2007 Annual Report
2008 - A brief walk through time
The difficulty—and the discipline—of writing an annual report is that it forces us to back away from the pressing concerns of today, next week and the next 6 months, to look at what's over and gone. That look gives us context, and perhaps the knowledge learned from history so that we are not doomed to repeat it (at least the bad or dumb stuff ). Yet it seems particularly difficult when the present and future seem so threatening and uncertain, and so demanding of attention.
There is an irony to our look back at 2008 as well, in that the staff and board of the Clay Center spent a great deal of time last year looking forward, in research, evaluation and discussion, to develop a 10-year strategic plan, and a 3-year operating plan, both of which were approved in October. The economic environment has changed dramatically since we began work on the strategic plan, as well as since we approved both the strategic and operating plans. However, we remain committed to the values and general direction adopted by the Board, and will adapt as needed the means for achieving our goals and objectives. As we adapt our means, though, we will maintain the balance among the Center's three major program areas of exhibitions, education and artists' services. The three-legged stool provides a metaphor for program balance: shorten or remove one leg and the stool no longer functions. 2008 was a year with no huge surprises, but with some events that will have a long impact on the organization. The larger strategic direction of the Center remains steady, but the details are endlessly variable—and therein lie the challenge and interest. We produced exhibitions and catalogues and classes and camps and workshops and outreach programs, housed artists who created wonderful pots and sculpture, and sold ceramic work to support artists and NCC. And raised money. And hired new staff. And provided training and staff development. And began new ventures. And tried to remain hopeful about the future in the context of the worst economic environment in decades.
A few high points of the past year include:
• An extraordinary and unique roster of exhibitions:
—Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration : an exchange of bisqued pieces among six potters who glazed and finished each other's work, exploring the relationship between form and finish.
—Architecture and Ceramics : sculpture and vessels either inspired by or referring to architectural forms, plus a design for a hypothetical new NCC, created by the father and son team of Bill Daley (Regis Master ceramic artist) and his son Tom, an architect.
—World Ceramics : produced in cooperation with Carleton College, included work by women potters and ceramic artists from around the world, who are following in women's traditions of handbuilding.
• The second highest returns from the American Pottery Festival, with a successful collectors' package and strong workshop program. Objects by 93 artists and potters were shown and sold in the Sales Gallery and APF.
• Another stellar year of education and outreach programs. At some point we may reach a limit after which we can't say, “this was the biggest year of our history,” but we haven't reached it yet. In 2008 we conducted 35 extended residencies with schools and community partners; 66 on- and off-site short-term hands-on events; and 70 demos and tours on-site; over 10,000 adults and children participated in classes, workshops, residencies, lectures and clay camps.
NCC was proud and grateful to be named a Wallace Foundation Excellence in the Arts (WEA) Awardee in November. The Foundation approved a four-year grant of $500,000 to support NCC's proposed major expansion of marketing to and programming for segments of the population over the age of 55. Since NCC is the only Wallace awardee addressing the boomer market, the lessons we learn will have applicability across the country.
• Another strong year of support for individual artists. Some $444,400 was paid to artists in grants, teaching fees and commissions, bringing the total paid to artists since 1995 to almost $4,361,000.
Now, for those who want more information…
Exhibitions
One of the legs of the stool is exhibitions. Within the context of a medium-specific art center, Northern Clay Center's goal is to show the array of possibilities for creative work in that medium. Our exhibitions include utilitarian pots, sculptural and installation uses of clay, historical and architectural objects, and industrial ceramics. We show work by well-known and emerging artists from this region as well as the rest of the country and world. Through the decisions about what we show, we try to extend and deepen both our own views and those of our audience of the possibilities for creative expression in clay. NCC exhibitions in 2008 continued the Center's track record of producing a roster of exhibitions unique in the country for scale and scope. Works by 31 artists were included in the exhibitions, plus additional pots by some 65 traditional potters from Africa, southeast Asia, Central and Latin America, and North America. We published four four-color catalogues, including the annual McKnight exhibition catalogue. These exhibitions and accompanying programming received generous support from the Jerome, McKnight, Travelers, and Windgate Charitable Foundations, Continental Clay Company, and George Reid and his late wife Frances.1/11 - 2/24
Gallery M: 2008 Jerome Artists: Donna Flanery and Peter JadoonathJerome Artists in Retrospect: Reflections on 17 years of ceramic artists' project grants
The annual exhibition featured recipients of 2007 project grants, who are both potters. The retrospective displayed objects made by many of the 51 ceramic artists who have received Jerome grants from NCC since 1991, along with reflections and comments by the recipients on the impact of the grant on their work and careers.
