Julia Perhaps, to Her Humility) That British Artist Julia Rai Has Con- Sidered Herself an Artist for Only the Past Two Years Or So

journal of the pmc guild fusion The Journal of the International PMC Guild

It is a testament to her com- mitment to learning (as well, Julia perhaps, to her humility) that British artist Julia Rai has considered herself an artist for only the past two years or so. Never mind that many Rai people have viewed her as a leader in the field worldwide for much of the past decade. Rai, who holds the Higher Metal Clay Diploma, Art Clay 13 Senior Instructor status and has 2010 /3 fusion thirteen

completed three levels of the Masters Registry program, directs the Metal Clay Academy, the U.K.-based independent, online resource for all things metal clay. During a recent correspondence, Rai was asked, “How long have you considered yourself an artist?” The question stumped her a bit, and caused her to pause. “Very good question,” she said. “Probably only for the last two or three years, since I began working on the Masters Registry projects.” At the time of this interview, Rai was finishing projects for Level 4 of the Masters Registry, and was planning to pack her work for a trip to the United States for an evaluation at the PMC Guild Conference. She said the Masters Registry has helped her become a fully formed artist because it has forced her to try challenges she might otherwise have allowed to pass. “I very quickly realized this was like nothing else I’ve ever done—it constantly pushes me into new areas, and I’ve done things I never would have without it, like combining plastic with metal clay. I’ve had to attend lots of courses and read extensively to meet the technical and design challenges of the Registry and it has moved me forward as an artist,” she said. “I want to get to the end then revisit some of my earlier projects that just scraped through. And I’ll be very disappointed when it’s all over. It consumes my thoughts constantly.” Beyond her accomplishments as an artist, Rai is best known for her work with the Metal Clay Academy. Along with Lisa Cain, she helped get the enterprise up and running. In creating the academy, their goal was to provide an unbiased and non-affiliated learning site for people interested in metal clay, from beginners to experts. It has hundreds of pages and includes listings for teachers and suppliers, links to resources including video tutorials, page 2 downloadable and web-based tutorials and projects for all levels. There’s a journal of the pmc guild

PMCguild International

business section with links for people who want to make metal clay part of their livelihood. There is in- The PMC Guild is a formation about design and creativity and an area for members organization with beginners to learn how to start working with metal the mission of providing support, education, and clay on a small and affordable scale. The site’s ever- exposure for artists working popular What’s New page is updated daily. in Precious Metal Clay. Rai’s job, among others, involved setting up the website, and she continues to run and update it. “We want to be the first place people look when PMC Guild they need information about metal clay, including sup- 1921 Cliffview Lane pliers, teachers, tutorials, and technical resources,” Rai Florence, KY 41042 said. “I also aim to provide a framework for training standards in metal clay so potential students can make Executive Director an informed decision about the training they choose.” Jeanette Landenwitch As an artist, Rai said she finds inspiration in the [email protected] work of others. She sees things in history and also in science fiction and fantasy that inform her work. “My Treasurer sketchbook is never far away when I’m watching TV or Darnall Burks [email protected] a movie; as shapes, colors and textures catch my eye I have to record it,” she said. Communications Her favorite artist is Roger Dean, an English artist Tim McCreight who is best known for his album covers of bands from [email protected] the 1960s and 1970s. His work is a constant source of Journal Editor inspiration, Rai said, adding, “I have a number of his Bob Keyes picture books and flick through them for ideas.” [email protected] Rai began working with metal clay in 2003, while taking a beginner’s class as the Mid Cornwall School Chapter Liaison of Jewellery. She enjoys working with the material Jobie McCreight Fagans [email protected] because it is both forgiving and challenging. Its potential reveals itself in new ways over and again, she said. Web Manager “It’s held my interest because it allows me to very Sadelle Wiltshire quickly realize ideas. And I really love the fact that a [email protected] person can spend hours building something, find it doesn’t work or he doesn’t like it, it can be chopped up and reused.” She is excited about the future of metal clay, and To Join, Renew, or Edit Info Online is paying close attention to the work of Hadar Jacob- www.PMCguild.com son, whom Rai credits for “pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with metal clay.” The variety of clays Membership Questions now available is leading to new techniques, and Rai (toll-free) says students are asking for more courses and infor- 866–315–6487 mation about using colors on metal clay. page 3 Speak with the Director 859–586–0595 fusion thirteen

