May 2024 Newsletter

Dear Members,

As we look forward to summer, warmer weather, picnics and vacations, things are picking up

with the Guild as well. We have lots to announce in this newsletter so I will try to be brief.

We would like to congratulate our 2024 Scholarship winner, Audrey Watts! Audrey is a senior at

East Aurora High School. She will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall,

majoring in Animation. Competition for the scholarship was stiff this year, as we had more

applicants than ever before, but Audrey’s work speaks for itself and the committee felt that she

had strong work in multiple mediums as well as a strong statement and good recommendations.

We wish Audrey much success in her artistic endeavors. All of our applicants are automatically

given a free year membership to the Guild, and we look forward to seeing them at some

meetings, but more importantly we look forward to seeing what they do in the future!

The Roycroft Campus is again presenting their Founder’s Day event on June 1st. This event is

inspired by the gatherings held on the Campus in the early 1900’s. There are prizes for the best

turn of the century costumes, family activities, arts and crafts, food, and music by Quilted

Canoe. The Guild is showing its support for the Campus by donating a basket, assembled by

Kim O’Sullivan, full of artistic donations. All together, the basket is valued at over $700, what an

incredible gift to the Campus! We would like to take this opportunity to thank Kim for

coordinating this effort, and give a huge thank you to the donors who filled this basket:

Karen Carlton, Ray Deibel, Paulette Krakowski, Mary Ann Kull, Theone Oblamski, Suzanne

O’Brien, Kim O’Sullivan, Susan Palys, Robin Patnode, Ina Randall, Yvonne Stoklosa, Danny

Sundell, Jack Thiesen, and Holly Wentlent. That is going to be one very lucky winner that goes

home with such a lovely basket.

We are all looking forward to the summer Art and Antiques Show on the Roycroft Campus.

Since our Scholarship Chair Jack Thiesen will be out of town for the show, we have had to

schedule two days of volunteers to booth sit for the Guild booth. This is a particularly difficult

task because so many of the Guild artists participate in this show. Still we were able to cover all

of the show hours, and thus we would like to thank the volunteers who stepped up to help out:

Paul Fehringer, Karen Carlton, Lisa Ballowe, Ray Deibel, Brian and Beth Schumacher, Sue

Palys, Ray Morin, Ina Randall, and Paulette Krakowski. The Guild greatly appreciates your time!

In other news, the ACG Sculpture will be repainted as soon as weather allows, due to some

issues with the paint that was originally applied to it. Many thanks to Jack Thiesen who has

volunteered to tackle that project. Jack is also coordinating the donor plaque that will be placed

on the rock sitting near to the sculpture in the garden along the Appian Way. The plaque makes

note of designer Yvonne Stoklosa, artist Paul Boccolucci (who constructed the sculpture), and

thanks ASI (Art Services Inc.) for the grant that helped facilitate the sculpture. It will also list

donors who gave $500 or more to support completion of the project. We are happy to announce

that fundraising for the sculpture is now complete! Many thanks go to the donors that will be

listed on the plaque: Drew and Janel Bieler, Certified Pest Solutions, Custom Furniture and

Fabrication, Joe and Stacy Kist, The Maranto-Mortenson Family, East Aurora Rotary Club and

West Herr Automotive Group. The plaque is being fabricated by Tony Martin Awards and will be

in line with other plaques seen around the Roycroft Campus.

Looking beyond summer seems like jumping the gun, and while we don’t want to wish it away,

we would like to let you know that we do have a plan for the next annual members’ exhibit. It will

again take place in the Castiglia Art Center on the 2nd floor of the Print Shop. The exhibit will

run from October 2nd to the 25th, and we will have our opening reception on October 10th.

Please start thinking about three pieces of your best and most impressive work to include in the

show, and watch your email as the application will be coming soon. I will be working closely with

Bradley Widman and Melissa Buckley to put the exhibit together, and Lisa Ballowe will be

heading up hospitality for the opening reception. We will be looking for volunteers to assist Lisa,

so if that is something you would be interested in, please let us know. This year we are going

into the event having learned many lessons. You will see a few changes and we hope to be

more on top of communication and exchange of information. We are looking forward to a

wonderful turnout again this year and can’t wait to see everything on display!

Two little changes to our monthly open meetings will be in effect immediately. Number one, we

are bringing back snack time! In the days before that dreaded virus that stopped the world for

awhile, we encouraged members to bring snacks to share after the presentation if they so

desired. The Guild will be putting out some beverages (water, soda, etc) and some simple

munchies like chips or crackers. If you feel inclined to bring something, you are welcome to do

so. We hope that this will encourage members to stick around after the presentation for art chat

and networking. The other change is something brand new that we’re going to try. This idea

came from Ray Morin, who was asking about how to get critiques on the items he’s working on.

We are inviting you to bring projects, both complete and incomplete, that you would like

feedback on. We will try to have table space available at the back of the room for you to set your

items. After our presenter has finished up, interested parties can then look over your work and

give you their thoughts. This will help you gain some new insights, and also help everyone get

more familiar with other members’ work.

The Guild would like to congratulate some of our artists on recent achievements. Both Melissa

Buckley and Suzanne O’Brien recently participated in a show called Different Fibers, April 12-27

in Perry, NY. In the category of “Different”, these talented ladies took first and second place,

respectively. Congratulations to both of them on their awards.

Additionally, member Christine Adrian-Paradee is pleased to share that her sgraffito pottery entry in the Pinellas Art Society show while in Florida received first place for alternative art! So exciting! Congratulations, Christine.

We heard from Barbara Strzepka this month, who has been tuning in to meetings regularly via Zoom. She wanted to share that she donated a lovely piece featuring kiln-fired oils on porcelain to Earth Spirit Educational services for their fund-raiser dinner and auction on April 12, 2024 at Park School in Amherst. The 8x10 porcelain “Butterfly” netted $200 to benefit the organization. Certificate of full value for income tax was a pleasant surprise for the artist.

And finally, I would like to start including shows that our members are participating in, so that we

can support each other and be aware of who is out in the community. Eventually I would like to

find an appropriate place for this information on our website, and I hope that we will have more

people participate in listing their shows. What we have listed so far follows:

June 1-2: 100 American Craftsmen, Kenan Center, Lockport

Holly Wentlent, Stacy Kist, Melissa Buckley, Nickel City Makers, Kat Ammirato

June 8-9: Allentown Art Festival, Buffalo

Holly Wentlent, Melissa Buckley, Robin Yates, Calesco Jewelry, Kat Ammirato, Nickel City Makers

June 22-23: Step Out Buffalo Artisan and Flea Market

Nickel City Makers

June 29-30: Roycroft Campus Art and Antique Show, East Aurora

Many of the Guild artists participate in this show.

July 13: Hamburg Art and Chalk Walk, Hamburg

Susan Palys

July 14: Arts on the Water at Suncliff

Nickel City Makers

July 28: Glen Park Art Festival, Williamsville

Susan Palys

Thank you all for your kind attention to the news and thoughts herein, I appreciate each and

every one of you as members, as artists, and as friends. Please keep an eye on your inbox as

we will be sending you information on the summer picnic shortly. It’s scheduled for August 8th

from 6-8pm, details are forthcoming. Let’s all enjoy this summer!

Stacy Kist

President