MPCG 10

Here we go....
The Morrisburg Polymer Clay Gathering is getting on track once again!
And we always start with this announcement. If you are interested in giving a class please read on....

Hello there,
This is the official call for class proposals for Morrisburg 2010. If you have something interesting you want to teach/share with everyone, now is the time to do it. This is also a great venue to try your hand at teaching : maybe you are a natural and don't know it ... yet! If you already taught at one of the guilds, make sure you will not be teaching the same class for obvious reasons.
Morrisburg dates are Thursday April 29th to Sunday May 2nd.
As an added incentive, those who give a class get free room and board.
So get your wheels going and put something together for us.
At this point it doesn’t have to be precise: we just want to have a good idea on what you are planning to give (ex: we don’t need the supply list right now).
We would like to have your class proposals in by January 15, no later.
Think outside the box: we are open to new ideas.....
Start planning now; we are waiting!
Please send your plans to both of us. One of us could lose things!!! Yes it has happened before!
Margi and Violette

If you want to be on the mailing list please let us both know.



The first Morrisburg gathering in 2003. We were soooo young!!! sigh....
click on the picture to make it bigger.

Links to book making

Just remembered that I told you I would send you to the video that shows how to assemble a book via Coptic stitching. It is a good reminder in case you forget.There might be a few minor differences with the way I showed you, but all in all, it comes out the same. So, you can go here; it is the best one I found.
There is also some cool stuff:here if you want to kick it up a notch!
And also here if you want a bit of history.
PS: Click on the underlined "here"s and it will get you to the links.
Have fun....Vio

Les photos de Violette

People impressions. Click on pictures and you can see a larger version.
The group in the wind.
Cane swap.
Georgia teaching
Laurie and Elaine
Janice drinking....water
Pam thinking about her next trip to Australia
Louise concentrating
Sandy and Christine
Diane and Pat our enthusiastic newbies
Patti another smiling newbie
Moyra happy because she has a new puppie
Cathy working hard
Dorothy
Cynthia
Melly on her computer
Janice and Vio showing off their newly acquired bling from the Table de Junque
Thank you for coming you cool gals you, once again, you made this a memorable weekend.

Barbara Bowman's pictures

Barbara's book


Barbara, Jacey and Janice's books


Dorothy, Jacey, Violette and Margi





Gaby Orbach


Gaby's brooch


Gaby's frame


Gaby's necklace


Gaby's necklace


Gaby's necklace


Gaby's necklace


Group photo


Jacey


Jacey's books and Barbara's book


Jacey's book back


Jacey's book front


Jacey's miniature fast food


Some of our books

We have just experienced our seventh annual Polymer Clay Gathering in Morrisburg Ontario. We had 34 clayers learning, teaching, sharing, and experimenting with Polymer Clay. Here are some pictures and I will add more as they come in so keep checking back! Thanks for another great year everyone!

About the Town

About The Town

*Population...2,500 - Been that way for 50 years

*History...Morrisburg was one of the villages that was moved when the ST. Lawrence River was widened to allow shipping channels. The village was moved in 1954. Most of the older homes were moved on large trailers and relocated on new basements. But, the old village itself was destroyed(although some buildings/remnants can be seen while scuba diving). This is why the towns along the river appear to be old, but have no downtowns. They are often referred to as "The Lost Villages" 

*Upper Canada Village is located here and attracts many tourists during the summer months. 

*Upper Canada Playhouse is one of the best local theatres around.

*Morrisburg gave birth to the McIntosh Apple(for more history, see the displays in the hallway)

*Banks...There is a Scotia Bank and a BMO in the mall. Hours: 10-4, not open Saturday. There are bank machines there as well as here at the Inn. 

*Please note that the $ Store has moved to the front of the mall(near the Grocery Store).

*Shopping... The Giant Tiger and Canadian Tire are located on the same road we are on, about a kilometer west. Home Hardware is just west of us on the same side of the road. 

The rest is located in the mall between the Grocery Store at one end and the Beer store at the other. Hours are very small town: ie. only the CT, GT and supermarket will be open Thursday night. Friday night, MOST stay open till 8:00 or 9:00. On Sunday, only the supermarket is open BEFORE 11. 

*Eating Out: There is a Subway, MacDonalds and a Tim Hortons in town. Nicks Sports Bar in the mall is ok for wings and pizza and the New Centennial across the mall from that has a good, but 'diner-style' menu.  For Pizza, we order from Pizza Castle which is located near the clock tower.  The golf course will be open this year. There you can have lunch and meet the rest of my family.

