L. P. Skeen on tue 23 mar 04
Vince m'dear, I don't think I misrepresented the conference at all. Further
down in the original post, I pointed out that there were many sessions of
interest for the non-academics among us, and actually my whole POINT was
that there's more to do at NCECA than the actual conference sessions (much
of it free, or at low cost), for some who might WANT to go, but can't
because of budgetary concerns. I wouldn't have had to figure that part out
if I HAD done the volunteer work, but since I did, I wanted to share it for
future reference. I'm sorry if you felt the point wasn't clear.
L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vince Pitelka"
> Dear Lisa -
> This used to be the case, but it has little to do with NCECA today, and I
am surprised that you could come to this conclusion based on this NCECA.
I want MORE Clayarters to come to NCECA, and by misrepresenting the
conference you will scare them away.
L. P. Skeen on tue 23 mar 04
Susan, as I stated in the original post, a day pass will get you into the
vendors hall. The vendors are open Weds - Friday. I decided I could see
the vendors on Thursday or Friday, and so opted out of paying for a
Wednesday ticket and stayed in/near the Clayart room instead.
Some vendors have great deals on books (I got my copy of 500 Bowls for
40%off, and dammit they were OUT of 500 Teapots :( ), but most offer the
same discount as Steve Branfman does.
L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Setley"
Subject: Re: Expense of Attending NCECA
> But I want to see the venders *almost* as much as I want to meet people
here and go to sessions
L. P. Skeen on tue 23 mar 04
----- Original Message -----
Joyce said: Do attend....... or maybe begin with a Potters
Council smaller, less expensive Regional Conference ......
---------------------------------------------------
Speaking of expenses.........
I was SUPPOSED to be a volunteer, which meant I'd get to attend the
conference for free. Through a screw-up on my part, and extreme
inflexibility (and lack of communication) on the part of the Indy NCECA
people, that fell through. Rather than pay $235 for the whole conference
(plus bus passes), I opted to get day tickets ($120) for Thursday and
Friday.
This was a great deal for me even though it was an unexpected expense.
NCECA lasts from Weds. through Saturday, but there's not a whole lot going
on except the opening ceremonies, vendors, and meetings on Wednesday, and
business meetings on Saturday, so I don't feel like I missed much at all by
not being in those places. The Clayart room was open the whole time (except
Saturday), and it was a rare thing to find it empty.
NCECA is (in my opinion) a professional conference geared towards those who
are in academia and either need to present a paper for tenure or other
purposes; need professional development credits;
are interested in very technical information; or
a combination of all above or something else along those lines.
This does not mean there's nothing of interest to the average Joe potter,
because there is. This year's program happened to be very technical and
therfore less interesting to me personally, but I found several
presentations I wanted to attend even so. You can look at the conference
program BEFORE you go, to plan out what you wanna see when. That'll help
you determine if you need to buy the whole week pass or just a day pass or
two. A day pass will get you into all the on-site exhibits that are NCECA
related, plus the vendor hall (which will take most of an afternoon to get
through), and all the sessions except the dance on Friday night. I found
out that I didn't need a day pass to get the bus tour pass. (But thanks
again to Wayne for getting my first one anyway! :) ) If the only things I
were interested in were the Clayart Room and the Bus Tours, I'd still have
had a great time! :)
L
Vince Pitelka on tue 23 mar 04
> NCECA is (in my opinion) a professional conference geared towards those
who
> are in academia and either need to present a paper for tenure or other
> purposes; need professional development credits;
> are interested in very technical information; or
> a combination of all above or something else along those lines.
Dear Lisa -
This used to be the case, but it has little to do with NCECA today, and I am
surprised that you could come to this conclusion based on this NCECA. Your
opinions are of course welcome and generally cherished. Since I know you
pretty well, I also know that you can be counted on to give your opinion
freely and without hesitation. But I am baffled by your statement above,
because it is so completely untrue. I want MORE Clayarters to come to
NCECA, and by misrepresenting the conference you will scare them away.
