What a fantastic day we had yesterday! The gloriously sunny day began with the arrival of a cousin and her husband from Germany. After a quick visit over tea and biscotti on our deck, we whisked them to the ferry over to Bowen Island. Hans-Christian, one of the artists in the exhibition and a resident of the island, invited all the artists and their guests for pre-show nibbles and wine at his home. How lovely it was on his deck looking out over the sea, getting ourselves in a mellow mood for the reception to come. What was very unusual was how many German speakers were present: three of the artists including our host, and three visitors from Germany, plus my husband! Our daughter Erika was enjoying practicing her German with them but I was quite lost beyond the pleasantries.

Anne and I in front of some of my work

Then on to The Gallery at Artisan Square to see our exhibition and be there for the artists’ reception. I was immediately greeted by a beautiful lady – Anne Wadleigh, the amazing 20th Century Woman and her husband Jerry! How delightful that they made it and how honoured I felt that they had made the trip up from their island on the other side of the border in Washington! Though this was our first meeting face to face, Anne and I felt like we’d known each other a long time. Jerry and my husband found many things of common interest while Anne and I talked about printmaking. With her own background in printmaking, Anne had many perceptive questions and comments and was interested to learn about the Capilano University Art Institute. Anne expressed the desire to be able to work in such a place and be inspired by other printmakers. I look forward to another visit one day and to showing her our facilities.

left to right: Michiko Suzuki, Wayne Eastcott, Curator Ann Ramsay, Peter Frey, Linda Robertson, Hans-Christian Behm, Joan Smith, Christel Kleinewillinghofer and I (Bonnie Jordan was unable to attend)

The opening was very well attended and the work well received. It was hard to get good installation photos but the show looked great in this lovely space. Our special thanks to Ann Ramsay, Gallery Coordinator/Curator for giving us this wonderful opportunity to share our works with Bowen Island residents and visitors. Thanks to my husband for taking all the photos, also Erika though I haven’t seen hers yet.

Then a lovely ferry ride home again. I was a little tired from all the excitement and had dinner to prepare (thankfully I’d prepared the main dish the day before). Our family circle around the table was larger and richer with the German cousins and we were grateful for this wonderful day.