Mapheads: Homage to the GVRD Map Book Circa 1985

I moved to Victoria in 1985 and discovered the region by driving around in my blue 1960’s Volvo station wagon. I used a map book to find my way. Usually I got happily lost.

Now I use a Smart Phone and GPS to find my way around.  The map book gathered dust in the studio.

I love Victoria and Vancouver Island. I’m a traveler and have lived on other continents.

Arriving back on the island is always coming home to one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

I decided to memorialize my dog-eared Victoria map book about five years ago with this quirky Maphead mixed media series.

This piece has a photo I took at Old San Juan Fort in San Juan Puerto Rico, another seaside city I love.

Here’s a piece with a snippet from one of Canada’s noteworthy Group of Seven painters, Lawren Harris.  There’s also a peek below, out of the battlements at the Old San Juan Fort.

I keep all my travel maps and decided to celebrate a bit of down under and other places I’ve journeyed.

I threw in one of my photos on Rocky Point Road of a beautiful doorway in Old San Juan.  You can find this, and more of my photographs in Doorways of Old San Juan at Blurb Books www.blurb.ca.

Paper maps have become an anachronism and acquired a nostalgic quality.  I love paper maps.  Map colours and graphics are inspiring.

I often see visitors to Victoria wandering about with paper maps. I always ask if I can help with directions.  I still enjoy reading a paper map.

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