*My husband and his brothers run the local paper, it's called "The Morrisburg Leader". So no trashing the local news! Besides, you might find yourself on the front page next week, so 

SMILE!!!

*Weather Forecast; Thurs. High 17 mostly sunny. Friday, high 21 windy with possible shower. Sat. high 14, some sun possible shower. Sun. high 13, clouds and sun. 

* Advice from a Veteran to a Newbie. (thanks C)

The temperature in the meeting/work room can vary greatly.  Wearing a very light shirt and then another shirt or sweater that can be taken on and off works well. (This varies because of ovens running and where you are situated to an outside door and of course weather/if the doors are open etc.) We try to keep everyone comfortable of course and you MUST tell us if you are not. 

There are refrigerators in the rooms now, so we can bring drinks and snacks.  Wine is always good.  :-)  Breakfast and dinner are included, but bringing something to have for lunch can save going out.  Although, getting some fresh air is good too.

There is wireless internet access in the rooms so we can blog.

EARPLUGS are very important in case your roommate snores.

Hand cream is useful as I found my hands got very dry.

An Ottlite (and extension cord) can be useful.

Toss in a bathing suit in case you wish you partake of the whirlpool and sauna.  There is a small fitness room.

(I can't remember if motors are allowed, but I figured they are probably allowed at night, for the crazies who stay up all night.) We restrict the motors during the day as the noise is disturbing to some people and worse in a large group. I had a motor once that would make your skin crawl inside out. 

This from Sandy

Hi All,

I was at Michael's yesterday and they had their Grummer flakes on clearance for $2.99. I bought a couple of packages and if anyone would like me to pick one up for them I will, just drop me an e-mail. One back will give you 10 years supply of flakes so they're great to share.

Also, Shades of Clay is now carrying several sizes of Memory Glass and her prices are very competitive at $6.99 for 24 pieces (take another 10% off for class) and $3.00 cheaper than what Michaels has. I am providing two glass pieces for everyone in their kits but the one inch square slides might be very useful for other projects as you won't have to cut your other pieces to size. There will be some spare slides as well.

You can see Memory Glass slides at http://www.shadesofclay.com/products/Embellishments/Other%20Embellishments/Memory%20Frames.htm

Again, they're not necessary for class, but I suspect that for those that like mosaicky types of things you might find ideas to use the glass with and with not having to pay for shipping for Morrisburg it might be worth the money.

As far as clay - the clay becomes a backdrop to whatever you're doing. You'll definitely want translucent for one of the techniques but other than that it's whatever colours you like to work with and the techniques don't require a whole lot. I think many of us are bringing "everything but the kitchen sink" for clay so it's likely that someone will have a colour that you want and might be willing to share.

Less than two weeks to go!

Sandy

See You Soon

Hi everyone!

We are almost there, two weeks to go: our yearly clay fest is about to begin.

We got a suggestion to hold a bead swap; these have been successful in the last years and I (vio) forgot to add it to the activities (thank you Barbara Two Shoes).

If you are missing any information please refer to the Morrisburg blog : http://mpcg09.blogspot.com
Or if you have any questions just ask us:
Margi: margilaurin@sympatico.ca
Vio: fxvio@sympatico.ca

Last checklist

Basic clayers kit
Materials for each class
Driving instructions and phone numbers
Books and magazines (optional)
Table de Junque a great opportunity to recycle (optional)
Shop, Hawk and Gawk, we want to see what you make (optional)
Canes and beads for swaps (optional)
Smile (not optional)

How to get to Morrisburg

From the 401 take exit 750 at Morrisburg. Follow signs to town about 1km
from highway overpass. (You will be turning RIGHT into town if you are
coming from Toronto, and LEFT into town coming from Montreal). Turn left at
the lights and drive another 1 km approx. On the left side of the road, you
will see the MacIntosh Inn. It is well marked and you will already have seen
the signs directing you to it. Drive safely!

The Hotel number is: 613-543-3788
Vio and I will be around and the contact person to speak to at the Inn is
Patsy.

When You Arrive

Someone at the front desk will direct you to the conference room and give you your keys and room number. You may want to drop your “stuff” off so you don’t have to lug it upstairs or downstairs.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT WE ALL WANT TO RELAX AND HAVE FUN!!

You will receive a folder upon arrival with class descriptions and schedule as well as some useful information about the town.

This is YOUR event. You have paid for all of the classes, it is your choice whether to attend them or not. If you feel you have too much on your plate, or that a class may not be beneficial to you, you may opt out and go for a long lunch or a nap or a Jacuzzi. (You need to book Jacuzzi times with the front desk.)