Alison Lee

Alison Lee laughs, and you can almost see her smile on the other end of the phone, when she is told that a mutual friend referred to her as “the Terry Gross of the craft world.” “Oh, that’s sweet,” gushes Lee, host of the weekly podcast Craftcast with Alison Lee and a featured speaker at the PMC Guild’s conference this summer. She is clearly pleased with the comparison to the host and producer of the popular public radio interview-format program “Fresh Air.” Lee has long-admired Gross, listened to her for years and learned a lot from her by just paying attention and being a fan. Lee’s approach to getting people in the craft world to open up and talk is much the same as Gross’s approach on the radio. “You just want to talk to people to make it a conversation. It’s not really an interview. I call it more of a talk with someone.” Lee, who has spent most of her professional life in advertising, began the internet-based podcasts in 2006, mostly because no one else was doing it. Industry tumult forced her to make changes in her life, and she seized that opportunity to pursue her interest in and passion for crafts, particularly jewelry-making. Her son, then in college, helped her tackle the initial technical hurdles, but Lee took off on her own quickly. She had no choice. Just as her son was helping her learn like a pro, he went off to college and left her to figure things out on her own. “It was a ridiculously sick learning curve,” Lee confides, “where people would not want to be around me on certain nights.” page 4 journal of the pmc guild

She learned about sound recording, became familiar with Skype and near-fluent in web design, and eventually put a small studio in her base- ment. And now, not even five years later, she has clicked past 500,000 downloads. “This is not at all what I had in mind,” she says. Craftcast works because Lee is a master conversationalist, yes, but also because she is a sophisticated craftsperson. She is passionate about her subject, and has been most of her life. “I’ve always liked making stuff,” she says. Because she is engaged in her subject, she is naturally curious. Her subjects come easily. “I’m always scanning, always looking for new things. I see people all the time, and I ask them, ‘Who would you like me to talk to? People know who they want to hear, so I listen.” Craftcast also works because Lee is not daunted by technology. She embraced the concept of podcasting in its formative days, and saw its potential. Similarly, she sees big growth in a segment of her enterprise that involves live web-based hands-on classes. She offers 90-minute live workshops, with questions and input from participants following along on their computers. As part of the class, participants also receive a Quicktime recording, so they can watch again later. Lee is already offering classes through Craftcast.com. She believes it’s only a matter of time before demand catches up with supply, she said. “Right now, people are still trying to wrap their brain around the concept that my classes are live online with visuals. People do not understand what that looks like – that you can go to your computer, click a link and have that computer turn into an interactive TV.” But they will, soon, she said – just as they have embraced podcasts, Skype and other developments that have changed how we communicate and learn. Although she is a jewelry maker, Lee has not mastered PMC. She has dabbled. “I have taken a class in PMC, and played around with it. I know enough about it that I really admire the people who can work with it and make beautiful things,” she says. In addition to speaking at the PMC Conference in July, Lee is dedicating her summer to retooling her website. A new and improved Craftcast.com will launch in August, she said. To learn more, visit www.craftcast.com.

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Bruce Baker

When it comes to art and business, Bruce Baker has an important message for you: “It all boils down to balance,” says Baker, who travels the country presenting seminars and workshops about subjects that many artists would rather not think about: booth construction, marketing, visual mer- chandising, craft-world trends. “Many art-based businesses I deal with put 90 percent of their efforts into the creative end, while short-changing the business end. In numbers, the balance between creative effort and marketing effort should be 60-40, creative to business on the high side, and 70-30 creative effort to business effort on the low side. More simply put, if you spend seven hours making your art, you should spend three hours selling or promoting it.“ Baker, who will be featured at the PMC Guild conference in July, speaks from a platform built on credibility. He has a 40-year career in art as a jewelry maker and teacher. He’s also a shrewd businessman, turning his desire to create beautiful work into a successful commercial enterprise. It pains Baker to see good artists go unnoticed, so he has set out to change that. We all want to create, and so does Baker. He simply encourages artists to pay attention to other aspects of their art so they can be successful and continue to express themselves. It’s more important to do that now, he said, because of the scale of the change that we are experiencing, both in terms of the economy and recession, but also in regard to how we com-

