La Push It!

This past Friday, 16 of us drove to the Olympic coast for a weekend of camping. Our destination? La Push! West of Olympic National Park, La Push resides at the point where the Quillayute River empties into the Pacific Ocean. The weather could not have been better and a wonderful weekend was had by all!

 
A group of grads birding near one of the rocky outcroppings.

 
Hole In The Wall! This was our destination for the day. This well-known arch is only passable during low tide.

 
A trio of grads watching a seal surf the crashing waves.

 
Much love, much love.


Our group! Thank you to each and every extraordinary individual who made this weekend so enjoyable!

  
The finale of our Saturday evening. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

What an amazing weekend! Wonderful people, wonderful scenery, and wonderful weather!

It will not soon be forgotten.

Riley

Block Printing!

This week IslandWood instructors and students are getting their block print on! Our Artist In Residence, Mette Hanson, is hard at work sharing her craft and I can tell you from first hand experience, it is an absolute blast!

This afternoon, nine of us (graduate students) participated in a professional development seminar with Mette where we created our own prints using multiple blocks and multiple colors. I had never done block printing before and wow did I learn a lot! The patience, skill, and attention to detail these artists possess is one to be greatly admired.

Without further adieu, let's take a peek into our afternoon!


After much deliberacy, a print comes into its own as the "key block" (the final block) is applied.

 
Careful! It's not over until the print leaves the block!

 
Voila! A finished product! This print involved the carving of three separate blocks, careful mixing of colors, and a detailed eye to ensure that everything aligned properly.


 Another finished product!

What an amazing process! Contact your local block printing lesson-providing agency immediately!

Riley

Japanese Food Art

This week we are so incredibly fortunate to be hosting Artist In Residence Michiko Olson. Michiko's craft of teaching Japanese Food Art is so interactive and engaging. What follows are a mere handful of photographs of the incredible artwork created by this week's students.


Michiko demonstrating her craft.

  
A frog graces the foreground, while a casually lounging strawberry looks longingly into the sunset.

  
 Another collection of student artwork. The creation on the left, I was told, is a samurai warrior.

 
Ba ba ba bird bird bird... is the word.

Thank you so incredibly much for sharing your talents with us this week Michiko!

Riley