Posted by Samantha, on January 25th, 2012
You asked for it – so here it comes! The Ultimate Card Workshop at the beautiful Balch Hotel. Here are the details:
March 23 & 24th, 2012
6:00 p.m. Friday March 23rd through Saturday March 24th at 5:00 p.m.
Balch Hotel
Class Supply Cost $45.00 if staying overnight
Class Supply Cost $60.00 if not staying overnight
25% room discount the second night using secret code words: Ultimate Card Workshop
Your instructor, Tarina Holloway, is an independent consultant with Close To My Heart and will fill your weekend with the latest new products and techniques. It’s a great time to get together with your friends and enjoy a fun-packed weekend!
Be sure to ask about the Balch Supper Club dinner night on Saturday March 24th. Jamie Snell, owner of the Lamb’s Table catering, creates a dinner menu that is always a hit!
Think about how much fun you’ll have! By Sunday morning you’ll be refreshed from an amazingly comfy bed, breakfast both mornings (if you choose the two night special pricing – remember to say the secret code words!), and a scrumptious dinner. You’ll get to learn new techniques from Tarina, play with new products, create a plethora of greeting cards to fit any occasion, and create priceless memories from a super fun weekend.
So come stay-and-play at the Ultimate Card Workshop. Space is limited, so call the hotel today to register for the class, your room, and Supper Club! 541-467-2277.
P.S. If you have NOT attended one of Tarina’s classes you need to come to this one! You won’t believe the quality and value of product you leave with after the class concludes. She always has fun special treats too! They are a surprise of course. . . .
Posted by Samantha, on January 25th, 2012
Treat your Valentine to a weekend away at the Balch! We’ve got your action plan ready.
During your lunch Friday stop at the grocery to pick up some indoor ‘picnic’ items (I suggest wine, cheese, some cured meats, nice pita crackers, and some chocolate). Have his/her bag packed Friday after work, kid arrangements made, and meander to the Balch. Be welcomed with warm chocolate chip cookies and homemade hot chocolate. Head to your room or we can set a table for you to enjoy your intimate, relaxed, indoor picnic. The evening is yours!
Wake the next morning to freshly brewed coffee from HR Coffee Company and our plated three course breakfast. Relax here at the Balch, take a drive in the sunshine, or visit that place you’ve been wanting to see (Klindt’s the oldest bookstore in Oregon? Dry Hollow Vineyards and Winery? Maryhill Winery? the Discovery Center? a hike to White River Falls?).
Saturday evening enjoy wine tasting from 5-8 with Dry Hollow vineyards. Jamie Snell, owner of the Lamb’s Table catering, has a delicious chocolate themed dinner menu for you!
True Devotion
• Arugula salad with strawberries, goat cheese and cocoa nibs. With shallot-balsamic vinaigrette.
• Beef short rib ragu braised with wine and chocolate, served over buttered fresh pasta noodles, topped with Parmesan.
• Milk chocolate panna cotta with whip cream, cocoa nibs and chocolate shards
• Bread with dinner, coffee with dessert. Substitutions available (advance notice reqd).
$29 + gratuity
Relax that evening with your love! You might even meet some other fascinating couple to chat with. Wake casually Sunday morning to that wonderful smell of freshly brewed coffee and bring a cup to your sweetie in bed. Enjoy breakfast and bask in the renewal of your time away from distractions, work, children, etc. Reconnect with your sweetheart. It’s what Valentine’s weekend at the Balch is all about! Trust me. You’ll earn brownie points for this one.
When you call to reserve your dinner and room reservations just mention the Cupid’s Special and your second night’s lodging will be shot by that Cupid bow and arrow and bleed off 25%. We want you to enjoy the whole weekend!
Call us at 541-467-2277
Posted by Samantha, on January 6th, 2012
Chris Steinken just showed his work here a the hotel and is slated to show again this summer. He and his wife are delightful! I met Chris when touring the Portland Artists Open Studio Tour. I loved the bold expressive colors he uses and also the meticulous way in which he sets up his paintings.
He begins with a photo (most are taken by him), then creates a grid map on the canvas and the photo. He replicates the photo practically to a T! In his studio he put together a tutorial for the Studio Tour to give visitors an idea of his process. We had the sample tutorial painting here and SO many people loved it! I liked it because it spoke to my inner type A personality. Four stages to create a finished painting, a representation of each of those stages, and then descriptions of each stage to boot! Great fun.
Chris took a photo of a much beloved bus used for many a bridal photo session. I think it would be perfect for a couple to have Chris paint their wedding date at the top of the bus where there is a ‘plate’. What do you think, should we buy it for a future bride and groom to fall in love with??
”Out Where the Buses Don’t Run.”
It can be seen in person (starting this weekend January 7th) at the cooperative:
Six Days Art Co-op
2724 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR 97211
www.sixdaysart.com
Chris’s next show is at:
Cafe Eleven
435 NE Rosa Parks Way, Portland, OR 97211
Jan. 15 – Feb. 19
7:30am-3:30pm M-F
8am – 3:30pm Sat-Sun
The bus painting will be at the Six Days gallery and not at the Cafe so be sure to drop by and reminisce about one of your favorite sunny places in the Columbia River Gorge - Dufur!
