November Newsletter 2015 I just met with the tax accountant and she said the below information is fine to put into our newsletter. Then the general membership can vote on what they want to do. We will discuss this and vote with a ballot at this coming meeting. President Wanda Shirey bsis1948@centurylink.net Vice President Barbara Lewis balern@comcast.net Treasurer Denise Lown deniselown@yahoo.com Secretary Joyce Pasche jpasche0209@gmail.com Newsletter Phyllis Sickles 5maps@comcast.net Choices for possible solutions for OPGP tax problem. 1. Dissolve the corporation 2. File late taxes federal and state. There could be penalties. For federal it is $195 for each month we are late, $2340.00 approximately. There could be state penalties also. Concerning our non-profit status. Officially OPGP cannot be non-profit at the state level without being non-profit at the federal level. At the time that OPGP became a corporation. Our next step should have been submitting paperwork requesting our status as non-profit. The cost would have been $400. And we would not be responsible for filing income tax. OPGP would be responsible for filing what is called an E postcard. It is for clubs that are classified as non-profit and has an income of $50,000 or less. This information was not communicated to the board or general membership. Treasure s Report October/November Denise Lown Beginning Balance from Aug. 11 th $3,252.87 Deposit: Game of Chance-donated gourds 80.00 New member Dues 90.00 Expenses: Copies made for tax accountant 35.00 Cheryl Pruitt Ending Bank Balance through Nov. 17th $3,402.22 There is still a need for a newsletter person. I will not be doing the newsletter beginning with the January issue. Thanks, Phyllis
Old Pueblo Gourd Patch Meeting, October 26, 2015 Joyce Pasche, Secretary President Wanda Shirey called the meeting to order at 6:05 and welcomed new member, Twila Guerrero. Old Business: Motion made, seconded, and approved to accept the treasurer s & secretary s reports as written in the newsletters. A minor correction in the treasurer s report was also accepted by motion and approval. The AGS judging class led by Bonnie Gibson, Phyllis Sickles, and Lynne East-Itkin was attended by 10 members of the AZGS. Lynne is now a certified instructor available for judging classes. There will be no meeting in November; instead, will be the holiday potluck dinner. The Tucson Decorative Painters Guild will supply the table wear. Thank you, TDPG. Attendees are asked to bring a dish to pass serving 6-8 and a gourd for the gift exchange. The theme of gourd designs is asked to be autumn or holiday for the exchange. Contact Barbara Lewis if you have any questions. Contact info on first page of this newsletter. Denise Lown shared a catalog she had received from McKenzie Taxidermy Service. She found it to be a wonderful source for many things that can complement gourd artistry. More small gourd pots were donated for the OPGP donation piece for the AZGS raffle at the Wuertz Festival. There is still time for additional pieces to be donated. Get them to Denise Lown. They will be much appreciated. Show and Tell Lynne East-Itkin is editor of the American Gourd Society magazine and is in need of someone to create suitable gourd projects for the Kids Korner of the magazine. Please contact her and volunteer your services and talents. For the fall edition she designed a little snowman that kids would enjoy making. She also showed us her finished piece that she started in her demo on wire wrapping and small Christmas decorations using alcohol inks. Chris Wawrznyiak made a small pot for the AZGS project using waxed color crayons and leather trim. Joyce Pasche also donated a small pot with a Hopi/Tewa design she saw in a magazine; using Pitt pens. It was aged with a glaze of Asphaltum oil paint, boiled linseed oil, mineral spirits, and a speck of cobalt drier. Barbara Kile shared a gourd she decorated for Halloween. It was painted on a surface containing retarder but she still had to get in & get out to get the integrated look she achieved. Denise Lown designed a canteen gourd with carved and painted feathers that looked so real you wanted to touch them. Lollie Yancey used Pitt pens also to achieve the look she wanted on her gourd to donate to the AZGS project. She added beads and a button embellishment to compliment the base design. Cheryl Pruett contributed a wood burned pot for the AZGS raffle. Donna Vargas contributed circling ravens gourd for the AZGS raffle project. Thank you to all that have donated gourds for the OPGP donation to the AZGS raffle to raise money to pay for the large art competition at the Wuertz Festival. Joyce Pasche, secretary
Show and Tell Lynne East-Itkin Lollie Yancey Chris Wawrzyniak Barbara Kile Donna Vargas Lollie Yancey Donations to AZGS Project Refreshments Cheryl Pruett Thank you to Linda Points and Sharon Miller for the Refreshments at the October Meeting. Since November is the potluck, no one is signed up for the next meeting. Also I still need two people to sign up for December. Thanks to all.
Joyce Pasche Denise Lown Lynne East-Itkin Demonstrations Barbara Lewis November meeting! This is our big HOLIDAY PARTY!!!! Bring a dish to pass (feeing 6-8 people), and a decorated gourd for the exchange. The patch will provide plates and cups, tableware and drink. Come one and all. It is a lot of fun. Nominating committee: We will elect officers in December. The following have VERY graciously agreed to be on the ballot: President: Laura Moreno, Secretary: Diana Douglas and Treasurer: Cheryl Pruett. Please give these people all of your support and remember that this is a volunteer group and you do need to take your turn. Thank you How You Describe Your Skill Level, Regardless Of How Long You ve Been Gourding The points below were in the Holiday issue of Woodcarving Illustrated. I substituted gourding for carving and thought you might find this list interesting. It doesn t quite fit perfect for working on gourds but is close. It s a way for you to see where you stand along the developmental process. Beginner You haven t been gourding very long or you do very few gourds. Advanced Beginner You r e comfortable with the basics but don t try anything too complicated. Intermediate You know your tools and techniques, and projects usually turn out how you expect, but you don t design your own patterns. Advanced You ve been gourding a long time, you adapt patterns to suit your needs, and you like challenges and/or rarely need instructions. Expert You re Advanced, plus your work is always original. Creative Clutter is better than idle neatness!
I received the article below from Faith Beal, one of our members, and just see how far the Gourd News travels! We are so close to the festival and often never know some of the happenings over that weekend. The article was in her brother s paper, the Bryan Times, in Bryan, Ohio. Let the gourd times roll at one Arizona festival! The annual Running of the Gourds Festival, an event that celebrates the fruits growing popularity, took over Pinal County over the weekend. The Pinal Fairgrounds and Event Center was a gourd lover s paradise since Friday. Wuertz Gourd Farm, a family owned gourd farm, has been putting on the festival for the past 12 years. There were more than 60,000 gourds for sale, co-owner Waylon Wuertz said. About 120 vendors were showing roughly 5,000 pieces of art. The diversity of all the gourd art is just amazing, Wuertz told the Casa Grande Dispatch. A gourd is a type of fruit characterized by a hard shell and is often used for artwork. The items for sale at the festival ranged from $5 knickknacks to $15,000 high-end art pieces, Wuertz said. Artists use gourds to make everything from hats to utensils. The festivities also included the return of Flash Glourden, a gourd superhero who sits on the front of a bicycle while someone else pedals. Children were also able to learn about the uses of gourds in kindergourden classes. There were classes for adults too. Despite all the groan worthy gourd puns, the fruit s use as a foundation for artwork is taken very seriously. A juried art show has drawn nearly 500 entries, Wuertz said. Last year s three-day event drew nearly 12,000 people, according to organizers. The festival ran through Sunday. Wuertz is a fourth generation farmer who start growing gourds as a business in 2002. The Wuertz family has been farming in the Casa Grande and Coolidge area since 1929.