Some happy Penland shots....

cleaning up

under glass

after lunch gazing

secret entrances

first woodcut

coffee break

chine-colle

Besides letterpress, one of my favorite techniques is chine-colle.
Here are the shapes that are being cut:
And here is an early example:

city mouse

Hey.

I am at Penland. Penland is in the mountains. I am surrounded by way more trees than people. And the people who are here do not seem to be overly concerned that their cell phones may not work.

So far I have discovered:

- if you want a party, find someone who works with glass. they play fast and loose.
- just because you are in a dry county doesn't mean your peers didn't bring tequila/beer/wine with you.
- this place is beautiful. seriously.
- mountains are real!
- take advantage of the buffet while you can :)

working....

State of the Fran

I haven't been writing much. A lot of this has to do with my beloved laptop dying on me. But I also haven't been writing in my paper journal as much. This is not a good thing.

I signed up for a class at Penland and a painting intensive at Anderson Ranch. If you are interested in art you should check both of these places out. Penland is in North Carolina and Anderson Ranch is in Colorado. Both of these are states I have never been. The painting class requires a portfolio review so I have to get my stuff together again. Yikes.

I am currently employed at Peach Valley Cafe. The food is good and my coworkers are really nice. I like it a lot better than my job at the Nanoscale building even though I have to wear a uniform and stand a lot.

I also realized that I am not ready to go to graduate school. My art is not ready yet. I need to see more art, read more, and do more with life. I need to work hard and save money.