A few weeks ago I attended the Mountain Brewer’s 16th Annual Beer Fest in Idaho Falls. I was happy to run into some familiar packaging:

And can you believe it, I didn’t try any of them! I thought it wasn’t right to try it without the artists themselves. By now I have tried “Tilted Smile,” the Imperial Pilsner by my new boss at Signed & Numbered, Leia Bell (she designed two out of the 4 in the Crooked Line brewed by Uinta Brewery Co.). Funny how when I first blogged about these, she didn’t know who I was! And not too long ago she poured me a cup! And it was delicious! I am not a beer lover. I only dare drink it if I can see through it. Thankfully this one was very light and had a hint of sweetness. Highly recommended. I was told I will hate the rest of them. But I still need the collection in my kitchen. I thought I’d start today.

I can’t drink “Cockeyed Cooper”  the Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine Ale without my friend Travis Bone and I couldn’t even find “Labryinth” the Black Ale by Trent Call. I don’t know him, well not personally, but I need it to complete this limited edition! And when I do, bottoms up.

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I’d also like to announce that the new Signed & Numbered Gallery, located next to Kilby Court music venue, has passed inspection! And thank the lord too because last Sunday when I was painting, I near fell off the ladder from a combination of not eating for 12 hours and locking knees. A lot of hard work went into restoring this space by the crew and Wednesday June 30th from 6pm-10pm is the “soft” opening of the “mini” print show by artists nationwide. Steel Train will be having their show that night at Kilby Court as well! The official grand opening is Sunday July 11th from 6pm-10pm as Maps & Atlases plays next door. Hope to see many friends there! My latest print will be displayed for the first time as well!

Lots of stuff has been going on and it’s kept me from blogging here. I don’t know where to begin, but lets just start with Friday. It was an art-filled day, a perfect day. My third post went up on the Boxcar Press blog with a very motivating interview with Ladies of Letterpress. This internship has been a dream. Conversing with letterpress artists, hearing how they started especially, has been really encouraging. And getting to know the Boxcar folk has been awesome as well. They are good people.

I then worked at Signed & Numbered. It’s exciting every time I work at the store because I’m surrounded by fantastic limited edition prints the whole time. And ever since they were featured in The New York Times, a lot of people have been coming in with interest. In the afternoon I went over to their new, still in construction, gallery to caulk, prime, paint, whatever needed to get this ready for inspection. Just as I wiped paint off my hands, I got a phone call. An amazing phone call with not one, but TWO exciting news for me. The only downside, I can’t tell anybody! I have been sworn to secrecy for about a week which has been so hard! But all I can say is I’m stunned and flattered.

Friday was also gallery stroll night. I have only been in the March Gallery Stroll so it was exciting to be apart of it again with The Holga Show. However, I have to be honest here. It was a little disappointing. Each 5×5 photo was $70, unframed, and the artist gets 60% if sold. They published a book with all the selected entries (I had 3), but the book was $70 as well and the artist gets nothing from those sales. I would rather buy the book to have everyone’s photos than a single photo that I have to pay more to get framed. And I couldn’t even convince myself to buy the book because the book cover wasn’t even designed well. I probably will not be entering next year.

My friend and co-worker Andy and I then strolled over to the Salt Lake Art Center where I was blown away with their exhibition, Contemporary Masters Artist Designed Miniature Golf. It is up, free, and fully playable until September 16th and I highly recommend it!

Then I went over to my friend Travis Bone’s house to help him print a very limited edition of Portugal. The Man gig posters. It was the perfect way to end an art-filled day by watching Travis print and his whole process. He’s amazingly talented and becoming very well-known. Even though we met last year and he’s been doing his thing for much longer, I am proud of him. He inspired me the first time I printed with him and continues to do so today.