Sherry Fotopoulos Serves metal clay artists 210-656-8239 page 6 ONLINE CATALOG :: PMC123.com journal of the pmc guild

municate and interact as individuals and in our larger network of social and professional communities. He encourages artists to always watch for new markets and new opportunities, and to pay attention to trends even if they do not seem to obviously impact their work. Often the best opportunities come in the least likely places, he said. The other thing he believes is that the 70s are not coming back. Old models are outdated. “The world has moved on and new marketing opportunities abound, yet most artists use the same model they have always used to sell their work,” he said. “Times have changed and if you as an artist are not stepping up to embrace technology you might be left in the dust. Artists who embrace change and create new products and ways to sell them are actually doing very well. It is a mind-set and an attitude that makes the biggest difference in this new world of selling art.” For some of this, Baker finds fault with our educational institutions. Art schools in particular have done a poor job teaching their students how to survive in business. Art and business require two different sets of skills. Both are necessary, and both can be taught, practiced, and perfected. “Unless you are living on a trust fund or have a day job that pays the bills, as an artist your business must be sustainable or you will have a cash crash,” Baker said. “Art schools so often don’t teach the business side because the professors do not have these skills. Their income comes from their teaching salary and most of them have never had to make a living by selling their work. Many artists learn the art of business by trial and error, and frankly some individuals are inherently better at it than others. It is like going to college to be a writer and not learning the language (in our case English). How successful would a novel be if the author didn’t have a full understanding of proper English?” Baker lives in Vermont, where he has served as President of the Downtown Middlebury Business Bureau, on the board of directors of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and the Vermont State Craft Center. He operates an extensive website with information, ideas and products to help artists improve their market presence. To learn more, visit www.bbakerinc.com.

Clay, Tools, Equipment Linda Stiles Smith 937.433.6249 www.naturescapesstudio.com page 7 fusion thirteen

“Song and Eggs” And the fine silver, gemstones, enamel winners are…

Wendy Wallin Malinow is no stranger to the Saul Bell Design Award process. Malinow, a jewelry maker from Portland, Oregon, has won the competition before. And so this past spring, when she returned home to a voice mail from competition organizer Rio Grande, she knew enough to be anxious. “I went out for a run. I was too nervous to call back,” Malinow says. “Full disclosure – I did a little dance, too.” When she finally mustered the courage to return the call to Rio Grande, Malinow learned she had won the 2010 Saul Bell Design Award Competition. It is her fourth Saul Bell win, and third time she has won in the metal clay category. The Saul Bell Design competition has been around only 10 years, so Malinow has dominated the field. Second place in the metal clay category went to Angela Baduel- Crispin, a Guild member living in Ploemeur, France. The women were named finalists for the award over the winter, and learned of the results in late spring. For her first-place finish, Malinow won a $2,500 certificate from Rio Grande. As second-place finisher, Baduel-Crispin won $1,000 certificate from Rio. Both designers said the award provides affirmation that their work is not only meaningful, but also full of impact, staying power and at least a measure of grace. “I appreciate the recognition from such a respected award,” Baduel- Crispin said in an e-mail from France. “It allows me to think I’m on the right track, and that’s a very nice feeling, especially for someone who constantly questions her own direction, design and mechanics, like I do.” Said Malinow, “For those of us who go a little crazy, secluded in our studios, it’s a welcome validation by respected peers, some of whom I have regarded as mentors over the years. I’ve come to (metal) jewelry design later in life, so I feel I’m a bit of an imposter at times. The Saul Bell competition process really feels like welcomed support and encouragement to validate and further your career on many levels.”

