it's been two weeks since I last posted an entry, and a little bit has happened since then.The Art Market opportunity for the CCAA did not happen. Probably for various reasons such as not enough notice. I only got a couple of replies, and that would not have been enough people.Second, the Centennial Gallery will be moving its location in August. Our current location is in a section of the Palliser Square that will be undergoing radical renovations. The space they are in now is going to become escalators. So...we will be moving down the hall to a smaller space, but one that hopefully will allow for more off the street foot traffic. The only really big issue with the space right now is that in order to maintain our current level of rent (ie: really really cheap), the management will not be responsible for much in the way of renovations or getting the space ready for us to move in. The big problem that we are facing is that the last tenant was a jewelry store / diamond cutting school, and they did a midnight run and took all the keys to the space. When we finally got in there to have a looks, it was discovered that there were 15 concrete pillars that the diamond cutting machines were mounted on, and then behind that, there are the same number of concrete posts for what purpose I have no idea. So, we have to find a way to remove these GD pillars and posts, without it costing too much. Personally, I think that is our main concern, and the other renos are cosmetic at the most, ie: washing walls, carpet cleaning, painting, lighting etc. This work can be done by members, or the on site electrician (donated to us by the management). The pillars need to be contracted out to a cutting and coring company. The funny thing is that this has to be done in July, as the space is directly over Vertigo theatre, and they are currently closed, but will begin rehearsals during the day in August, and we can't make any noise.
Thirdly, I will be in the last group show for Centennial (no group shows after we move, due to lack of space), only individual shows. The show will be running from July 18-Aug 15, and the Official Opening is July 20th noon to 3pm.
Lastly, I may, if Dave chooses to pick me, be his studio tech/cleaner. In exchange, I would get free classes, a private(ish) studio space, a reduction in firing fees, and 24/7 access.

Starting to get webbed feet...

If it continues to rain much more, I will start to get webbed feet, and my condo will become a house boat...
At this rate, we wont have fire bans this summer, and the studio can raku with reckless abandon...
Just when you think the rain has stopped, the clouds open up and another downpour is underway.
It was hailing last night on my way home from work, and I heard that it was snowing in some part of the foothills this morning (it's June for crying out loud!) I guess we should never be amazed at the constantly ever changing variety of weather we get here in Calgary, but we always are.

On another note...
I was working at Ceramics Canada on Saturday, and I met two very eager potters. A husband and wife who just recently moved here from Portland Oregon were in the shop pricing out materials, and wheels etc... They seemed to be very eager to get going with their studio, and getting involved with the clay community here (such as it is). I told them about the CCAA, and they were all excited about the new group. I hope that in time they will become members, once we get ourselves sorted out and are able to offer something other than an e-mail list :)

Possible Opportunity for the CCAA

The City of Calgary, in conjunction with the EPCORE Centre for the Performing Arts, and the Olympic Plaza Cultural District are starting up a new initiative called Sunday Art Market in the Plaza. They are inviting local artists to submit applications to be a part of this event. Every Sunday from Jun 22^nd to August 31^st, there will be an outdoor (indoor if weather doesn’t cooperate) art market. This first year, it is being offered free of charge to artists on a first come first serve basis. I am in the process of finding out if they will accept a “group” application, whereby the CCAA would be the booth, but each Sunday would promote a different set of artists. There is the potential to have 22 artists participate under the CCAA umbrella. The Art Market wants the vendors to be there for as many of the 11 Sundays as possible, so this would let many of us participate, but not feel over burdened with having to set up and tear down displays for 11 weeks.

We don’t have much time to organize this, as the cut off for application is June 10, and then after that, only 2 weeks until the opening day.