A letter from the President

June has been a busy and exciting month for the club. The newly formed committee met and while it was more of an informal meeting, we did still attend to club business. I am very confident that this committee will be an effective team for the club. Great news is that Bryan Johnston has joined the committee and will be looking after the clubs accounts as Ann is stepping down. Ann has looked after the club accounts for many years and we are all extremely grateful for the many hours that she has given to looking after us. I hope now that Ann has more time she will be able to get her hands back in to the clay. 

Members of the Club welcomed a TRANZIT Tour from Wellington to the Clubrooms. A big thank you to Stephanie, Rod, Paula, Kaye, Jenny, and Lynne who made sure they were well looked after. They browsed the gallery, had a tour around the club, were provided afternoon tea and were given a lump of clay to play with. Who knows some may even be inspired to get into ceramics? 

Star Glaze was an enormous success. Sue, Rod and all the teams made this event something to remember for the club. We had just shy of 1500 people through the Star Glaze exhibition. Visitors to the Festival also stopped by the gallery and were invited to have a wander around the rooms. The demonstrations organized by Murray were well received and, along with the Mayan pottery making, people had a really good insight of the 'working' club room. The response from visitors and members is that the Matariki festival is one to keep. Well done everyone. 

Kathryn Lims latest project needs Mayan pottery for props and so Kathryn suggested club members get together for a few days and make some. Running this alongside the clubs open days at the festival created a real buzz in the rooms. It was truly wonderful to see the rooms so busy and members enjoying themselves. If you couldn't get to the Mayan pottery making over the weekend Kathryn has left some clay in a container by the slab rollers for anyone who would like to make some pots for her. 

I am very grateful to Lynne Corkin for supplying the club with our carpark sign. A very generous gesture and a job that was well overdue by me. 
Thank you Lynne .... and I would like to also thank Lynne for the time she has, over the years, given to the club. Lynne worked alongside Ann looking after the club's sales books - this was no small job and will now be shared between Lynne, Erin and Emma - thank you ladies. 

The Fiona Tunnicliffe horse raffle was drawn by Stephanie at the end of Star Glaze. This was won by a visitor from Wellington. 

We need to update the club constitution which will require a Special General meeting. It is hoped this can be done in the next month. The information will be sent out well in advance however the changes are in relation to the titles of committee and a change of the accountant's role. This will be a good opportunity to also discuss further the club's festivals/ events. If you have any ideas on going forward with both the Festival of Pots and Star Glaze please let us know. 

Classes/Workshops: Margaret Hunt has decided - after many years of managing workshops for the club - to stand down and make way for someone else to step in and look after this important area. If you can help, please contact Jenny Turnbull - [email protected]

The committee are very grateful to Margaret for her time setting up and organising many wonderful workshops for the club.

Bonne Wooller will run an Orb Workshop on the 10th of August. Please email: [email protected] if you are interested. Information on the workshop will be advertised in the newsletter, on the website and posted in the rooms. 

Gallery: Jenny and Thomas's exhibition has come to an end and Stacey Young's and Lorna Tawhiti's started on the 30th June so please put the word out to drop in to the Tote Modern and see the work of these talented artists. 

Clay, Kilns and Glazes: The Clay team need someone to help with stock recording. If you can help please contact Rod. Kiln No. 2 required a new probe and again we are very grateful to Trevor Wright for stepping in and fixing the problem. 

Website: Kylie continues to keep our website up to date. If you have any suggestions or comments, please get in touch with Stephanie. Some of you may have seen that there is now an online enrolment form for classes. 

Maintenance: Brent has attended to the roof leaks. Fingers crossed this has fixed the problem. We will need to look at painting the roof before to long so again we will need quotes. If you know of any roofers and or painters who can do this type of work, please let Brent or Stephanie know. 

Fundraising: Katherine Joyce Kellaway has been looking for potential funding options to complete our renovations. Painting (Roof and exterior walls), Carpentry work, Driveway upgrade, If you can recommend any trades who Katherine could approach for quotes and if you can assist with funding applications please email 
Katherine - [email protected] 

Rooms: We would be lost without Kaye. Our rooms present many problems - lights not working, leaks, doors not closing, equipment needing attention, tools and molds not returned or cared for - and Kaye attends to all of this. Kaye is asking for help with spring cleaning the classrooms at the end of term. Please let her or Stephanie know if you can help. Please be mindful that if you do not clean the club tools, molds and equipment this all adds to Kayes list to organise and then she has no time to make her wonderful pots. This brings me to the problem with our molds ... these are not being looked after. Many have been scored with sharp tools! - please do not use metal tools in or around the tops of the molds and clean them well with a damp cloth after you have finished with them. Each mold has a place so please return it to where it belongs. 

Health & Safety: Murray Hopping has supplied an Emergency Response sheet of which a laminated copy is posted in the kitchen. Please read this. Sue is looking to source emergency torches for the rooms - these will be kept near the first aid kits. 

Competitions: There will be a section on the red notice board for any competitions that may be of interest to members. Check it out.
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A huge thank you to all of you who have put in so much time and energy into the club. It has given new life to the club in the dismal days of covid!

Stay safe, Caitlin