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Malinow encourages everyone to enter, because it forces artists to stretch their design wings. Sponsored by Mit- subishi Materials Corp., the Saul Bell Award recognizes excellence in design and execution, and is meant to challenge designers to push the boundaries of creativity. Malinow said Rio’s submission process for the design competition en- couraged her to think differently about “Oh! Ring” this piece. For instance, Rio allows fine silver, artists to submit a photograph of a fin- 22k gold ished piece for consideration, or even just a rendering of a proposed piece. If the rendering is accepted, the artist then has to execute the piece for consideration as a finalist. That process is part of the point of the competition—to prod artists to think differently about design and try new things, Malinow said, and to “design without limits.” “Because my background is in illustration, it’s easier to do the rendering and then make the piece if selected as a finalist. This option is also my down- fall, because I always draw something at the last moment without considering if I actually know how to fabricate it,” she said. “The fabrication process doesn’t always go smoothly for me, but I always end up learning something new, and I love the challenge of it. For this year’s competition, I think I submitted three renderings. The renderings were easy; the technicalities of the fabrication process were exhaustive. I decided to explore using Thompson’s watercolor enamel paints on my beads.” For Malinow and Baduel-Crispin, the Saul Bell recognition comes during busy times in their careers. Baduel-Crispin is teaching metal clay in Paris and elsewhere in France, and also through online learning opportunities. Malinow is venturing into a jewelry-design business, and is developing several product lines to sell online and in galleries. “The competition also helps the designer with their subsequent design process with either new discoveries of style, technique, or new directions to push toward. Plus, it just makes a designer feel good about their work.”

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Japan Hobby Show

For three days in early may, the Big Sight Exhibition Hall in Tokyo hosted an annual show that presents the latest activities of the crafts industry. More than 100,000 people browsed through acres of displays, many of which offer a chance to sample materials and techniques. The PMC Guild of Japan seized this opportunity to celebrate its 10th anniversary by presenting an important exhibition of work from its members. A total of 188 pieces were on display and clearly delighted the thousands of visitors who stopped by to admire the work. Visitors were asked to vote for their favorite pieces and Fusion is pleased to be able to share them here. Congratulations to all our col- leagues in Japan for this successful show.

Proud to support the PMC Guild! 800.545.6566 riogrande.com page 10

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Mika Tajiri Multiples Motif fine silver

Yasuko Ikeda Wardrobe fine silver bronsze clay

Kayo Akiyama A Little God of Good Fortune page 11 fine silver fusion thirteen

Editorial

It pains me to admit this, but there is no denying the truth: I spend most of my day at a desk, with a computer monitor in front of me and a keyboard at my wrists. It hasn’t always been like this. I’m still very active, and lead a physical life outside of work, but lately I have neglected the creative aspect of my life. Besides my writing. I write full time for a newspaper in Maine and I have constructed my life in such a way that I have little outlet for whatever creativity I have bottled up inside me. That’s why I found myself feeling a childlike burst of glee recently when I found myself behind the working end of a paint scraper, screw- driver and paintbrush. These weren’t idle spring chores I chose to engage in, but the privileged task of working on a precious wooden boat. Three of them, actually.

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It so happens one of my brothers is a boat builder, and over the years he built our family a small fleet of wooden boats – skiffs, to be more ac- curate: small, rugged boats of between 8 and 17 feet. Two are rowboats and one is powered by a 35-horse outboard. Nothing fancy, but each is exquisite. And as anyone who has owned a wooden boat knows, these gems require annual attention. This year, especially. One of the boats sustained significant damage to its underside last August after riding out a hurricane. The boat never broke free from its mooring, but the mooring came free from the wharf, which was lost in the storm, and the boat was dashed among the rocks. We kept the boat in the water for the rest of the season without making repairs, but when we hauled it up over the salt marsh to its winter resting place last fall, my brothers and I were quite surprised at the damage it sustained. A set of 1-inch rails, which runs along either side of the flat-bottom boat, from stem to stern, had to be replaced. That meant cutting a new set from a board of red oak that my brother the boat builder had on hand for just this occasion. He did most of the work, which involved a table saw and planer and, eventually, a large pile of saw dust. Together we removed the old rails, carefully backing out the nails and screws, and prepared the bottom surface with light sanding. My brother angled the rails to fit snug against the underside stem of the boat then slowly and methodically we secured each rail, one nail at a time, easing the wood around the bow of the boat’s midsection. Once the rails were secure, we dashed a new coat of bottom paint on the old lady and called her good. Later that day, she was floating. I didn’t do much but it felt good to contribute. It felt good to get my hands dirty again. Three days later, sitting at my computer at work, I smiled as I picked another glob of rust-red bottom paint from beneath a finger nail. Bob Keyes (with help from his dog, Macintosh)

Supplier of Fine Silver Findings www.metalclayfindings.com for the Metal Clay Artisan Toll-free 888-999-6404 Phone 401-305-3999 Fax 401-728- 8038 Email [email protected] page 13 fusion thirteen

Guild on Facebook (get it?)