Gallery A: Fogelberg and Red Wing Artists Exhibition
This now-annual exhibition included work by 2006 Fogelberg Fellowship recipients Donna Flanery and Kathy Mommsen, and 2006 Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award recipient Mike Helke. The Fogelberg Fellowship Program provides emerging ceramic artists an opportunity to be in residence for six months to one year at Northern Clay Center. The Red Wing Award is made possible by the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation, with the generous support of Ron Linde and Rob Ostrander.
3/7 - 4/27
Gallery M: Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of CollaborationThe exhibition was inspired by the Surrealists' “exquisite corpse” game. Six potters made and then exchanged plates, cups, teapots and signature bisqued pieces with each other, for glazing and finishing, exploring the relationship between form and finish. Participating potters were: guest curators Andrew Martin (California) and Maren Kloppmann (Minnesota); Andy Brayman (Missouri), Margaret Bohls (Minnesota), Sam Chung (Arizona) and Deb Schwartzkopf (Ohio.) Four of the artists also participated in a demo workshop, slide talks and panel discussion about the process. The exhibition catalogue showed images of “normal” work by the participating artists, as well as of the alternatively finished pots. Kelly Connole, assistant professor of art at Carleton College, wrote the essay.
The exhibition subsequently was accepted by Exhibits USA as part of their 2009/10 catalogue of touring shows available for booking by museums and art centers across the country, beginning in 2010. It also has been selected by NCECA as an official exhibition at next year's conference in Philadelphia.
Gallery A Artist Project: Bountiful Visions: Juliane Shibata and Eva Kwong
These two artists, from Minnesota and Ohio, respectively, each created installations of multiple small pieces on the walls, suspended from the ceiling and on the floor, that created complex and intricate environments.
5/9 - 6/29
Galleries M & A: Architecture and Ceramics: Material, Structure, VisionThis exhibition, guest-curated by University of Minnesota Professor Robert Silberman, explored the relationships between architecture and ceramics. Artists included Dan Anderson (Illinois), Lidya Buzio (New York), Nora Naranjo-Morse (New Mexico), and Robert Winokur (Pennsylvania) in Gallery M. Gallery A included an exhibition of pots, drawings and a model from a project done by ceramist Bill Daley, 1998 Regis Master from Pennsylvania, and his son Tom, an architect also from Pennsylvania, for the inaugural exhibition of the new museum-Clayarch-in Gimhae, Korea, devoted to architectural ceramics. The Daleys father and son collaborated to design a new building (hypothetical) for Northern Clay Center modeled on one of Bill Daley's pots. There was a companion show of large-scale photographs of architectural clay at the School of Architecture at the Universtiy of Minnesota.
Winokur and Naranjo-Morse delivered lectures about their work and lives in conjunction with the exhibition. The Daleys provided a conversation about their respective work and about the collaborative process; Bill Daley also gave a lecture on art education to a group of art teachers. NCC published a catalogue of the exhibition with an essay by the guest-curator.
7/11 - 8/24
Galleries M & A: Six McKnight Artists: Joseph Kress and Mike Norman; Lisa Marie Barber, John Lambert, Hide Sadohara, John UtgaardThe annual exhibition of work by McKnight fellowship and residency recipients included sculpture and pots by 2007 McKnight Ceramic Artist Fellowship recipients Joseph Kress (Minneapolis) and Mike Norman (Minneapolis) in Gallery A. Gallery M featured sculpture and installations by four McKnight Resident Artists: 2005 recipient Hide Sadohara (Pennsylvania), and 2006 recipients Lisa Marie Barber (Wisconsin) and John Utgaard (Kentucky), and 2007 recipient John Lambert (Indiana). NCC published a catalogue of the exhibition with essays about the artists by Rob Silberman.
