Dear Public,

I have never viewed this world from what I have, but what I can give. When I played soccer as a youth, it was never about me making a goal. It was about the pass I made to facilitate a goal by my teammate. To be able to provide a venue such as the Vasefinder International where the economic barrier for any artist is at no cost follows along this same line of thought. I am passionate about the direction of this exhibition and its ideals, and I have stated this over its 8 years of existence.

My passion is clearly rivaled by the entries of the 127 exhibitors from 7 countries in the Vasefinder International 2013. This is not a fortuitous occasion that we have come together to celebrate the pottery making medium. I want to tell every artist that I believe in you. I know society may not always be so kind, especially in an economic sense, but it is not because of economics you are here and now. It is something more important and powerful. And knowing this, I will take my last breath to be able to provide this exhibition for potters.

Passion in others has always been a motivating factor in my life. It is something that I can sense. I sense this passion for pottery making and its history in our juror Phil Rogers. I know Phil spent hours upon hours like prior jurors giving it his all. I can only say that I am very grateful and feel lucky to know him. I want to thank our family friend Janet Clothier, who helped me produce the mailing lists for this year's exhibition. I want to thank my partner in life Sherry. We just celebrated 23 years of marriage. Life has been good to us, and we are so lucky to have our little girl Carley.

Sincerely,

Charles A. Blim Jr., President