The PMC Guild launched a Facebook page in June, with the first few posts offering information about the PMC Guild Conference, the selection process for the Guild Annual, as well as results of the Annual selection process. The Facebook page is different from the other primary means of communication between the Guild and its members. Fusion, which you are holding and reading now, is a quarterly publication, designed to be schol- arly and technical with information about trends and larger issues related to PMC and the artists who use it. iFusion, the electronic newsletter of the Guild, comes out about five times a year, and is designed to include brief bits of timely information related to Guild activities. The Facebook page also includes timely and pertinent information, and adds a social component that allows and encourages communication among members and Facebook friends. There is a greater sense of community and ownership with the Facebook page, because members seek it out and contribute to its content. Tim McCreight, the communications director for the Guild, said the Guild thought long and hard before beginning the page. “It was a question I pondered for months. The turning point came over dinner one night when I discussed this with a marketing expert from a large corporation,” McCreight said in an e-mail. “My position was that we had enough ways to distribute whatever it was the Guild wanted to say. Her response was, ‘It doesn’t matter whether you’re happy with the situation. What matters is where your customers are.’” “We don’t have customers, but I took her point.”

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McCreight has been using Facebook personally and professionally for more than a year. On balance he likes it—not everything, not every day, but it makes a nice way to stay up to date with friends and organizations. The job of keeping the Guild’s Facebook page current falls on McCreight. He promises to run the page in such a way that it informs and cajoles without being intrusive or bothersome. “The job now is to be a good friend to those who have signed on. That means being generous with information but respectful of their time. My goal is to post only when we have valuable or fun information to pass along, and my guess is that this will be every week or two,” he said. “To our current friends, welcome and thanks. To those who will check out the page, give us try. And to the rest, don’t panic. The Guild’s involve- ment on Facebook won’t take anything away from its other publications. Our goals remain the same as they always have been—to promote sharing and growth in the metal clay community.”

New to Facebook? If you have an account, log in. If you are just getting started, open a free account by entering your name and some information. This can be as little as just your name or as much as your hometown, birthday, hobbies, and so on. In the search bar at the top, type in “PMC Guild International” and you will be taken to our page. Near the top there is a thumbs up logo and the word “Like.” Click there and when you check your Facebook page, you will see notices from the Guild.

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Ask Sol

I work in a professional office and for the past several years I have been making jewelry as a hobby. Recently my husband was laid off and we’re looking for a little extra money to fill the gap. People around the office have always shown an interest in my metal clay work and I wonder if it’s OK to sell it there. — Doreen S.

Dear Doreen, First, sorry to hear about the layoff, and good luck to your family as you deal with this change. Second, congratulations on being in a position where a hobby can provide some extra income. Third, let’s make sure you pursue that option in a way that doesn’t land you out of a job yourself. It is important that you discuss your situation with your boss and to seek his or her permission to sell your work in the office. My suggestion is that you approach this with a plan or at least some guidelines in hand. An- ticipate possible legitimate concerns. Will your efforts to sell jewelry take time away from your other duties? Will you change the look of the office, perhaps undermining a formality that the company wants to maintain? Anticipate reasonable limits and put these down on paper. Each situation will be different, of course, but perhaps there is an em- ployees-only break room or a time of day when you can show your work without negatively influencing the office. A good employer will understand the benefits and improved morale of agreeing with your plan, and will be impressed that you have given the logistics careful thought. Assuming you get the go-ahead, the other suggestion I make is that you avoid a hard sell to your coworkers. You need to work with these people every day and if they feel like “marks” rather than friends, the atmosphere could quickly deteriorate. Perhaps a little card or similar an- nouncement that you have jewelry for sale is appropriate, or maybe just word of mouth is enough. Don’t make your coworkers feel uncomfortable, for instance by approaching them with a case and watching over them

    page 16 journal of the pmc guild

until they buy something. And once the word is out, back off. Be the office mate who is good at her job and also sells jewelry, not the wannabe artist who can’t stop hawking her wares. And like any good businessperson, listen to your customers. Be alert to warning phrases or even facial expressions that tell you when you’ve crossed a line. If this doesn’t work, there are other selling options— local shops and fairs, Etsy, trunk shows, and so on. Good luck! Sol

