D

COLUMBIA

President’s Message

I could write about how we need more
volunteers to help with various activities and
volunteers to join the Board of Directors.
But I’d much rather tell you about my
exciting January—who would think that
January could be exciting? Well it has been
for me!

For the past year and a half, I have been
building a wood-fired kiln with Pia Sillem,
Jan Lovewell and Ron Robb. Every few
months, we would steal a few days from our
busy schedules, pack up our tools and head
up to Pia’ place in Earl’s Cove to pore over
plans, sort bricks, and slowly construct our
kiln. Our goal was to fire before Christmas,
but seasonal sales, family commitments and
whatever made us postpone the inaugural
firing till January. Then, a last minute no-
show by our friend and mentor Al Tennant
sent us scrambling for help. Thanks to Lynn
Johnson jumping at the chance to join us,

oe

Vase, 21 cm x 21 cm (2008), by Tam Irving.

Man’s Best Friends, by Jean Pederson-Ellis,
FingerPlay Exhibition.

we were able to ignite the first Hames on

Jan. 19. The 55-hour firing was surprisingly
smooth. And the results were better than
we could have possibly hoped for in a first
firing! It was a great way to start the New
Year and we are looking forward to another
great firing very soon.

By the way, I am still looking for

volunteers.

—Jinny Whitehead

Gallery News
By Sharon Cohen

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,
and apparently Jinny Whitehead knows Tam
Irving. A big scoop, a major coup for the
gallery—at very short notice, Jinny managed
to persuade Tam to hold an exhibition here
in April, and we're absolutely thrilled. The
exhibition is to be entitled “Colour Fields.”
If the few teaser images Tam has sent us are
anything to go by, we're in for some truly
inspiring work. Tam celebrates colour and
form in this work, and the results are nothing
short of spectacular. Please come and join us
for the artist’s reception on Apr. 4, 1 to 3 p.m.
Tl try to not buy anything before the show
begins; Tl try and leave something for our
customers, hard as it may be!

To keep us interested and excited prior to
Tams exhibition, we have FingerPlay (“BC in
a Box”) to host for the month of March. We
can't wait to see it. It’s sucha great concept,
a show that enables so many B.C. artists
to showcase their work province wide, at
various locations in various communities. The
exhibition provides an opportunity to raise
the profile of ceramics and increase exposure
for all 50 of the participating artists. Again,
there have been a few sneak previews thanks
to emailed images, and the scope and diversity
of the project is truly impressive.

On the subject of showcasing diverse work,

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - March 2009

its time to start thinking about adding the
work of new artists to our excellent array
at the gallery. True to the mandate of the
Potters’ Guild, we wish to identify and
promote new talent (and/or existing talent;
the work of established artists who may not be
represented in the gallery.) Our annual retail
jury will be held in April, and we hope to
receive submissions from guild members who
may be interested in supplying us with work
on a regular, ongoing basis. If youd like to
apply, the form can be found on our website
at http://www.bcpotters.com/forms/2009_
Gallery_Jury_Application.pdf. Judging by
the quality of the applications we received for
the featured artist slots, there’s huge talent out
there, and a lot of it.

For guild members who aren’t able to
comply with the policies that pertain to juried
artists, there are other ways to be represented
in the gallery. Any PGBC member can sell
mugs, and mugs are always popular. Wall tiles
are popular too, and have sold well. We're
really low right now, and are having to cheat
a bit to keep the tile wall looking full! Please
bring in tiles for us. As long as they meet the
standard and comply with the specs (6”x6”
and two-dimensional), we'd love to sell your
tiles and swell the ranks of gallery artists.