I attended officially on Friday and what a wonderful experience. Ginny Ruffner gave the keynote address and was most inspirational. She has graced dowtown Seattle with her work in the form of a giant flower pot sculpture. Her sense of humor and positive attitude in spite of a handicap gives us all an important lesson and heroine to follow.

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I visited the Open Torch the evening before and picked up a couple tips. A Bellevue art fair was right outside the door so when I tired of  listening to presentations I went out and looked. I definitely noticed the Seattle area demands and gets more money for art than those of us toiling in Portland. Bellevue has a new feel and look, but is very pleasant. The Hyatt was huge, but easy to navigate, and the staff very friendly. I would definitely recommend a stay. Very…. nice. The highlight of the day was a presentation by Marcy Lamberson from Atlanta, GA. Her Basset Hound bead is a true work of craftsmanship and we were treated to a video of its creation step by step… Picked up some pointers. Larry Scott was a subtle jokester and welcome after all the other information. Sometimes not so subtle jokester. He has for many years been an artist/craftsman to emulate. The evening was gallery tours, a couple of hiccups in this, but it was nice to see the work. My next post will be about the Glass Museum in Tacoma, Washington with I hope a lot of pics. Tune in tomorrow. .