July 2024

Welcome to July, everyone! Now that the fireworks are over, July is packed with lots of opportunities to meet other members of the Guild, make new friends, and exchange ideas on your favorite techniques. We have 4 picnics coming up – two in the Seattle area and two in the Portland/Vancouver area – please try and attend at least one as they are a lot of fun! Also this month is the Art in the Garden event on July 20th at member Ann Cavanaugh’s studio featuring her and her students’ work – some of the most amazing garden art I have ever seen. And last but not least – stay tuned for pictures of the work being done during the Powder Challenge as lots of artists are signed up and we should see some amazing powder designs coming out from this. Enjoy!

President Lesley Kelly

May 2024

Hi, everyone, summer is coming and there’s a lot to look forward to with activities from the Guild. Carlyne and Barb have a lineup of great topics coming together for the monthly meetings, and there are two picnics in the Seattle area in July and two in August for the Portland area. Also, we have a really exciting Powder Challenge coming up that will be introduced on June 23rd at the monthly meeting and then if you are interested, you can sign up for the Challenge and do a new powder project for 30 days. In addition, we have a signup for a class with Nadine Booth that will be in October – see the related article in the newsletter. The monthly Sherlocking event at Margie Rieff’s house has been a success and if you would like to join us on Wednesday, May 22nd at 6:30 pm to learn new ways to create glass. I look forward to seeing you at these events and have a fantastic summer!.

President Lesley Kelly

March 2024

I realize that with the current weather we are experiencing here in the Northwest, it may not seem like Spring is just around the corner, but it is definitely on the way and we have a lot of great events lined up.
Starting in April, we have the Gathering of the Guilds on April 19-21, 2024 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland and the Vendor Fair in Redmond WA (near Seattle) on May 11th, 2024. In addition, there are the Monthly General Meetings on the 4th Sunday at 3:30 to discuss various topics and the “Sherlocking” (troubleshooting) meeting at Margie Rieff’s house the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. These are Zoomed so you can share your pieces and experience if you can’t physically attend. There will be also be picnics in several areas this summer (see article below for picnic dates and places)

President’s Message – January 2024

Hi everyone, I want to wish each of you a Happy New Year! As you can see below we have a new board for the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild and new Team Leads starting this month.

At this week’s board meeting we planned the calendar for the year. Please join us at the events listed in this issue and others that will be upcoming to share the glass experience. I look forward to joining you in experiencing and learning from each other in all facets of the glassmaking experience and sharing in the joy that it can bring to the larger community. Please also consider volunteering in the planning and production of any of the events as well – we need your help. Thanks, Lesley

President’s Message – November 2023
Welcome to the holiday season, I hope everyone is prepared to have some great holiday shows and sales. Be sure to share where you will be and how other members can connect with you. This can be done by submitting a calendar request to the PNWGlassGuild.org site: Log in and then go to About>Contact Us, Submit Calendar Event and sharing on the PNWGlassGuildMembers Facebook Group: there’s a link on the bottom of each website page.

Thank you to the members that have stepped up to form the 2024 PNWGG Board of Directors. I am excited to see where this great group of volunteers takes us next year and how they will continue adding value for our members.

President’s Message – September 2023
Welcome to Fall, I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler temperatures that this season brings us. Fall is one of my favorite seasons because of the great colors. I hope you are creating some great art for the upcoming Open Studio tours in Seattle and Portland. If you are not sharing your work at one of the many stops, please take time to say HI to those that will be.

Sorry that I need to repeat this plea from my last newsletter messages, but PNWGG is still in need of member volunteers for our upcoming year’s leadership team.

A plea from the leadership of the Guild, WE NEED YOU! We are recruiting for the next group of leaders to move the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild forward and build on our past success. Two of our team leaders have announced their intention to step away after their current term is over. They are Membership and Sponsorship team leaders. The time to step up and volunteer has never been better, so you can learn from them over the next few months. Please reach out to any of our current board members or me at president@pnwglassguild.org any time for more details on how you can help us deliver great programs.

Summer is upon us, and I hope that everyone has been able to get outside and enjoy time with their favorite outdoor activities. During a recent vacation I had the opportunity to visit a fantastic garden and some new beach areas for me. It was a great reminder that nature’s beauty is all around us and we should be inspired to create art that features our corner of the United States and all its beauty.

