The February meeting of the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild took place on Saturday, February 12 at the YWCA in Asheville.

The first order of business was a discussion classes with artist Linda Goff, coming up in June. Sara Jane will send a detailed email to the group with all the class information. Keep your eyes open for it!

The next topic for discussion was membership dues. It was decided that yearly dues for full membership are $20, prorated quarterly:
Anyone joining the guild from January thru March - $20.
April thru June - $15
July thru September - $10
October thru December - $5
Anyone interested in checking us out could attend one meeting for free; after that, they would need to join the guild and pay dues, or pay $3 per meeting. The dues are necessary to cover rent for monthly meetings, upcoming advertising (flyers, etc) for future classes, etc.

Irene reminded us all that beads for the Crafty Owl's "2,000 Beads for 2000" project are due at next month's meeting. Put each bead you wish to donate into an individual bag with your name and contact info. Irene will collect and send the beads to England. See the January meeting report for full information about this project.

Irene also had information about an all-day workshop to be held at AB Tech on Saturday, March 4. It will run from 9:00 to 5:00 and the $35 fee includes lunch. It is sponsored by by Handmade in America and the topic will be "The Business of Art and Craft". More information is available by calling 828-252-0121.

Byrd reminded us of the upcoming clay retreat to be held in Louisville, KY in July. Check www.polymerclayhaven.com for more information. It sounds like fun, to be surrounded by polymer clay people for a week!

We then were treated to Irene's demonstration of her method of carving baked polymer clay sheets using linoleum block carving tools. Irene showed us how to carve curves, spirals and holes. She demonstrated how to backfill the incised lines with paint or with more polymer clay, as well as using carved sheets to create relief designs. It was an excellent demo and everyone learned a lot (and no one needed a Band Aid!). Irene provided handouts and we all thank her for sharing her expertise so graciously.

The meeting concluded with the selection, by vote, of a piece of Irene's work to represent our Guild on a forthcoming CD Rom of polymer clay work, bring published in Italy.

We were happy to welcome Margaret as a new member.

For the March 11 meeting, a Clay Play Day is scheduled. Bring clay, tools, a work surface, and whatever else you need to join in the fun. Also Irene will lead a pasta machine disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly, so bring your pasta machines! See you then!

submitted by Edie Siegel, April 18, 2000