Christine Nakazawa, with Marty Barth, was my favorite arts vendor at Northern California arts events. I loved the cute, colorful kitties and birds and flowers that Christine would paint on vases and dishes that Marty made. Over the years, I have collected quite a few of their work, and they have brightened up my living room quite a bit.
After I got to know the two of them well, Christine would make custom ceramic pieces for me, e.g. a nice little vase (and put her rendering of my Manx on the vase!) I know that Christine liked collecting rocks, so whenever I went on an overseas trip I would remember to gather a few pebbles from various parts of the world and give them to Christine when I returned.
It was with great shock and sadness, therefore, that I heard from Marty that Christine had passed away in Sept 2007 after a bout with cancer. (I had gotten concerned when I didn't see them in any arts shows at all in 2007. At that time I thought they were just adjusting their sales area, but when I still didn't see them in 2008 I started getting worried.)
Marty is in the process of preserving all of Christine's work as well as trying to find homes for most of Christine's cats (his new place can't accommodate them all). He's also planning to set up a separate email account so that the fans of Christine's work can contact him for further information. In the meantime, you can always post your comments here or email me at this blog and I'll forward your message to Marty.
Christine, thanks for all the colorful art you gave us over the years. They remind us of your cheerful personality and always optimistic outlook. I'm sure that right now you're being guarded in Heaven by those same colorful kitty-angels that you drew so vividly for us :-)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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