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Editor's Viewpoint

| got into a conversacion with a friend che
other day. We both belong to an
organization that places a very strong
emphasis on mentoring. We are
encouraged to hook up with somebody who
has more life experience than we do and we
use them to avoid some of life's pitfalls. It
works beautifully, especially because the
senior partner is generally quite commicted
to the idea and makes time for che junior.
And, in time, the junior partner is expected
be mentor members who are newer than
themselves. My wise friend, Chris, works as
a counsellor and he is conscancly amazed ac
how often the only mentor people have in
ther lives is a malevolent one. Granted
thar he sees the dark side of life more often
than you or [, but he definitely has a point.
Imagine if work relationships were usually
co-operative instead of competitive, if more
personal relationships operated on an _
implicic crust instead of a grudging wait-and-
see, or if every teacher was as good as the
shining example who stands out in a sea of
mediocricy,

[ think potters are luckier than most in thar
way. We tend to share our techniques,
trusting thac our ideas will not be stolen,
that there is room enough for many visions
in one clay body, glaze, building technique,
ete. The very rare clay worker who does
actually copy someone else’s bread and
bucter line tends to be regarded more with

pity than anger.

[have never yet met a potter who refused
to give me a glaze recipe upon my
admiring request. This despite the fact
that they may have spent months of their
time developing this particular glaze! In
recur, | can only give them our ancienc
family recipe for [rish Soda Bread (which
can be fired fairly successfully in a kiln).

1 often wonder why this is. Of course,
there is a certain smug parc of me that
wants to ascribe it co clay people being
naturally superior, the Mensa members of
emotional generosity, but ['m sure there's
more to it than that. Perhaps ir is che
huge body of knowledge inherent in our
material, a morass of possibilities thar
would be overwhelming withour the
guidance of other clay workers. When |
worked at a doctor's office, [ was very
conscious that the older patients came
from a time different from my own.
When [ meet potters in their sixties,
seventies amd eighties [ don't feel that
bartier. On che level of clay we are
equally passeonace and involved and what
[ know about majolica may be as new to
them as what they know about salt-firing

is to me!

['m getting really excited about the John
Leach workshop. It's rather like meeting
clay royaley. nagine shaking che hand of
a man who probably had his firse bit of
clay pressed into a chubby fist by grandad

Bernard! | feel like one of those
screaming gitls vou see pictured in old
concert shots of che Beatles. And { don'r
even do high fire.

[think that February is a good month co
be thankful (I'm always grateful it’s such a
short month, given how wet it usually és).
I'd like to say thankyou co all che people
who help me ouc with the Newsletter;
Georgina Branden, Rosemary Amon,
Heather Cairns, Pat Taddy and Margaret
Hsu come in every month te fold, collate
and stuff envelopes. Margaret Hsu also
looks after the Guild websire. Fredi Rahn
and Rona Hatherall fill in when che
regular volunteers are suffering from acute
paper cuts... Gillian McMillan proof reads
the Newsletter and ferrecs our all sorts of
errors. Thank you to Linda Doherty for
calraing me down on occasion! Her
husband Dennis Doherty designed the
‘new Look for the Newsletter and gave me
all sorts of computer help. Jane
Marthews does all sores of suff above and
beyond her job deseripcion. Finally, I'd
like to thank everyone who's ever written
an article for che Newslecter, | really de
appreciate i.

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