December 2021 Newsletter

Kudos to our Show Chairperson, Steve Hunter, and his Show Committee for promoting and producing a very successful 71st Juried Holiday Fine Art and Craft Festival.  From 8:00 AM Friday morning to 7:00 PM Sunday evening, the O’Pake Fieldhouse at Kutztown University was transformed into a showcase of 60 + craftsmen and fine artists, all set up in their little shops for our patrons’ shopping pleasure.  Thank you to You, our craftsmen and fine artists for making this show great; thank you also to our volunteers, The Acoustic Road Show, Virginville Grange, Kutztown University, and our customers.

Our Reading-Berks Chapter is the featured chapter in the December’s edition of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s newsletter and store, which is in Lancaster.  So if you missed someone on your Christmas shopping list, there is still plenty of time to shop.

I just can’t express enough how great it was to be together with all of you again.  This show means a lot to a lot of people;  Kay and I think of it as a “homecoming” where we get to see so many of you at this special time of year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We both thank you all for being the greatest group of people to work with and we are blessed to have you as friends.

“Having somewhere to go is home.  Having someone to love is family.  And having both is a blessing.”  Unknown.

 “Your Berks Craftsmen” on November 17 featured Carolyn Handwerk and Nancy Vardjan on “Decorating for the Holidays”.  These girls outdid themselves with all the decorating tips, suggestions and traditions, that anyone can use for these very special holidays.  It was such a fun evening with these two.  Trust me, there was something for everyone.  And don’t worry if you missed it because you can go to BCTV.org or on our website: https://rbcrafts.org/our-guild/bctv-your-berks-craftsmen/ . AND you can find “Your Berks Craftsmen” on YouTube, also.  Seriously, “Your Berks Craftsmen” gets around.  Soooooo, don’t be shy……get in touch with me so you can be a “Star” in 2022.

Great News!  For those who have ordered badges from me at the Kutztown Holiday show, I have them in and you can pick them up at the January Reading-Berks Guild meeting.  They look great!
I will also be ordering 100 new lanyards for anyone from the Guild that wants one they will be FREE to members!  Thank you Board members for making this decision for us!

*** For those new members who have not received badges yet, connect with me at the January meeting and I will make sure you are in the next batch for ordering.  I already have one person on my list.

I also have an option for those of you who have their badges already but are having issues with their clip breaking on the back.  See me at the meeting to fix your badge.  There is a small charge of 70 cents to replace the alligator clip.

As of the October State Guild report, The Reading-Berks chapter has 141 members.  Reminder: many of our members dues are due by the end of the year.   Also, please make sure that Reading-Berks is selected as your chapter.  If you have previously paid your dues at the end of the year and have not received your invoice from the state yet, please contact me at membership@rbcrafts.org

The next jury session is scheduled for Tues, March 8, 2022 at the Goggleworks. Members who have belonged to our chapter for a minimum of 3 months are eligible to present their work for jurying. The room will be open at 6:30, and jurying will begin at 7:00. Members will be asked to leave before jurying begins, and can return in 1- 1 1/2 hours for the results. Check the board at the entrance of the Goggleworks for the room #. For more information or for an application, go to https://rbcrafts.org/resources or contact Louise at eglassplace@gmail.com.

 

The JCC/M committee is offering a challenge to all Chapters to display their collaboration on “Water”.  Each chapter may submit up to three works of art for the competition.  Each work must have a minimum of 3 members collaborating on each piece.  The work of art size must be no smaller than 3” x 3” x 3” but no larger than 18” x 18” x18”.  No entries will be accepted after April 1, 2022.

Denise Wilz is inviting 2 or 3 members to join her in  creating a submission for the “Chapter Challenge”- theme is “Water”.  She is a potter who works with red earthenware. According to the rules, a maximum of 2 artisans of a given medium can be on the same “team”.

Denise plans to begin January 3, 2022 and the due/delivery date is April 1st. If interested please contact her, by December 29th, at Denise@wilzpottery.com or 215-260-1133 cell.