More summer sun

Brewfest is a big fundraiser with local volunteers pouring samples from 85 breweries.  Admission is $20 which gives you a cup and five tokens, each token represents a 4 ounce pour.  Ian's son flew in Wednesday night and his daughter and granddaughter drove up the next morning for Susanville.

We went Friday afternoon for about three hours and I sampled ten breweries.   Ian doesn't drink and Margi doesn't drink beer but the music is fantastic and the weather couldn't have been nicer.

We came back to the house, the kids changed their clothes and floated the river in these "inner tubes" that Ian bought at Costco last year.  And got photobombed by another floater.  Dougie and Margi went back to Brewfest that evening with both my sons and their wives and Sis got to hang out with cousin Logan.

I neglected to put Brewfest on my calendar and had signed up for a two-day workshop in Advanced Electroetch, from 9:00-4:00 both Saturday and Sunday.  While everyone went to breakfast Saturday morning, I rolled up my sleeves, literally. The technique is a green way to etch in copper without using chemicals and heavy medals but there are lots of steps to completing a plate.  The good news is once a plate is prepped it can be used over and over again.  Helen is helping Ana get her plate ready for the etching bath.  Julie our teacher wanted us to use the large 8x10 plates for the class since it's (after all) an advanced class.

This is my large plate simply etched without any further embellishment. And my plate with the contact paper and blocking paint before I cleaned it.  I have a lot of work left to do, and the problem is that my introductory class was two weeks ago only three hours long.  I had to go into the studio on my own to finish working and etching my plates, but I hadn't printed them so still didn't know what kind of image my marks would make.

This is my very first plate I made and then with chine colle added for some color pop.  It doesn't look like much but it took me all day Saturday to make the large plate and after Julie showed us how to do chine colle, something I've wanted to learn for a long time, I decided to focus on that technique on Sunday and finish the large plate later.

This is the second plate I made with yellow chine colle, a collage technique using thin Japanese paper.  The bottom print is both plates printed together, the second one added as chine colle.  I really like adding color this way and want to focus on that technique for a while, until I feel more in control of it.  I really like electro-etch but I still like relief printing and have a linoleum-cut reduction print in process also.  Helen said she has discovered the secret to being a really good artist - time!!  All I need is more time!!!

Ian texted me yesterday afternoon that son Josh wanted to go out to dinner last night, Dougie's last day here.  I had been standing for seven hours the past two days and could think of nothing nicer than putting my feet up but out we went to the Tumalo Feed Company.  It was delightful, fun conversation and excellent food.  Ian and I feel so fortunate that our kids actually like each other.


Dougie's flight was this morning and we have a break in company so I'm going to spend some time today and get at least one of my looms warped.  They've both been nekkiid for the past six weeks and they've started whimpering when I walk by them.