Gifted In Istanbul, Artist as Collector

This week's Artist as Collector blog post comes from American Printmaker Celeste Pierson currently living and teaching in Istanbul, Turkey.

Garden of Ephsus

Solar Plate Print

©2012DanWelden

collection of Celeste Pierson

Last August after packing up my belongings and putting them in storage,  I got on a plane with my dog Nelly, and we flew to Istanbul, Turkey where I  had accepted a job teaching art at a wonderful school called Robert College.  A month later, my partner Jack joined me. We are happily settling in while exploring the culture and sights of Istanbul.

One day a phone call came to the house where we live on campus, from an old friend and former colleague, Dan Weldon who just happened to be teaching art on a cruise ship docked for a few days in Istanbul.  We journeyed down to the port to visit with Dan, and over tea we discussed many interesting things.  In the course of conversation Dan mentioned his concern because his assistant for this leg of the trip wasn’t able to make it… and would Jack like to join him for a week free of charge and travel throughout Turkey and Greece as his teaching assistant? Of course, said yes!!  Jack went on the  cruise while I stayed and worked. 

This solar plate print by Dan Welden, - the first print of our Istanbul collection, was gifted to us as a gesture of thanks and gratitude for Jack's help on the cruise.

That’s the bonus of being a printmaker- creating multiples to share and exchange of our work,  so we can surround ourselves with “soft and fuzzy” memories of friends, students and colleagues.