Sumas Brick Works

Located on Sumas Mountain, 5 kilomecres
east of Abbotsford, the Sumas Clay
Products brick plant has a history that dates
back to the early 1900's, when clay was first
nuned from the mountain.

The factory is owned and operated by the
Upper Sumas Indian community, For more
than 70 years the original beehive kilns
have been used to produce clay-fired face
brick, decorative bricks, flue liners, paving
brick and drainage tiles. The company is
the only manufacturer in Canada still using
beehive kilns to produce these products.

1 first sec up my studio at the factory juse
ove one year ago. Soon after | was joined
by Leigh Herrington. We expanded the
stuclio into the space above the machine-
shop. This isa 70 year old building with
heavy wood beams and flooring and loss of
windows. A perfect studio. It had been
used as stocage space, The walls were
covered with boxes of nuts and bolts »motor
V-belts and unused equipment (not to
mention years of dusc and birds mests)!
After clearing and re-organizing we had a
sizable production area.

Next we started on a kilm room. Having the
use of one of the old beehives, this was che
logical place to use, as we would not have to
worry about burning down che building,
Once again, extensive clean-up was needed
because, in its” last incarmation, the kiln was
used to burn truckloads of paper, We
installed a gas kiln, donated by Coquitlam's
Place des Arts, and we were in business.

During the winter we ran classes in
beginners and ongoing pottery. This
summer we are co-ordinating a workshop
with Emily Carr College thar fearures
Robert Harrison. The history of Sumas
Clay Produces Brickyard makes it a
wonderful location for an educational
center for clay, This is ome of its furure
possibilities, something like the Archie Bray
Foundation in Montana. We are working
on this concept with the Sumas Band
Council, and are hopeful cher .a mutual
arrangement can be found.

Brent Gloeckler

A Letter from Grandfather

26 - V1. 60
My dear Johnnie,

We are delighted to hear from both you &
your Father tha you want to come here
for a year at any rate in November next, |
have ne dowbr thar you will fic in with the
group we shall have & that you will pick
up our shapes & methods very quickly &
make a good contribucion, buc ! want co
say at che outser chat, necessary as all that
is, it is not the real thing for which you
should be coming. That is all means to an
end, noc che end itself,

This is the day of the artist craftsman not
of the journeyman potter. That means
that any young person taking up a craft
today as a vocation only justifies himself
(or herself) by finding something to voice
or say. That is his life, or crue characeer,
extended into his pots. Formerly this was
not the case but today iris, We want
from the artist pomer the same sort of
quality which we expect from a good
author, poet, paincer or composer. The
journeyman potter's place has been caken
by the factory,

Thus your main objective should be
aesthetic — to know good pot from had
pot & to be able co find your way, with
your own clear connections, amidsr all the
good & bad pots of past & present to
making good, sincere and honest pots of

your Own.

I do not believe that there is any place in
Europe where you can get a more helpful
background for chis endeavour than here
and it would be my great pleasure and
Janet's to try & give it to you.

After this last journey to America we both
feel thar a new effort is required of us at
St. Ives to encourage our group of rather
macure students, & the ald hands too,
towards freer and more living expression
in pots. We think that the seandard
wares, especially, have become too
careful, measured & weighted & waxed &
calculated. Come & join in the effort to
let the streams flow,

Page 7

Now as to money, we can’t pay as your
Father has. The maximum we have paid a
student towards the end of a good two
year apprenticeship was 5 pounds 10
shillings to Peter Wood. We could start
you at 5 pounds plus overtime @ 299d
p-h. & bonus which might be guessed @
10 shillings a week. This would yield a
net between 6 & 7 pounds p. week whilst
you are here. Of course we shall keep a
look out for a decent & not expensive
place foe pou to stay. This is not a great
deal as a living wage but it is as far as we
can go on the student apprentice basis,

] doubs myself if one year will be long
enough but that we shall see & if, as [
expect, you soon master the shapes on our
making lise we can push your basic wage
up abit. We are busy with visitors already
& with pots for coming shows. Just about
got our feet on che ground again.

With love to you all
Grandfather

As you may have guessed, the Grandfather m
this letter is Bernard Leach, and Johnnie is his
grandsem, Jolin Leach, who kindly shaved this
letter with those attending the May 24th &
25th workshop he gave co the Potters Guild
of B.C

John also mentioned that his grandfather was
right, he ended up taking over two years te
complete his apprenticeship. editor

September Fundraiser for
Potter's Guild of British Columbia
with the B.C. Chef's Association.

We need lots of members to donate
two 12" to 14° plates by August 1st.
These will be used at a dinner with

a substantial amount going to our

guild. Please contact Jane at 604 -
669 - 6465