CS. After the mould form is replaced, plaster section 3 is poured. The conical plugs are removed and the assembly iS again tured over,

D. Once all sections have been cried, the mould can be assembled fer casting. It is filled with slip and left for enough time for the plate walls to become solid but not

long enough for the foot to become solid. The assembly is

then tumed on its side to allow drainage and liquid slip is forced out of the hollow foot through the bottom filler cav- ity by air forced in through the top cavity.

APPLICATIONS FOR THE APRIL JURY ARE BEING ACCEPTED UNTIL APRIL 15

NEOPHYTE MUSINGS

-Jan Krueger-

A couple of months ago, June MacDonald brought an arti- cle by Ruth M. Home to my attention, The article, 'Pottery in Canada‘, was published in the “Canadian Geographical Journal” in February 1944. | read over the article and siot- ted it away in the newsletter file thinking that, because this is the Guild's fortieth anniversary year, it might be used as a backdrop to an article covering the first forty years of Guild history.

This month | brought the article out again . The article contains information on a number of B.C. Potters active in the 1940's. The list includes Gertrude Weir, Molly Carter, M. Grote, Marion McCrea, who was the first secretary of the Potters Guild, Grace Melvin, Mrs. Burchett, Marjorie Robertson, Doris Lecog, Axel Ebring and Emily Carr. Thanks to Bob Kingsmill"s 1977, itish Columbia Potters, some further information is available on Axel Ebring and mountains of material exist on Emily Carr, though not seein: about her ceramics.

"EMILY CARR PLATE, HOME, 1946

\What happened to the rest of these B.C. potters between 1944 and 1954 when the Potters Guild of B..C. came into being? Were more of them than Marion McCrea involved in the Guild's formation? Did they leave some legacy be- hind? Were they the progenitors of a recognizable style in B.C. pottery? Is there a demonstrable continuity of de- velopment within the B.C. pottery community? If so, does it have a British Cotumbia character. If not, what kind of character, if any, typifies the B.C. pottery community that has developed since 19447 These and a host of other Questions arose as | reviewed Ruth Home's article.

Home considers pottery to be a handicraft , *...[A] n object may be classed as handicraft when it is the result of a need for self-expression by its creator who personally must carry through all stages the processes of creation. As a corollary it must be distinguished by its character from the manufactured ware." (p.65) Fifty years after it was created this definition seems to fall squarely into the lap of debate surrounding the question, “Is it art or is it craft?”. Having never asked this question of myself, my initial response was to ask in tum, “Does the answer really matter?”. Indeed, the current, and obviously past, debate, bears all the characteristics of the intemecine. The potter's navel has been so thoroughly examined that it should be possible to reproduce the entity without the aid of sight, Unfortunately, Home does not explain why