COLUMBIA

President's Message

I'm not quite sure exactly when I joined the Potters Guild. It was
1996 or maybe 1997. I had been a member of the Pottery Club at
the West End Community Centre and I always looked forward to
the guild newsletter that was posted on the notice board. It was the
newsletter that drew me in when I finally reached a point where I
wanted my own copy to read, in my own time!

For several years, I volunteered for the Raku U event on
Granville Island. It was a great experience; learning about raku and
meeting other potters. Then Kimcha, the gallery manager of that
time, asked me if I would join the gallery committee that she was
putting together. Our role was to support the gallery manager in
whatever way she needed. This mostly seemed to consist of painting
the back wall and plinths every six months, moving a lot of pottery,
office clean-ups, parcel runs to the post office, garbage disposal,
and purchasing. The five-person gallery committee still supports
the manager, but luckily we have already done most of the grungy

stuff like scraping paint off the cement floor, and Brenda makes sure
things don't go out of control.

With a vested interest in the gallery, I decided in 2003 to join
the board and work with the dedicated group of people who were
striving to re-energize the guild for its 50th anniversary. Keith Rice-
Jones asked me to work with him with a view to taking over as
president in 2004. And the rest, as they say, is history.

It was a steep learning curve, as I had never presided over a board
before and there were many challenges such as speaking in public,
writing articles for the newsletter, understanding financial reports
and the functioning of a gallery. ] have learnt so much and met
so many interesting people. It has been a wonderfully rewarding
experience and I am so glad ] made that first step.

‘There is always room for more members to participate on the
board—why don’t you check it out?

—Jinny Whitehead

September 2008 Gallery Exhibition

KSA Out There
Samantha Dickie, Robin Dupont, Maggie
Finlayson, Garry Graham, Katharine
Hofmann, Lise Kuby, Sarah Lawless, David
Lawson, Pamela Nagley-Stevenson,
Donna Partridge, Tanis Saxby

Exhibition: September 6 to 29

Opening reception: Sat., Sept. 6, 1-3 p.m.

Three Kootenay School of the Arts clay
instructors have selected the work of nine
talented and diverse former students of the
past decade who are working professionally in
ceramics to join with us in this group show,
KSA Out There.

It is fulfilling and fun to have this
opportunity to affirm together the spirited
creativity, passionate inspiration and high
technical standards found at KSA Clay.

This exhibition celebrates each of the
eleven individual voices as clay artists out
there and our ever-evolving and expanding
circle of connection through KSA at Selkirk
College.

We hope you will join us at the KSA Out
There opening at the Gallery of BC Ceramics
on Sat., Sept. 6, 1-3 p.m.

Maggie Finlayson

David Lawson

Robin Dupont

Guild Fundraiser
By Jinny Whitehead

‘The guild fundraising sale will take place
at the Lougheed Mall Oct. 18 and 19. lam
looking for donations of your good seconds,
trials and tests or pieces that you just don't
like—maybe someone else will love it! Work
can be clearly labeled and dropped off at
the gallery on Granville Island or you can
contact me at vwhitehead@shaw.ca to make
alternative arrangements.

I need volunteers to work one of the four
shifts, to help set up and take down, or to
collect donations. Please contact me ASAP,
as the dates will very soon be upon us. This
is an important event for the guild and has
been our most successful fundraising activity.
It’s fun, and some of the local residents have
become regular purchasers and look forward
to the sale. Come on—join the team!

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - September 2008 3