WELLNESS ARTIST

The Potters Place in 1992 © The Potters Place

WELLNESS ARTIST The Potters Place: Collective Success at 30!

KEALY DONALDSON

IF YOU HAVE VISITED the Potters Place on the corner of Cliffe Avenue and 5th Street in Courtenay, you’ll know how special this little gem of a studio is! If you haven’t been there, it is time to make an effort and walk through the the front door of this collective success, who coincidentally is celebrating 30 years of operation!

As an arts collective, this is a big accomplishment—and there are many original members still working away to secure pottery’s place in the Comox Valley and beyond! As you start looking through the shop, your eyes will light up as you glance at all the shelves and wall dressings. Beautiful raku, pit fired and glazed, along with many other styles, fill the shop from floor to ceiling.

I had the pleasure of meeting almost all of the current members of this pottery collective; three founding artists are still involved at this time. Sue Taylor, Elizabeth Raynor and Irene Miles are so very pleased to be celebrating this special occasion. "It’s all about good friendships and enthusiasm; it is very exciting to have carried on this long!" Taylor shares. "We believe in educating on the magic of making pots and have a lot of fun collectively sharing ideas. Our client relationships have been very strong and we are so very thankful for the support. The enthusiasm started 30 years ago and is still strong today.”

Maeva Collins feels strongly about the positivity of the group and how the dynamics of working together have pulled them through so much, especially the two years of the pandemic. “In the past, we have had up to 15 members, which meant that everyone worked two days per month and occasionally only one. For us, COVID was a real challenge," Maeva says. "We closed in March

of 2020 and served the public by appointment for three months. In July 2020, we opened for only three days. Many of us were unable to work due to being at risk or having members of our household at risk. For a time the gallery was operated by only six members. I think the fact that our six members were so willing to continue working and keep our doors open is a contributing factor to our longevity!”

'It takes a village' is the saying, and Potters Place truly highlights this philosophy to its core. Being a tight-knit organization, there is a job or position for everyone involved. In addition to the artists’ assigned days of work, they all have a job or two to deliver on for the collective.

There is a treasurer's position which is a shared position with another member looking after the day to day sales, a separate member who does the deposits and someone who calculates each potter's monthly sales and writes those cheques. Then a separate member mails out the cheques to consignees with their inventory information; a secretary, also a shared position, consignment manager, committees to serve on such as display, marketing, feature artist, guest artist, supplies, website, posts to Facebook and Instagram. Potters Place members support and depend on each other to continue their success.

Pottery starts as a lump of clay and it all looks the same when it starts to be worked with, but it is the individual artistry of each member that shines through each piece. All members of Potters Place are local within the regional footprint of Nanaimo to Quadra Island. Connect with the studio in person or online, you’ll be happy you did!

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