9/19- 11/2
Gallery M: World Ceramics: Transforming Women's TraditionsWorld Ceramics, produced in partnership with Carleton College, brought together objects made by women potters and ceramic artists, almost all of whom are/were of color, from around the world. The guest curator was noted art historian and author from Wales, Moira Vincentelli. The exhibition followed the history of female handbuilding traditions in ceramics, showing contemporary and historical pots and figures by women from different regions and nationalities. It also included work by contemporary women artists who have embraced traditional craft forms or traditions, but who add to or adapt those traditions with a modern sensibility. One of those artists—Helga Gamboa, an Angolan potter who divides her time between Angola and Wales—came to NCC for an extended six-week residency, thanks to a generous grant from the Travelers Foundation. She spent part of her time here making her own work, and part in a residency in a St. Paul public school.
Carleton College mounted a companion exhibition, and collaborated on an extended series of lectures and workshops, and on the four-color catalogue.
Gallery A Artist Project: Kimberlee Joy Roth: New Work
Part of NCC's series of artist-proposed exhibitions, this featured sculpture by an emerging artist and recent M.F.A. graduate of the University of Minnesota.
11/14 - 1/4/09
Gallery M: 'tis a gift…: 2008 Holiday Exhibition and SaleThe annual exhibition and sale of work by 69 invited artists (including three collaborative partnerships) was the largest ever, and one of the most successful in our history.
Gallery A Artist Project: Transformations: From Ceramics to Paper
Marking a departure for NCC, this exhibition combined monoprints of images of plates, and pots in the Japanese tradition which inspired the artist David Cost (Minnesota and New Mexico). Cost's prints are about surface and finish, and offered an aesthetic complement to the pots by Rob Barnard (Utah), and Minnesota potters Richard Bresnahan and Sam Johnson.
Education
The second leg of the Center's three-legged stool is education, for both formal and informal learners. In any given year, NCC adult classes and workshops offer an extraordinary range of topics to address the needs of long-time advanced students and first-timers alike. In 2008 our roster of teaching artists included faculty from the University of Minnesota such as Ursula Hargens and Margaret Bohls, as well as such seasoned teaching artists as Art Gannett and Kevin Caufield. NCC contracted with 94 adjunct instructors in 2008, many of whom taught several classes and workshops, or a combination of adult, children's, and outreach activities. NCC also ran 44 clay camps for 473 kids; another 252 took regular classes during the year. Clay camp partners included the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, ArtiCulture, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Textile Center, Young Audiences, and The Movement Art Center.NCC organized 30 workshops and lectures, which drew 530 participants. Highlights of these sessions included those with Helga Gamboa, visiting artist from the UK and Angola, Moira Vincentelli, lecturer and curator from the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, and Kelly Connole, ceramic artist and professor at Carleton College, all in conjunction with the World Ceramics exhibitions; a slide talk and demo about historic and contemporary maiolica by Christopher Robinson, potter and art historian residing in Italy; a conversation and presentation by Bill and Tom Daley, the father and son duo who participated in NCC's spring architecture exhibition; slide talks by fellow participants in the architecture exhibition Nora Naranjo-Morse and Robert Winokur. There were also the panel discussion among Margaret Bohls, Sam Chung, Maren Kloppmann, and Andrew Martin, participants in the Exquisite Pots exhibition; and finally, a delightful workshop by Willem Gebben, an accomplished woodfire artist whose work is represented by the NCC sales gallery. A total of 36 artists (including APF artists) presented lectures, demonstrations and hands-on workshops to our student population.
We expanded our offerings to art educators through several specialized workshops developed for the Anoka Hennepin School District. Three daylong activities were scheduled for their elementary and secondary school teachers. We continued to offer and fill art educator workshops—one each in winter, spring, and summer and two in the fall. Participants viewed demonstrations and slide talks from a variety of local, national and international ceramic artists and received clock hours towards later re-licensure.
