Wayzgoose Musings

I drove towards Nanaimo harbour in lashing rain, which thankfully eased by the time I boarded the single-engine Otter float plane, and by the time we splashed down in Vancouver harbour, the sun was peeping through. The day was newly-washed and fragrant as I turned in to the entrance of the Vancouver Public Library, a strikingly beautiful piece of architecture that reminds me of the coliseum in Rome.
It was a real treat to be able to talk to printers and book artists without concern for manning my own table, and to spend as long as I wanted just looking at beautiful books. I realised how much collaboration goes on between printer and binder, and printer and illustrator. There is also the connection between papermakers and paper decorators and the book artists who use the papers: one could not exist without the other. The phrase ‘on the shoulders of giants’ came to mind, the debt we all owe to those who have gone before, as well as those whose contribution is in the moment.

You can see the Alcuin Society photo stream of this event on Flickr   http://www.flickr.com/photos/alcuinsociety/   Enjoy! And thank you to all those self-less Alcuin Society volunteers who made it possible.