The International Polymer Clay Association and the 2009 Retreat Committee are pleased to announce the details of the upcoming IPCA Retreat, A World of Inspiration. The dates of the retreat are the afternoon of July 11 through the morning of July 14, 2009. Early, discounted registration of the event will open for members of the IPCA in mid-February and continue through the end of March. Standard registration will continue through the end of June.

Your registration for the 2009 IPCA Retreat: A World of Inspiration includes the following amenities:

• 3+ days of clay-filled camaraderie with polymer clay artists from all over the world
• Access to the resort services of our venue, the Hilton Chicago Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Illinois
• Discounted lodging rates of $99 (plus tax)
• Selected meals:
  • Welcome Reception, the afternoon of Saturday, July 11
  • Sunday Brunch, Sunday afternoon coffee & soda break
  • Monday morning coffee & soda break, Monday lunch
  • Tuesday lunch, Closing Banquet
• Generous 36” x 30” (91 x 76 cm) workspaces with access to electricity
• Ability to sell your work from your individual workspace*
• Monitored ovens for curing work**
• Ongoing demonstrations, including a full day of demos with our Guest Artist
• Retreat Attendee Swap
• 2009 Retreat Bead Strand
• Shopping from on-site suppliers
• Give-aways and more!

The Registration Fees for the 2009 Retreat are as follows:

• $250 until May 8 and $275 until we reach a maximum registration of 75 people.
• We’ve set up a payment plan to make registration more budget-friendly. ($25 nonrefundable. Balance due by June 15. All fees nonrefundable after June 30). 
• We’ll offer day-trip rates for those who live in the area or who are attending the Metal Clay Conference and can only attend the event for one day. Day trip registration does not include meals and will cost $50.
• We’ve even come up with an incentive program for the first five groups of 10 or more attending together.
• Don’t worry if you’ve already registered at the original price - the difference will be refunded.

You may purchase meal plans for your traveling companions. Single tickets for the Closing Banquet are $45. Full meal packages, which include access to the coffee/soda breaks, are $125.

Souvenir t-shirts are available for purchase at the time of registration. The t-shirt design is posted on the Registration form.

*As a courtesy to your table-mates, displays of work for sale may not exceed 18” in height.

** All attendees will be required to volunteer for one or more hours of oven monitoring duty during the days of the retreat.

You may also be interested to know that immediately following the IPCA Retreat, Art Clay Silver USA is hosting the 2009 Metal Clay World Conference at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. Pre-conference workshops begin on July 13 and the Metal World Conference runs from July 16-18. The event includes classes and presentations by IPCA members Lorrene Davis, Maria Martinez, Lisa Pavelka and IPCA Board member Cindy Silas plus many other artists in the metal clay and metalworking community.

Consider staying on a few days extra and exploring this exciting medium!

For more information, please visit http://www.metalclayworldconference.com .