Posted by Samantha, on December 29th, 2011
My Artistic Journey
Beth Kerschen
Everything that I have learned throughout my adult life seems to have led me to my current art. I received a bachelors in fine art from Colorado College, where I focused on photograph y and printmaking. After I graduated, I moved to Boston, Massachusetts. I found myself involved in graphic design; working for design firms and individual clients. I strengthened my knowledge of manipulating and arranging images for the most impact. I have always been drawn to the culture of cities; from the architecture to the signage and unique graffiti to the feeling of the neighborhoods. So, I continued to practice urban photography as a side interest. After 10 years designing commercial artwork for clients, I really wanted to explore and experiment with my own work. I moved to Portland, Oregon. I fell in love with Portland and began trying to document the diverse and unique neighborhoods with my photography. Though I enjoyed photographing Portland, straight up, single, full-color images were not quite capturing the culture that I was looking for. I was experimenting with creating scenes with my photography around the same time I took a Solarplate Intaglio class. I learned the technique of making etching plates from my photographs and how to run them through a press. I had come full circle; back to the printmaking I had loved in college. I knew this was the style for me.
My Creative Process
 To start, I make a trip through the area I want to capture. I shoot with a Digital SLR (Canon 5D) with a wide-angle lens so I get really high quality detail and capture the full buildings in the frame. I take lots of photos and try to walk with a heightened awareness; staying open to all this around me. I never know exactly how I will use each photograph to create my scene, but I am taking visual notes. It usually takes 2-3 photo sessions to really capture enough images to work with.
After I get home, I download the images to my computer and then start the long process of editing the photos. I pick out the buildings, people, signage, etc, that best represents the area for me. Editing individual images is necessary to remove objects that are in the way, or to make sure I have a full building with the correct perspective. I silhouette the objects and people (basically isolating images from the background) that I want to use in my scene.
Next, I slowly compose the scene in Photoshop. I try many different iterations; seeing which objects look best together visually. I focus on scale, depth, and what should stand out. This is one of the exciting steps for me; I feel like I am solving a complex puzzle. When I am finished, the scene just works. Once I am happy with the scene, I break up the images into different sections (each for a different plate) and print out each section onto transparency film. I am now ready to make plates.
I place the transparency film on a photo-sensitive Solarplate and shine U.V. light through it. The plate is placed in water. This etches the light exposed area and leaves grooves that match the image I want to print. I then rub ink on the plate and thoroughly, but lightly wipe off the excess. I am ready to make a print by laying damp paper onto the plate and rolling both together, under pressure, through an etching press.
I print each plate on to separate pieces of paper to make sure they are all consistent. Most of my scenes contain at least 5 different plates and so I must create a registration sheet to keep the composition together.
I lie the registration sheet down on the press and build the complete scene 1-3 plates at a time (depending on how the plates overlap each other). I place the background elements first (run them through the press) and then the foreground images. The final piece can take anywhere from 2 to 5 passes through the press.
Beth’s finished products are hanging in the Balch right now! They are truly beautiful. They are the type of art that I find myself drawn into. The more I move closer to it, the more I discover. We’re excited that Beth is working on some postcards for us! This spring they are slated to be at the Balch. I met Beth at the Portland Open Artist Studio Tour – something I’ll definitely do again next year because it was so fun. I was initially drawn to her postcards, not really to the other printmaking. However, when I saw it in person I completely changed my tune. I LOVED it. You can check out her site here. She has designed a return address stamp for herself that I’ve got my eye on!
Posted by Samantha, on November 30th, 2011
 We had such fun we’re doing it again this New Years Eve! Last year we had a dinner and storytelling event (fashioned off the Moth on NPR – not familiar? Click here to read about it on the official site). It was a BLAST!
December 31st, New Years!
New Years Party with Mayan-inspired menu
Appetizers 6:00-7:00
Corn cakes with Habanero Jelly and Queso Fresco
Cumin-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Pepper-Almond Sauce
Flank Steak Skewers with Tomato-Papaya Salsa
Four Course Dinner 7:00-9ish
Chicken Mole Skewers with Cabbage and Jicama Slaw.
Toasted Chile, Tomato and Cod Soup with Avocado and Black Beans.
Papadzules: Corn Tortillas Stuffed with Hard-Boiled Eggs and Pumpkin Seed Paste Smothered in Mole Verde, Jack Cheese, and Pickled Onion. Served with Chop Salad.
Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie: Chocolate Cookie Crust, Cinnamon-Chocolate Ganache, Bananas, Vanilla Bean Custard, Whipped Cream, and Chocolate Rum Sauce.
Storytelling 9:30-midnight
This year’s theme for your story is “The Final Countdown”. Stories may be up to 5 minutes in length. No notes. No do-overs! We’ll record your great story so be sure to practice, practice, PRACTICE! We’ll have 36 Guests and we can have about 10 story tellers in the bunch. The rest of us will be rapt listeners. There will be a prize for the best story told!
Midnight
Complimentary Champagne Toast with Homemade Tacos!
45- p.p. + grat.
Guest seating is limited to 36 so call to get your reservations today! 541-467-2277
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