My trip to Iowa

Bluff Country Artists Gallery from Spring Grove, Minnesota sent me an email a couple of weeks ago. They are interested in representing my etchings in their gallery. It is a stone's throw from northeastern Iowa. This part of Iowa is a special place for me. I went to college there and it is where I got my start as an artist. Living and having my studio in southern Wisconsin, it is not a major trip to travel to this area. I had been thinking about traveling to Decorah (the town in northeastern Iowa) and working on an etching idea that had been on my mind. I had arranged to be at the gallery in Spring Grove at 4PM. Arriving in Decorah shortly before noon, I went to the place where I would begin my new etching. It was cold...temperatures in the single digits. Making the appointment with the gallery, I did not realize that it would be like this. I had dressed in layers in an attempt to stay warm..longies and the whole nine yards...even three layers on my hands. I took my copper plate to the bridge that I had first seen as a wide eyed eighteen year old. It is still beautiful. I found a place to perch and taking out my black markers, began laying out the preliminary composition directly onto the plate. I love working like this. There seems to be an honesty to drawing directly from nature and directly onto the plate. This is not a typical way to start an etching. Usually the ground goes on first followed by drawing with an etching needle. Sometimes, however, it is good to be able to see exactly how the shapes will lay out on the plate. Black markers are no nonsense. When you make a mark, it is really there. I will look analytically at what I drew in Iowa yesterday...maybe over the course of a month or two. The place had been sitting in my minds eye for quite some time. Now it is important to keep it there and not forget about it. If I decide that I like what I drew in black, I will begin to scratch away at the plate with traditional (and some not so traditional) tools and techniques. I delivered work to the gallery in Spring Grove as scheduled. It is nice to be greeted by people who are eager to see you. I drove back to Wisconsin taking an alternate route...a scenic one. I drove along the Mississippi River on the Iowa side. Large Iowa bluffs were on my right, the mostly frozen river was on my left, with the Wisconsin bluffs looming in the distance. I crossed the river at a bridge in Lansing, Iowa. It was an old, narrow bridge (I love bridges in case you couldn't tell) made of steel girders. Trucks were instructed to maintain a 300 foot interval. Looking out my van window, I could see the lights of Lansing and the bluffs reflected in the sometimes open water. It was almost dark and it was beautiful. The trip was an adventure if only to me. I hope to share future (and maybe some past) adventures with you.