Clay ConneCTion 2012 Polymer Clay Retreat

The Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild’s biennial retreat, Clay ConneCTion 2012 has come and gone. It was a wonderful 4 days of polymer clay madness, fun, 71 friends new and old, sharing, creating and so much more.

Highlights (photos mostly courtesy of Diane Villano & Wendy Oestreicher as I hardly took any pictures):

Twinkle the Clown and Diane Villano on Registration Day

Wear Your Work Welcome Party Sharon and I giving the “welcome speech”. I must have spoken too long. It looks like I am putting Sharon to sleep.

Some people wore more of their work than others! In addition to a lovely necklace and pair of earrings, Diane B is wearing a pair of bracelets made from inchies she collected at the last Klay Karma and CT retreats.

Mokume Gane Madness – Friday’s demos featured a variety of different approachs to mokume gane. Here’s a sample of items created by my friend Wendy Oestreicher based on some of the demos:

The real star of this year’s retreat was the demo set up. We had a camera and projection set up that made everything clear even from the back row. This was Terry Czchowski demonstrating the Polymer Clay Express Shape Frames.

The weekend was jam packed with demos and everything went so smoothly. Not only did we have the fantastic projection system, but the committee in charge of demos had two demonstration tables placed side by side with the camera between. While one person was finishing up a demo, the next person could set up, and the team just rotated the camera over to the other table. Quick and seamless.

Friday we also had a Used Craft Book Sale to benefit the Polymer Collection Project at the Racine Art Museum. In order to avoid a shopping frenzy we let people shop 4 at a time. The remaining books were donated to the very grateful East Haven Library.

Saturday we had a ticket auction loaded with handmade polymer clay treasures, along with some cool donations from Polymer Clay Express. The piece I most coveted was this framed collection of beads made by 22 SCPCG members. Sadly, I did not win it.

Rob Yost, who very generously brought a small PCE store (during their move AND on his birthday), was treated to an impromptu “Yost Roast”. (Thank you Lynne Ann, Tommie,Sherman, Martha, and Sarah)

We played Left Center Right Poker with more than 40 people! It took a really long time for that tray of chips to make its way around the table, but there were margaritas and snacks. It was the last night of the retreat and we had fun!

Diane and Pat, otherwise known as “the Canadian Contingent” were very entertaining.

Here’s a really bad photo of my best batch of chips (it’s so hard to take a decent photo at an event like this):

Sunday we held our traditional Bottles of Hope Challenge. Ann Orlomoski was the grand prize winner with a tiny pig bottle filled with teensy tiny piglets. (sorry I don’t have a photo… yet)