March 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to the new WPA website and newsletter!
As you can see, we’ve given the WPA website a bit of an update. Our goal with this refresh was to simplify and make it easier for both the public and WPA members to find the information they need regarding our association.
We’ve simplified our pages and menu structure, The “members” section takes you directly to our club management portal Hello Club which will contain member specific events and information. The newsletters are now available directly via this blog. If you have any questions, please reach out to Sammy, our Communications Portfolio owner (contact info is on the Hello Club home page).
If there is any specific information you are looking for that is not contained on the new pages or in the Hello Club FAQ or Guides & Policies, you can always reference The Wayback Machine to access most historic pages.
Club Notes
Clay Orders
Due to ongoing clutter on the grey table, clay orders now include the member’s name and order date. Members then have 3 weeks to collect their clay. Bags uncollected three weeks later *may* put back into inventory and sold to someone else!
Club Toilets
Please be advised that the toilets at the club are now Unisex.
New Club Emails
Please note that we have new club emails, please refer to these email addresses moving forward for any correspondence.
Info wellingtonpotters.info@gmail.com
Treasurer wellingtonpotters.treasurer@gmail.com
Membership wellingtonpotters.membership@gmail.com
Cubbies wellingtonpotters.cubbies@gmail.com
Events wellingtonpotters.events@gmail.com
Open Call for Potter in Residence Applications
Wellington Potters Association is calling for proposals for our residency programme. We are inviting ceramic artists from our community, across Aotearoa and the world to apply for one of two residency positions:
May to August (12 weeks total)
August to November (12 weeks total)
You do not need to be a professional potter (commercial production is not the aim of this residency), but you do need to be able to share your skills with our community.
Applications close Friday 14 April, successful applications will be notified by 28 April.
More details can be found here. Please share with any potters you think might be interested.
Workshops
Plaster Bat Workshop Recap
At the end of February, Vivian Rodriguez ran a plaster bat making workshop to replace some of the existing (and very old) bats in the clubroom.
Under her tutelage, the volunteers measured and mixed and poured, resulting in some very good looking new bats and some very tired arms at the end of the day. A lot of fun was had, and great learnings on the perfect mix ratio for some sturdy and absorbent bats. Thanks Vivian for sharing your knowledge!
Making Faces with Sarah Brock Workshop Recap
Last month, Sarah Brock hosted a 3 part workshop series diving into what it takes to realistically sculpt faces with clay.
Workshop participants learned about proportions and placing the key ‘landmarks’ of the face, and then adding musculature. By doing this, they really gained an understanding of how faces really work - acquiring the skill for use in their future projects!
Upcoming Workshops
25 March & 1 April
We have an upcoming 2 part workshop series with Sarah Brock, Sketching the Figure in Clay. This class covers the basics of building the figure in clay, using a method learnt by Sarah while studying with Phillippe Faraut.
Sarah will demonstrate the process of building the figure step by step. Starting with a very simple template of the whole body, proportions are established, then the main body masses and key landmarks are put in place. Once this is done, the body can be posed.
While exploring different poses we’ll discuss what makes a figure look active or passive, and which poses are possible without crushing ribcages, breaking bones or detaching ligaments.
Suitable for both beginner and experienced sculptors. The class is filling up quickly, you can learn more and register here.
Hello Club Updates
It's been nearly two months since our transition to HelloClub and it's already simplified and speeded up a number of processes. We've been thrilled that so many of you have embraced the change but we still have around 150 members who haven't signed in yet. If this is you but you want to be able to sign up for events, pay your bills, check the calendar, contact wellingtonpotters.members@gmail.com to receive a refreshed link to your account. HelloClub contains all the information members need to know - via our FAQ, Guide to the Use of the Rooms and other policies. With our new website now online, HelloClub will become more important to find this information.
How do I get the HelloClub app?
The HelloClub 'app' isn't found in the App store. Instead, you need to follow the instructions below to add the site to your home screen of your phone or tablet.
First, login to HelloClub (members.wellingtonpotters.org.nz) on your phone or tablet using an internet browser (eg Safari for iPhone/iPad or Google Chrome for Android)
Click on your avatar in the top right corner of the screen.
In the menu that shows up, look for the Add HelloClub to home screen button.
Once you click this, your device will ask you to confirm that you want to add HelloClub to your home screen. Just follow the prompts and you should see the HelloClub icon appear on your device shortly.
If you are on an iPhone and this doesn't work, try the following instead: (screenshots below)
Open Safari and navigate to HelloClub at members.wellingtonpotters.org.nz
Click on the Safari share icon
Scroll down and click on Add to Home Screen. This will add HelloClub icon to your home page.
If this is still not working, have a look at the Hello Club help page.
A Handy Tip
Finally, a handy tip when checking the Calendar - you can filter the list to just see those things you're interested in - WPA courses, social activities and so on. Simply go to the Calendar, click on 'All events' at the top of the page to choose what you want to see.
Anagama Wood Stacking
We use a lot of wood for our anagama firing. We run the kiln for 100 hours non stop putting 5-10 pieces of wood on every 5 mins. All this wood needs to be stacked and dried well in advance of the firing in August. Graham the owner of the property has so kindly sourced and cut and split all the wood. What a legend!
Two weeks ago we did our first day of the stacking. Thanks so much to those of you that showed up to help, we are having another session Friday 17 March and depending how we go maybe another weekend stacking will be needed.
Remember if you help out with any of the pre-anagama jobs you can get an extra two pots submitted to be fired!