The Next Fusion Visual Trigger Challenge

As the name suggests, the images used for the challenge are selected because they offer an interesting visual experience. This issue’s image provides that, but for the first time we are also getting into the realm of narrative and opinion. If you choose to focus entirely on the visual, stop here. If you’d like to know a little more about the image, turn this page upside down and read the fine print. As always, we will select a first-place winner and runners-up to be included in the next issue of Fusion. In addition to this international exposure, the first-place winner will receive $100 worth of PMC. Submitted work can be wearable, sculptural, or functional, and can include additional materials along with PMC. The winners will demonstrate creativity, craftsmanship, and a clear reference to the target image. Send a digital image to [email protected] any time before November 10,

2010. A larger image appears on the back cover of this issue. This is a satellite view of the lower delta of the Mississippi River, the area most severely affected by the oil spill. oil the by affected severely most area the River, Mississippi the of delta lower the of view satellite a is This

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Several members of the San Diego Chapter are celebrat- ing record wins at the San Diego County Fair! Metal clay has surely found it’s place in the world of precious metal jewelry. Several of our members have won many of the coveted ribbons at this years fair. This year saw an increase in activity with a total of 410 entries, a record for the fair. Louise Shadonix (San Diego chapter) and Venetia Jaeger (San Diego County Chapter) both won Educational Merit awards for their displays on metal clay. Louise Shadonix won three more ribbons in separate classes. Sheila Schwede also took home three ribbons in three different classes, including a first place in the Metal Clay category. Sue Minnock won two ribbons with a first in southwest style jewelry. Judith Moore won two ribbons in two different classes as well. When we add up the wins (and you can bet we did!), our members won 10 of the available 51 ribbons! Each ribbon comes with a monetary prize. The San Diego County Fair is the fifth largest fair in the country and boasts an attendance estimated at over 1.5 million people. A photo of the chapter’s Educational Display entitled, “Make this, Not That” is featured in this article. The Fair’s theme was “Taste the Fun.” In keeping with the spirit of the Fair, the display was fashioned around the “Eat This, not That” series of books. So the chapter thought it would be a great idea to show how a simple lentil bead could be made by a novice in 3-5 hours, with a novice metalsmith making the same bead in 3-5 days! It demonstrated the relative ease at which any person could easily “tool up” and start making objects very quickly with tangible and beautiful results. The display would not have been possible without the tireless help of several members: Patti McElhiney, Marianne Pickett, April Logan, Bella Montgomery, Laurie Union, and Louise Shadonix. Hooray for them, congratulations to all the winners, and hooray for Precious Metal Clay!

Step by step PMC instruction on DVD series Silver in No Time, PMC Classes, products and services by Linda Bernstein. www.Artique.org 847-977-4444 [email protected] page 18 journal of the pmc guild

Holly Gage spoke at the May meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Silver Clay Chapter and shared her knowledge of PMC negative canning during a workshop. Many of our members walked away with a new insight on the PMC. We’re proud of chapter member Olivia Competente, jewelry manager and PMC instructor at Sharon Art Studio in San Francisco, who was a finalist in the PMC division at the 23rd Inter- national Annual Cloisonné Jewelry Contest. Three of her pieces were on display with the winners and other finalists at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo, Japan. Mary Ellin D’Agostino, another member of our active chapter, will be teaching a Pre-Conference class called Married Metal Clays: Alloying Silver and Copper Clays on Tuesday July 27th in West Lafayette, Indiana.

PMC Guild member Dawn Fernald-Spruill was the subject of a nice profile in her local newspaper, the News Post of Frederick, Maryland recently. The newspaper wrote about the classes that Fernald-Spruill offers in her studio, including PMC. Fernald-Spruill told the newspaper she enjoys teaching because she likes to see satisfaction on the faces of her students when they complete a project. “Their eyes light up. It makes me feel good because I helped that person find their inner artist,” she said.

Bernadette Denoux of Miami Metal Clay Artists is preparing her studio space. She plans to use the space not only for metal clay meetings, but also to teach classes and host visiting teachers’ classes in various jewelry techniques. If you’d like to know more, get in touch with her via e-mail at [email protected].

