VCPG March 2024 Newsletter
Members' Meeting : Monday March 25th • info below
For Your Calendar:
March 1st ……........…......Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
March 25th ……..........…..Members Meeting @ 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
April 5th ……..........…......Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
April 11th ……...…...........Gallery Committee Meeting @3:30pm
April 15th ……........…......Gallery Artists Meeting @ 7:00pm
April 22nd ……...........…..Members Meeting @ 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
May 3rd ……..........…......Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
May 19th ……..........…....Pitfire in Arroyo Verde Park
June 7th …….........…......Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
June 13th ……...…..........Gallery Committee Meeting @3:30pm
June 24th ……...........…..Members Meeting @ 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
July ……...…...................No Board meeting
July 15th ……..................Gallery Artists Meeting @ 7:00pm
July 22nd ……...........…..No Members meeting
August 2nd ……..........…Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
August 8th ……...…........Gallery Committee Meeting @3:30pm
August 26th …….............Members Meeting @ 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
September 6th …….........Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
September 23rd …….......Members Meeting on Zoom; 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
October 4th ……..........…Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
October 10th ……...........Gallery Committee Meeting @3:30pm
October 21st ……..…......Gallery Artists Meeting @ 7:00pm
October 28th ……...........Members Meeting @ 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
November 1st ……..........Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
November 25th ……........Members Meeting @ 6:30pm Gathering, 7pm Meeting
December 6th ……..........Board Meeting @ 4:00pm
December 12th ...............Gallery Committee Meeting @3:30pm
December........................VCPG Holiday Get Together
All Board meetings have the same Zoom link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88067937721?pwd=ZlZCSElGRGZrbUlNbmo0YWh3NGtFQT09
All Members meetings have the same Zoom link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86441314653?pwd=dVVRNkRUVXV1VXdmU3ZxN29xeUFIZz09
All Galley Committee have the same Zoom link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85395421088?pwd=Rk5PWWxIdUJpajZqMEQ3TWdNTHUzUT09
All Gallery Artists meetings have the same Zoom link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89186713636?pwd=REFMTDBhZjJZSTgwZUp5YXZ5cVkvZz09
A Message from Your VCPG Board President • March 2024
Important announcement about clay order! Please read
Greetings VCPG Members –
We tried a new process for our January 2024 Clay Order. Shawn Felts from Clay Gurus took over managing the process from start to finish. Shawn is a distributor for both Laguna and Aardvark, as well as other ceramic supply companies, and has long-standing relationships with their staff. And, as a distributor, Shawn can get some discounts for which the Guild is not eligible. Since this was a “pilot” we reached out to the 44 members who participated in the January order and asked them what they thought. Twenty-three (52%) responded. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being Unsatisfied and 5 being Very Satisfied, the average score for the January
process was 4.5. To a person, everyone agreed that Shawn was helpful and knowledgeable. Some helpful suggestions that we can work on for the future are: having weekend pickup times and accepting credit cards and other electronic payments. Based on this feedback, we’re going to continue with Shawn at the helm for our next Clay Order in May.
THIS IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT PART – and it has nothing to do with the fact that Shawn has taken over managing the Guild’s clay order process. We are going to start collecting the appropriate State of California Sales Tax on all purchases.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? If you don’t have a CA Seller’s Permit you will be taxed for all clay order purchases at the Ventura rate – 7.75%. Even with the sales tax, you should still achieve significant savings by ordering through the Guild due to the shared shipping costs and volume and distributor discounts available through the Guild and Clay Gurus. Not to mention the convenience and savings of not having to drive to City of Industry or Sana Ana!
CA Resale Certificate.pdf and Discounts March 2024.pdf
If you have a CA Seller’s Permit, you can use the Resale Certificate attached to the newsletter, fill it out and send it to Shawn at shawn@claygurus.com by April 15, 2024. You can also find the certificate here: https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/cdtfa230.pdf Please note that Shawn/Clay Gurus needs the completed Resale Certificate BEFORE an order is placed. There’s no retroactive “untaxing” (not a word, I know). But the good news is that you need only file the Resale Certificate once, Shawn will keep it on file for future orders. With a Resale Certificate on file, you will not be taxed on clay, glazes, underglazes and raw materials, but you will be taxed on equipment and tools. (In other words, you will be taxed on anything that isn’t physically included in or on the work you sell.)
There are responsibilities that go with having a CA Sellers Permit – in addition to collecting sales tax on your sales, you must file a CA Sales and Use Tax Return to report and pay the sales tax you collected. Most of us probably only need to do that once a year, in January, for the year before. If you sell a lot, like the Gallery does, you may have to file more often. (A good problem to have!)
