I was privileged to be part of a community of wonderful, artistic people this September, at North Cascades Institute, during their annual Art Retreat. Kristen Gilje, Jocelyn Curry and I, each facilitated classes in our respective art-forms. We were treated to the best food, all fresh from nearby Skagit Valley farms, prepared by the artisan-chefs. Even though we worked hard and remained focused, creating lots of wonderful art forms onto which we fused our handmade papers, there was also time for a canoe paddle on Lake Diablo, a nap for some, a hike for others, and a few brave souls even took a dip in the glacial-fed lake. I will try to post some pictures of our time together. Thank you to everyone who participated, and our gratitude goes to all those hard workers at NCI who made this experience delightfully memorable. I promise it won’t take me a whole year, this time, (so sorry class 2011) to post pictures of our great time together in 2012. Stay tuned!