Vancouver Polymer Clay Guild 2009 Christmas Party
"Santa was nude, holding a Santa hat in front of himself to spare everyone embarrassment of having to…" ~Cindy-L
The other evening I got a chance to meet up with a few more of the members from the local Vancouver Polymer Clay Guild in my area. It was the annual Christmas party and ornament swap. Pictured in the photo from top left are: Nettonya, April Payton, Jem Redlich, Sharon House, Lawrence Smith, Shelley Poole, Cindy Lietz (Me), Linda Gross, Nancy Quinn, Deb Groom.
What a lovely group they are too! So talented and friendly. And to think a few of them live only about 10 minutes away! Funny how big and how small this world really is.
The ornament swap was very fun! I got an adorable little Inookshook wearing a Santa hat and scarf made by Nancy! It will forever remind me that I got the chance to meet this sweet group in the months leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics. [If you did not know, the games are being hosted right here in Vancouver, in just a few short months from now.]
I was very pleased to finally meet Lawrence who is a member of the Polymer Clay Library and a regular at this blog. He has the brightest blue eyes you will ever see! Something you just wouldn't know unless you met him in person. He's the guy in the blue shirt in the photo above.
Which reminds me Lawrence (and everyone else), you should upload an avatar (a picture of yourself), so that it shows up by each comment you make here at the blog. It would be nice to see more faces instead of all those sideways G logos. Click the following link for instructions on how to set up these gravatars.
Sharon House who is part of the sister Guild on Vancouver Island, attended the party as well. Her Bashful Santa ornament was adorable. Basically… Santa was nude, holding a Santa hat in front of himself to spare everyone the embarrassment of having to view his… well, you know ;-). One of the really cool things about this sculptured piece, was how Sharon signed her name on the back. She pressed a strip of clay to the back of her credit card where the name was imprinted, and it created a raised version of her name! Now isn't that clever! Thank you Sharon for letting me share your idea!
While I was typing this out, it made me think of doing a similar thing with one of those Dymo Label Makers, where you squeeze whatever letters you want into a strip of adhesive plastic. Will have to dig mine out and play around with the idea more.
I very much enjoyed spending time with a bunch of other artists who were just as passionate about polymer clay as I am. And look forward to meeting with them again at some future guild meetings.
Tell me, are you involved in a local polymer clay guild? Feel free to give you guild a plug in the comments section below if you like.
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Comments on Vancouver Polymer Clay Guild 2009 Christmas Party
6:18 am
What a good-lookin' group of clayers! I'm so envious of those of you who have a local guild. You've inspired me to seek out others in El Paso, TX to determine if anyone is interested in getting one started.
8:30 am
As you all have listened to my whining before – there's no guild anywhere near where I live and I can't find anyone in the area who is interested in polymer clay either. Drats. Ah well. If a piece of polymer burns in an oven where there is a void of clayers – does anyone smell it?
8:55 am
@Elizabeth – please do keep us updated on your recruiting efforts in El Paso. Anna Sabina resorted to stalking people in the store isles at Michaels to find some polymer clay friends in Des Moines, IA (LOL)
@aims – to find the answer of which you seek about burning clay… you must ask the tree that falls in a forest when no one is around to hear it fall. Monday morning wisdom from the ancient proverbs of Confucius… ;-)
8:55 am
Like Aims their is nobody near that clays so i class all you on the blog as my clay family
8:58 am
Oh thanks Cindy for the link now you can all see me this pic was taken at my 50th wedding anniversary last year
9:06 am
Love your new Gravatar photo, Ritzs!!! Thanks for taking the time to do that. It's WAY nicer to having faces showing up here beside everyone's wonderful comments.
3:33 pm
Hey Cindy, it really was fun to have you come and meet a few more members of the local gang.
I do consider myself very lucky to have such a great group to hang out with. When I lived in Toronto and fell into scrapbooking back in '96, there wasn't anyone around who was into it. So I know how lonely it can feel to not have a local group to bond with. I totally agree with Ritzs that everyone here online makes for a wonderful 'cyber-family'!!
Thanks again Cindy for posting the Gravatar link – I think I got mine connected. It makes such a difference having a face to put with people's names. I'm adding my 2 bits worth of encouragement for everyone to go and get one set up, makes it feel more like real humans behind the message . . . . . .
5:22 pm
Thanks for the link, I was wondering how to do this. The picture is of me with Sadie our 12 year old Greyhound.
10:06 pm
It was so great to meet you in person Cindy. Your dedication to teaching polymer clay shines through with your ever cheerful personality and great sense of humour. The members of our guild fortunate to meet you personally have had their lives enriched.
Signed – Old Blue Eyes
11:02 pm
Love love love seeing all the new faces!!! Thanks guys for uploading your photos guys.
@Lawrence – you've really changed your look from when we met up the other evening LOL.
2:52 am
Peeks in with her new gravatar… *waves at everybody*
How would one go about finding out if there is a guild anywhere nearby? I'm in Michigan…
~Lisa
6:46 am
I found the guild here in Tucson by doing a search on the internet, have you tried that?
Good luck.
8:12 am
Yes… Jeanne's tip about using the Internet is great advice. By doing a quick Google search, I found a reference for the Metro Detroit Polymer Clay Art Guild (link: mdpag.org/). And if you are not in Detroit, they could probably let you know who to contact in other areas of Michigan.
8:36 am
So Cindy, who got your ornament?
9:27 am
April won my ornament, Ken. She is the the second woman from the left in the back row. Thanks for asking!
10:53 am
Hey Cindy… Was great meeting you at the party! Thanks for the mention of my Santa (who will be showing up on my blog in the next day or so for anyone who wants a peek at him) He and his fellow Santa brothers (about 20 of them…LOL) were fun to make and always bring a smile to everyone's face! Thanks also for mentioning my "name in clay" trick. I had thought of the Dyno too but decided the letters were too big! The credit card is just the right size. I'll be posting a how-to on my blog in the next couple of weeks for anyone who wants to know how to do it.
Thanks again Cindy. I really enjoy your site…. so many good things to do and learn.
Sharon
7:16 pm
Thanks Sharon! I enjoy your site too! Thanks for mentioning me on your blog. I really appreciate it!
6:34 pm
@Elizabeth S.: Oh, Elizabeth, I sure wish that I had been connected with Cindy and this blog while I was on the road this fall. I took off from my home at Lake Tahoe, NV, to help deal with my grief over losing Don. I spent 2 1/2 months just traveling around in my little Plateau motorhome – and I spent a couple days by El Paso! I went out to Hueco Tanks and I went clay making searching at the JoAnn's just off Hwy. 10. I've stayed at the Road Runner RV park in the past. I will probably head down that way again one of these years – not 2010 because that is earmarked for a trip to the U of Pennsylvania to visit my son, Jonathan, and his wife, Katherine, who are both on the faculty there. On the way I do have to stop in Las Vegas, NM, because the KOA there wants to stock the jewelry section of their gift shop with my wire jewelry and also some of what they saw of my clay work. Anyway, the next time I'm down your way I'd like to get in touch. In the meanwhile we'll have to keep in touch via Cindy's blog.
10:06 am
Thank you for sharing your fun time at the annual Christmas party and ornament swap!