Happy New Year Dear Friends,
2023 was a wonderful year for Baltimore Clayworks and you made it happen! We are overjoyed that you are a part of our clay community and we greatly appreciate your involvement and support. Too much happened to list here, but if you follow our newsletters you know we had a banner year.
Our class enrollment and studio usage increased 25% to a record high. Our Hands-in-Clay scholarships program supported 31 individuals. We expanded our Virtual Library with 28 new artist videos. We strengthened a partnership with MD Veterans Health and MD School for the Blind, conducting a series of clay workshops. We received a grant from Nature Sacred to support a Sacred Space, a re-visioned garden in front of the gallery. We traveled to NCECA’s (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) 57th Annual Conference in Cincinnati OH, and were one of five galleries to exhibit and sell works in NCECA’s GALLERY EXPO.
Now it’s 2024 and we are fired up! At the December board of directors annual meeting, the board approved a vision statement as the first step in creating an updated strategic plan. The vision was created through a process that invited input from our board, staff, artists, students, donors, members, and community. As we begin strategic planning in 2024, we will evaluate the mission, core values, programs, and operations. Your participation in this process will be crucial.
The board welcomes new members, Monica Truesdale, broker and owner of Realty One Group Universal in Mt. Washington, and Karla Thompson, a long-time educator and currently the director of PreK-12 Learning Design for MPT. The board also approved its 2024 officers. Our secretary, Claudia Salzberg moves to the newly created position of President-Elect, and executive committee member Hyein Yoo is now our Secretary. Nick Hawkins continues his term as Vice-President, Margaret Allen continues as Treasure. Congratulations and thank you to all.
I continue as President for this year and am honored to work with this organization and acknowledge our dedicated staff for their professionalism and hard work. They are the heart of Baltimore Clayworks. On behalf of the board – thank you to the staff, faculty, artists, students, volunteers, clay lovers, visitors and supporters that form our community. You are the best.
Here’s to another wonderful year. I look forward to seeing you at our first opening of the year featuring three dynamic exhibitions on January 13th; Teapots X, Ceci N’est Pas Du Papier, and Pots for Purpose.
Carla Dunlap, Board President