A successful Demo Day at the Claypan
A VERY SUCCESSFUL DEMO DAY
On Saturday 5th November the Fuller Gallery and Claypan opened its doors to visitors and showed them how talented our members are. It was also an opportunity for visitors to watch live demonstrations by our crafty locals. We hope that seeing all the arts and crafts available at the Guild may entice interested locals to join some of our groups to learn a new skill.
There was plenty to see with Ann Smith, Sue Retschlag and Cathy Maher showing two different pottery techniques. Ann encouraged interested spectators to have a turn on the wheel to “throw a pot”. There were some interesting outcomes, but everyone had fun. Cathy was crafting highland cattle from clay using a hand building technique – these miniature cattle, along with some of Cathy’s other critters, were very popular.
The sewing and craft ladies provided numerous interesting demonstrations, including; hand and machinery embroidery, crochet, knitting, spinning, loom weaving, patchwork and sewing.
Mandy Cabot was our draw card, spinning outside the Gallery, encouraging visitors to stop and watch Merino fleece being spun into yarn ready to knit, crochet or weave. Our “specials” table outside the Gallery also created interest with the passers-by, especially those who wandered across from the Museum Markets.
The Shutter Bugs (Sue Retschlag, Margaret Harris and Brenda McColl) put together a slideshow of their works for visitors to watch. Margaret also explained to those interested about finding interesting ways to display your photographs – calendars, for example.
Alison Ward presented an incredible display of her scrapbooking, whilst Allison Ervine demonstrated and showcased some of her loom weaving articles.
The Gallery display looked amazing with lots of new items and great Christmas shopping ideas. There was lots of favourable feedback about the display and the demonstrations.
At the end of a busy day, 27 guests were treated to a delicious camp oven dinner in the pop-up restaurant at The Gallery. It was a team effort with member husbands; John Sautchuk and Des Brittain roasting the meat in camp ovens throughout the afternoon whilst their wives Judy Sautchuk (Guild Treasurer) and Annette Brittain (Guild President) cooked all the vegetables. Further member volunteers helped with setting and decorating of tables, cleaning up and washing up.
Barraba is certainly very fortunate to have such a passionate group of ladies who are the Barraba Potters and Craft Guild Inc. If you are new to town or a local looking for a new and interesting past-time, why not consider popping down to the Claypan and make yourself known.