VCPG August 2025 Newsletter
Program Meeting • August 25th • Brenton Duhan
For Your Calendar:
August 5th …….................Board Meeting @ 4:30pm
August 11th ……...............Gallery Committee meeting @ 7pm
August 25th……................Program Meeting @ 7pm • Gathering @ 6:30
September 2nd ……...........Board Meeting @ 4:30pm
September 13th&14th ……The marvelous Mug Event
September 22nd……..........Program Meeting @ 7pm
October 7th ……................Board Meeting @ 4:30pm
October 13th ……..............Gallery Committee meeting @ 7pm
October 20th ……..............Gallery Artists meeting @ 7:00pm
October 27th……...............Program Meeting @ 7pm
November 4th……..............Board Meeting @ 4:30pm
November 8th&9th……......Bowl of Thanks & Ventura Pottery Market
November 24th……............Program Meeting @ 7pm
December 2nd ……............Board Meeting @ 4:30pm
December 8th …..…...........Gallery Committee meeting @ 7pm
You will find the link to all Zoom meetings/events on the VCPG.ORG Home Page.
Just click on the meeting/event in the Guild Calendar for the Zoom link.
A Message from Your VCPG Board President • August 2025
Greetings VCPG Members –
How can it be mid-August already? Time flies. Before we talk about upcoming events, I thought I’d remind everyone about the significant effort that has gone into defining what types of work are acceptable for sale at Guild venues and revamping the Guild’s Jury process to provide guidance and support for our members.
Our updated Jury process
In 2023, the Board formed a special committee – The All Things Shows and Sales Committee – to look at the Guild’s criteria for “acceptable work” and review the jury process. The Committee worked for a year on this project. Their recommendations were presented to the Board along the way, and online focus groups were held to get feedback from members before final approval by the Board in 2024.
Guidelines were updated, forms were developed, jurors and mentors were recruited, and all of the information was made available at VCPG.org/jury.
We’ve had quite a few new members since then, and some of our long-time members may not be familiar with the updated guidelines and processes. I invite you to visit VCPG.org/jury to review the information in detail, but I’ve provided a summary of the highlights below.
The Committee broadened and clarified the definition of “acceptable work” to recognize that our artists use a broad range of techniques and tools to create their work, including ceramic molds and presses; non-clay materials such as wood, rubber, paint, commercial decals, stamps and texture matts, etc. The important overall criterion is that the work is handmade - functional or nonfunctional - with clay as the primary focus and which demonstrates the artist’s/artists’ unique creativity.
As was always the case, one purpose of the jury process is to maintain the Guild’s reputation for offering diverse, quality ceramics at Guild sales venues. It expects that work of juried artists offered at Guild sales venues meets or exceeds the quality of their juried work.
But another purpose of the jury is to promote our values as a community of dedicated ceramists who strive to encourage and help each other—regardless of experience level— to foster experimentation and develop individual ceramic skills. To this end, the jury process was updated to provide a constructive critique through discussion with Guild-selected experts, including suggestions for improvement and access to resources including mentors. An evaluation rubric was developed to define criteria for assessing work. The process was lengthened to allow for two critiques, approximately 4 months apart, and to provide applicants with the opportunity to work with Guild-member mentors to address areas highlighted for improvement.
This last innovation - providing a period of mentored growth and exploration – was a key innovation in the process. Since the updated jury process was implemented in 2024, feedback from applicants has shown that the targeted critique and opportunity to work with mentors has led not only to increased technical skills, but has also improved artists’ ability to critique their own work, a key for creative growth. And it brings artists together and builds camaraderie and
community.
All VCPG members are eligible to be juried. However, you must have been a member for 6 months, juried, and enrolled at the Plus Tier before you can sell at a Guild sales venue. (One exception to this is the annual show at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts). All you need to know about the process and the application for the upcoming jury process (beginning in February) is at VCPG.org/jury. And we are always looking for experienced members to serve mentors. If you are interested in sharing your skills and expertise, and making a new friend, please see the Mentors4Jurying information and application at VCPG.org/jury.
Questions about the Jury process? Contact Wyn Matthews at jury@vcpg.org.
The 2025 Bowl of Thanks and Ventura Pottery Market is scheduled for November 8th – 9th at the Ventura Harbor Village. Last year we raised over $16,000 to support Ventura Food Share – providing much needed food support to our Ventura neighbors. And sixteen Guild artists sold an additional $16,000 in pottery over the two days. This year we are asking the Harbor for space for more Guild artists to participate in the Pottery Market. Stay tuned for more information for those juried, Plus members who’d like to sell.
It’s not too early to start making pots for the Bowl of Thanks, which will again benefit Food Share. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the Guild accepts quality bowls (about 2 lbs or so) donated by our members, local potters, pottery studios, and local schools and colleges. These bowls are sold for $25, which is then donated to our partner non-profit, Food Share. In addition to a bowl, customers receive a punch card to take to harbor restaurants to receive free tastings. It’s really a lot of fun and we have customers that come every year. Bowls can be dropped off now at the Gallery (please label them as for the Bowl of Thanks) or at Brenda Burgess’ home (thank you Brenda).
Please call ahead to arrange delivery with Brenda – 805-612-1607.
Team service sign up for the Bowls of Thanks/Ventura Pottery Market is now open.