If you don’t have a CA Seller’s Permit, it is very easy to get one. Click on the link below and fill out the form. It is free and approval is usually very quick, within a day or two. Once you have that, you can download and complete the Resale Certificate to submit to Shawn/Clay Gurus by April 15th .
Once you have the Seller’s Permit, you can complete a separate Resale Certificate for other vendors to purchase materials without paying sales tax (as long as you collect sales tax from your customers and meet the other requirements from the State). Neither the Guild, Shawn nor I are expert enough to answer specific questions about the ins and outs of CA Sales Tax compliance – so we won’t. But in addition to the application, the website below has detailed
publications, FAQs, offers online training (I attended one and found it very helpful) and a call-in number for questions.
Here is the link for the CA Seller’s Permit: https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes- and-fees/sutprograms.htm
We are doing this to be in compliance with the State of California. Again, it has nothing to do with Shawn and Clay Gurus, although Shawn is taking on the additional work of calculating, collecting and reporting the sales tax we are paying. Thank you Shawn.
Look for an email with specific information about the Spring Clay Order towards the end of April.
More next month. Take care and make stuff.
Stacy Rowe
VCPG Board President
president@vcpg.org
Members Program Meeting • March 25th
Cutting Edge MakerSpace Tech for Ceramics
A visit to Moorpark College MakerSpace.
Meet with Clare Sadnik from Moorpark and Maureen Schultz, a Guild member and Maker to learn about what this collaborative space has to offer ceramic artists.
Maureen will be showing us how the skills she has learned have been put to use to make tools, stamps, texture mats and more.
Information on Moorpark's MakerSpace can be found at: https://www.moorparkcollege.edu/student-services/makerspaceservices/makerspace
(Zoom link below and for each monthly meeting can always be found in the calendar on the Guild’s Home Page/website.)
6:30 PM Gathering Time • 7 PM Meeting Start
Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86441314653?pwd=dVVRNkRUVXV1VXdmU3ZxN29xeUFIZz09
VCPG is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: VCPG Monthly Member Meetings
Time: 6:30 PM- Gathering Time, 7 PM- Meeting
Meeting ID: 880 2758 8377
Passcode: 893843
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,88027588377#,,,,*893843# US (San Jose)
+16694449171,,88027588377#,,,,*893843# US
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kfccJZUbf
A few reminders from the Technology Committee:
We heard from a few members that they didn’t know about some of the Guild’s upcoming activities, including opportunities to gather with members in-person. If you miss the monthly Newsletter (which is jam-packed with important information) you can always find information about all kinds of upcoming activities on the new and improved member homepage. When
you log into vcpg.org ( Home ) the first page you see has a calendar of upcoming events; buttons to take you directly to more information and sign up; and “The Kiln Post” - our new feed for timely events with photos and more!
Do you teach pottery classes and want to be listed on vcpg.org? Do you have a submission for the Newsletter or Calendar? Have you seen something on vcpg.org that’s out of date? There’s a one-stop page for that! Once you sign in, use the drop-down menu to go to Guild/Submissions. There you will see handy buttons to submit items for review to be included in the Newsletter and Calendar, Slide Show photos, info about your classes and comments/corrections/additions to the website.
There are many ways to contribute and communicate with fellow members and the public.
(Remember to create your portfolio if you haven’t already).
VCPG.ORG is for all of us!
VCPG School Outreach Pilot Update
Create the future as a VCPG Mentor Artist! Teachers from eight Ventura County schools are eager to participate with VCPG Mentor Artists in our pilot outreach project.
On-site interviews with participating teachers revealed their interest in classroom demonstrations, wheel-throwing, glazes, sgraffito, kiln maintenance, ceramics classroom organization, new project ideas, air dry clay projects for student wellness, materials selection, entrepreneurship and more.
All teachers are looking forward to joining the VCPG community.
Thanks to Gayle Bentley Swanson, John Grisafe and Genie Thomsen for being our first
Mentor Artists and to Shawn Felts for providing kiln assessments when needed.
Sign Up Now: Opportunities for Mentor Artists are posted on the VCPG
website under “Team Service Sign Up” in the “Outreach” column on page 2.
Pilot schools are: Balboa Middle School, Cabrillo Middle School, Buena High,
Pacific High and Ventura High all in Ventura, plus Moorpark High, Nordhoff High
and Thousand Oaks High Schools. (Moorpark and Nordhoff High Schools will
be posted on our website soon.)
VCPG Mentor Artists are asked to contribute up to 10 hours of support per
semester depending on the priorities of the teachers and the expertise of the
artists. Jennifer Robles will be serving as the Outreach lead for this project.
Summer Residency Program
The Ventura County Potters Guild is offering Summer Residency Programs with the Stacy Rowe Pottery Studio in Oxnard, and at the Clay Studio in Goleta.