ClayToGo programs (short clay events on-site, ClayMobile events and demonstrations, and extended artist residencies) held steady at 149 compared to 2007, although the number of participants increased by 7% to 5,980. The children came from all over the Twin Cities, and we went to a wide range of locations. Because most of the outreach projects were to Twin Cities schools, about 80% of the participating children were low income and of color. ClayToGo programming has increased steadily since 1994, amidst increased competition for arts in education funding and tighter school pocketbooks. We continued multi-year partnerships with Groveland Park, St. Peter's Catholic, Highland Park, Sheridan Elementary, John Marshall High, and Bethune Elementary Schools, and began partnerships with dozens of new schools and community organizations.
Special populations reached through ClayToGo activities included: children from various ethnic and economic backgrounds in Twin Cities public, parochial and charter schools; preschoolers; primary, middle and secondary students; after-school programs, college preparatory programs, and non-traditional high school programs for young adults with mental, social, and legal issues; children, adults and seniors with a variety of developmental and physical disabilities. We conducted three extended on-site classes with Partnership Resources of Minneapolis and St. Louis Park, which serves physically and cognitively challenged adults and senior citizens, and two 6-week classes with Anoka-Hennepin Community Education.
NCC received financial support for ClayToGo from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Greystone Foundation, COMPAS School Arts Fund, St. Paul Public Schools Arts for All Program, and Travelers Foundation, as well as from an anonymous donor. General support for education programs was provided by the RBC Foundation.
2008 Regis Masters Series
Northern Clay Center was very pleased to honor Ron Meyers as the 2008 Regis Master. The long-time professor at the University of Georgia and frequent visitor to Minnesota launched the 2008 American Pottery Festival with his lecture at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in early September. It was a delightful and moving talk about his life and art and career, from a man who was unduly modest about his accomplishments while he gave aid and comfort to all of us who often wonder how we got to where we are. His candor and stories combined the looseness, wit and usefulness of his marvelous pots.
Wallace Foundation Excellence in the Arts Award
In November, The Wallace Foundation announced recipients of The Wallace Foundation Excellence Award grants in the Twin Cities. NCC was proud to receive a $500,000 award, which will be paid out for new programming over the next four years. Under this new initiative, NCC will develop programs designed to broaden participation by individuals 55 and over (the boomers and beyond). Three categories comprise our initial market segmentations: Individuals who are fully independent and physically and mentally active; those whose activities are limited by physical or mental issues; those confined to 24-hour care.In late 2008, we assembled an advisory committee of individuals in the Twin Cities who were already working in some way with these particular populations. We anticipate that activities under the grant will ramp up gradually this year and into 2010.
Instructors and Visiting Artists
The following individuals taught classes as adjunct instructors at Northern Clay Center, conducted artist residencies or taught short-term events:Mary Aguilar
Chuck Aydlett
Kate Bauman
Megan Bergström
John Bogovich
Margaret Bohls
Kasey Bullerman
Kevin Caufield
Rebecca Chappell
Sam Chung
Naomi Cleary
Blair Clemo
Eileen Cohen
Kelly Connole
Greg Crowe
William Daley
Tom Daley
Leila Denecke
Nick DeVries
Josh DeWeese
Clara Emma
Sara Eno
Gary Erickson
Ann Fendorf
Marty Fielding
Joel Froehle
Helga Gamboa
Art Gannett
Daniel Gardner
Willem Gebben
Katharine Gotham
Martha Grover
Jim Gubernick
Margaret Haden
Ursula Hargens
Sarah Heimann
Mike Helke
Kristine Hites
Karin Holen
Brian Hopkins
Leah Hughes
Jolanda Huisman
Peter Jadoonath
Gail Kendall
Maren Kloppmann
Joseph Kress
Matthew Krousey
John Lambert
Nick Giles Lauer
Cynthia Levine
Larissa Loden
Lee Love
Angie Renee Lund
Peter Lupori
Andrew Martin
Roberta Massuch
