1 The Corner Chair
i

|

q | suppose being President is useful for office reasons, but
I “President's Podium" sounds more than a little pompous.
y Chairmans comer Is more accessible but doesn't leave
/room for our next female President. So how about “The

Comer Chair’? While certain aspects of the job do have that

moment of feeling “cornered”, | would like to suggest that a
‘4 Much greater part of it, from my perspective -is that of
curling up in a friendly comer for a chat, and also the idea of

} looking for what is just around the corner. What! have to
write about this month has elements of all three.

Karen Opas's theme for this Newsletter - “Beginnings” -is
appropriate in many ways, This new-look Newsletter heralds
what we hope will be a new period of positive change and
growth forthe Guild: a time of involvement and commitment

| to our organization.

— Although some members may know already, through
contact with the gallery or guild office, | have to inform the

\ membership that the board has eliminated the position of

Executive Director, This decision was made in response to

y membership concerns after some deliberation,
considerations for our future at the board retreat, and for

y reasons of finance. Ultimately it was a decision taken with

[the best interests of the membership in mind. The

g experiment of having a full time executive director

| facilitated the major changes to the gallery operation, It is

Goubtful that without Jan Kruegers sheer physical energy

J and single minded commitment that this mammoth task

g could have been accomplished as efficiently, But it also

| allowed us to understand the difficulties and limitations of

such a position.

Much of the decision for a full-time E.D, was based on the
| pressures Placed on both the part-time office manager and
H the Board for day to day decisions. Paradoxically, Jane
I Matthews, the Gallery manager, has proposed (and is fully

supported by the board) that she would like to attempt an
integration of the two functions. The enormous advantage of
this is the simplicity of one public face for the Guild and
Gallery. Many of the functions overlap and it will emphasize
the Gallery operation as simply one of the functions of our
Guild.

l Ann Wray, who is currently involved with our book-

i keeping, will expand her role slightly, also the hours of the
extremely personable and efficient Gallery staff will

I increase. It is proposed that the Newsletter be contracted

youl. For the interim, the Newsletter you are reading is the

volunteer creation of Karen Opas, your newest board

I amber, with contributions and help from other board

members. Producing 2 newsletter is an enormous

1 undertaking and cannot be done indefinetely on a volunteer
basis. The Newsletter is the primary means we have of

I communicating with each other and its quality has been a

desperate concem for the board. Thank you Karen for your
time and energy.

start us off on a new beginning. Volunteering 10 do this is a
wonderful example of someone seeing thal something needs
doing and doing it. Members, this is your Newsletter and like

your Guild, it needs your support and your involvement for |

and with your community.

Those of you who have been involved with the Nanaimo
Tozan project will understand what | mean about
‘community’, At the ceremony for the opening of the first
Tozan firing on Saturday the 141h, | spoke on behalf of the
Guild about the three ‘P's of the Tozan project.

First, there was the product -the pots which ranged from
unexpectedly magnificent to absolute disasters. Secondly,
there was the process, which included the vision (Les
Beardsley), the expertise (Yukio Yamomoto), many
donations and the building and firing of the kiln. Thirdly, and
ultimately, it was about people, People coming together with
a vision of whal could be possible, being prepared to
overcome difficulties and disappointments. People prepared
to put something of themselves, however small, towards the
fulfillment of that vision, thal dream of community, that
realization of something only possible through the co-
operation of many people.

| used the Tozan as a metaphor for our Guild, It too, is
ultimately about people -aboul people with a common
interest. In order to fulfill that dream of community, we all
need to play our part, to contribute a little of ourselves
towards the realization of a greater whole. It's our Guild and
we all need to be a part of it to make it work.

Keith Rice-Jones.

The Guild Office

As many of you already may have heard through the grapevine,
and is confinmed by Keith Rice-Jones's article in this newsletter,
the Potters’ Guild no longer has a full-time Executive Director,
For the interim, | will be acting in this position on a part-time
basis while maintaining my duties and responsibilities as
Manager of the Gallery. During this time, the board has
approved a sufficient increase in hours of the. part-time staff, to
whom | am delegating some of the more routine day-to-day
Gallery responsibilities. I will officially be in the Potters’ Guild
office all day Wednesdays and Fridays and on an as-needed
basis for the rest of the weck, I think the flexibility this
amangement provides will prove to be a positive change for the
future of the Guild.

Jane Matthews