Reflecting

After every public event, I always have a story to tell, don't I?   I was part of a 3 day art show and sale here in Saskatoon.  It was very busy - I went through several hundred business cards and sold 5 pieces on the first day!

Our area and arrangement is different every year.  This year was one of the best - there was lots of space and no one was placed in the shadows.  The light was great and it didn't rain on Sunday night when we packed up to go home.  : )

I have to write this out white it's still fresh in my mind.  My post-show story; a most memorable moment.

There was an older woman on her own, looking at my wall.  I said hello and she replied with a thick accent that was so familiar to me.  As a first generation Canadian, I find that everyone from the 'old country' seem to know each other.  I had no idea who she was, so I asked her about when she came to Canada.  '1957,' she said.  I told her my mom's family escaped in 1953.  I asked her if she knew my family.  I said one last name, and her eyes lit up.  She started to name my great aunt and uncle.  She said they were good friends of hers.  I told her my mom's name and she knew her and my mom's sisters.  I told her the names of my Oma and Opa Kinner, and she told me the story of how they had nothing and took their family in to an overcrowded house so they would have somewhere to sleep.  She knew my Oma, Marianne.  I told her I had never met her.  My Oma (grandmother) died when my mom was pregnant with me.  Pretty tragic!  It's at that point I get the stories about my grandmother.  Everyone says to me, 'She would have loved you.  You would have loved her.'  It's a deeply bittersweet thing to hear.  As one of the youngest of the cousins, I'm the one who never met her, the only one with no memories of her whatsoever.  It's always felt like a loss.

Anyhow.  We talked a while, and felt an instant connection.  When we ran out of things to say, we just stared at each other, both a bit teary eyed.  I asked, 'Can I hug you because you knew my Oma?'  and she and I hugged.  We hugged and rocked and smiled and got all emotional.  It was an amazing moment.  You think it's all strangers in the crowd of thousands of passers by, and then this happens.  It's a moment of reopening a wound and healing it up a little more.  It's good.  I'm so glad I went up to talk to her.  It was meant to be.

: )

people gathering at my wall

I often sit back and watch, listening to what people say about my work without censoring.  It's a bit of a fly-on-the-wall thing and it's good insight for me.  Plus, I feel like I'd be interrupting their moment of discovery, so I wait a bit before I introduce myself and ask if they have any questions.

After the show, I made my deliveries.  It was a great weekend!  Thank you so much to the organizers.
 As my 6th year here, this one was one of the best. : )

Next up - CLEAN MY STUDIO!  O what a mess.

xo