Tippy Maurant
Lindsey McClure
Ron Meyers
Molly Miller
Paul Moeller
Nora Naranjo-Morse
Jeffrey Nichols
Jon Nodler
Mike Norman
Susan Obermeyer
Caleb Olson
Patti Olson
Mary Otremba-Olson
Elaine Palmer
Chris Pancoe
Dawn Perault
Elizabeth Perrill
Mark Pharis
Erik Riese
Christopher Robinson
Mary Roettger
Jennifer Rogers
Monica Rudquist
Suzanna Schlesinger
Ginny Sims
Elizabeth Skibba
Hilary Snouffer
Aaron Sober
Chuck Solberg
Anthony Stellaccio
Liz Zlot Summerfield
Munemitsu Taguchi
Moira Vincentelli
Betsy Williams
Holly Williams
Robert Winokur
Alyssa Wood
Lucy Yogerst
Artists' Services
The third leg of our stool is artists' services. Individual artists are involved in every part of Northern Clay Center's programs, as studio artists, teachers, exhibitors and sellers of pots and sculpture. A few participate in all three major program areas—teaching, licensing space, showing work in the sales or exhibition galleries—while most are involved in only one or two areas. In 2008, 206 individual artists licensed studio space; taught classes, conducted artist residencies or workshops, or delivered lectures; sold work in the sales gallery; participated in the American Pottery Festival; had work in exhibitions; received individual grants and were honored as a Regis Master. (Total artist participants equaled 282, representing multiple forms of involvement by about a third of the individuals.) They came from seven different countries and 24 states. In 2008 NCC paid $444,400 to artists in grants, commissions, honoraria and teaching fees. Since 1995, NCC has paid almost $4,361,000 to artists, not including salaries paid to artists on staff.Artists Grants
In 2007, NCC received its first endowment grant, from Ron Linde and Rob Ostrander, to endow the annual Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation award to an emerging young potter who either has a studio at or is otherwise affiliated with Northern Clay Center, or to a promising young historian of ceramic history. The 2008 award was given to Aaron Sober, who received his B.A. from Macalester College.In 2008, NCC received a grant of $5,000 to continue the Fogelberg Studio Fellowships, designed to subsidize two studio spaces at the Center for a year for two emerging clay artists. 2007 marked the fourth year of the Fogelberg Studio Fellowship program. Twelve-month residencies were awarded to Rebecca Chappell (New York) and Roberta Massuch (Minneapolis). They were selected from a pool of 23 applicants from across the country.
2008 was the 18th year of support from the Jerome Foundation for emerging Minnesota ceramic artists. NCC awarded $6,000 project grants to Jan Bilek, Minneapolis; Mike Helke, St. Paul; Jennifer Rogers, Brooklyn Center. The selection panel included Juliane Shibata, a ceramic sculptor and interim instructor at Carleton College; Sam Chung, potter and professor at Arizona State University; and Andrew Martin, potter, professor, and guest curator of NCC's Exquisite Pots exhibition.
For the 12th year, NCC awarded two fellowship grants of $25,000 each to Minnesota ceramic artists, and four residency grants of $5,000 each to visiting artists from outside Minnesota, with funds from the McKnight Foundation. The McKnight Artists Fellowships for Ceramic Artists went to Andrea Leila Denecke of Minneapolis and Marko Fields of St. Paul. Residency grants were awarded to Margaret O'Rorke (England), Ilena Finocchi (Pennsylvania), Elizabeth Smith (Arkansas), and Yoko Sekino-Bové (Pennsylvania). The 2008 selection panel consisted of William Daley (Pennsylvania), Nora Naranjo-Morse (New Mexico), and Robert Winokur (Pennsylvania). All were participants in the Architecture and Ceramics exhibition.
During 2008, four artists who had received McKnight Residency grants in previous years worked in the Clay Center's studios: John Lambert, Lee Love, Greg Crowe, and Alyssa Wood.
Studio and Facilities Access
A total of 52 different artists licensed studio space for periods of three months to a full year in 2008. The Studio Program houses artists in spaces ranging from large private studios to shared common space. Interested and qualified artists are encouraged to submit resumes and work for the juried private spaces, or an application form for the common spaces.We continued to improve NCC's physical plant in 2008 with the replacement of several wheels and a new electric kiln.
