Women's Probus Club of Vancouver

NEWSLETTER

WOMEN'S PROBUS CLUB OF VANCOUVER

#107 - 3088 -W- 41st Avenue V6N 3C9

Vancouver, B.C. 604-261-0708

Volume 15 Issue 4, September. 2017

Next meeting: Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Time: 9:30 am - Coffee 10:00am -Meeting

Place: Point Grey Golf Course 3350 S.W. MarineDrive

SpeakersforOctober:AnnWebbandRobBrown,VancouverArtGallery Topic:TheFutureisNow

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Honorary Life Time Members: Robbie McKenzie

Audrey Will

President: Past-president: Vice-president: Treasurer:

Recording Secretary: Corresponding Secretary: Newsletter Editor:

Speakers:

Webmaster: Membership: Membership Services: Membership Committee:

Greeters:

Donna Battye

Denise Cunningham

Jane LePorte

Barbara Paterson

Nicki Collingwood (backup - Mary Graham) Suzanne Everett

Helen Armstrong

Laurie Drummond

Cheryl Banfield

Marguerite Ford

Mavis Jonsson

Estelle Jacobson

Lois Lindsay

DorothyJoplin

Pauline Dunlap, Michelle Gambrel,

Agi Radcliffe, Melba Sinclair

Pat Hudson, Pat Cryder,

Dorothy Miller

Sheila Bell-Irving

Women's Probusof Vancouver: Probus International Website: Probus CanadaWebsite:

canada.htm

******************************************************************************

We were saddened by the death of Joan Lloyd last month. One of Joan's great joys was her involvement with Probus, so do come early to the October meeting and enjoy goodies provided by Joan's estate.

Notes from our September meeting:

President Donna Battye presided. Visit or s were welcomed.

Thank you to our greeters, Denise Cunningham and Anne Earthy .

The 2017-2018 membership fee of $40.00 was due in September and, if you haven't already paid, please pay at the October meeting or mail a cheque made out to Women' s Probus to the treasurer, Barbara Paterson, at 5749 Athlone Street, Vancouver, V6M 3A1. Your cancelled cheque is your receipt unless you ask for one. Receipts will be issued for cash payments. If you do not wish to continue to belong to t he club, please let Barbara know at 604-263-7049 or o that she doesn't have to contact you.

Donna thanked Patricia North for her arrangements made for the Monet exhibit at the Art Gallery.

Lunch is again available following our meetings. Please sign up at the sign -in tables as we are limited to 20 members of Probus. Don't forget to bring cash to pay for your meal.

Please remember, no cell phones or perfume at Probus meetings. The Golf Club has a defibrilator and a first-aid person we may contact if any Probus member has a problem at one of our meetings.

****************************************************************************** Let Helen Armstrong (604-261-0708) know if you are not receiving your newsletter by email and wish to do so, or vice versa. Please also let her know of any changes in your information. If you are having difficulty receiving your letter by email. Please contact Hardy Bunn at 604-683-8604. Don't forget to check your JunkMail!

******************************************************************************

(Many thanks to Nicki Collingwood for the following notes)

Mavis Johnson introduced our guest speaker today, Lynette Grants, who is a graduate of the University of Sydney, Australia and has a Master's Degree from Simon Fraser University in Curriculum Development. Lyn gave a very enthusiastic talk about Maris Sibylla Merian, a water colour artist, engraver and self-taught entomologist. Definitely a woman ahead of her time.

Maria was born in Frankfurt. April 2, 1647. Her father was a Swiss engraver of renown, with his own art school, in a city that was very much into international trade and commerce. He died when she was three and her mother remarried Jacob Marrel, a still-life painter. At age 13, Merian studied with her step-father as an apprentice. Her water-colour themes were nature, plants and insects, particularly butterflies and caterpillars. She began her own caterpillar collection in her kitchen to study the insect's maturation into butterflies, in small boxes on the counters.

At age 18, she married a fellow art student and moved to Nuremberg. She had two daughters, taught painting and continued painting and studying insects. She became an engraver, as well aspainterbecauseengravingsweretheonlywaytomakecopies.In1679,shepublishedabook providing patterns to be copied on paintings and embroidery. In 1679 she published a major book on insect metamorphosis. Common thought of the time was that insects arose spontaneously from mud as butterflies. Her marriage was not a happy one and she left him to become part of a religious cult, the Lapidists, a severe religion and one where everyone shared the work and whatever income theyhad.

