Read: Seattle Journal Two

Walking through tourist sites in midday light is enough to make me want to buy cement shoes and visit The Sound. But just to keep you people happy I did it anyway. You SEE the lengths I go to keep you entertained.

Why do I love Seattle? Cause you look up in the middle of downtown and there is a float plane. Yep, the real deal. Land that baby in the fountain in Central Park. NO PROBLEM. I’ve had some incredible experiences in these planes, mostly up in the Northwest Territories. In fact, I’ve also had some close calls. At one point I prayed to EVERYONE and EVERYTHING if we landed safely I would become a better human being. I’ve tried. I got off that flight, in freezing temps, and had sweat through my entire outfit. Just to set the table on this story, my dad was in the co-pilot’s seat. My dad doesn’t know anything about flying. He was a shade of white I have not seen since.

As I wandered the city, pre-Blurb event, I looked up and there was the Space Needle. “Don’t even think about you bastard,” my inner voice said to me. “Don’t even THINK about photographing that thing.” I did it anyway. It’s a masterpiece, and crying when you see this image is totally normal. Lean into it. Turn to the person to your left and express to them how much you love it.

Today’s Blurb event was a letterpress workshop at Constellation and Co. I don’t care what you know about digital media. There is NOTHING better than ink on paper. There were hundred-year-old machines, presses and maybe even a hundred-year-old guy in the neighborhood. Pull your designs, your type and get your hands dirty. If you live in Seattle and you don’t go here at least once a week there might be something seriously wrong with you. My advice is to seek treatment.

Students were able to walk out with beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces, smelling of fresh ink and human sweat. On a serious note. Working with ones hands is a rapidly fading skill, especially in the creative world where the computer has replaced much of the dirty work. This is a huge problem. Doing this work is critical, and will improve your digital work, at least in my experience. Just do it. Go, go now.