When I first met Peter, I was fond of a wire that was strung across his mustard yellow dining room wall. On it hung a curated mix of prints: letterpress posters, postcards, tiny business card-like treasures and assorted other things. It was clearly his doing, his work, his tastes. His selections spoke to his high creativity and intelligence, his quirkiness nerdiness and his courage to stand out. I was already falling in love with him and this helped seal the deal. I had no idea I would later learn to be a printmaker too. But that is not what this is about.
Somewhere along the way, in our endless declutterring, uniting our lives (and things), and painting that mustard yellow wall navy blue, the wire came down. And it stayed down until today.
This afternoon we installed the wire in our hallway. It is a place for prints we’ve made or works we love from others. From many possibilities, we chose one of his, one of mine, two from Peterborough printmakers Peter knew, and an intricate hand-drawn piece by my artist friend Bruce Roosen.
I love the look of it. I love the potential of it. And I love that we get to create things to hang on it.
But mostly, I love that the wire reminds me how grateful I am that I get to love Peter.