Sales Gallery and American Pottery Festival
Sales Gallery
Gross revenues through the Sales Gallery, including pottery sales from the American Pottery Festival, totaled $305,994, a decline from the peak year of 2007, but not as much of a decline as we anticipated as the economy grew worse and worse during the last quarter. Twenty-seven artists were featured in the Artists of the Month program, a mini-exhibition which features three gallery artists in the "east wing" where collectors and casual visitors can see more of their favorite artists' work. In addition, we sold close to $31,200 of work from exhibitions.American Pottery Festival
The American Pottery Festival (APF) is a three-day event including a pottery sale, workshops and lectures, and an opening night party. It includes both younger, less-well-known potters from around the region and the country, as well as a few more senior potters. It offers an opportunity for a primarily regional audience to see and acquire work by top potters from both within and outside the region, especially potters whose work is not generally available here. 2008 was the tenth year of the Pottery Festival at NCC, and one of our most successful.Featured potters in 2008 were:
Chuck Aydlett (MN), Naomi Cleary (PA), Bernadette Curran (PA), Josh DeWeese (MT), Paul Eshelman (IL), Marty Fielding (VT), Kathryn Finnerty (OR), Steve Godfrey (AK), Sarah Heimann (NH), Bryan Hopkins (NY), Gail Kendall (NE), Elizabeth Lurie (MI), Warren MacKenzie (MN), Ron Meyers (GA), Sequoia Miller (WA), Jeffrey Nichols (KY), Brenda Quinn (NY), Alison Reintjes (KY), Mark Shapiro (MA), Chuck Solberg (MN), Munemitsu Taguchi (PA), Betsy Williams (NM), Liz Zlot Summerfield (NC).
The objects made by these artists cover the spectrum of contemporary pottery, from brilliantly colored low-fire majolica to wood- and soda-fired and other high-fire stoneware and porcelain. Forms range from installations of deceptively simple thrown yunomis, to large hand-built coil and slab platters.
Administration and Financial Operations
Financial Operations
Actual financial results in 2008 continued the Clay Center's track record of strong financial performance, even in the face of a worsening economy. Total income (adjusting out the effects of FASB rules 116 and 117, to show current operating (not capital funds) and special project income) was $1,498,575, a small increase of about 2.5% over actual income in 2007. Earned income totaled $843,152, which comprised 58% of total operating income for the year. Major institutional funders and individual donors and members continued their very helpful support of the Center, providing a total of $655,422 in current operating and program grants, memberships and support of special events. (This does not include capital grants or grants approved for future payment.) Individual contributions, through memberships, donations, and special events, provided $61,235 of that amount.Operating expenses totaled $1,496,340, including building depreciation and an allocation of $40,000 to reserves. Net income was $2,234. The major reasons for the increases in income and expenses were increased expenses (and associated restricted grant income) for special exhibitions and for organizational planning and development work. (NOTE: This accounting differs somewhat from the results shown in the NCC's audit, because it factors out the effects of certain FASB rules, to show contributed income in the year and for the purpose for which it was granted, and also includes gross sales and event revenues.)
Planning
The staff and board spent a considerable amount of time in 2008 in various internal organizational assessment, planning and development activities. These were in part driven by the receipt of a Bush Foundation grant restricted to these activities, in part by the need to update our exiting operating plan. While these activities at times felt extraneous to the demands of putting on the programs of the day and managing to current needs, they also felt almost luxurious. The Clay Center, like most smaller arts organizations, rarely if ever has “extra” money to spend on staff travel and development, or on consultants and advisors to help us think through our organizational needs and plans. Staff were able to attend several conferences and outside exhibitions, and participate in several internal development exercises, that already have proved useful and will probably continue to be so.The planning work included a day and a half retreat with board and staff, and several outside invited responders from the region and across the country. The responders included individuals with some familiarity with the Clay Center, but either no current or extensive involvement; each brought knowledge of the larger arts world, economy, or education. The discussions were lively and the responses and observations from the outsiders very helpful. The 10-year strategic plan and 3-year operating plans approved by the Board at a second retreat in October, pulled from the results of the longer retreat as well as the research and evaluation done by the staff over the previous 14 months.
