COLUMBIA Stronger Guild, Contd from Page 5 At the beginning of 2003 the guild and gallery faced their most dire predicament. The board had been without a treasurer and adequate financial statements since 2000 and it took accountant services to reveal that we were at a point where both the guild and gallery were close to insolvency. The board at the time was down to a bare quorum and struggling so, calling in favours, I took the initiative and assembled a strong interim board which included many past board members. With the appointment of Tamara Ruge as gallery manager and a remarkable coming together of guild members, by the next AGM we were feeling much stronger and more secure. I stayed on for another year and remained as chair of the guild's 50th anniversary committee through to 2005. Jinny Whitehead then took over as chair of the guild, accompanied by Sheila Morissette who continued on as secretary. Jinny has done a remarkable and selfless job of building us to where we are today. That same year, Brenda Beaudoin stepped in as interim manager when Tamara took maternity leave, eventually staying on. Brenda worked in close collaboration with our sales assistants on gallery aesthetics and streamlining information for customers, artists and guild members. Sharon Cohen, our latest manager, took the reins at the end of 2008. Each new gallery manager has had their own style and energy and all have faced the same fundamental issues of balancing the educational imperative of edgy or challenging work in exhibitions with the day-to- day necessity of the sales required to keep the guild and gallery solvent. Staying true to our mandate as a gallery representing the best of B.C. ceramics rather than a mainstream shop, keeping solvent without external funding, weathering economic downturns and soaring rent increases—all of these represent a series of knife-edge challenges. We can be justly proud of how we have risen to these challenges as we celebrate our 55 years of existence as a guild, and proud of our Gallery of BC Ceramics in its role as a major presence on Granville Island for the past 25 years. Chop Marks & Signatures Send in your chops and have them available through the guild. For the form, click on the link here: www.bepotters.com/forms/ chop_marks_form.doc You can email it back to Debra Sloan at sloanyip@shaw.ca as an attachment. Or print and mail your sheet[s] to Potters Guild of BC, 1359 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3R7 attention: chops. Gallery, circa 1996, Gallery Manager Jane Matthews. Exibition space, circa 2000, Gallery Manager Kimcha Rajkumar. shadbolt centres spring 2010 ceramic arts programs Registration for Spring 2010 programs begins March 2 at any recreation centre. Programs for all skill levels available. shadholtcentre.com Focus on Porcelain $162.12, 8 sessions Wednesdays, 7-10pm Starts April 14 Instructor: Darlene Nairne Barcode 211006 Gesture & Expression in Clay $149.00, 2 sessions re) Sundays, 10am-4pm Starts April 11 Instructor: Elaine Brewer-White Barcode 218386 Lights for Summer Nights $166.22, 8 sessions new!) Wednesdays, 10am-1pm Starts April 7 Instructor: Linda Doherty Barcode 215900 Taxes not included. Call Shadbolt Centre at 604-291-6864 or register online at: burnaby.ca/webreg Sculpture by Elaine Brewer-White Set Up Your Own Studio $80.04, 4 sessions Mondays/Thursdays, 6-8pm Starts April 19 Instructors: Linda Doherty & Jay MacLennan Barcode 215873 Soda Firing Workshop $105.50, 3 sessions Thursday/Friday/Sunday, times vary Starts May 13 Instructors: Linda Doherty & Jay MacLennan Barcode 215866 Tips and Techniques in Clay Construction $152.12, 8 sessions Thursdays, 7-10pm Starts April 8 Instructor: Fredi Rahn City of Barcode 210990 SBepumnaby & Caliural Services Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - March 2010