Our flagship show “TransFormations” eventually found a home at Burnaby Art Gallery as their
prominent summer show. Carol Mayer has lent the weight of her considerable expertise and
experience to this initiative. She, along with Hiro Urakami and Darrin Martens, the BAG Director,
volunteered jurying services. Debra Sloan has done a remarkable amount of work with archives
and research and Jinny Whitehead has successfully beaten the bushes for catalogue funding. A
special mention must be made of Al Sather who has single-handedly assembled a staggering
amount of information from Guild members for the Source Books and archival CD. Look out for
features by Rachelle Chinnery in Ceramics Monthly and Pottery Making Illustrated.

Beyond BC, we have a juried show of 50 pieces, modeled on “BC in a Box” but with 8” cubes,
traveling to Tajimi in Japan. This exhibit will be located very close to the Mino International
Exhibition and adjacent to the World Expo in Aichi. The submissions will be paired with 50 works
by Tajimi potters and there will be a return exhibition in Vancouver in 2006.

Membership Report
Matthew Freed: Chair, Ronna Ander: database

The membership arm of the Potter’s Guild of British Columbia strives to connect like-minded clay

enthusiasts and organizations throughout the province. In 2004, a number of successful avenues
for doing so were opened or exploited. These included the Membership Directory, distribution of

the newsletters, the Guild’s website, and events and workshops held throughout the province.

During the Guild’s last fiscal year, membership ran at a loss of $2075. Total membership income
was $14,542 and the bulk of expenses related to fixed costs such as the newsletter. This fiscal
year, a goal has been set to have membership break even so that it is self-sustaining and not a
liability to the Guild and the Gallery. This can be done in two ways :

(1) By increasing the Guild’s membership numbers to offset the fixed costs inherent in
running the Guild’s current membership costs (the current number of members is
approximately 440).

(2) By looking into means of cutting the fixed costs associated with membership.

Both of these options are currently being investigated and acted upon.

So far this fiscal year, membership revenue has far exceeded the expectations set forward in the
projected budget. This is mainly due to an increase in membership numbers. New initiatives like
member-inclusive events (i.e. “BC in a Box”, “TransFormations”), online registration and forms,
and a new membership brochure have proven to be successful. A letter sent out to lapsed
members also helped bring several past members back to the Guild. A special thank you to
Ronna Ander who diligently comes in every month to update the membership data list. Keeping
this list up-to-date ensures that you receive your newsletter.

Communications
Don Jung: Chair, Gillian McMillan: Newsletter, Carole Matecha: Proofreader, Martin Hunt: Editor

Newsletter Communications

The Guild’s newsletter has continued to be a source of interesting and relevant information to
fellow potters and artists throughout the province of BC. For 2004, we wanted to smooth out any
remaining wrinkles in the newsletter production and ensure that it was effective and professional
in communicating to the membership. We are pleased to report that the newsletter has steadily
improved and keeps getting better with every issue. 2005, being the 50" Anniversary for the
Guild, marks an important year for communicating and highlighting the many shows and events
taking place. We continue to look for more ways to enable our members to communicate with
each other and with the public.

JulylAugust2005 Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter Il