President's Remarks

I often think that the name of our organization - The B.C. Potters'
Guild - is a challenge in itself. The very name "Guild" conjures an
image of a group of master craftsmen meticulously and lovingly
turning out beautiful pieces of craft work.

This may be a mere flight of fancy, but the fact remains that we do have
an organization with the objective, among others, of trying to contin-
ually improve the standards of ceramic work in British Columbia. And
this objective is, I believe, one that we should keep constantly in mind.

Many means can be utilized to achieve this end, Our general meetings
should be informative and educational, and many interesting lectures
and discussions have been held over the years. At the last general
meeting Mr. Stan Clarke showed a series of slides of recent pottery
exhibits. One most beneficial type of meeting was tried a few months
ago, in the form of a demonstration by Michael Henry and critique,
which Mr. Glen Lewis handled with much interest and intelligence.
Disappointingly few pots were submitted for criticism, and if this form
of meeting is held again, we feel that every member would benefit
from submission of a piece of work for criticism.

Another function of our organization is the arranging or sponsoring of
exhibitions. The Hycroft sale was in a sense an exhibition of our
members’ work and did much to increase public awareness of hand
made pottery. But exhibitions of high calibre, strictly juried, are
perhaps the greater challenge, and we had the honour to suggest to the
Vancouver Art Gallery, a Western Canadian Craft Show of such calibre
and prestige. Mrs Shadbolt informs us that this show is tentatively
scheduled for Aufumn, 1966, and though the budget is not yet passed,
she feels there is every likelihood it will be.

Also, the Guild can sponsor seminars and workshops, as it did last
summer, with Mr. Hal Reigger. This year a three-day seminar is
planned in April, led by Mr. Harry Davis, of New Zealand. This will
be held at the U.B.C. on April 12 - 13 and 14 and will provide an
opportunity for members to learn from an outstanding potter who has
taught in West Africa, Latin America and New Zealand.

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