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structure, On July 5th, 1 wrote a letter to Guild members
in response to their specific concems about content and
process. | thought it worth sharing the gist of that letter with
the rest of the membership. Although other Board members
told me that they found my orginal lever a useful summary,
they are my personal perspectives and not “official”.

To aquaint you with the biases | bring to my perspective,
Pil intrxduce myself, | am not a potter, although in my
youth | made a rather striking life-sized clay head which |
painted black with India ink and now wears my “Mees the
Press - NBC News” cap (a beftover from the Bill & Boris
show). Always the closet artist, I have never found the
courage to give up salaried jobs. Fortunately, most of
those jobs have related to the arts, and I can at least enjoy
the company of those whose bravery (and talent) is greater
than my own. Currently director of communications at the
Museum of Anthropology at UBC, 1 also teach arts
administration and not-for-profit marketing, This year, I
have taken a leave of absence (and my senses) to pursue 3
PhD in organizational change, postmodemism, and
feminist theory. [am producing my dissertation in
hypermedia—which is as close to art as I'll get for a while,

Since about 1992, the Guild's Board had become
increasingly nervous about our financel affairs. During
the 1980s, the Guild had been raising a liule bit more
moncy than tl was spending cach year so that small
surpluses were accurnulating a comfortable reserve in
various imerest-bearing accounts, At the beginning of the
90's, the rend shifted ever so subtly. At the same time as
camungs were decreasing, spending was increasing, driven
primanily by salary increases. The two lines crossed and
we began accessing the built-up reserve. It became clear
that, unless something significant changed, we would soon
be broke, Having no control over the extemal environment,
wilh slaff advioe, we turned lo the organization itself.

First we did the logical and fun things. We raised the
Gallery's profile with new signage and promotional events;
launched The Nomh-West Ceramics Foundation and won
charitable status from Revenue Canaxta; cut expenses
wherever it didn't jeopardize our mission or our revenue;
reduced the commission rate to $480 (not one of the “fun
things); and volunteered additional hours to provide
services to the Guild, including painting the Gallery,
setting up and staffing a booth at the Circle Craft fair,
working in the shop during the Christmas season, and so
on, Noble, but not enough, Sales remained stagnant; the
Foundation needed years (0 raise funds; there was no more
reserve; the commission change slowed but didn’t stop our
slow drift toward bankruptcy; and volunteer Board
mumbers were exhausted. As well, we knew we had to
continue to spend money competing for customers, buying
computer and other equipment for the staff, refurbishing
the Gallery, and doing more programming for potters and
the public. To even think about such proactive things, we
Page ?

_ had to stop tinkering and begin rebuilding. With Jan
— Kadnie's resignation last December, it was time to conven
Joss INO Opportunity, and consider something completely

«different. What this was, we didn’t know. With Anna

| Byamason agreement (0 cover the transition until June, we
had six months to find out. Because of vacations and
departures, the Board met—for the first time in my history
alone, without the presence of staff. Our conversation was
open, frank, and wede-ranging. As we talked, we realized
we were beginning to explore organizational changes that
could affect existing staff members. A worrysome task,
given the positive stall relationships . Nonetheless, we
were getting glimpses of a future that looked more positive
than the present.

We continued, ih camera, behind closed doors. Several times.
we talked about inviting staff, but by now we were discussing
matters to which they could have had no other reaction but
resistance. If / were the staff member and the board asked
me to comment Of &@ Structure that might exclude me or
change my job in a way [ found threatening, what would |
say? It’s unlikely that I would be my most creative and

cooperative self,

We all struggled with the issue of privacy versus openness,
communication versus silence, and accountability versus
populism, We wormed about our leadership role versus our
Obligation to represent the membership, Once we agreed to
become directors on this not-for-profit board, the Society
Act held each of us personally “jointly and severally” liable
for the Guild's financial and legal affairs. We neither took
our responsibilities lightly, nor made hard decisions casually.
We weren't mean-spirited or stupid. We made sure that if
we had to deliver hard messages, negotiation room would

be left to ensure affected staff would get a generous deal.

We discemed the difference between tuming the Gallery into

@ business and running it with useful business principles.
Our organizational memory was long enough to recall that
the Gallery was not only created to support the Guild. But
we hexl to balance tradition with the knowledge that the Guild
had few other ways (except to significantly increase
membership fees) to support its educational and member
programs. Economic realities had changed and so must the
Guild. We agreed to seek a line of credit before we cleared
out our last bank account so that we could guarantee
compensation packages and equipment to support our new
stoucture, While we might not, in the end, need that credit
line, it allowed us short term breathing space and a way lo
ride out the annual cash flow dips in the long term, Although
we appreciated this risk , it was miniscule compared to our
conviction that to do nothing or continue to merely tinker
was utterly risk-free: it virtually guaranteed our going into
debt by spring of 1995, at which time we woukd not get a
line of credit nor have room for anything other than
Draconian change. (For those who believe these changes
Dracoman, know that not only is the Guild intact, we can
look forward l greater, not lesser, support of members*

interests.) (Comiaued on Page §)