These days, there is always a great deal of stuff going on at NCECA that has
nothing to do with academia. Of course there are always some dry, poorly
organized presentations, probably presented by someone stacking up material
for tenure application, but those are in the minority now. There are also
some good presentations with titles so thick that most of us stay away, when
we might really enjoy them.
If you want to see how un-academic NCECA is, go to the College Art
Association website next January and check out their conference program.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Ann Kenworthy on wed 24 mar 04
The tales of the great times had at NCECA in Indy are so enticing, and I'm
looking forward to Baltimore. And the pictures are wonderful. Hey, you
people are real people! I could overcome my reticence and talk to you!
Here are two cost-saving ideas we might implement to make it possible for
more people to enjoy the experience of NCECA and the Clayart room.
Baltimore is a wonderful city, especially if you love Gritty Cities with
ethnic neighborhoods and restarurants, and there's the Chesapeake Bay,
interesting architecture, only 30 minutes to Annapolis, (etc etc)--we have
so much to offer here.
One of the biggest costs of going to a conference is housing. Why don't we
(ACERs or some genious on the Clayart list) set up a roommate sharing place
on the web for those wanting to share a sleeping room at the hotel? Our IT
guy just did this for the association I run, and it only took him about an
hour to build. You put in you name, your preference for M/F, smoking or
non-smoking, your e-mail address (which is not visible to others) and it
brings up all the names of those looking for a similar roommate. You
contact the person off-line, make your arrangements, and voila, money saved
and another person gets to go to the conference. This may cut the room
block for the conference, but hey, if more people can come, that's great.
Also, there are so many potters in this area. There are probably many who
would be more than glad to host someone who wants to come to NCECA but who
can't afford the housing costs (or who doesn't want to spend the bucks for a
hotel) on top of travel and registration. For instance, I live 45
high-speed minutes from Baltimore and have a queen bedded room (as they say
in the hospitality industry), a single, and another with twin beds. My
husband and I would be glad to have Clayarters stay with us during NCECA.
A database on a website could list all the free rooms offered by clayarters,
local guild members or individual potters, preserving their privacy in the
same way. I would even share the disclaimer that our attorney approved!
I can't do the technical part, but the latchkey is out for anyone who wants
to stay with us. Gender here: One M, One F, three cats Non-smoking (but OK
to smoke on the porch). Quiet country setting, in the woods. Fabulous tub.
Let me know if you need a place to stay. Contact me off-line at
ann.kenworthy@verizon.net.
See all y'all in Baltimore! This will be my first NCECA, too.
Ann in Maryland, another introvert. Jeez, how many of us are introverts in
real life? That would be interesting!
william schran on thu 25 mar 04
LP wrote:>NCECA is (in my opinion) a professional conference geared
towards those who
are in academia<
I've yet to have the opportunity to attend a NCECA conference
(teaching duties/lack of funds - but will definitely be there next
year), so I am unable to agree with or not agree with this statement,
but reading about the agendas I would expect the conference to be
slanted in that direction - after all it's "Education in the Ceramic
Arts". There is nothing specifically wrong with this - just the way
it is.
I do miss Super Mud at Penn State though......
Bill
william schran on thu 25 mar 04
Vince wrote:>If you want to see how un-academic NCECA is, go to the College Art
Association website next January and check out their conference program.<
Boy Vince, I think you hit it right on the nose! As I wrote in my
other message, never having attended NCECA, but expecting a majority
of an "academic" presentations - I'm glad to read your response.
I have been to several College Art Association meetings - slept
through some of them - we in academia refer to CAA as the "meat
market". Most presentations are art history oriented and many of the
attendees are recent (or soon to be) graduates seeking interviews
with colleges/universities for teaching positions - not a whole lot
of fun.
Bill in Fredericksburg, VA where it's expected to get in the 60's
today - ahhh, spring at last.
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