Staff
None of the programs and projects described above could have happened without the smart work and long hours put in by the Center's staff. In 2008 we worked through the successful transition of several staff and structural changes: the education program, especially outreach, continued to thrive; new exhibition, sales gallery, and marketing staff have brought strong aesthetic and marketing and technical skills to the Center. We were especially pleased with the return of Jamie Lang to exhibitions and Joel Froehle to education, to which they have brought not only the skills and knowledge they had before they left, but fresh perspective from a couple of years away from NCC. NCC hosted 27 interns in 2008, who assisted with firing and clay camps and general programming. Two of the interns were high school graduates from Roseville and Wayzata High Schools, who spent the summer learning about kilns, mixing clay and glazes, developing their own ceramic work, and working with a clay mentor (an NCC teaching artist). In addition to free materials and firing, the young artists received an honorarium for the summer. The program is sponsored by Cox Insurance Associates, made possible by their “Soup It Up for Kids” program, an annual silent auction to raise money for youth organizations.Ginny Sims Education Materials Maintenance (replaced Blair Clemo in October)
Christian Novak Information and Development Coordinator (replaced Erin Cole in August)
Jessie Fan Bookkeeper
Joel Froehle Education and Sales Gallery Coordinator (replaced Wendy Fuglestad in July)
Mike Helke Sales Gallery and Exhibitions Assistant
Molly Miller Sales Gallery and Special Events Manager (replaced Susan Merritt in June)
Sarah Millfelt Deputy Director, and Education and Artists Grants Director
Jamie Lang Exhibitions Director and Curator (replaced Jennifer Otis, exhibitions manager, in February)
Irene Saito Assistant Studio Manager
Pete Scherzer Facility and Studio Program Manager
Jennifer Tatsuda Accountant and Businesss Manager
Matt Krousey Building Maintenance (replaced Steve Wicklund in August)
Dominique Bereiter Sales Gallery Assistant
Kasey Bullerman Sales Gallery Assistant
Angie Renee Lund Sales Gallery Assistant
Holly Williams Sales Gallery Assistant (replaced Donna Flanery in July)
Board and Volunteers
The Board, individually and collectively, has continued effectively in their dual roles as the guide for NCC policies and the core of our volunteer support. Sheldon Chester served as chair for the first four months of 2008, bringing his energy and lively interest in all things ceramic to the post. In April Bob Walsh was elected to the Board and to the chairmanship; Peter Kirihara was elected vice-chair, Rick Scott re-elected treasurer, and Pat Jacobsen secretary. Noriko Gamblin, Sally Wheaton Hushcha, and Ellen Watters were also elected to the Board. Al Naylor, Mel Dickstein, Marshall Browne, and Linda Coffey rotated off the board, all having served long and well. Mark Lellman and T Cody Turnquist were also elected to the Board in 2008.2008 Board of Directors
Lynne AlpertDan Avchen
Marshall Brown (to April)
Sheldon Chester
Linda Coffey (to April)
Debra Cohen
Paul Daggett
Mel Dickstein (to April)
Nancy Hanily Dolan
Noriko Gamblin
Sally Wheaton Hushcha
Pat Jacobsen
Peter Kirihara
Rebecca Lawrence
Mark Lellman
Alan Nayler (to April)
Phil Palmquist (to
September)
Carol Stephens (to
September)
T Cody Turnquist
Bob Walsh
Ellen Watters
Volunteers
Over the course of the past year—and in fact for all the years of the Center's existence—for events and tasks both large and small, the Center has benefited from thousands of hours of volunteer participation, which makes those activities possible and for which we are all extremely grateful. We now have a number of trained volunteer docents, who led tour groups of all kinds, and helped produce a roster of events and projects for the Center. In 2008, 131 individuals provided an estimated total of over 3,000 hours of volunteer time to NCC (excluding board members attendance at board meetings.)Amanda Aarnodt
