BBQ and Brainstorm Summer Social Recap: Looking Ahead Together

July 14th was a beautiful day for our BBQ and Brainstorm Summer Social! Members gathered for an in person relaxed evening of good food, conversation, and community. What a delight to see so many guild members in one space.

We started off with a great icebreaker game some Mingle Bingo, which came with some great prizes, graciously donated by our wonderful and local clay suppliers: The Clay Warehouse, and Greenbarn Pottery Supply. 

As a group we were asked: Where do you see the Guild in 5 years? and What do you love about the Guild? Provided with post its and blank wall we were all invited to post our thoughts on the guild and its future throughout the evening.

After some food and connecting we broke out into groups where members felt most interested in. This gave us a chance to look ahead and imagine the future of the Guild. Our brainstorming and break out groups focused on four key areas: Grants and Fundraising, Kilns and Firings, Exhibitions, and Member Engagement and Community. 

Here is a short recap of what we discussed for possibilities in the future. 

Grants and Fundraising

Members shared ideas for expanding support for artists through grants and fundraising opportunities. This included:

•  exploring grants to help members ship work to exhibitions, as well as providing practical resources to help members apply for funding.

•  Ideas included letters of support, grant-writing tips, online tutorials, and shared resources through the Guild website and Discord. 

• There was also interest in using these opportunities to introduce more students and emerging artists to the Guild.

Kilns and Firings

Our gas kiln continues to be something members love, and there was lots of enthusiasm for expanding firing opportunities. Ideas included:

•  more communal firings, different firing schedules, and exploring Raku, soda, wood, sawdust and saggar firings, as well as other possibilities such as sculpture and cone 6 firings.

• refreshing the glaze selection 

• creating a kiln committee to help establish rates and schedules

• finding ways to make volunteer opportunities more accessible while encouraging broader member participation.

Exhibitions

There was strong interest in creating more opportunities for members to show and sell their work. Ideas included:

• pop-up exhibitions and sales, annual markets, travelling exhibitions

• online galleries and a potential Guild online store. 

• themed shows, artist catalogues, better documentation and photography, and ways to use the website and social media to bring more attention to Guild exhibitions and members’ work.

Member Engagement and Community

Perhaps the strongest theme of the afternoon was simply getting together more often. Members expressed interest in more:

•  socials, workshops, artist talks, mentorship, open studios, pottery crawls

• There was also enthusiasm for welcoming newer members, connecting with students and teachers, and finding ways to include members who live outside the Lower Mainland through hybrid events and satellite communities.

  
  

Across all four areas, the vision was clear: a Guild that continues to be community-centred, connected and supportive, while creating more opportunities to learn, share, exhibit, sell and make together.

Thank you to everyone who came out, shared ideas, enjoyed the BBQ, and all the volunteers that helped make the day such a fun and inspiring gathering. And congratulations to all our door-prize winners!

Stay tuned in with the guild as we move forward in fall for next steps with members who are interested in making this happen together.

Photos of the event can be seen in the link HERE.