Back in the early seventies Alan and I bought our first and only jade plant from the window of a Chinese restaurant in Vancouver. Believe it or not we still have said plant and several of its offspring. Every year I take them outside for the summer so that they can enjoy shade, fresh air and some attention. They survive the winter grudgingly on a table in front of a south-facing window.
The original jade is so big that I decided to offer it to any of the ‘Raiders’ recently and Mina gleefully agreed that it should live in the studio that she and her husband Stan Douglas built on Cordova street. So Princess Jade as Mina has dubbed it, will move back home to Vancouver. The already-large offspring will have to come back inside very soon as the evenings cool down. I may even be able to part with one or two more.
Mina and Stan borrowed a large SUV today and we were delighted to have them here for coffee, flapjacks and a visit as they loaded the jade plant into the car. Stan and Alan had a fine time discussing our collection of Nuu-chah-nulth Art and some of our fabulous South-Western and Mata Ortiz pots. Mina has already spoken for plates I shall make in my new oval platter forms!
After they left I took advantage of a fine Fall day and walked down to Gallery Bistro on Clarke street to join fellow TriCity Potters for the first of a planned series of pottery discussion sessions. The Bistro is good for a fine little lunch and a cappuccino. The group talked about glaze problems, underglaze colours and ideas for our planned show in Port Moody Arts Centre next March. I was pleased to have a chance to see Rainer Daniels’ solo show while I was there.
Afterwards some of us popped into the brand new Silk Gallery three doors down, next to Ysabella’s pottery shop and studio. Its official opening is this Saturday so I shall take my visiting niece down to see that. On the walk home I also pointed out the new pie and coffee shop Gabi and Jules.. oh my, decadence galore! We’re pleased to see that part of old Port Moody beginning to flourish.
Here I emptied my glaze kiln. It wasn’t very full but I’m pleased to have ten more jugbirds ready for my galleries and Marlene will be happy with her two new black and white plates. Photos tomorrow.
Then I continued to avoid being in my studio by deciding to plant a new Buddleia and a Boston Ivy while the sun was still shining. Alan even barbecued pork steak but we ate inside. The evenings are getting cold now.
And this evening we intend to watch a pre-recorded edition of a PBS TV show, ‘Art in the 21st Century’ which is looking at art in Chicago, Mexico City, Los Angeles and Vancouver. This episode features Vancouver and specifically four well-known local artists, Liz Magor, Jeff Wall, Brian Jungen and Stan Douglas. It will be good to have a further look at Stan’s work.
http://www.thecinematheque.ca/art-in-the-twenty-first-century-vancouver
