Hello!
I should use this letter to market the “Friends of Clayworks” program, but I’m not sure how to do it without it seeming corny, pushy, and inauthentic. “Come on down!!” “Eat at Joes!!”
When I got back to the United States after graduate school, I decided to go to the Met. Degas’ images and bronzes of dancers are some of my favorite things. They are so familiar to me, like the women I was closest with in high school, warming up at the barre with plies and releves. It had been a while, and I was so excited to see them again.
When I arrived, admission to the Met was $25. Which is a bargain given their collection, but to me it was a ton of money that I didn’t have. So, I couldn’t and didn’t go in to visit my old friends.
If you become a “member” of the Met you get free entry, a great benefit of the program. Baltimore Clayworks’ galleries are free and open to the public seven days a week. The “Friends of Clayworks” program is going to help keep it that way, as well as sustaining and growing all the ways the Baltimore Clayworks strives to support creativity, make the ceramic arts fully accessible, empower artists, and fully celebrate the joy of clay.
Fundraising, by its nature, puts people in an economic hierarchy. Money is a sensitive subject and as a person who is charged with fundraising I always try to acknowledge and respect that fact. The “Friends of Clayworks” gift levels begin at $40, and trust me that $40 does make a difference. For example, it can provide 25 pounds of clay and glazing and firing costs for artists in our community arts programs.
Please join the “Friends of Clayworks” program if you can, but also know that by being involved with Clayworks you are always a friend. Thank you.
And hey! How about all the flamingos at the Met Gala this year?
Your pal and confidant,
Cyndi Wish
Executive Director