Colwood resident, photographer and writer Christine Henry smiles over the edge of her drink before putting it down on the table at The BearB次元官网网址檚 Den. B次元官网网址淚 may only have 10 or 20 years left,B次元官网网址� says the 62-year-old, throwing a light-hearted jab at her age, B次元官网网址渟o IB次元官网网址檓 going to do what I want.B次元官网网址�

The coffee shop up at Bear Mountain is the location of HenryB次元官网网址檚 latest photography show and sale, which sees her work adorning the caf茅 walls throughout the month of May.

Henry has been a visual artist for a long time B次元官网网址�  in a way.

SheB次元官网网址檚 been in visual presentation for a long time, anyway. She used to set up window displays and showrooms for major furniture and clothing retailers. She still does some of that; a few hours here and there  for Northern Reflections, but she considers herself B次元官网网址渞etired.B次元官网网址�

She comes by her artistic and creative impulses naturally. Her parents met at art school. Her mother became a fashion model and her father went to a career as a commercial artist. Her grandmother was a muralist.

Henry has passed it on to her children, as well. Her son, Freddie, created graffiti art during the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, and is a well-respected tattoo artist in Winnipeg. He has made backdrops for national awards shows and put on workshops at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

HenryB次元官网网址檚 own B次元官网网址渨orkB次元官网网址� these days is mainly her photography. She focuses mainly on landscape and nature scenes, but she also has a soft spot for broken-down and rusting out vintage cars and dilapidated farm equipment, as it brings her back to the innocence of her youth B次元官网网址�  before life got complicated.

B次元官网网址淲hen I go out shooting,B次元官网网址� she says, B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 explain it, really. I go back to my little happy time around the farm with my grandparents. Everything since that just lifts off of me.B次元官网网址�

She didnB次元官网网址檛 realize, while she was at her grandparentsB次元官网网址� farm in Manitoba in the 1970s, that she was essentially being babysat, she says. She didnB次元官网网址檛 know that her mother was in the hospital for almost a year while she laid in the fields of Manitoba scanning the clouds for recognizable shapes, climbing trees and joyfully picking dandelions.

B次元官网网址淲hen my mom got multiple sclerosis, everything changed,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淢y dad took it pretty hard and became an alcoholic. So basically, I was left caring for my parents,B次元官网网址� she says.

ItB次元官网网址檚 her life as a caregiver to her parents that sheB次元官网网址檚 attempting to bring to life for people in her newest written work.

The working title of her first full-length book B次元官网网址�  sheB次元官网网址檚 had a few shorter pieces published B次元官网网址� is Who Cares? The autobiographical examination asks the question, B次元官网网址渨ho cares for the kids who are caring for their parents?B次元官网网址� she says.

B次元官网网址淓veryone thought I was such a bad kid in school because I was always getting called to the office,B次元官网网址� she says. In reality, she was being called to the office because the school was notified that she needed to go home to pull up her mothersB次元官网网址� pants or deal with one of her fatherB次元官网网址檚 drunken exploits.

B次元官网网址淭here will be a lot of positives in it for people,B次元官网网址� Henry says, despite the gloomy subject matter. The content explores the effect of coaches and mentors in her life who supported her in times of need, such as the high school coach who gave her a babysitting job so she could both afford decent shoes and have time to do her homework.

B次元官网网址淩ight now IB次元官网网址檓 trying to do the photography a bit more than I used to so I can bring home a bit more bacon,B次元官网网址� she says, laughing. Writing takes time, she says, and doesnB次元官网网址檛 pay until itB次元官网网址檚 done and people are paying to read it, so photography fills the financial gap between writing projects.

Find out more about Henry and her work at or head up to the BearB次元官网网址檚 Den this month. Partial proceeds from the show and sale will be going to the Saunders Family Foundation, which helps kids who canB次元官网网址檛 afford to register in sports and art programs to do so.

mdavies@goldstreamgazette.com