 1). They will continue Barbara Brown’s legacy of inviting and hosting international artists here and arranging visits, exchanges, and events in other countries.

Exhibitions Report

Santa Cruz: Iver continues to explore exhibition opportunities in Santa Cruz.  Plans for a show this year at MK Contemporary are currently on hold as we consider timing and budget considerations. Iver is looking into possibilities at other galleries. He and Jan are also working on a proposal for a show two years from now at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.

Fresno: Ren reported that the October show in Fresno will be announced soon via a call for entries.  The call will be open to members of ACGA, the San Joaquin Clay & Glass Association, and members of Clay Hand Studios, which is hosting the exhibition.

Treasurer’s Report (Julie)

Presentation of February Financial Package: Total assets as of February 29 were $140,027.  An unusually large portion is in our PayPal account because of incoming festival booth fees.

Un-Budgeted Expenses: Julie proposed that unbudgeted expenses over $1000 should be approved by the Board before the money could be spent. After discussing the dollar amount, the Board voted unanimously that unbudgeted expenses of $500 or more require prior approval via Board Member vote (ayes: 16).

Moving Funds from one Institution to Another: Julie asked for the Board to require her to get Board approval to (1) transfer funds of $2500 or more between banking institutions where ACGA has accounts, and (2) make a one-time transfer of $28,000 from PayPal to our Bank of America accounts. Both motions passed unanimously (ayes: 16).

Request to purchase Quickbooks Online: Julie proposed that ACGA purchase Quickbooks Online to facilitate bookkeeping. A motion to do so passed unanimously (ayes: 16)

Proposal for Bookkeeper & Stipend for General Treasurer & Festival Treasurer (Mari)

            Mari proposed that it would be more cost-effective if Julie takes over as bookkeeper, rather than paying an outside bookkeeper each month. She also proposed paying Julie $300/month as General Treasurer/Bookkeeper, paying April $220/month for 8 months annually as Festival Treasurer, and paying $940/year for Quickbooks Online. Julie and April were in a breakout room during the discussion, and the Board agreed with and approved Mari’s proposals (ayes 14, abstentions 2 (April and Julie)).

Festival Update (April)

To date, 110 artists have signed up for the festival. April is confident that eventually we’ll have around 120 artists in total. She is working on a few hiccups with PayPal booth fee payments and GoogleDrive photo uploads.  She is seeking a new publicist/media consultant, as Kathy Maag has recently bowed out.  April is also gathering data on what combination of kiosks, banners, and other signage we can afford to add to the festival this year.

The meeting adjourned at 6:48 pm.

Date of Next Meeting: Monday, April 15, 2024, 5:15pm via Zoom