A Weekend Full and Rich

I spent this past weekend in Calgary for a wedding -- my late husband's cousin's eldest son, on my mother-in-law's side of the family.  :-)  I point that out only to illustrate how complex family relationships can be, and how easy it is to lose touch when you're related only by marriage.  I've been blessed to be able to stay in touch, however infrequently, and so to be part of special events in the life of this family, even though we live so far apart, and see each other so seldom.

The bride is lovely, sweet, funny, talented and self-confident.  The groom is reserved, gentle, kind and funny.  Each is very in love with the other.  Each has two full sets of parents/step-parents, all of whom were present and involved in the wedding, without apparent rancour or resentment.  All devoted their weekend to honouring the happy couple.

Making the food as interesting as it was delicious was the fact that, though being married in a (very) reform Jewish tradition, respect was paid to those present who might have more orthodox practice (i.e., 'keep kosher') and to those who might be vegetarian (vegan) and/or gluten-intolerant.

It was a very eclectic mix and a delightfully happy time -- and I took no pictures!

I finished the weekend by attending a great little two-group textile art exhibit mounted by FOG (Fibre Optics Group) and FAE (Fibre Art Explorations) at the Canyon Meadows Community Hall.  The venue is located down a winding street that's not well marked, and there was no signage, but when I got there the parking lot was almost full, and it seems to me that someone estimated that by the time I left (2:30 p.m.), there had been roughly 500 people through since the show opened (noon)!

Here are some of the reasons why (all photos posted with permission of the artists):

"Study #1 - 'Re' Series" - Diane Duncan
("Re" = reduce, reuse, recycle)

"The Fabric of My Life" - Diane Duncan

"What Makes a Quilt Modern?" - Diane Duncan

AND

"What Makes a Quilt Traditional?" - Diane Duncan

"My Scrap Yard Quilt" - Karen Jurek

"Quail" - Meredith Helgeson (mixed media)

"Untitled" - Meredith Helgeson

"Copper Tree" - Suzanne Stranks

"Julius Caesar Goes to Tokyo" - Suzanne Stranks

Please Note: the density of the exhibit contents in the space combined with the number of viewers at any one time made it difficult to take photos!  Sometimes I had to work at an odd angle, and a couple of the above are cropped to remove someone's head or shoulder from the frame!

Just as delightful and inspiring as the artwork, was the company.  I knew Diane Duncan would be there, as she is a colleague of mine from SAQA Western Canada and had told me of the exhibit in the first place.  I didn't count on seeing Suzanne or Karen (both with pieces in the show) or re-connecting with Meredith (ditto) -- and I certainly didn't expect to run into my friends arlee and Sha in the audience.  I was also introduced to a couple of new faces, which is always a plus.  Then there were familiar names in one of the guest books -- gals who'd been there earlier in the afternoon, whom I'd missed.

I came home rejuvenated, relatively relaxed and ready to get back into the studio.  One can only wish for every weekend away to be so lovely!