Gabrielle loves talking to different people she meets on the bus, in a cafe or waiting in line at the market. These encounters are fun and important for her to understand the diverse cultures existing in Seattle. EVERYDAY PEOPLE are the threads that make up the fabric of the world.

George Stopulous was around 9 or 10 when his family moved to Seattle from Chicago. His grandparents were from Greece and they moved here with George, his parents and 2 brothers and a sister.They all loved living near and around a big body of water like Elliott Bay, Lakes Washington and Lake Union. The boys loved sports so when it wasn’t raining they were outside tossing and hitting balls around their neighborhood. His sister loved art and would practice drawing in all her free time.

While attending high school George thought about what he wanted to do when he graduated. Besides sports the thing he loved most to do was go fishing which pleased his Grandfather who had been a fisherman in Greece. He couldn’t be a professional athlete and wasn’t sure if he wanted to sign on to one of the commercial fishing boats that head to Alaska. Was he interested in going to college? Yes but not to a University like UW. Upon graduation he joined the Army National Guard and went off for a month’s training and would meet for one weekend a month. George didn’t mind the long hours of training because he was in good shape.He enjoyed meeting so many new young men and women. Before long his training was over and he signed up for classes at North Seattle Community College.

He wanted to learn all that he could about computers, so he would qualify for tests the City of Seattle gave job applicants. He also had a p/t construction job working on a new apt building. George stayed busy and think his work ethic came from his parents and grandparents who worked very hard at whatever job they were doing.He loved to go out with friends Sat nights to the movies, ball games and go dancing at one of the Greek Churches holding dances for the young.George was popular with his peers.

After 2 years of taking classes he earned his AA degree and he took the exam required by city of Seattle. He did very well and had a couple of choices of jobs: Work in an office or be a in the field assigned to be on the Inspection team that monitored building remodels and new construction. Working outside seemed better to George because his job would take him around the city. Seattle was growing very fast ,so he knew there would be more work than his team could handle but they would try.

George learned quickly and before long he had his own team who inspected job sites around the city of Seattle.He learned there were many many rules you couldn’t break working for the city.Life was busy and full. He dated when he could on the weekends. Seattle’s real estate market had exploded due to companies like Microsoft, Amazon etc hiring thousands of workers .George’s sister and one of his brothers had gotten married. George liked going out with his sister’s sister in law, so they would frequently all go out as a group. He wasn’t in a hurry but was saving what he could to buy her an engagement ring. George’s parents like Sandra as well. One thing she also liked to do was go fishing and crabbing, so on the weekend, the crab cages were lined up his truck. If they were lucky they shared crabs with both families which involved making a seafood Greek feast.

comeSize varies
8x8

Material
Wooden board, canvas, paper, acrylic paint, up-cycled thread, fabric, sequins, and archival glue