We are inviting artists passionate about ceramics to apply for this year’s programs. Previous participants have found it to be invaluable in developing their portfolio.
Additional details on the program and instructions on how to apply are on the VCPG website.
Please review the Residency Information found on our website under vcpg.org/Learning/Studio Residenc, attend an orientation zoom meeting and apply before midnight on April 30, 2024.
For question or any inquiry contact Lou Ann Smith at residency@vcpg.org
LIGHT IN MOTION by Maree Cheatham
is in the new Burbank Fine Arts Federation exhibit, March 1-21
Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center
1100 W. Clark Ave.
Burbank, CA 91506
Mothers Day Market at the Gallery
Sales Opportunity:
Juried plus members and gallery consignment members are invited to display their work outside the gallery on May 11 and 12, from 11-6.
You may participate one day or both days.
You will need to be present to set up and break down the show, as well as be there to visit with customers and help with sales in the gallery.
The gallery will take 20% and all sales will be conducted inside the gallery.
Please contact Jody Cooper, 805-701-7797 or
jcooperceramics23@gmail.com, to sign up or with questions.
Pitfire – Sunday, May 19th in Arroyo Verde Park.
Register now and get this event on your calendar.
Members attending the event in 2023 raved about how much fun they had and if you look at the Clay Challenge page on the website, you can see some of the stunning work that came from the firing. (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)
https://vcpg.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=108313&module_id=547303
Check the Calendar listing for more information and to register separately for the event, prep on Saturday (Ojai or Ventura) and the actual firing on Sunday.
Team Service opportunities are available to help offer this event.
It’s coming! Beatrice Wood Center Show
Our annual show at the Beatrice Wood Center is scheduled for September 28 - November 16. The theme this year is “Non Traditional Teapots”.
Let your imagination go wild, from fantasy to abstract. Have fun with this challenge.
It is open to all guild members and you can enter up to three pieces.
Teaching opportunity
A start Up program in Santa Barbara is looking for a ceramic artist that likes to work with elementary aged kids. They have a digital electric kiln. Please contact me for more information.
Rebecca Russell rebeccajorussell@gmail.com or text 805-708-1637.
The VCPG Library
There’s no better way to practice lifelong learning than reading a good book, and VCPG’s
Library is a fantastic source of informative and inspirational reading material.
Browse the collection by visiting the Library page under the Member Menu on VCPG.org.
Click on Check Out Item to complete the check out request form. Items will be shipped at no cost to you. You can return items via mail (at your cost) or to the gallery.
VCPG Library Book Review
Color in Glazes by Linda Bloomfield is an indispensable resource for those looking to deepen
their understanding of glaze chemistry. Bloomfield delves into various aspects of glaze
formulation, using accessible language, helpful illustrations and practical examples.
Additionally, she explores the role of temperature and atmosphere in achieving desired color
effects, as well as the significance of glaze thickness and application methods. Throughout the
book, Bloomfield offers valuable tips, troubleshooting advice, and numerous glaze recipes,
which will encourage readers to experiment with confidence.
VCPG members should be aware that although this book is not currently available in the VCPG
library it can be purchased online.
Program & Workshop Team seeking members
Do you want to be part of identifying, selecting and introducing programs for our monthly meetings?
Maybe you have an interest in being on the Workshop planning team???
A few creative and enthusiastic members are being sought to join the effort of bringing great program offerings to our members.
We try to meet once a month until the year’s program and workshop calendar is scheduled. Then, in small groups or individually, members shepherd their program or workshop.
If you are interested in joining this team, please email programs@vcpg.org to share your interest.
37th California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Arts
Sacramento • April 12 -13, 2024
Text Ruty if you are going 818-613-7256
Visit South Korea with Patrick Crabb
ANNYEONGHASEYO (HELLO in Korean) ...After working on this year's international tour for some 5 months, we (ESCAPES UNLIMITED TRAVEL) now have an incredible adventure to offer you. For 13 incredible days, South Korea can be yours to enjoy this mid-September. The focus will be on the arts & crafts, sights, temples, and more.
For pottery lovers, this tour will take us from ancient to contemporary kiln villages and to include a workshop demo by a master potter.
The KOREAN INTERNATIONAL BIENNALE FESTIVAL is also on the list.
Korean Airlines will be our flight of choice out of LAX. Great tiered land pricing: $ 4340/person dbl occ (15+ travelers) or $3899/person dbl occ (18+ travelers). Our Japan tour sold out in 48 hours. Your $500/person deposit holds your spot. Please sign on early. This adventure will be an indelible addition to 2024. Please email with any inquiries to dianafarrell@gmail.com