Welcome, Friend!
You've come to a place where you can learn a little about me, about my book - Wayne Ngan, Island Potter - and about Wayne himself.
The setting is the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where we enjoy the temperate climate, misty mornings and towering evergreens. The Canadian Gulf Islands are particularly intriguing and Hornby Island, where Wayne lived most of his life, is a gem.
Lois with grandchildren during a visit to Hornby Island in 2023.
Meet the Author
Lois Eustis Tate
Lois Eustis Tate was raised in Canada, married an American and moved to the US in 1984. After teaching high school English and art for many years, she retired in 2012. Tate loves spending time with her five grandchildren, honing her creative writing skills, and taking long retreats on the Oregon coast. She lives with her husband of forty-four years, in Portland, Oregon.
Advance Praise
In one of the most haunting anecdotes in this book, when Chinese-Canadian artist Wayne Ngan finishes art school, he destroys most of the contents of his studio. For Ngan, that willingness to let go of the past and move forward is part of the process of making art. It’s a testament to Ngan’s bravery and discipline, and Lois Eustis Tate brings the same bravery and discipline to this remarkable book. How can the traditional biography be anything but reductive? Embracing her subjectivity as a means to transcend the limitations of the form, Tate has written a rich, textured narrative that asks compelling questions about the solitude, discipline, and perseverance required to make art. Unflinching, but never lacking in love and understanding, it’s a portrait worthy of its subject.