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POTTERS
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COLUMBIA
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Energy, Continued from Page 6

‘This is how it is with hand-made things;
they all have their own energy that is captured
in their creation. If Celia hasn't thrown for
a while, she will usually start with a run of
mugs. It’s like playing scales to warm-up a
musical instrument. The first couple of mugs
might get discarded. If a mug doesnt come
off the wheel quickly, it’s not likely to have
any vitality.

The mugs of Ross Mitchel-Anyon that we
keep in our cupboard are crazy little things
but superbly functional. They were thrown
incredibly quickly, the handles are not fussed
and they retain all the verve and energy of
the making process even after, finally, being
individually kissed by the fire. Every time they
come out they get appreciated over again. All
this for only $10 each.

‘There

considerations for mugs. First is the deviation

are some fundamental design
from the basic tube. If the bulk of the form is at
the base it is very stable but can look heavy and
tired. In addition, if the top is too narrow you
will get a liquid rush over the transition. How
the mug addresses where it sits is important.
‘This is often the weakest part of pots. To take

the opposite extreme, if the top is very wide in

relation to the base (as with Mike O’Donnell’s)
then the liquid cools quickly. The position of
the handle will seriously affect the balance
and must be a complement in character and
weight to the rest of the mug. Then there is
the all important lip, the part that mediates
the mouth and the liquid. If you think of the
shape of the mouth, a very slight turn out will
conform to the lips. Too much flare and you
wear the tea! An inward curve doesn’t invite
the liquid or the lips. When you get all the
basics working together, there is the glaze, the
fire and any possible whimsy like Celia’s seal
on a button of clay up near the handle that,
for many people, becomes a stroking focus.

Ultimately, with different-sized hands and
mouths it becomes a very personal choice. I
remember reading about a potter who, like
most potters, laid a very eclectic table. His
teenage daughter complained and asked why
they couldn't have sets of nice things like
all her friends. Her younger brother, who
obviously hadn't been peer pressured into
conformity, piped up, “But if they were all the
same, you couldn't have favourites.”

www.geeenbarn.com

9548 192 Street,
Surrey, B.C. VAN 3R9
Phone: 604.888.3411
Fax: 604.888.4247

ean Darn

POTTERS SUPPLY LTD.

Tuesday-Friday 9-5
Saturday 9-1

Closed Long Weekends
greenbam@telus.net

Empty Bowls
2010
Sunshine Coast

By Elaine Futterman

Potters with their bowls at the Sunshine
Coast Empty Bowls 2010 fundraiser. (Photo
by Allan Forest courtesy of The Local.)

Sunshine Coast potters definitely put the
"fun" back into fundraising with Empty
Bowls 2010, a benefit for the Sunshine Coast
Food Bank, which took place Oct. 16 at the
Roberts Creek Community Hall.

‘The hugely successful event was completely
sold out, netting some $3,000 from ticket
sales and donations which came in even from
those unable to obtain a ticket.

Nineteen potters donated a total of 170
bowls and displayed them in a beautiful
array on a long central table in the hall. As
people came in they chose a bowl and then
headed to the kitchen for their choice of
four delicious soups made by Joe from the
Gumboot, Roberts Creek's own eclectic cafe.
Attendees enjoyed their lunch listening to the
music of local favorites: The Rakish Angles,
Gemini, Ken Dalgleish and Randeesh. A bite
of homemade sweets (made by the potters, of
course) left everyone happy and ready to go
on with their afternoon,

The bowls went home with their new owners
as a reminder that bowls in other homes may
still be empty.

Elaine Futterman and Mike Allegretti work
together as Creek Clayworks, located in Roberts
Creek on the Sunshine Coast. See their holiday
sale poster on Page 15.

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - November 2010