winner of the Macs Mud Premier Award at the 2020 WSP Annual Exhibition
A word from the President | New website | 50th Annual Exhibition | Studio business
A word from the President
"Things are speeding up with WSP – more members, full classes, workshops keep happening and the annual exhibition is approaching! All great news
From the AGM the Committee Members are in full steam mode with a Strategic Planning session in the next few weeks to steer us into the near future with clear goals in mind to benefit not only the members of the society but also the wider community. We are a registered charity and believe that there are some community’s out there that could benefit with their hands in clay!
Sadly we have had some resignations from the Committee – Jenni Taris has decided to hang up her Committee and WSP apron – very sad to have Jenni leave but leaves the WSP with a legacy of knowledge and learning and we hope to have the benefit of that experience again in the future. Medina Jackson also felt it time to resign her role on the Committee to focus more on family affairs and again a big thank you for her energy and time with us and sorry to see you go.
The Committee had a wonderful enriching experience with Creative Waikato who led us through Governance Training a few weeks ago, and they (Paul) will lead us in the strategy planning session. A part of that training was the benefit of a conflict of interests register and so we can now manage that more efficiently and have more input from those at the coal face. We welcome back to the Committee Alex Wilkinson who is our diploma co-ordinator, energetic volunteer and bright idea girl.
The mini classes are faring well as I said above classes are filling up. A reminder that Sarah Wolf, as our Manager, can provide any information of the workings of the WSP and any reports or minutes of meetings you may want to read. Her newsletters each week provide the current information regarding workshops, classes and the highlights of the week – Sarah does a great job in her role and manages a very hectic schedule so a big thank you for all her work.
That’s all for now …keep playing with clay!"
Wendy
NEW WEBSITE
Welcome to our new website! Designed by Gabrielle McNaughten of Halo, we have been busy filling it with content. We hope you enjoy the new look which aims to also be easier to navigate.
Our weekly news will be found on the website under "News" from now on, with a link provided to your email (like today). This is an attempt to consolidate the work involved and to avoid the complications some of you experience opening our PDF attachments. You also won't have to search through old emails to find a historic announcement as they should all be on the site.
Please have a look around when you have time. Your feedback is welcome. If you have suggestions about what you would like to see here, I would love to hear what you would find useful and will do my best to accommodate where I can.
50TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION
15 October - 22 November 2021 (Opening night 14 October)
ArtsPost Hamilton
Entries close 4pm on 6th October 2021
We invite members to start working on their entries for the The Waikato Society of Potters' 50th Annual Exhibition. Yes, this is the 50th! We want this one to be extra special and are hoping that our members don't shy away from submitting work. We invite both emerging and experienced artists alike.
Thank you to Creative Communities Scheme funding (administered by) Creative Waikato for assisting with the running costs of the event and make it possible for our members to exhibit without a fee.
This year, John Parker will be judging and we invite entries under two separate categories:
- Emerging Artists (with less than 5 years of pottery experience), and
- Open Awards (open to all)
Details of additional awards are to come soon but early announcements include:
- Members' choice award: $150 sponsored by Catherine Vowles (Open)
- Tile Challenge award: $150 sponsored by Yasmin and Mark Davis (Open)
- Mug Competition (functional and with handle): $50 sponsored by Jenni Taris Pottery
- Hamilton Pottery Tools Award: $50 (Open)
- President’s Award: $100 (Emerging)
Entry forms will be available soon.
STUDIO BUSINESS
- Term 3 classes begin next week - Some classes still have spaces: book online.
- Play with Clay is cancelled tomorrow (Saturday 31 July) due to a shortage of volunteer availability.
- Open Studio and Play with Clay next week:
- Open Studio: Monday 10am-4pm, Tuesday 1-4pm, Wednesday 1-4pm
- Play With Clay: Tuesday 6-9pm, Wednesday 9.30am-12.30pm
- We are holding a club gas firing soon (thanks to Burns for doing the work), either on Sunday 1st or Monday 2nd so if you left anything in recently, check in later next week.
- Thank you to David Kenny who donated some new bats last week. We have been running low. If you have borrowed some to take works-in-progress home to finish, we would really appreciate if you drop them back in when you are next in the studio.
