“The WESTERN POTTER" No. 16. October, 1969.
EDITORIAL

It is, I suppose, usual for new editors to question the underlying
reasons for which their new charges exist. Why do we publish the
‘Western Potter? Already there are two craft magazines in Canada -
more in the States. One of the answers would be communication, an
interest in and discussion of the problems that are common to potters
“ty a seattered and enormous area. It's a valid answer - we do want to
know what's going on, where we can study, what we can see. We do
want to exchange ideas and thrash out problems.

But it is not a function we fill adequately. Communication is a two way
thing. And at the moment all we seem to get back is anecho. There _
seems to be a reluctance to take a share in this dialogue; to question
the opinions of contributors; to argue publicly and in print the issues
we confront.

And this seems to me indicative of a general apathy in our craft in this
area. Art of all sorts thrives in a welter of conflicting opinion, of
differing aims and objectives where people, deeply committed to the
philosophies they have forged, want to discuss them. We have fine,
dedicated craftsmen in all areas of the Province but between us we
seem to fail to generate the sense of excitement, the joy, the verve, the
feeling that we are in the game because it is what we want to do most
and we enjoy doing it - that we are totally committed.

The craft scene reflects this lack. Why should the Vancouver Art
Gallery make Ceramics 69 - the major pottery show in Canada -
subsidiary to an exhibition of Japanese art and technology? Because
pottery is a second-class medium? Nonsense - if ever there was a
division between the fine and the applied arts it has gone now ina
welter of plastic, of film, of earth and self-destroying artifacts. If we
potters insist on treating our art as second-rate then the attitude of

the galleries, the collectors and the buyers will mirror back our
attitude.