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Meet the Mackenzie Potters Guild

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So, where is Mackenzie, anyway?

Mackenzie is located 200 km north of Prince George,
and lies at the southem end of Williston Lake, (the
largest man-made reservoir in North America) formed
by the W._A.C. Bennet Dam on the Peace River.
Rugged Mountains, rushing rivers and tall stands of
virgin pine were all that existed in the area up to about
30 years ago. Mackenzie began in 1967 as an
“instant” town, virtually carved out of the forest and
created as a result of large pulp and lumber mills.

Six thousand people call Mackenzie home. With 67%
o the population under the age of 35 years, Sports and
the outdoors are the most popular recreational
activities. But we also have an excellent recreation
complex and are very fortunate to have an Arts
Centre, which is operated by the Mackenzie Arts
Council.

The Arts Centre has a Painters Studio, Fibre Artists
Room, Lapidary Room, Meeting Room that can double
as a gallery space, Mountain Gifts Shop and a Potters
Studio. This is home to the Mackenzie Potters Guild.

The Mackenzie Potters Guild was established in 1981
by one lone potter. In the early years, membership
hovered around 10 - 15 people, and all were novices,
Then we went through a period where bots of members
moved away and the membership struggled along with
5 members for several years, Then, in 1989, our
membership began to steadily grow, and for the last
several years, our membership has remained between
20 - 25 members. We now have about 7 intermediate
level potters, with all the rest being beginners.

The main goal of the Mackenzie Potters Guild is to
promote the clay medium in a fun and friendly
atmosphere, The Potters Studio is equipped with 5
kick wheels, 1 electric wheel, 2 electric kilns, lange
canvas covered kneading table, a brand new slab
roller (our latest acquisition), various hand tools,
glazes and a smail library with books and videos.
Currently Guild membership is $75 per year. Members
must purchase their own clay. We are fortunate in
Mackenzie to have a Potters Guild that is $0 well
equipped, and so easily accessible to

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residents at such an affordable price

The Guild regulary meets every Wednesday evening $
(called “Guild Night’). This encourages members to

pot on 2 regular basis, get to know and socialize with a
other members, exchange ideas and try new

techniques. Guild members are also encouraged to $
come to the studio at other times, as they have

unlimited access to the studio every day from 7 am to 3

12 midnight,

With so many novice members, one of our biggest
challenges is offering pottery classes. We have far
more demand for classes than we have instructors,
which makes it extremely difficult for new members
when they join. To deal with this problem, we
developed an “Ambassador Program”. This is a
rotating position that is shared amongst the senior
guild members. An Ambassador is available on every
Guild Night, They share and shoe, to the best of their
ability, (heir knowledge and skills in pottery for all
members, especially new ones. They wear a name
tag, 50 that they are easily identifiable as the Guild
Ambassador for that evening. The Ambassador
Program has been very successful for us. New
members are guaranteed to have access to help when
they need it, and it makes it easier for new members to
join because we have eliminated the intimidation of not
knowing who to ask for help, It also encourages the
Ambassador potters to share with new members the
knowledge and skills that they have acquired through
Guiki membership. After all, they got their start in the
Guild because someone took the time to get them
Started. This is their opportunity to give a little back to
the Guild.

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Another challenge is the cost of running the Guild.
Shipping charges eat up a lot of our annual operating
Sudget. We order clay in bulk 1 - 2 times a year, and
the freight charges add about $5 to the cost of each

box of clay! Glaze chemicals are expensive to ship
because they are so heavy.

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When new members join, we want them to have fun.
But we now stress to all prospective members that part
of Guild membership involves “volunteer” obligations.
We operate by every Guild member doing their share.
This includes following Guild procedures, rigid cleanup
standards, and

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