“When I was little I was always interested in doing things with my hands, even just sticks…I would make things out of them.”
Although she’s never had any formal art training, Geraldine Bruckel has been an artist her whole life. “I had one lesson from a friend of mine. He was an artist, and I learned the basics, mostly, from what he told me.”
She and her husband Bill have been married 60 years, and moved to Sidney two decades ago.
“So, when we moved here over 20 years ago, I walked on the beach with Bill and the dogs, and all of a sudden I saw all this beautiful glass around. And being an artist, you know, it just attracted me.”
Geraldine saw the opportunity to create beautiful sculptures with sea glass. Some are whimsical creatures like mermaids and dragons, some are fantastic animals like eagles and horses.
It’s a passion that fills the Bruckels’ garage.
“This used to be my garage,” says Bill with a warm, proud grin, “and I’ve gradually been pushed out. I can’t even get my car in anymore!” he says with a laugh.
Humour is obviously one secret to this long, happy marriage.
“Well, you have to take the good with the bad,” says Geraldine, “because we are so different from one another, and sometimes you just have to ignore what you don’t like. And what I do is, I go to my studio, and I forget about it, and so I don’t bug him!”
A vibrant, energetic 80-year-old, Geraldine credits her passion for creating art with keeping her young.
“Because you forget all about your troubles, and you can just be busy. It’s good. It’s good for the soul!”
Veronica Cooper
