When Connie and I started this project we hoped it would reach and involve a global community. To date we have shoes in all ten Canadian provinces, Nunavut, six U.S. States, England, Australia, Holland, The Caymen Islands and New Zealand.
All the shoes have been sent out and almost all have already been returned
I will be adding images to the gallery as I receive them. If you would like to send me a short (two sentences ! ) explanation of your work on the shoe, please do so and I will include it.
If a mistake is made in anyone's name, please accept my apologies and do let me know, so I can correct it.
June 10th /07.
I would like to thank two photographers who have donated their time to the project. Gordon Lang in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Danica Gee in Nanaimo, British Columbia. I would also like to thank Julie Oscarson, Port Alberni, British Columbia who has been instrumental in designing this website.
July 12th/07. Galleries.
For information about galleries showing the shoes please go to the Home page and click on Shows for Shoes.
Report on Intersection Art Gallery Show.
The opening of this show was both very enjoyable and very interesting. I was able to speak to some of the people who had contributed additions to the original shoes as well as speak with many others. Everyone I spoke to gave me great encouragement and was very moved by the work shown. I have emailed all the people whose shoe went to another home. Seeing the shoes go was a strange mix of feelings for me. Some of the shoes I made in 1995 are now really gone, not just for a short while and then I would see them again, - but gone for good. This was mixed with the pleasure of knowing that others would enjoy the end result of the collaboration between myself, and so many other people, that had taken place this last year.
People donating were able to chose the organisation they wished their money to go to. For this show I had decided Drs. without Borders and the Canadian Relief Foundation would be the recipients of the donations. $1,895.00 was raised. I would like to thank the Intersection Gallery for their very generous support in both giving us the space and providing wine and cheese for the opening. The individual artists who own the gallery also provided a person to be there each day to look after the shoes and any donations that were made.
Report for the show in Victoria.
The opening for the Victoria show took place on Friday February 15th at the Art Gallery for Greater Victoria. As all who were able to attend will agree - it was a really wonderful evening! Again, as in Nanaimo, I had the great pleasure of meeting many of the contributors who had only been names up until now. Shoes flew off the shelves and are now in their new homes. Donors have contributed $5,200.65 There is still some money coming . The donations go to ICROSS - www.icrosscanada.ca - and Save the Children-Education Program - www.savethechildrenCanada.ca .
During the evening we enjoyed hearing a song written by Linda Rogers and Rick van Krugel and sung by Chris Trygg accompanied by Rick. Linda's song was part of her shoe contribution.
I would like to thank Penny Tennenhouse for her very generous support during the last year. She was the driving force behind the distribution of shoes in Victoria and receiving the shoes back when finished. She took many photos of the shoes to send to me for the website and also photos of the contributors themselves.
Thankyou to Sandy Sandquist for making shelves for the gallery and to Linda and Bart Longmore for their help at the opening. Thanks also to Francinne Halle, Bonnie Moro and Zosia Lacz for their help in mounting the show.
Volunteers were needed to sit the show each day, thankyou to all of you who gave your time to do this.
Report on the Winnipeg Show
I apologise for the delay in reporting this show. For reasons beyond my understanding I have been unable to access my web site for the last three months. I am now suddenly able to do so - here is a belated report.
The show was again wonderful. This was the first time I had seen many of the shoes as they had been returned to Connie who had looked after them. It was also the first gallery to be able to show all the shoes at one time and for them to be left in place for the length of the show. Donors were able to see photographs of the girls attending Stella Matutina School in Uganda were the funds raised were sent. Almost $3000.00 was raised. It was a great pleasure to meet both old and new friends who had donated work for the shoes. Thankyou all for your time and generosity in supporting this project.
Ray Dirks (curator of the gallery ) and Connie Wiebe relieved me of many of the jobs that have been entailed in mounting the shows. My thanks to them both for all the work they did.
