Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Today we needed to leave Mount Rainer National Park. Since we were able to get up at sunrise, we were packed and out of the park by 7:00 a.m.
If you know me, you know I am always on the lookout for a diner were I can be called Baby, Sweetie or Honey by the waitstaff. Today we settled into Bruno’s Family Restaurant in Eastonville where no familiarities were offered but the food was good.
Our goal for the day is the Tacoma Art Museum. The exhibitions were mostly either glass or jewelry but we were intrigued by them anyway.
The clerk in the museum giftshop, after an quizzical interview of me about my status as an artist, suggested a short walk to Tinkertopia, a creative workspace, thrift shop and art supply store with bins of found objects to use for crafting (Wisconsinites can think—Hello Happiness Creativity Center in Sheboygan). Yikes—despite being far from home, but with the upcoming workshop in mind and the fact that shipping is available), some things were purchased.
My second goal for the day was The Front Street Gallery located in Poulsbo. This will be my second visit there as the last time I was in Washington I made a pilgrimage here to see the work of assemblage artist Steve Parmelee. While there was about five pieces on the Steve Parmelee wall this time, no items will be coming back to the holdings of MONA (Museum of Niebuhr Art).
Guess what: there are two antique stores in Poulsbo next to the gallery: The Cat’s Meow and The Rusty Relic. Some things were purchased at the former but I went empty handed at the latter.
Now it was time to get going to Port Orchard with a grocery stop at Safeway for our second round of supplies.
Then finally we got to Port Orchard Guest House, our home for the next five nights.
After we unpacked, we walked downhill to the harbor in order to eat at a great Thai restaurant, Khao Soi.
Then it was back to the guest house for more unpacking to get ready for the workshop tomorrow.
Mileage Today: 150
Total Miles for the Trip: 423
Thursday, July 9, 2026
We ate breakfast together in our place this morning before going our separate ways. While I am in the workshop that starts today and runs to Sunday, Denice is visiting her twin brother Dennis who lives on Bainbridge Island near Seattle. Denice drove me to the site of the workshop before heading out to meet her brother.
Here is the course description: "You will learn compositional methods and critique skills to unify your composition, the appropriate products and methods of attaching a wide variety of material, material techniques using Apoxie Sculpt, Sculpt Noveau Metal Coatings paint and patinas, appropriate tools for specific materials, rivets, saw, cutof saws, grinders, etc., and appropriate display hardware for asymmetric physical weight balance of artwork."
Then it was time for lunch. Kathie makes all the food that we consume and the lunch buffet is wonderful.
In the afternoon we began our construction of our pieces with the intent of making an asymmetrical work of art.
Although class officially ends at 4:30 p.m., Denice and Dennis did not get back to pick me up until 5:30 p.m. We then drove to The Tides, a fish restaurant on the Sound in Gig Harbor.
Tonight we managed to stay up until 10:00 p.m. before I fell asleep dreaming of sugar plums and my need to make an asymmetrical piece in the workshop tomorrow.
Friday, July 10, 2026
After breakfast in our place Denice and I went our separate ways but the difference today is I get the rental car. I started my morning heading to an Ace Hardware store where I bought glue, wire, brushes and some other bits and bobs. Then, after fueling up at a Starbucks, I headed over to the workshop at BAE.
Today we continued to work on our projects. We had two demonstrations today: riveting (why didn’t someone tell me how cool this is) and iron paint (why didn’t someone tell me how cool this is).
I drove back to the house at 4:30 p.m. today but Denice and Dennis did not get back from Seattle on the ferry until 6:00 p.m. We decided to walk down the hill to the Port Orchard harbor to enjoy the great Thai restaurant, Khao Soi.
Look at this sunset we had tonight:
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Today Denice is heading to Bainbridge Island to be with her twin so she dropped me off at the workshop at 9:00 a.m.
Believe it or not, I did dream last night about how I was going to alter my first project to get it more asymmetrical. However, it appears that I was so eager to work on my project I took no photos. Fear not, a blog post will be forthcoming that will reveal how it got finished once I got home.
Today we all worked hard on our project(s). We had a demo on a biscuit cutter (which is how boards are joined).
