andrea taylor


"Charming Little Book Inspired by Childhood Summers by the Sea"

By Lois Meyers-Carter
A delightfully unique salute to Bowen Island has been created by the printing and publishing of Childhood Summers by the Sea , an artistic and literary memoir of Andrea Taylor's happy summers at Bowen Island. The book had its origin three years ago when Andrea, a printmaker at Granville Island's Dundarave Print Workshop, found herself intrigued by the vanishing art of letterpress printing. She then took the letterpress workshop offered by BC's noted Barbarian Press. Working with the collection of elegant books prduced by the Mission private press inspired Andrea to create a book of her own.

Letterpress books are labour-intensive and thus costly to produce because every part is done by hand, using traditional methods and materials. The final result, however, is a literary and artistic creation whose format is as important as its contents. Andrea's 60-page book features ten linocuts and ten short poetic prose items. She hand-set the limited edition of 125 copies in her own letterpress workshop and hand-bound it with an exposed spine sewing. The standard edition sells for $185. But there's also a deluxe edition, quite different, with wooden covers and sewn over salmon skin tapes: it sells for $350. Andrea's book was shown at several Bowen Sunday Markets and has been exhibited at a solo show at Granville Island's Dundarave Print Workshop. On Bowen, Andrea's book and accompanying prints will be available at the Ian Fry Gallery, beginning in October.

Andrea's Bowen links begin with her grandparents Harry and Agneta Wright who bought waterfront property on Bowen in the late 1950's. In 1979, her mother and father were able to buy a nearby cottage just a walk through the woods and over the hill from the grandparents' house. Andrea's grandad died in 1976 and her father died just four years ago but Andrea and her sisters and their spouses plus mom continue to enjoy summers on Bowen even though they don't all fit in the cottage anymore! Andrea says that her memories of childhood at Bowen Island are vivid and wonderful and while she also loves Bowen as an adult, nothing can replace the memory of her enchanted childhood by the sea.

Article reprinted with permission from the September 26, 2003 UNDERCURRENT, Bowen Island Newspaper