This site created Sept 1995. This page revised April 2020.
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In the spring of 1967 one of the members of the newly formed
'British Columbia Speleological Society' submitted a small
notice to the Daily Colonist newspaper in Victoria. It simply
announced the society's formation, the date of the next
meeting, and the secretary's phone number. I had just
graduated from high school, was just finishing the last of
Norbert Casteret's incredible books about his caving
adventures, and was searching for a purpose in life. I was sure
that the notice was 'destiny' calling me. More than 30 years
later, I can look back at that moment with a little more
objectivity than I could at the time.
Caving turned out not to be my 'purpose', but only a milestone
along the path. Nevertheless, it was a defining moment and
still has strong influences on my life. My very first trip in 1967
was the exploration of Riverbend Cave on Vancouver Island.
Since then I have caved in England, in the Rockies, and in the
U.S. I have many memories, (of wild adventures, and deeply
felt moments) and I still go underground whenever I get the
chance. The cave closest to my heart, and closest to my art, is
Euclataws, on Vancouver Island. I have spent many, many
hours alone in Euclataws. I am honoured to be one of its early
explorers. I will never forget my first sight of its unique and
beautiful formations. I try to portray in my art some of the
feelings and thoughts I have experienced during my
underground sojourns. Each piece represents my ideas as I
consider eternity, what we humans think it is (often short-
term) and what is expressed in the underground world. How
short and insignificant are our actions, when we stop to
consider the geological perspective.
We have our daily lives, daily concerns, but there is a different
existence down there, a different 'life'. How and where, and
'can' we humans fit into that deep, dark, but not silent (have
you ever stopped to listen to stalactites grow?) world we are
lured to explore.
Stephanie Meinke - Nanaimo, BC