California, check. Heading north!

Blessed in the morning by the turkey at Mills. I did mad amounts of prep for this workshop, so I was glad to see the resident turkey twice in three days.

I was very concerned that this was too sunny for students and I was right. We eventually moved the beating stations but left the papermaking stations in the sun. Though it exhausted the students, it was a good way to keep people moving and taking turns. I am grateful for the vitamin D, because I just flew today to Seattle, which is cloudy and rainy (which is also fine, and normal—I'm not complaining!).

Faith, grad student / TA / super fun artist who also knits paper, beats in the old-fashioned manner I presented as grandma style. We requested that maintenance cut three sets of dowels for us and they worked like a charm. I am a total convert. Light but effective, and you can adjust how heavy they are by where you grip them.

Brenda (a photojournalist who does lots of wonderful work in Korea and beyond, based in SoCal) took a break from photographing to beat fiber with these funny things that Lara found at the hardware store. What are they? I have no idea, but they work for cooking fiber as well as beating it.

Papermaking! Of course there were technical issues, because I had sent all my instructions via email and didn't personally supervise the construction of tools, but it all worked out fine in the end.

Drying paper on pellons. It's terribly convenient to have trees adjacent.

In the parking lot before my final dinner in Oakland, right on the lake, with the family of the family that was hosting me. All of my hosts thus far have been ultra wonderful and generous, opening doors of their homes and sharing the family fun and warmth. Gratitude all around.

Goodbye, Oakland. Fascinating that the airport exhibit called "paper work" included no papermakers or artists who make their own paper. But today, just an hour or two after landing in Seattle, I got to meet someone who is a true paper junkie. She doesn't make it but she understands it more intimately than maybe even some papermakers (it's a ridiculous claim but if you could see...you'd agree). Claudia is a binder extraordinaire, one of those people who does so much and knows so much and makes insanely wonderful work. What an inspiration! For more inspiration, I did an interview with Velma that is now live on Bookbinding Now! Listen and be soothed by Velma's voice and work and process and philosophy.

Tomorrow, March 14, I give a talk/demo at UW Seattle at 3:30pm at the East Asia Library (in Gowen Hall).

Friday, March 15, I'll be in Tacoma to do a reading and then start a workshop for the APCC.

Saturday, March 16, a 1 to 3pm Family Fun Day event involving joomchi at the Wing Luke Museum.

Sunday, March 17, back in Tacoma for the rest of the APCC workshop.

This is why I can barely blog, but I keep trying (and haven't even switched my time zone to the west coast yet!).