Alan and I took the ferry over to Victoria last Wednesday. Al has packed up lots of his archaeological material and was ready to deliver the boxes to the Royal BC Museum as the repository. I had completed a group of jugbirds for a new gallery (for me). Vijaya at Eclectic Gallery in Oak Bay had seen my work, found me through my website and invited me to bring several jugbirds in.
We found the gallery in a very busy section of Oak Bay Road, in an area of nice shops and other galleries.
I like the selection of work showing in Eclectic and feel that this will be a good place for Victoria people to find my jugbirds. They have monthly shows so there’s a new selection of work for regular visitors to check out.
We liked a current show of mid-century work which includes some Vancouver Island pottery. In fact a 1980s salt-glazed jug by Hornby Island’s Wayne Ngan has come home with us! You can see it in the window of my photo of Eclectic and here at home with tulips today.
Here also are photos of the nine jugbirds Vijaya now has displayed. She is happy to have BC birds but also likes the non-specific ones I make. Today she has emailed to tell me that two are already sold so I really must get to my studio now!
But three nights on the Island had us wondering why we don’t live over there. It is a beautiful part of BC and the weather is not only the mildest in Canada but even nicer than here! We stayed with friends Denis and Kim in Esquimalt, had lunch and an afternoon with Bjorn and Linda in Victoria, drove up to Duncan via Port Renfrew and the recently paved road to Lake Cowichan, popped by Cathi Jefferson’s studio nearby and stayed with Robert and Jennifer in Duncan.
But nice as it was to reconnect with old friends we will continue to think of Vancouver Island as a favourite holiday (and archaeological research destination for Al) place and remain living in Port Moody. We have an old house that suits our needs and where our family can easily visit us.
