Meeting called to order at 9:30 a.m.
New and returning members introduced themselves.
Starting May, Guild meetings will take place at the Mid-County Senior Center (MCSC) in their Annex room. The MCSC address is 829 Bay Ave., Capitola (behind Woodworm party store). The Annex entrance is on the right side toward the back of the MCSC building. There is abundant parking, and food and beverages are allowed in the Annex.
The June meeting will take place at the MCSC Annex instead of the usual Anna Jean Cummings (Blue Ball) park.
A brief Treasurer’s report was provided. Treasurer reports are available at meetings in the Guild’s Information Manual that is maintained by the Board Secretary.
CNCH 2025 will take place at Asilomar and Area 1 of CNCH, of which we are a member, will host the event. SCTAG is asked to populate a 10’ x 30’ exhibit gallery. What shall we exhibit? We need to determine that and present our plan to CNCH in September.
There will be no formal fashion show event at CNCH 2025. Instead, people will casually walk through the 13 classrooms wearing their creation(s) for other attendees to see.
2025 is SCTAG’s 70th anniversary. There will be a celebration open to the community at our January meeting. We are looking for any past members and any historical information about the Guild. Please contact Marilou if you have any such information or any ideas about the celebration plans.
Please see the Guild Calendar for upcoming programs information. May’s meeting will be on botanical printing and dyeing, and a workshop is offered. June will be our annual picnic and sale.
We are going to give a try to having bi-annual sales of member creations, which will be a great opportunity to promote the Guild to the greater community. Bring items you have made that you want to sell! Bring friends and guests to any of our meetings as well as the bi-annual sale! And, of course, always bring your newly completed work to show and tell.
The Board Nominations Committee provided names of people who we will vote on at the June meeting for the coming year’s Board and other Guild roles. We still need a Board President. Please contact Marilou if you are interested or want to nominate someone.
The Guild Library has been moved into the MCSC Annex, allowing members hands-on access to the collection at meetings for the first time in Guild history. A component of the library, called the Ann Blinks Collection, needs the special attention of a committee to review and update collection items. Marsha provided a description of the collection and what needs to be done with it, and Kris provided a brief history of Ann Blinks and description of why the collection is important. This collection cannot be stored with the regular library because it is bigger than the bookshelves.
Interest Group Updates:
Be Weave It or Not: We’re having fun! The big group meets first Tuesdays, rotating through members’ homes. Other Tuesdays of the month meet at Joan’s studio. In May we’ll meet at Carol C.’s.
Twisted Sisters/Eccentrics Tapestry: The May gathering will probably take place at Anna Jean Cummings park.
Frequent Flyers Spinning: The June 3rd gathering will be all about flax. Bring your distaff!
Basketeers: Pine need baskets are happening right now.
Dyeversities: Next week’s gathering will take place at Seacliff Beach promenade and will focus on ribbons.
Inkle Looms: See Peg M. for more information. The next gathering will be in May, TBD.
Collaborations with gardens across the community are taking place. Two farm visits occurred recently, one at Mariquita Farm in Watsonville which has a lavender labyrinth that will be open to the public (for-fee) on Sat., May 4 on World Labyrinth Day. Another possible collaboration is with the Homeless Garden Project and a tour of that farm is in the works. Stay tuned for that date.
On Weds., May 15th at 10:00 a.m. the Castro Adobe garden team will meet with Guild members to plant dye plants sprouted by Kris that they will grow for us to use in our living exhibit at Castro Adobe Day on Sat., Sept. 21st. Any interested Guild member can join in on planting day. Members are also encouraged to bring their fiber arts practice to exhibit at Adobe Day. More information, including signups, to come.
Sew and Sews: The next gathering will take place at Jen D.’s hours on 4/30 at 10:30 a.m.
Recently completed work sharing took place next, with approximately ten members sharing recently completed work, from wall hanging tapestries, weaving for the American Tapestry Alliance postcard exchange, Shibori, spinning and weaving of blankets, pine needle and other plant materials basketry, weaving sewn into clothing, and more. AMAZING, beautiful work!
Mary Napier was introduced as the day’s guest speaker, on the topic of Navajo and tapestry weaving. Mary is a retired biochemist who took up weaving in 2019 and has gone gangbusters with learning and creating beautiful Navajo-style and tapestry weavings. She gave an in-depth presentation on her art’s methods and showed us some of her completed work. Meeting adjourned.