February 2005 - Cold Lake, Alberta
On a cold winter's day, we climbed aboard a Greyhound bus bound north for Cold Lake, and, unknown to us previously, via what seemed like every small town and community within a fifty mile radius. And so our study of the Canadian winter began. We saw bone-weary rig workers slump into seats and fall asleep before the bus pulled back out to the highway. We saw French, Ukrainian, German, Scottish church architecture highlighted by falling ice crystals, low rays of the setting sun, inky blue Alberta night skies. We saw endless fields of winter wheat, fallow ground, and straw remnants.
Once in Cold Lake we explored the lake itself with its wind swept ice formations. We visited the military base and its museum. While in the Alex Janvier Gallery, Alix Janvier walked in, sat down and spent the next hour or so talking to us about his art then that night attended our trunk show at the local art group's gallery.