This is the most labor-intensive of all our sales and shows – and therefore will require many of our members to help.
This event was very successful last year and we believe it has real potential for growth – benefiting both our members and our non-profit partners – but it takes a village. Team Service opportunities for this event are already posted. Please take a look and see how you can help. Remember, Regular members can and do sign up for Team Service even though it’s not required and many Plus members sign up for more than one opportunity. If you haven’t completed your 2025 Team Service yet, you may receive a recruitment call from the Events Team. Some folks have signed up already, thank you!
Looking forward, reminders and Updates -
Mark your Calendars for the Annual Members Meeting and Potluck on October 5th from 2pm to 4:30 at Rancho Ventura Clubhouse, 1220 Johnson Drive, Ventura (Our new favorite meeting place. Thank you Terry Wilson).
In addition to presentations by our 2025 Residents, we will be approving changes to the Bylaws and electing officers, so it is important that folks attend in person or via Zoom for voting. This year we do have candidates for both offices up for election – President and Secretary - but if you would like to nominate yourself or another member for these positions, please let our Treasurer, Wyn Matthews know at treasurer@vcpg.org.
Our Annual Holiday Party and Potluck is December 13th from 2pm to 4:30pm, at the Rancho Ventura Clubhouse. This is always a very fun event – more details will follow.
Team Service opportunities for these two events are posted on vcpg.org. These two meetings, and the Bowl of Thanks/Ventura Pottery Market, are some of the last opportunities for Plus Members to fulfill their Team Service commitment for 2025. It is super helpful for our planning process if folks sign up as early as possible. Thanks!
Reminders and Updates -
The next Board Meeting will be Tuesday, September 2nd at 4:30pm via Zoom. All members are welcome to attend. The link to Board meetings can be found on the Guild Calendar on the VCPG.org Home page. You can contact the Secretary on the Contact Us page if you would like to receive the Agenda Packet in advance of the Board of Directors Meeting.
That’s it for now. I hope you enjoy your summer. Let’s stay safe and support one another. And keep making stuff – it helps in so many ways!
Stacy Rowe
Guild President
president@vcpg.org
Program Meeting • August 25th • 6:30 • Brenton Duhan
Brenton Duhan is a ceramic artist and designer with a background in architecture and a deep love for hand-building.
He'll be demonstrating his process for adding texture to slab-built forms—an approach that’s become a signature of his work. He'll walk through how he thinks about surface, rhythm, and form, and share some of the techniques he uses to make functional pieces like butter dishes and lamps feel tactile and alive.
Please go to the calendar on the website for the Zoom link.
Small Treasures • The Beatrice Wood show
May 24 -July 6
Here are our VCPG Winners:
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Clay Challenge • Save the Date
Clay Challenge @ December Holiday Party – Saturday, December 13th , 2-6pm.
At our Program Meeting in June a poll of those attending was taken to choose the theme for the next Clay Challenge: “Cover Up” was selected.
Another chance to create and stretch yourselves. Explore a new technique or take on that project that has been in the back of your mind.
You have until our mid-December Holiday Potluck to make your “Cover Up.”
After making 5-10-?? Bowls for the November Bowl of Thanks event or in-between throwing your bowls, begin working on your “Cover Up” clay project!
What comes to mind when you hear “cover up?” A covered serving dish, a draped sculpture, a hat, a lidded vessel, ????
Team Service
Attention Plus Tier Members, have you completed your Team Service commitment for 2025?
If not, we encourage you to sign-up for one of the spots needing coverage at the Ventura Pottery Market/Bowl of Thanks Event – November 8th & 9th, Ventura Harbor.
Link for sign-ups: https://vcpg.org/content.aspx?page_id=2664&club_id=108313
Plus Tier Members NOT completing their Team Service commitment will be ineligible to renew their Guild membership for 2026 at the Plus Tier unless they receive a special waiver from the Board. Act now please, before we are scrambling to find you an opportunity to meet this commitment.
Gallery Members, we need your help!
September 13 & 14 • 11-6
The Marvelous Mug Sale at the gallery is one of the biggest events we have outside the gallery.
It seems to draw in lots of people because it coincides with the Chalk Festival at the Harbor.
Please sign up to fulfill your gallery commitment for one special event (we need eight volunteers for this event).
The sign up is on the Gallery Member page in the calendar section.
Special Event - Marvelous Mug - 9/13/2025
The VCPG Library
Visit the library! Please email and make an appointment with me to come see the books we
have to offer and grab them off the shelf! They are at your disposal. They must be enjoyed.
Nancy Currey
VCPG Librarian
For Sale
Ohaus Triple Beam Scale
700 Series 800 Series • 2610 gr 5 pound 2 oz
$40 obo
Contact Drew or Claudia Lurie 805-798-2240
Workshops
Watch for a formal announcement in early September!
Natasha Dikarova will offer a two-day workshop for our Guild on Thursday and Friday, May 28th and 29th.
The workshop will focus on sculpting water and ocean themed work.
You can learn more about Natasha and see her work at these sites:
https://www.dikarevart.com
https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-chronicle-ukrainian-artist-natasha-dikareva-holds-her- homeland-in-her-heart-and-her-art/42126450
https://www.instagram.com/natashadikarevart/
Joke of the month
Did you hear about the potter's apprentice that melted a whole kiln load of pots?
He got fired!