At our committee meeting last night it was decided that the club would continue with our COVID mandate at the present time.  We understand that the Government has lifted the mandates but it is entirely up to each organisation as what they think is appropriate. This will be reviewed again when we go to “green” under the traffic light system.  This means that all persons entering the clubrooms must be vaccinated and wear a mask.

We understand that for some of you this is not what you wanted to hear but for the safety and wellbeing of the majority of our membership we feel that this decision is the correct one.

If you wish to have work fired, please contact the club on otakipotterclub@gmail.com and we will arrange for this to be done.

We are postponing the gas firing scheduled for May 4th as there have been very few pots received so far. The updraft kiln is quite large and typically requires about 140 pots to warrant a firing. There is nothing to indicate that the additional pots still needed will be delivered by the Monday 2nd deadline.

The May firing has been rescheduled as follows:

·         all work on shelves by 12 noon, Monday 9th May

·         loading will be completed Tuesday 10th May from 2pm

·         firing Wednesday 11th May (all day, starting 7.45am, completed about 5pm)

·         unloading Friday 13th May 2pm

​This firing will still be dependent on there being sufficient work to fill the kiln.

Otaki pottery Club is looking for more teachers to run classes, additional to the eleven that we already have in place. 

We have spaces to run beginner Wheel Classes on Mondays during the day and on Thursday nights. 
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We have spaces to run beginner Hand Building Classes on Monday and Tuesday nights. Night classes usually start at 7 .00pm but 6.30pm is also a possibility. 
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If you are interested please contact Emily Friedlander - OPC Adult Class Coordinator by using the form below.

​Saturday 23rd April 9:30 to 12:00 
Sunday 31st June 9:30 to 12:00 
Saturday 24th September 9:30 to 12:00 
Saturday 10th December 9:30 to 12:00 
We now have a Sunday cleaning bee for those members that were finding it hard to get to the Saturday. 

​The next updraft gas firing, subject to there being enough work to fill the kiln, will be Thursday 24th, March, all work to be on shelves/table by Monday 21st, 5pm for loading on Tuesday 22nd, unloading Saturday 26th, 2pm. 

​Annual General Meeting Sunday 22nd May 6.30pm at the Club Rooms. This is your opportunity to review what has happened in the past year, the plans for this year and beyond and to elect in the new committee. It is also a chance to have your say and directly contribute to the club's future direction so do please come along.

As we are in the Orange Zone and as the club is mandated under the Vaccine Passport we think it’s time to throw away those masks albeit with provisos, which are: 

• Masks are not mandatory but recommended
• Social distancing is still advised in the clubrooms
• All non member visitors to the clubrooms must be able to show proof of vaccination and are encouraged to wear a mask
• All attendees and front line people at the Tote Modern, Race Days and Summer School are exempt from wearing a mask but are encouraged to do so.

This is probably a good time to talk about the Festival of Pots - the club's main fundraiser. The Festival committee believe that it is not able to run the festival in January as many members have expressed concern about what is happening with the coronavirus and how uncertain things may be in January. The management committee agreed with the festival committees recommendation to postpone the event. The decision was not made easily, however, to carry on and make the decision closer to the time would mean investing significantly more funds. We are hoping that early in the New Year we can look at holding a version of the Festival - perhaps if not at Anam Cara Gardens then at the race course.

So, keep making those pots so we can hold a fundraiser. The funds raised from this event go toward maintaining our equipment, purchasing new equipment and tools and also enables us to keep our subscription, class and kiln fees low. 
The kilns have had all elements replaced and we have bought a stack of silica carbide shelves making the kilns ready for 2022 and ready for many pots! 
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The annual Public Raku has also been postponed. This is such a shame as the Raku has been a great community event for many years and we know many families look forward to it. It would be great if we could combine a Raku alongside the fundraiser next year. If you are interested in joining the team to help put a new version of the fundraiser together for 2022 please get in touch. 

The team has had several meetings and are now well on the way to getting the 2022 festival underway. The postcards will be ready for the Kapiti Arts Trail (The Arts Trail 2021 will take place on 6/7 and 13/14 November 2021.) so please do have these on display if you are exhibiting.

Kylie is managing the website and the Festival page has now been updated. Registration of interest to exhibit is now open. Remember as a member you do not need to pay the $25 registration fee.

Jenny has engaged our 2022 guest artists. Maria Brockhill, Sue Scobie, and Lee Robertson.

The Festival will only proceed under level 1 but we will be monitoring the government guidelines and will review closer to the time.

Adult classes - are full and we have a sizeable waiting list for the beginner's wheels classes. Emily is organising more classes to try and alleviate this.

Young Persons Classes - Paula will be stepping down from tutoring young people next year.
We will be looking for someone to take these classes. Please contact Stephanie if you are interested.

Holiday classes - for young people will not proceed this holiday as the Adult classes will now extend into this time to make up for classes missed due to lockdown. 

Classroom hire - It was agreed by the committee that the classrooms will be available for hire. It is preferred the club runs the classes. The preference to hire the rooms will be given to members however consideration will be given to outside requests on a case-by-case basis.