Don’t miss the opportunity to get together at one of our upcoming in-person picnics. It is a great opportunity to see fellow glass artists and catch up on what they are working on. Thanks to our generous hosts for opening their doors for these events, we wouldn’t be able to do so without their hospitality. Check out the dates and locations:

Battle Ground WA (near Portland) picnic:
Sunday August 6th, noon to 4 pm (NOTE CHANGES)

Seattle WA picnic: Sunday August 13th at 11 am

and RSVP today!

As I write this message Spring weather has taken a turn toward summer temperatures, hope you were able to enjoy some outdoor recreation or just outdoor relaxation. Speaking of enjoyment, I hope that you had an opportunity to visit one of the many in person events over the past month. Whether it be the Art in Bloom show in Seattle and their great outdoor art and weather, or the vastness of the Oregon Convention Center with an abundance of creative arts at the 2023 Gathering of the Guilds. Or even your local community open studio tour. I believe whenever you can support other artists and view their souls, they share with us through their artwork it is time well spent. May you have more opportunities to enjoy many in person events throughout the spring season.

Now, a plea from the leadership of the Guild, WE NEED YOU! We are recruiting for the next group of leaders to move the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild forward and build on our past success. Two of our team leaders have announced their intention to step away after their current term is over, they are Membership and Sponsorship team leaders. The time to step up and volunteer has never been better, so you can learn from them over the next few months. Please reach out to any of our current board members or me anytime for more details on how you can assist us deliver great programs.

“Creativity requires the Courage to let go of Certainties.” ~~Erich Fromm

Happy 2023 and welcome to a new year of creating art. If you are one that sets annual goals each January I would like to add a challenge to pursue a new technique this year. Step outside of your usual techniques and find a new and refreshed passion for learning a new technique. When you do this be sure to share your new masterpieces in the Member Gallery or if you are on Facebook (PNW Glass Guild member group) so others can share in your accomplishment.

Thank you to all of the members that provided feedback in our recent Member Feedback Survey, it is greatly appreciated. The board of directors will be using this feedback to shape a great 2023. The volunteers that lead the Guild look forward to the privilege of bringing our members a slate of educational and other events to further the art of glass making to our members. This feedback will help us accomplish this. Did you miss the initial survey feedback opportunity? Feel free to reach out to president@pnwglassguild.org anytime with your suggestions and feedback.

Speaking of a slate of upcoming events be sure to check out the Calendar of Events for the latest information. For those that are looking to sell your art in a great setting, check out the details of the Gathering of the Guilds coming to Oregon Convention Center April 28-30. Registration is open now, so claim your booth today.

Wishing everyone the best in the new year and a year of creating masterpieces.

“One must work and dare if one really wants to live.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Fall 2022 has arrived and I hope everyone is ready for the holiday show season. Thank you to all of the members that joined us for the annual meeting and nominations in October. I appreciate being nominated and chosen to serve as the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild President for another term. I look forward to building on the momentum that has been gained during 2022. The opportunity to engage with more in-person events once again has been a highlight of the year. The board of directors is looking forward to bringing back the popular guest instructor program in 2023. Stay tuned for more information as details are confirmed in the coming new year.

The PNWGG Board of Directors is looking for members to step into our roles in the coming year and want to offer volunteers an opportunity to shadow us throughout 2023. Check out the board roles [link to Guild documents] to find one that would be of interest to you. Once you find the perfect match reach out to me at president@pnwglassguild.org so I can get you connected to the appropriate board member.

Speaking of volunteer needs, the board is looking for a planning chair. If you love to organize events and would like to help us plan great events for our members reach out to president@pnwglassguild.org.

Best wishes for the upcoming holiday season.

I hope summer 2022 has been a good one for everyone, it has gone by too quickly for me. Be sure to check out the creative work that Guild members have submitted for the Summer 2022 contest [link] and vote for your favorite. While you are checking out the masterpieces be sure to visit the pictures from our Seattle and Portland area picnics.

Feeling inspired by the artwork in our Members’ Gallery? Be sure to check out the Portland area Open Studios Tour on September 17 & 18 and the Seattle Open Studios as part of Refract 2022.

Plan to attend the PNWGG Annual Meeting on October 23rd where you will have the opportunity to shape the future of the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild by voting for next year’s board of directors. Stay around after the general election to learn more about photographing your art pieces from our guest speakers.

