Leaving the islands behind

I have to say teaching on Whidbey Island was an absolute joy.

Lisa Bernhardt (who runs the Pacific NorthWest Art School) and my wonderful assistant Nita Wester spared no exertion to make it so. 

The island itself reminded me so much of Latvia. Lopez does too (but has lots more hills. I love it. (

We gathered dyes within walking distance of the studio...with the exception of a delightful field trip to Ebey's Landing. 

I feel I've only just begun to discover some of the magic of this gorgeous scattering of jewels in the Salish sea 

We remembered Fred Gerber and his method of analyzing potential mordants

Made sure to avoid the plant that dispatched Socrates

The species name of which - conium maculatum - warns us to watch out for spots

Driftwood came in handy

The ritual continued

And everybody looked after their string

Bless y'all,

I'll be seeing you. Sometime in 2016...