Elyse wasile biography books

By DIANE PHILLIPS

ON January 29, another historic building on Bay Street burned. Long before it was known as the Cotton Ginny building - named for the popular clothing store it housed - the striking stone structure had been the art studio of the late Elyse Wasile whose hand-painted small ceramics found their way into homes, embassies and great estates around the world.

Whether in her famed watercolours or acrylics, Wasile’s depiction of native sloop sails or delicate pink flamingoes captured the colour and culture of The Bahamas and though some part of the functional canvas included a leap of imagination along with reality, overall imagery conveyed a sense of a happy place.

The New York-born and California-educated Wasile spent most of her working life in The Bahamas and became an ambassador for the country through her affordable art, creating a body of recognizable work which the average household could afford to own; a serving platter for less than $75, a small soap dish for