POTTERS GUILD of BRITISH COLUMBIA a President’s Message We held this year’s AGM on Monday, Feb. 25. Thanks to all those who attended and those who took the time to send in proxies. AGM reports and financials can be viewed here: http://www.bcpotters. com/Guild/membersonly/Membersonly.php (you'll have to login to the members-only area of the website to view). The three members of the board who stepped down are: Amy Gogarty, who fulfilled her three-year term as communications chair and in addition this last year as secretary; Suzu Matsuda, who was only able to sit on the board for one year, is leaving for personal reasons; and. Sheila Morissette, who has given 10 years to the board. Sheila served three consecutive three-year terms and only stayed on an additional year to help ease myself into the position of president. All will be missed on the board but all still plan on staying involved in various ways at various levels. Joining the board at this time, I would like to welcome Sheila Jahraus who will be helping with communications/Facebook updates, Nicole Smith stepping into the position of secretary, Cheryl Stapleton who will officially be joining the board as treasurer, plus Andrew Wong and Darcy Greiner, who we will find hats for as soon as possible. Please take a look at their profiles on Page 4. Planning for the guild’s involvement in the 6th Triennial Canadian Clay Ceramic Symposium being held at the Shadbolt Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 23, is in high gear. As mentioned in the last newsletter, we will again have a B.C. table in the resource hall, where we will be promoting PGBC, other B.C. guilds, individual B.C. potters and events. If you are holding a special clay event this year or next, we would be happy to display informational material. I also want to remind everyone to purchase your tickets for the dinner which will follow the days’ activities. Seating is limited and we are already nearly half sold out. For more information on how to secure your place at the table, please see Page 8. I hope to see many of you in March at the Symposium and please drop by the PGBC table to say hello. @ —Denise Jeffrey Gallery & Exhibition News By Laura Carey Exhibitions March brings the annual PGBC Member Show to the Gallery of BC Ceramics. The theme this year is fun and functional serving ware. The show is aptly titled Dish it Up. All members of the guild are welcome to submit work, with the limit of two sets (place settings) or three individual pieces per person. ‘The deadline to drop off work is March 3, so it is not too late to bring in your pieces. For more information visit the website at www.bcpotters.com. Featured Artist ‘The featured artist for March is Amy Gogarty. Amy is an educator, artist and writer who specializes in issues relating to contemporary art and craft. She taught visual arts history, ceramics history and contemporary theory for 16 years at the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, Alta., prior to relocating to Vancouver to devote time to her studio and writing practice. She has exhibited her paintings across Canada and has contributed over 100 critical essays and papers to journals and symposia in Canada and abroad. She co- edited an anthology of critical essays and artist projects incorporating ceramics with Mireille Perron and Ruth Chambers entitled Uropic Impulses: Contemporary Ceramics Practice, and, with Nisse Gustafson, the third volume of Craft Perception and Practice, a series of essays on craft practice initiated by the late Paula Gustafson. Both are published by Ronsdale Press in Vancouver. She has served on the boards of both the Potters Guild of BC and the North-West Ceramics Foundation. Speaking about her work, Amy says, “I trained as a painter, and my interest in ceramics was first piqued by the amazing and beautiful surfaces one finds on pots. I taught the history of ceramics for many years at the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, where my students insisted that if I were going to teach about pots, I had better learn to make them. Thank goodness for students! “Lidded jars such as these first and foremost contain space. The paintings that comprise their surfaces depict space and the objects and landforms that create our experience of space. Many depict the view Work by featured artist Amy Gogarty. from my back porch, so typical of East Vancouver, including older houses, modern apartment blocks, industrial buildings, telephone poles, stately trees and surrounding mountains. It is a view that inspires me with its mix of natural and human artifacts, its constantly changing seasons and weather conditions. I also take pots out into the country to paint plein air views of mountains, fields, rivers and water meadows. I try to match the form of the pot to my perception of the space I am painting: swelling clouds, compressed alleys or low-lying river beds, “Since earliest times, potters have painted images of the land on their pots, perceiving natural connections between the earth and the clay from which the pots are made and between space depicted and space contained. My pots follow in this tradition, seeking to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and to respect my position within it.” Staff News February brought considerable changes to the gallery. Two of our valuable staff members have moved on to different avenues in work and life. Sasha (a knowledgeable gallery assistant) and Amanda (our powerhouse assistant manager), have both been balancing multiple jobs for some time. The decision to focus on one area of work is understandable, although the gallery will not be the same without Sasha and Amanda. We wish you both all the best in the future, and your positivity and hard work will be missed! Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - March 2013 3