GROUP MEETING REPORT

On October 16th, members of various
potters’ clubs and groups, in Vancouver
to attend the John Gill workshop, met at
Isadora’s for dinner and adjourned to
the Gallery of B.C. Ceramics for dessert
and discussion. The meeting had been
called by Elsa Schamis and June
MacDonald of the Potters’ Guild of B.C.’s
Board of Directors, to attempt to find out
if the Potters’ Guild is meeting the needs
of members not living in the Lower
Mainland, as well as to enlist the sup-
port of outlying members in directing
the activities of the Guild.

Represented at the session were mem-
bers of the Comox Valley Potters’ Guild,
the Richmond Potters’ Guild, the Vernon
Potters’ Guild, the Fraser Vallery Pot-
ters’ Guild, and Alice Hale from the East
Kootenay area. A lively and informative
discussion took place, with each group
reporting on its activities.

The Comox Valley group has been active
for six years and had its early begin-
nings with the Island Potters’ Guild about
twenty-five years ago. Membership is
-presently about thirty, with most people
becoming involved through classes at
North Island College. The group meets
every Wednesday, and they hold fre-
quent, very popular workshops. In the
new year, they plan a four-day session
with Denys James from Saltspring, and
another in February with Frank Boyden
from Washington State. They plan a
joint show in Campbell River with the
Quadra Island potters group. They have
two sales yearly, own their own equip-
ment, including wheels and chemicals,
and have a library which includes vid-
eos made of some of their workshops by
Gail Kuzma.

The Vernon Potters’ Guild has 25 to 30
members, and offers beginning classes
in a space rented from the Vernon Art
Centre. They hold two sales yearly in a
local shopping mall.

The Richmond Potters’ Club has been
inexistence since 1969 with about 60
members. They have recently moved
into the newly-built Richmond Arts

Centre. Most of their members are hobby
potters, and they hold two major sales
yearly. They meet the first Thursday of
each month, hold mini-workshops with
guest artists, and also hold two or 3
major workshops yearly. They run a
shop at the richmond Art Centre, and
are interested in receiving submissions
from artists wishing to sell there. Con-
tact Joyce Foyle.

Alice Hale from Invermere is a member
ofa local craft cooperative. She has been
amember of the Potters’ Guild of B.C. for
many years, but this was the first time
she had been able to get to any of our

workshops. She often heads east to ©

Calgary, since it’s so much closer!

The Fraser Valley Guild holds its monthly
meetings on the first Thursday of each
month, and the meetings are usuallly in
the form of a mini-workshop. They have
a major fund-raising event each fall,
holding a raku event in conjunction
with GVRD Parks at the Campbell Val-
ley Park. They also have an annual
juried show, usually in the fall, but in
1993, will be hald in the spring. Each
year, they also join with the Langley
Spinners and Weavers Guild to sell at
the craft fair in Fort Langley.

Each of the participants mentioned that
they really want most to know what is
going on with other groups in the prov-
ince and beyond, and because of that,
the Potters’ Guild Newsletter is very
important to them. Interest in videos
and video exchanges, as well as in a
Guild library list, were also mentioned.

To those groups who were not repre-
sented on October 16th, we encourage
you to keep in touch. Thanks to the
Penticton, Prince George and Burnaby
guilds for getting in touch either before
or since the meeting: we hope we can do
it again. Because this province is so
physically spread out, it is easy to lose
track of one another: let's try to avoid
that!

June MacDonald

STUDIO 5 SPACE:
GRANVILLE ISLAND

The Potters’ Guild of B.C. offers the
use of an equipped studio on a
subsidized basis to a person work-
ing in clay in Canada and who is at
an early stage in their career. The
space in question is one of five in a
large group studio (the other four
are privately leased from CMHC),
with tenure from May Ist to April
30th of the following year. The 1992
monthly cost, including utilities, is
$171.20, including GST.

The successful applicant will be se-
lected by the Board of the Potters’
Guild from those applications re-
ceived at the Guild office by March
31st, 1993. Interested persons
please send at least 6 slides of
current work, and a typed resume
to the Guild at 1359 Cartwright St.,
Vancouver, B.C., V6H 3R7, by March
31st, 1993.

UNCLASSIFIED ADS

For Sale: Shimpo wheel and access.,
almost new. Asking $750. Call Gloria at
271-3850.

For Sale: Top loading 10 cu.ft. Olympic
gas kiln, incl. 6 burners, 8 shelves. Easy
to dismantle. $600. Call Rita at 922-
2038.

For Sale: Motorized Estrin kick wheel in
perfect condition. $325. Call 734-6754.

For Sale: Kick wheel with electric take-
off, heavy Wedging table, Damp [ice box)
cupboard, and insulating kiln fire bricks.
Call Dexter Pettigrew at 224-7116.

For Sale: MacLennan 22" round kiln,
22" high, $600.00; Estrin motorized
wheel, $175.00. Both in excellent con-
dition. Call 987-5283.

Page 6

November/December, 1992