It is hard to believe that it has been six months since I started as President of the Pacific Northwest Glass Guild, the time has gone by too quickly. The one thing that I realized very quickly was that we have a GREAT group of volunteers that keep the Guild moving forward and provide the membership benefits that you have grown accustomed to. We look forward to continuing to provide meaningful and informative General Meeting topics along with events like Play Days and social events. These events cannot take place without help from the membership. We need immediate volunteers to plan the summer and fall events so please consider volunteering to help the Guild. Additionally, there is a short term need for a Nominating Team leader. This team leader will help to recruit volunteers for any open Board level positions. Finally, we continue to have an urgent need for a website operations support volunteer so check out the posting on Idealist for more details https://ideali.st/Kv4oRe

Spring is upon us and so are the in-person events once again! PNWGG is looking forward to the annual Gathering Of the Guilds event held at Oregon Convention Center on May 6 – 8, 2022. See related event posts for all of the details on how you can register for your booth and volunteer for this great event. We need volunteers to help plan and coordinate throughout the months leading up to the event. Join us today to make this a great event for everyone and welcome back in person selling opportunities.

Another spring event is the Art in Bloom in Seattle, WA. At the Art in Bloom event you will get the opportunity to tour several artists’ yards and studios. Check out all of the details in related event posts on PNWGG website.

Thank you to everyone who have joined us at our first meetings of 2022, I look forward to hearing from you on how we can make PNW Glass Guild even more valuable and beneficial to our members. Please drop me a note anytime with your feedback.

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2022

As we begin a new year it is appropriate to look back and celebrate what went well in 2021. During our annual holiday celebration December general meeting, I enjoyed hearing the 2021 successes. Members’ comments included:

• Engagement via Zoom – as a regional organization it is important to engage with members across the region virtually.
• Play Days – members enjoyed the recent play days and use of Zoom that made it feel like everyone is in the same room, learning new techniques and sharing our love of glass art.
• General Meetings – keeping general meetings informative and opportunities to spotlight members’ art and sharing techniques
• Website – recent updates to the website were acknowledged. Thank you to all the members that have been involved in bringing this to reality.
  Are you an IT guru? We would love to have you join us as the Webmaster. Please reach out to find out how you can help us by volunteering for this critical position.
• VOLUNTEERS – members recognized all the great work that the Guild member volunteers have done. Without our volunteers we would not be able to continue as an organization. Thank you for the support and hard work that everyone does every day to advance the mission of Pacific Northwest Glass Guild. I look forward to the privilege of working with all of you.

It is now time to turn to 2022 and what activities we will focus on for the coming year. Some ideas shared included:

• Increased regional activities
• Continue informative general meetings – share your ideas for general meetings with Rachel Dollar – PNWGG Vice President
• Member Exchange Event
• On-line Contest
• Mentor Opportunities

To make it easy to send Terry your ideas, here’s a form to type them into.

I would like to congratulate and welcome Terry Thomas as our new President, Rachel Dollar as Vice President, Haley Wigent as Secretary and, Linda Roman and Kate Nichols as Co-Treasurers. They will bring new ideas and energy to the Board and the Guild. I will still be part of the Board as Past President and here to help wherever I can. I have grown personally over the past two years serving as President in confidence, patience and tact. Friendships were developed that will continue.

It was difficult for all of us with Covid and trying to develop the new website. All of that is behind us now with the website up and running and it is so much better than before. I truly appreciate all the hard work that was done by so many people to get us to where we are today. We managed to have a virtual Gathering of the Guilds, endless meetings and many play dates where we got to know each other better and learn new skills … all virtually! We all worked together through very difficult times and the ever present computer challenges to keep the Guild going and expanding. Thank you all!

I hope this message finds you all well and finding ways to stay cool. 

We are looking for people who would like to be on the board in 2022. We will need a President, Vice President, Secretary, and a Treasurer. The bylaws limit the number of years you can serve. It is a good thing as fresh ideas are always welcome. The duties & responsibilities of these positions will be on the website soon or contact Carlyne Lynch, who is on the nominating committee. Remember that we will continue to use Zoom meetings to serve our now large geographically spread membership…..so you can enjoy participating and sharing no matter where you live.

We also have different committees and teams that need people. It takes us all to make this guild run smoothly. It is a great way to meet people and develop new skills. The outgoing people are there to help and guide you along. 

Please consider running for office. We have NO guild without a board.