Or you may want to continue working on something that has piqued your interest. And even though you may choose to work on something else, you will benefit just from listening. The instructors will be willing to answer questions and help you any time you need it, not only during their class time.

This is our seventh MPCG gathering and we feel every one has been very successful. If you have any questions, concerns or comments, come directly to Margi or Vio. We will do our very best to help you.

Hello everyone,

The Morrisburg Polymer Clay Gathering (I think is the 7th one) is going to happen in exactly three weeks! Hopefully when spring has sprung. This message is a reminder of other things to bring along with you to make everybody’s life more pleasant.

LIBRARY: once again we ask for your cooperation for the reading table; we all like to read stuff and if you have any magazines or books of interest, please bring them along. They don’t necessarily need to be clay stuff: anything to inspire will do the trick. Please mark the books/magazines you bring so that they can be returned to you.

TABLE DE JUNQUE: how about making a special effort for the table. In this time of recycling, take a good look at all your clay related tools/supplies. There is a lot of stuff that you don’t use and won’t use. Why don’t you give them to someone who will? We can’t think of a better way of sharing. We all have stuff lying there begging to be used…by someone else!! Think about it. There are always little treasures to be found on that table.

SHOP HAWK AND GAWK: if you have anything to show and tell we would be happy to see it (does not have to be for sale). Just bring anything you are proud of or maybe things you want input on. And if you have stuff to sell, we will set up a table like in the years past.
Mark each item with your name and price.
You are responsible for the sale (i.e. receipt, taking cash,
packaging etc).
We will have an area assigned, but if you have special display requirements, please bring them.

CANES: Do you have canes that are never-ending? Why don’t you bring them along to exchange? that way, you will have a greater variety of canes to work with. The more canes, the merrier. I might even make one this year for this purpose. This has worked well in the last two years and we want to do it again this year.

BEADS: We had this great suggestion of a bead swap. If you want to add to your bead collection bring your beads to exchange. It should be fun: we did this before and it was a success.

This year, we want you to plan for a Sunday morning class because the schedule goes till 12:00. You will only need a small amount of clay plus a few tools; this will be a fun class.
If you have any ideas you want to share, please go right ahead. The information we gave you is all on the Morrisburg blog. (see below)
Once again, we are anticipating a super weekend of learning, laughter and lots of claying. Don’t forget to bring your smile and energy because we plan to have some fun.

You will be receiving driving directions and phone numbers etc. closer to the date.

Margi and Vio
http://mpcg09.blogspot.com


PS:
I (vio) a little bit of info to add to my bookmaking class. In my class description I said I use a 1/16-drill bit. I made a book recently with my daughter and the 1/8 drill bit is also fine.
Book measurement: it does not really matter. If you made your covers as specified in my instructions ( 3 ¼ x 4 ¼ , fine, don’t make the correction. If you did not make your covers yet, you can also use the following dimensions: 3 ½ x 5 ½ . I will have examples of both dimensions: the latter measurements are the Moleskines ones. I will add this information to my post on the Morrisburg blog

Supplies for Margi's demo

Nothing specific, and no need to purchase anything, but bring any art supplies you have handy, ie:

water colours /brushes

coloured pencils

crayons

pastels

lead pencils

markers

sketch or watercolour paper

etc. etc. 

Again, no need to purchase anything special. 

Schedule

Schedule for MPCG 09

Thurs. April 30

Aftrnoon...Arrival and Set-up (Vio and I are there all day so it does not matter when you arrive)

6:00 to 7:30 Dinner and Welcome

Thurs. Evening....TBA (don't worry, it will be fun)

Fri. May 1

Fri. 7:30 - 8:30  Breakfast

Fri. 8:30 - Gaby Orbach...."Brocade" Frame

Fri. 12:00- Lunch

Fri. 1:30- Sandy Willis.."Fun With Flakes"

Fri. 4:30 - "Happy Hour"

Fri. 6:00 - Dinner

Fri. 7:30 - Vio Laporte TBA

Sat. May 2

Sat. 7:30 - Breakfast

Sat. 8:30 - Georgia Ferrell..."Fanciful Fabric and Other Stuff"

Sat. 12:00 - Lunch

Sat. 1:30 - Wendy Orlowski..."Resolution Steampunk"

Sat. 6:00 - Dinner

Sat. 4:30 - "Happy Hour"

Sat. 7:30 - Margi TBA

Sun. May 3

Sun. 7:30 - Breakfast

Sun. 8:30 - Jacey Culham  "Funky Fast Food in Miniature"

Sun. 12:00 - "The End"

Orders for MPCG

First for the instructors....our number of attendees this year is 34. 

