The Hub: New Clay Centre in Cowichan | ay casi Jeferson

It’s been an exciting time here in the Cowichan Valley with the
dream of an actual clay facility for the community looking like it really
is going to be a reality — and hopefully starting this September! There
is no community arts facility in the entire Cowichan Valley of any
kind in spite of a population exceeding 80,000. Individual artists of all
sorts give private lessons but there is no place in the entire valley that
is home to a large and diverse group of artists. Over two years ago, a
small group of potters got together realizing the need for a communal
clay facility, and started looking for a place. Eventually we found a
group in Cowichan Station, just south of Duncan that had acquired
a closed. public school. The group had begun the process of acquiring
grants to undertake major restorations. The roof has been redone as it
once was, asbestos removed from the walls, a condemned section torn
down, and an antiquated boiler replaced with a geothermal heating
system. This board is a dedicated group that has accomplished much
in less than two years.

When we met with a couple of board members and toured the
facility we realized two smaller rooms on the ground floor and a larger
‘multi-purpose’ room adjacent for larger school classes would be a
great place to have a clay community facility. We plan on modeling
the ‘Clay Hub’ to function similarly to the North Mount Pleasant
center in Calgary. There will be classes for people of all ages and all
levels. It will also be a drop-in center for those with experience to have
a place to come to work, contribute, and be a part of the local clay
community. We will need experienced volunteers to keep this space
functioning on a daily basis to keep the space clean, kilns loaded and
unloaded, glazes made, support for others learning how to work with
clay. We are planning local functions for the Clay Hub as well as joint
ventures with The Hub. All very exciting!

This has all been talked and dreamed about with lots of plans
just waiting to get going but the two clay rooms were way beyond
any of our financial abilities. A recent provincial grant has changed
everything! We were awarded the grant for the total amount we

M yste ry Potte Y By Laura Carey

requested: $50,000. We can now get plumbing, electrical, walls built
and the floor resurfaced, all to local code standards. It’s hard to believe
but the hope is that come this September we will actually be able to
start functioning as a real local clay center with lessons and people
dropping in to make their own work.

Over the summer we will be volunteering to build shelves and do
whatever we can to make the space into a functioning studio, but still
in need of many things and hope that your guild members can help
us further. We still need to raise some funds for some equipment and
we are hoping to receive equipment/material donations from anyone
that can help. Donations $1,000 and over are able to obtain a tax-
deductible receipt from The Hub.

We still need:

e

small (i.e. shimpo, brent - our —* % inch drill

space is small) electric wheels ° 4 inch clay mixer end
* de-airing industrial pug mill * banding wheels
* giffin grips e

glaze tongs

e

larger accurate glaze scale * talisman sieve with 80 / 100

e

pound scale for weighing clay mesh screens

* standard glaze raw materials * table chairs
* stains * buckets (large for garbage,
© oxides mid for glazes, small for lots of

; things)
* wax resist

; ; * bats
* rolling pins
* canvas

If you can help or know someone who can wed sure appreciate your
assistance. It’s great to be a part of a community that supports each
other so much.

Thank you everyone. @

Petra from Costa Rica is asking for help identifying the maker of her favorite bowl. She had a pair and recently broke one so she is trying to

identify the potter so she can get in touch and get a new bowl! Please call Laura at the Gallery of BC Ceramics with any information about this

potter: 604.669.3606, galleryofbcceramics@bcpotters.com.

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - June 2043

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