January 2023 Newsletter

President’s Message:

“And now let us welcome the New Year, Full of things that have never been.”   Rainer Maria Rilke

Welcome 2023!  I have always felt that January was an exciting month, out with the old and in with the new.  Craftsmen and artists dream of their next project.  What inspires us to pick up that brush, the chisel, the hammer, the camera, the needle, the thread, etc. is something we can’t always explain but it is there and we must respond to that inspiration not because of a deadline but because of that “yearning” to create.  And that “yearning” to create makes us happy.  So I wish all our craftsmen and artists much happiness in 2023.  Hope to see you at our general meetings here at the GoggleWorks.  Our next meeting is Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at 7:00 PM.  This is our working meeting; everyone who attends gets to help me with a little chore for our Guild.  But it is not all work and no play.  Bring some of your Christmas cookies to share and we will have a really good time.

“Art comes to you proposing frankly to give nothing but the highest quality to your moments as they pass. ” Walter Pater (1873).

Your President,  Barry L. Bennecoff

Shows:

Our Spring Show is May 6. it’s a great way to start your selling season.  This is an outdoor show with easy set-up and lots of space.

Programs:

January will be a working meeting.  If you wish bring some holiday goodies to share while we work!

Programs Chair,  Matt Vardjan

Media:

Ready for some warmer weather??  No, we are not going on a tropical vacation to the Islands but you will want to tune into BCTV’s “Your Berks Craftsmen” on Wednesday, January 17, 2023, at 7:00 PM.  You are going to visit the 2022 Kutztown Folk Festival.  We taped this during the Festival in 2022 and you will meet Heather Zimmerman, director of the Kutztown Folk Festival as we interviewed her and she shared her excitement of the “live” festival.  We thought this will be a great time for you to sit back for the next hour and see all the fun and great things to do at the Kutztown Folk Festival. So don’t miss it. You can watch on Comcast channel 15 or go to BCTV.org and it  on our website, rbcrafts.org.  You can also watch “Your Berks Craftsmen” on “YouTube”.

This year’s dates for the Festival are July 1 through July 9, 2023; tickets are available for purchase on line for 2023.

Standards:

The next jury session will be held on Tuesday, March 7 at the Goggleworks, before our general meeting. You must have been a member of the chapter for a minimum of 3 months. The room will be open at 5:30 and jurying will begin at 6:00. Check the board when you arrive for the room number. The application and more information are on our website at https://rbcrafts.org/our-guild/standards/ , which will be updated shortly to reflect this change. For any questions, contact Louise Mehaffey, eglassplace@gmail.com

Standards Chair,  Louise Mehaffey

Mini-Grants:

A New Year brings us more opportunities to fine-tune our craft or investigate a new one.

Four Mini-Grants, each in the amount of $50, will be awarded in April.  See application for details.

Education Chair,  Carol Haile

Membership:

From the State web site, we are showing a total of 149 members for our Guild chapter.  Nine others are pending cancellation (from old memberships of July through November).  Another six people need to renew their membership in the month of December 2022 (as per the November State spreadsheet).
You can see the status of your membership on the State Web site here: https://pacrafts.org/members/.

If you are new to the Guild and have not contacted me regarding obtaining a new badge, please let me know so that I can get you on the new list and place an order.  I have four folks pending and need another one or two to complete an order.

I will be at the January meeting at the Goggleworks if there are questions.

Thanks Much,

Membership Chair,  Gary Rosborough

Events:

General Meetings: (1st Tuesday of Month):

January 2023:  January 3, 2023, 7 PM at the Google Works,  check the board for location.

February 2023:  February 7, 2023, 7 PM at the Google Works,  check the board for location.

March 2023:  February 7, 2023, 7 PM at the Google Works,  check the board for location.

Please note if there is a cancellation due to weather, a notice will be placed on the website.

Shows:

Spring Show:  Saturday, May 6, 2023  for details and application, please go to the Spring Show Page on the website.

Happy New Year!   May 2023 bring you good luck, good health, great shows and lots of good memories. 

Newsletter Editor:
Sandra Jones