Now, for supplies, I will, as I did last year, place an order with KJP Crafts. You can send your order, with product numbers and quantities , to me and I will have them at the Mac for you. I will be placing the order on Mon. April 20th. HOWEVER, I do not want the job of splitting cases of clay this year, so if you are interested in something that only comes in pre-packs, please arrange this among yourselves. 

Also, Marg Scott, of Shades of Clay, has generously offered 10% off to all MPCG attendees and your order will be brought to Morrisburg by one of the SOPCG guild members saving you shipping so this is a great deal!!  Thanks Marg!!

For a Shades of Clay order:

http://www.shadesofclay.com/

For a KJP Craft order:

http://www.kjpcrafts.com/

but send the order to Margi Laurin at margilaurin@sympatico.ca

Please put "Order for MPCG" in your subject line. 

See Y'all soon!!

The basic clayer's kit

Clay of your choice,
pasta machine (no motor),
work surface,
tissue blade,
knife or scraper,
roller,
wet/dry sand paper,
note taking and drawing materials,
index cards,
paper towels,
texturing materials,
modeling tools such as knitting needles or what you like to use,
piercing tools,
x-acto knife,
mould release,
glue,
smile.

MPCG-09 Class description: Violette Laporte

Bookmaking 101
Recently, I learned how to make books with Coptic stitching. And because it is a lot of fun and making a book is rewarding, I thought I would share this with you. This is not a clay project; it involves paper and sewing. It is therefore a very optional class (I mean, more optional than others because they are all optional he he). The clay involved will be making your clay covers in advance. I was quite happy/proud to hold that first book and I hope I can help you to acquire that same feeling.

Materials list
Clay covers (2), finished, no holes drilled, 1 to 4 thickness, and measuring 3 ¼ by 4 ¼. I will also have instructions for a cover measuring 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 as well: it is the size of Moleskines which are quite practical. It does not really matter if your measurements are not exact. We are not looking for perfection here.

Thread. I use the waxed linen found at Wall Mart; it comes in black or beige. Can be found where the beading stuff is (you might even have some leftover from some past projects – go and look). You can also wax your own thread. The important thing is to use a thread that does not stretch at all; it also has to be strong.
Paper. For your first book I would not go all out. So get a sketchpad that you can draw or write on and is not expensive. I would suggest you share the sketchpad because you won’t need all that much paper. I have a pad with sheets that measure 9x12 and I use 6 or seven sheets to make a book. You can also use any paper that you have available.
A cutting surface, x acto knife and ruler (I like the metal ones if you decide to tear your paper for a more handmade look), pencil.
An awl for poking holes in your signatures (those are your paper sheets folded and assembled).
Needle for sewing: make sure the thread can go through the needle hole.
Bone folder if you have one; if not you can use anything, even your nails.
A drill to make the holes in your covers. The holes must be fairly small because if they are too large, your book will be wobbly. I use a 1/16 size drill bit; the 1/8 size drill bit also works. It is a good idea to make a handle for your bit. Below: a visual idea of the materials list.



MY first book:

To see others, go and take a look at my blog .

MPCG-09 Class description: Georgia Ferrell

Fanciful Fabric and other stuff

This class will be to explore how to make and what can be done with various thickness of clay ‘fabric’.

Some uses are:
Dressing dolls
Surface treatment for and wrapping beads
Covering vessels
Decorating flat surfaces
Book pages

This fabric can be cut, can be painted, can be written on, stamped, screen printed--- among other things, which we can explore.
It can be made to a specific shape or pattern.

Check out the photos for some examples.
I will offer some specific projects for you to try, or come with some ideas of your own!

Materials list

Bring some or all of the stuff along with items 1 and 2.
1. Basic kit of clay and tools
2. Liquid clay of your choice… try to have several, including some coloured, although you can
colour your own.
I like fimo gel, but it is hard to get. I also use kato medium and tls.

3. Sparkles, glitter, flakes, pearl ex and other powders
4. Inks, acrylic paints
5. Metal leaf, jones tones foils, etc.
6. Yarns, thin fabrics like silk, tissue paper
7. Old baked clay, thin wire, ribbons, small mementos like ticket stubs—not too thick tho.

Other stuff
A heat gun – will have to check this one out for power supply, but I am sure we can figure
out how to have at least one available.
A grater of some sort
Scissors
Well, whatever else you want…………………….
Here are some pictures to whet your appetite.




and finally an apron for Morrisburg!