Mary Aguilar
Hannah Albee Strauss
Lynn Albee Strauss
Lynne Alpert
Marion Angelica
Bob Arnoldy
Julia Axelrod
Haley Beekman
Dominique Bereiter
Sue Bergan
Lois Berman
Brita Beth
Cathy Bishop
Craig Bishop
Caroline Black
Noemie Bove'
Karen Brown
Austen Browne
Kasey Bullerman
Tania Bunik
Phil Burke
Jennifer Case-Phelps
Kevin Caufield
Rebecca Chappell
Lili Chester
Sheldon Chester
Linda Coffey
Debra Cohen
Erin Cole
Kelly Connole
Ric Cox
Paul Daggett
Kate Daly
Ken Darling
Mark Davison
Leila Denecke
Mel Dickstein
Sean Dolan
Sara Eno
Rafael Estrella
Ann Fendorf
Kathleen Fitzgerald
Donna Flanery
Linda Foreman
Emily Galusha
Gretchen Gildner
Nancy Hanily Dolan
Mallory Heesch
Julie Hiebert
Mark Hintz
Alfrieda Hintze
Kristine E. Hites
James Holan
Karin Holen
Pei Hsuan Wang
Leah Hughes
Franny Hyde
Patricia Jacobsen
Sheila Keefe
Jennifer Kiel
Lyndel King
Peter Kirihara
Kelly Knauss
Corie Kotansky
David Kotansky
Matt Krousey
Jennica Kruse
Larry Lamb
Rebecca Lawrence
Mark Lellman
Cynthia Levine
Ellen Long
Becky Lowendowski
Angie Lund
Chris Malec
Thomas Mann
Roberta Massuch
Jana Mathews
Monica Mathews
Tippy Maurant
Tyler McNeal
Don McNeil
Mary Miller
Todd Miller
Pauline Mitchell
Nick Moen
Jim Mulfinger
Ann Neuendorf
Mel North
Amanda Novak
Kip O'Krongly
Patti Olson
John O'Neill-Ligon
Margy O'Neill-Ligon
Carl Ostlund
Mary Otremba-Olson
Dawn Perault
Robyn Peterson
Jennifer Phelps
DeeDee Phillips
Vicki Reece
Erik Riese
Emerald Robbins
Maya Rose
Suzanna Schlesinger
Richard Scott
Herb Sewell
Amy Simon
Ginny Sims
Elizabeth Skibba
Kate Smith
Phil Smith
Roxie Speth
Will Swanson
Robert J. Walsh
Emily Waltz
Ellen Watters
Erin McDonald
Bouchard
Sally Wheaton Hushcha
Sarah Williams
Eve Wolf
Lucy V. Yogerst
Gwendolyn Yoppolo
Judy Yourman
Sara Zuk
Conclusion
In the written summary of the Clay Center retreat that included outside responders, the amanuensis Carolyn Marshall wrote the following: “…there are other essential attributes the Center will not want to lose or compromise, it was said. One, in particular, is the intimacy and one-on-one relationships it now fosters in getting people involved with ceramics: the wife giving her husband a beginning class for his birthday, a friend bringing a friend to an exhibition. That congeniality inspires loyalty. … The depth of personal connection is a first step in the transformative experience that art offers.“Related to that congeniality is the inclusivity the Clay Center will want to maintain, as well—building bridges, giving everyone who wishes it a chance for an authentic experience. … And finally, artists and the lifelines they need should be kept uppermost in mind, as should the notion of simply having fun....As one of those who gathered pointed out; ‘when it is no longer fun, it is time to stop or change.’ ‘I've been to many board retreats,’ Ben Cameron (one of the respondents) mused, ‘and this one was different. You are coming together at a moment of strength, not crisis. That is unusual for an organization, and so are the laughter, openness, and relaxation I see!’” Laughter, openness and relaxation sometimes feel like remote goals, in the face of operating uncertainties, and scarce resources. At the same time, though, there is a sense that we are all in it together (whatever it might be) and that above all else, the ultimate value of the arts is as a reminder of possibilities.
On behalf of all the artists, potters, students, teachers, viewers, collectors, and random visitors, I extend our thanks to all the staff, board, volunteers, members and donors who make the Clay Center's programs possible. We share a love of the medium and its uses, and a commitment to the Center's mission to advance the ceramic arts.
Emily Galusha
Director
Links to digital copies of NCC's annual reporting documents:
Annual Report
2008 990 tax document
2008 990-T