Cariboo Potters Guild members are excited to show off their creations next Saturday, Oct. 3 during their annual, fall sale.
Buff Carnes, president of the CPG, said the works of 13 potters will be featured in the sale as members have been busy despite not being able to get together at their regular, monthly meetings at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“We usually have our sale the first weekend in November, but we knew we couldn’t do that due to having to have something outside, so we decided to have a one-day sale while the weather is still half decent,” Carnes said.
“Our potters have been trucking along. Several of our members have home studios with their own kilns and own wheels and, fortunately, they’ve been firing for others.”
Their studio at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre reopened Sept. 1, with COVID-19 restrictions within the CPG room, which has been working well, Carnes said.
“We book a maximum of four potters at a time and people are starting to work within their same groups, which is great, because a big part of it is the social side, as with a lot of groups,” Carnes said.
“We had an outside meeting in September at one of our member’s homes and it went well, and now we can use the Graham Kelsey Room upstairs [at the CCAC]. It’s important for us to get together to exchange ideas and catch up with people. That’s a large part of our guild. The purpose is for potters to get together to share their ideas and recipes for glazes, and techniques, and things like that.”
Carnes said the sale will feature a variety of different, unique types of pottery, including wheel-thrown pottery, hand-built pottery — some of it exquisitely colourful — and plenty of traditional, functional pottery.
The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside the Central Cariboo Arts Centre at 90 4th Ave. North. Visa, MasterCard, debit and cash will be accepted as forms of payment.
Carnes noted there will be COVID-19 protocol in place, and is encouraging people to wear a mask when they can’t physically distance.
READ MORE: Cariboo Potters Guild host 2019 fall sale
Aside from the sale, Carnes said the CPG is grateful for a pair of grants they recently received: one from the Community Arts Council, and another from the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society.
“We were able to purchase two tents, some stools for the guild and some tools through a grant from the CAC, which elected to distribute their grant money among their own members to help them weather the storm and get through COVID-19 and the loss of fundraising opportunities,” she said. “We are thankful for that.”
The CCACS grant will go towards a new, programmable kiln for the guild, she noted.
“We’ve had older kilns that continue to cause issues so this will make it easier for people who do the firings, our kilnmaster, so a big thank you to the CCACS, as well.”
As for being able to get back together and out in the community to share their pottery, Carnes said everyone is thrilled.
“The potters are pleased to be back together as a group and have the studio open, and it’s exciting to have a sale and see people, and see people enjoy their work,” she said.
“Drop by and have a look.”
greg.sabatino@wltribune.com
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