Hermarriageover,shemovedbacktoAmsterdam,1691-1699.Thereshepaintedbotanicalsfor a wealthy horticulturist. She obtained a grant from the Governor of Suriname and, combined with income from the sales of 200 of her paintings, went to Suriname, South America, a colony the Americans had swapped for Manhattan. She went there with her youngest daughter, Dorothea,herpaintinggearandvellum,asitwouldnotbeaseasilydamagedaspaper.Shehad been keen to go to Suriname for many years to see and paint the exotic plants and insects. Suriname was a Dutch slave colony, with sweltering heat, dense vegetation, tropical spiders, snakes and much more. The natives and slaves from Africa were forced to grow and harvest sugar cane. The plantation owners mocked her, caring only about sugar pro fit s. The native women were helpful in her collections of plants, insects and generally taught her about them, especiallyattheirmarkets.Shelistedandclassifiedplantsandfaunaoftheunfoldinglandscape. She saw and painted bananas for the first time. She placed the Blue Morpho butterfly in many of her paintings as well as snakes, pomegranates and other tropical fruits. The native women told her they used seeds from one of the local plants to abort rather than bring more slaves into the world. Some poisoned themselves rather than continue theirlives.

Malaria forced her to return to Amsterdam after two years. She then proceeded to publish her major work, Metamorphosis lnsectoreum Surinamesium, for which she became famous - famous as one of the most significant contributors to the field of entomology.

This year is the 300th anniversary of her death. Marien's work has been re-evaluated, validated and reprinted. The 500 DM Note had her portrait on it, before Germany converted to the Euro. In 2005 a modern research vessel in Germany bears her name. There have been U.S. stamps produced depicting her botanical works and insect drawings. Her major work, Metamorphosis lnsectoreum Surinamesium, has been republished with updated scientific information. Around the world her works are being celebrated this year, including a major exhibit at Holyrood Castle in Britain and a Scientific Symposium of her work in Amsterdam.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Shortlybeforeherdeath,herworkwasseeninAmsterdambyPetertheGreat.Afterherdeath, he acquired a significant number of her paintings, which to this day are kept in academic collections in St.Petersburg.

I don't think anyone in our Pro bus audience knew of Maria Sybilla Merian. We were amazed and very happy to learn about her from Lyn Grant's delightful present at ion .

Patricia North thanked Lyn on our behalf.

Activities - Small Groups:

TheBookClubs:1stBookClub-ElizabethBooth.

TheClubisreadingGod'sHotelbyVictoriaSweet.

Membership in the 1st book club is closed.

2nd Book Club - Judy Echols 604-266 -8633

The Club is reading An Invisible Thread by L. Schroff (October) and The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King (November) .

The Lunch Bunch:

If anyone (or two) is willing to carry on Joan's legacy with the Lunch Bunch, please let Donna Battye know. It's the getting together that's important and has been missed .

Correspondence{ Suzanne Everett 604-228-8482 No report.

IfanyoneknowsofsomeonewhoshouldreceiveacardfromSuzanne,pleasecallSuzannewith theinformation.

OctoberSpeakers:Ann Webb, Associate Director, Director of EngagementandStrategicInitiatives, Vancouver ArtGallery

Rob Brow n, Project Director, Vancouver Art Gallery Topic: The Future is Now .

Ann Webb: In the fall of 2016, Ann Webb joined the Vancouver Art Gallery as Associate Director, Director of Engagement and Strategic Initiatives. With 30 years of experience in the visual art and culture sector, she is widely recognized as a community builder and leading figure in the international art world. She was previously Managing Director, ROM Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum, Executive Director and CEO of the Canadian Art Foundation and Publisher, Canadian Art Magazine. At the Vancouver Art Gallery she is

responsible for overseeing and providing strategic direction for the Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs, and Education and Public Programs departments, with a specific focus on developing innovative programs for their new gallery. She believes in the power of artists, art and museums as change agents in society.

Rob Brown: Rob Brown has been with the Vancouver Art Gallery since August 2014 and is currently the new gallery's Project Director. Rob is a senior development executive with a 20+ year career overseeing and managing complex projects from concept to completion, as well as internal and external teams. His primary areas of expertise include institution al, research, museum and retail sectors. Prior to joining the gallery team, Rob worked with UBC Properties Trust for 12 years, one of the largest developers in British Columbia, delivering excellence and value for money with on-time and on-budget projects. While with UBC Properties Trust, he oversaw the institutional portfolio of six million square feet of construction worth $1.8 billion.

Coming speakers:

November - Judy Graves who has been involved for many years with concerns for the homeless in Vancouver.

December - Dr. Larry Beasley - former Director of Planning, City of Vancouver