Bisque Beads make a great canvas for your silver clay creations. bisqueimports.com WE SUPPORT CREATIVITY 888.568.5991 page 19 fusion thirteen

Even in the best times, it’s prudent to be economically sensible. We recently learned of cost-saving tactics employed by the Western Pennsylvania Chapter, and thought it might be helpful to share those ideas here. The local chapter is committed to finding free or very low-cost spaces for chapter meetings. The group has talked about instituting membership dues, but hasn’t quite arrived at that point yet. “We have managed to operate for two years without dues, so our strategies have paid off,” said Carol Scheftic, a chapter member. The group has vowed not be greedy or to take advantage of the goodwill of any single person or organization and that has made them somewhat nomadic. This suits the chapter just fine, says Donna Penoyer, another member. “We draw members from a wide area, so changing locations helps us distribute the burden of travel a little more fairly. Our meeting schedule is flexible, as well. Various free sites are not necessarily available at the same time each month.” Here are some of their tips and strategies: Most public libraries make meeting spaces available for free to nonprofit groups. The Western Pennsylvania chapter has never been asked to prove its nonprofit status, though it does inform the librarian about the group and offer copies of its literature to promote the group. Libraries are usually available on a first-come, first-served basis, and demand is heavy. Some libraries limit meeting lengths to three hours, which is not enough time to allow for hands-on activities. The chapter prefers weeknight meetings, to allow members to attend after work while not interrupting weekend plans, but because of budget cuts, many libraries are now closing as early as 8 p.m. Bead shop owners can be quite generous with their classroom spaces, eager to help out, spread community goodwill and increase their customer base. “We’ve been very fortunate to have had several wonderful bead shops open their doors to us on a regular basis,” Penoyer said. “We have deliberately chosen not to associate exclusively with any one particular shop, but to visit and support any that will have us and can fit us in.” Some restaurants have meeting rooms that are free to groups that spend a certain amount of money on food. Panera Bread is one such chain that has welcomed the chapter.

Now in its 11th year! Visit www.saulbellaward.com for more details. page 20 Saul Bell Design Award

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Occasionally, members will do outreach, allowing social time and hands-on time with PMC in lieu of a regular meeting. For the last three years, some members have volunteered to do public demonstrations of PMC at an annual art event. “A group of blazing torches and burning binder can really draw a crowd eager to see more of what we are doing,” Scheftic said. The chapter also has a relationship with an art center that provides a day of free studio rental in exchange for a three-hour beginners PMC workshop taught by the chapter through the art center. The chapter charges a small materials fee so it does not incur out-of-pocket expenses, and the teaching responsibility rotates among members. “The class is offered as a silent auction item at the art center’s annual fundraiser. Everyone wins—the art center gains new students and income from the silent auction, our chapter attracts new members, our members gain teaching experience, and we get a place to gather for a day of fun, hands-on activities,” Penoyer said. Other meeting options they’ve tried include park district community centers, churches, synagogues, and schools. And, occasionally, they do pay to rent space. “When we have brought visiting artists into town to hold workshops and lectures, we have paid a fee to the host facility. In general, that amount, plus the teacher’s fee and travel costs, are simply calculated into the price of the workshop per participant,” Scheftic said. “Sometimes it’s worth it to pay a fee in order to secure the most appropriate accommoda- tions for an event and to forge relationships with the facility.”

Online Resources Mentioned in the cover article

www.metalclayacademy.com www.MastersRegistry.com

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Visual Trigger Challenge

This is the tenth image of the Visual Trigger Challenge and it’s a tough one. Unlike previ- ous images, this one depends on negative space, intervals, and a muted color scheme. Most of the entries chose to focus in on a single part of the image. Congratulations to Heidi Stinson for managing to capture the asymmetry and contrasting textures in her compact pendant.

First Place

Heidi Stinson

Fine silver, cubic zirconia, glass beads

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Second Place

Evelyn Dombkowski

Honorable Mention

Iris Laven Linda Rowlands

Deborah Lee Taylor

See all the submissions at www.PMCguild.com page 23 undertaken a result as of the use or application of information contained in any Fusion issue or article. for liability damages or injury as a result of any construction, design, use, manufacture, or any other activity Fusion: The Journal of the PMC Guild, its staff, and contributors disclaimspecifically any or responsibility Florence, KY 41042 Lane 1921 Cliffview PMC Guild

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Fusion Visual Trigger Challenge See inside for details