CraftViewer

More news to catch everybody up on. I' m still learning as I go, so please bear with me. Here are some items passed on to me for distribution.

Coming to the Lion and the Rose Gallery
210-70 Albert Street Winnipeg, ManitobaR3B 1E8 (204) 452-5350

EARTH & SKY April 20 - May 5
Opening reception: Thursday, April 20 at 7 pm
sculpture by Helen Lyons paintings by Sheldon Dawson
A celebration of the universality and timelessness of work and wonderment.

Women of Clay - Statement by Helen Lyons
"Women of Clay" celebrates clay, the process of working with it, and women who execute the process. For me as an artist, the clay continues to be the most responsive media I have worked with. Clay artefacts have survived all the earliest art forms. Cloth and canvas rot. Metal is melted to cast different things. One society’s molten image becomes part of another society’s ammunition. Only clay vessels or shards give archaeologists clues to the ancient past.
Methods of working the material have not changed since antiquity. A child in an art class will be taught to pinch, coil or slab the clay, the same way the first potters did. When I hold a lump of mud in my hand, I feel connected to the earth, and to all the clay artisans and artists that have gone before me.
This series of women of clay is based on photographs of women.. The women identified only by country represent the universality of clay. These are women at work. I see the dignity and beauty in them the same way the Realist painters such as Gustave Courbet and Millet portrayed the workers rather than the gentry in the nineteenth century.
I chose the specific women because I liked their work, but more importantly because they achieved recognition as women artists. Helen Lyons

Inga Torfadottir sent along this petition re a living wage for artists:

As you may have heard by now, CARFAC/ RAAV have launched an online petition in support of their campaign for a living wage for artists >>and their negotiations with the National Gallery. We now need to >>gather as much support as we can. . CARFAC needs the support of all >>Canadian artists for this initiative to be succesful. CARFAC >>requests that you please sign the petition, say where your from, >>add your comments and forward this appeal to all artists and art >>supporters that you know. We need your help to spread the word! >>These changes are extremely significant for artists and will impact >>on our ability to earn a reasonable income for years to come. You >>can read the text of the petition below.at the site. The petition for supporters to sign that can be found at this link
http://new.PetitionOnline.com/carv2006/petition.html

More information about the problems at MCC have come from Ann Tyre, who has single-handedly been working tirelessly and selflessly trying to unravel the mess left behind, and who has an accounting background. Some of you may have already received this info, but I am including this for those who haven't.

Update: March 31, 2006
As of today the locks have been changed at the gallery. The landlord has chosen to take the last month’s (April) rent against additional expenses of approx. $2,000, over and above the monthly rent.

(These expenses are related to taxes and operating the building, and were not identified by the former Executive Director as being something we would have to pay in addition to the monthly rent.)

The landlord has first claim against the assets of MCC, because we currently are unable to honour the lease. He has said that all our assets will remain as they are until he rents the space, or, MCC decides on Apr. 23rd that they will continue to operate the gallery, whichever comes first. In the meantime, we may have access when accompanied by someone from MMP.

The Credit Union will wait until our meeting on April 23rd before sending our line of credit to collections.

No one will be liable for the $15,000 line of credit.

If MCC had not owed the $2000 to the landlord, the Credit Union could have stepped in; had an appraiser come down to evaluate the assets; auctioned them off; then paid down the line of credit with the proceeds.

They would rather have members continuing to run MCC that’s why they’re willing to wait until after the meeting.

If there are 200 MCC members, and they each donated $100 (tax deductible) there would be enough to address the line of credit.

As mentioned in the Notice of Meeting, Culture and Heritage will fund the operation of MCC as soon as members elect a Full Board and determine a focus for the organisation.

Looking to the future, in order to safeguard the records I have contacted the Provincial Archives.
I have also contacted the installer of the File Manager software installed in November at a cost of $1750. He has a copy of the database that he will keep until such time as MCC needs it, and he will provide another copy of the software, as I can’t find one at the MCC office. This is in case MCC loses the computers to creditors. Other than that the accountant has the latest financial records, but she has not been paid for February’s work.

Estimate of indebtedness 31-Mar-06

Staff salaries & deductions payable 7126.53 includes vacation accruals

Consignees - estimate (Oct - Mar 6,06) 7700.00

Expenses paid by D. Turner 5593.26 will accept tax receipt

Other payables 6066.83

Minister of Finance 209.46

Trancontinental 428.00

Tetro 372.96 business card

Insight Electric 1607.47 lighting

Owed to landlord 2000.00

Accounting fees 940.50

Nardella Photography 500.00 SOFA




$32,545.01


Line of credit $15,000.00


$47,545.01




Conservative estimate of indebtedness:

$50,000.00 additional items keep cropping up

The View From My Studio - by Jo'Anne Kelly

I'm going to use this opportunity to quash erroneous information that keeps cropping up (I think from interested parties who are wanting to gloss over what has happened at MCC in the past year and a half.) I was still on the board as fundraising chair until Sept 2004, when I resigned in frustration over the direction that was being taken and what I considered to be inadequate and reckless financial planning and lack of oversight. I keep hearing that when the recently retired executive director first took office in April 2004, that the deficit was about $35,000. It wasn't. I have a balance sheet date Apr. 30, 04 which places the deficit at 14,600. Furthermore I have the treasurers financial report referring to the statements of earnings for the end of the third quarter April 30, 2004 which states "we are on target with the amended budget figures for this period. ...and have the income to meet the year end expenses. Our projections for the final quarter are within reach and barring any unforeseen expenses we will finish the year in good standing maintaining the hard work and achievements of Paul (Nolin - former executive director) and the Board in addressing the deficit." In other words at this point in time we were in pretty good shape and were paying down the deficit.