BN a 6) Pulse 3 Our Northwest Ceramics Foundation Jumpstart Scholarhip Recepient Having returned from two months of travelling across Canada _ last summer with my head filled with ideas to be rendered three- dimensional in clay, | was delighted to discover that | had received the Northwest Ceramic Foundation Jumpstart Scholarship. This gave me the financial momentum to seek out a work space and commence potting again. After my graduation from ECIAD in 1994, | worked in Studio 5 on Granville Island for a year. This was a relatively easy move as the studio is equipped. Last fall required considerably more research into space, equipment and general setup. | discovered a location after several phone calls and many miles covered Studios emerged last November from the stained relics of an office space to functional, comfortable studios. The transition was punctuated by a few events such as_ the sander descending dramatic renegade floor the tight squeeze of the wheel up the stairs and an old fan narrowly missing someone's head. December and January were spent marching my pots through the wind and rain to the generous kilns of neighbouring studios. ‘And finally a great McLennan kiln was installed and has been in constant use since. | have been working on functional earthenware pots with slip decoration. | find great satisfaction in making and decorating several pieces at once. The decoration varies with shapes and objects that strike my interest. The current themes are old tools and objects sketched rom museums, wharves, cafes, etc. from across the country and seed pets inspired by the recent spring sprouting,. | also work in stoneware and use slipcasting to create more compli- cated pieces, but I'm finding it necessary to store ideas for different techniques and temperatures for future development and concentrate on expanding my repertoire of utilitarian earthenware pots at the In February | was began teaching a children in my studio, initially to gain some teaching experience and help supplement the rent. Saturday mornings became completely entertaining with the group of five. It was most rewarding watching animated teapots with gigantic lids, one legged bowls and_ spider sandwiches being built. | feel like the studio developments are beginning to get off the ground, firings are more consistent and teapots dribble less. The progress is starting to surpass the setbacks. And so continues the toil of a fledgling potter. Good luck to the others and don't forget to turn the kiln ON before you spend all day turning it up - OOPS. Thankyou very much to the Northwest Ceramics Foundation Georgina Brandon (George has partcipated in group exhibitions, craft sales and been juried into the Granville Island Market since receiving her grant. Ed.) S\ on my bicycle. And by gathering four enthusiastic people -two potters, a painter and a printmaker, Red Hen \0 0 © © *T the stairs at an uncontrollable speed, moment. 00 000 An Introduction To The Internet For example, the Potters Guild Web Site URL is “http:/Avww.cwin.com/chome/redhen/PGuild/", just type this Hello! For people who are interested in the latest technology and the newest form of communication, here is a little introduction on how to access the Internet for us potters: (Those people who already own a computer probably know what you need in order to connect with an Internet Service Provider, so this is for people who don't) * First of all, you need to get access to a computer which is equipped with a modem and telecommunication software. In some of the public libraries and school libraries, they have some computer systems set up especially for surfing the Internet and the Worldwide Web service. For example, when you come down to Granville Island you can just stop by the library of ECIAD which has two computers available for you to use and which are World-Wide- Web ready. * Usually the computer screen will be a colorful window called “Netscape”, Look from the very top of the screen down, you will see the menu bar and some buttons, and a white space which has something typed in it like “http:/Awww....." " If you already know the URL (Uniform Resource Locator -this is simply the electronic address) of the certain site that you want to visit then type in the URL in the white box (delete the one in there already) loooong address into the box, then press enter, it should take you to the Guild's homepage. * Move the mouse around the window, we will see some images and coloured or underlined text that are links to other pages or locations when the pointer icon changes from an arrow to a hand. Click the mouses rightmost button on them! “If you want to find sites that relate to pottery or ceramics on the Internet, | have put together a little “Ceramics Links” page, which links to all the ceramic sites | have found and more. The URL address is “http://mypage.direct.ca/m/mhsu/clinks. html". “There are several Search Engines that you can use to find things on the net. The most popular one is YAHOO (http:/Avww.yahoo.com/). At this site, there is little white box in the middie of the screen, and you can just type in the keyword or subject you want to look for, then click on Search, it will list all the related sites you can go to. If you can't find it one search engine, try others! If you have any more questions about accessing the net, you can call me at my studio 879-6206 or fax me at 263-5187, | will do my best to help. Happy Surfing Margaret Hsu.