Tag: sketching

Filling up My Travel Journal

May 25

Dear Liza,

When I travel, I walk miles every day and take way too many photographs. And since I know I won’t remember everything, I write and draw and collage into my travel journal. Here is the page that shows our train ride journey from Charles de Gaul Airport to Lyon.

I try to write with accuracy about where we go and what we see, and how I feel about it. But my art …. Is somewhat less accurate.

And that’s okay! Sometimes I work from my photos, trying to make things look just right…

.

And sometimes it’s more of an impressionist collage sort of thing, like this page filled with coffee bags.

And MAPS!! I love maps, and they help me make sense of what I saw and where I was. Our long hike up the Croix-Rousse neighborhood ended up looking like a board game.

And then I feel the need to sketch some more. It’s my book, after all, isn’t it?

The problem (is it a problem? Or an opportunity?) is that my Journal is filling up fast. I will need another in a week or so. Do I get the same size? This one is 8.5 by 11 inches, and I like having the big pages to play with. Since I don’t carry it with me, it’s not really cumbersome.

I’m sure Bridgett will help me find an art store that will help me solve my dilemma.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Allie Yacina at Happy Anyway

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett and I walked out in the rain the other day to see the new show at Happy Anyway. This small, delightful shop is just a few blocks down on SE Belmont here in Portland, and is one of our new favorite places.

Besides the usual quirky antiquities and tchatchkies, there is a show this month and next of Allie Yacina’s sketchbooks and art.

I quickly fell in love with Allie’s color palette and blend of observation and style, almost like Matisse… but not quite. I stared at the opened sketchbooks posted on the wall, and flipped through the one on the counter. Each one seemed to show me a new way of seeing.

Because these are Allie’s sketchbooks, we see the lines and corrections, the process of how she makes the image happen. This makes all this beauty feel very “do-able”… very possible, even for me. Allie is holding a small workshop and “sketch time” on January 19th, so folks can all hang out with this talented lady and do art together!


Since Allie lives in our neighborhood, and paints what she sees, many of these sights are familiar to me. Lone Fir Cemetery. Shop fronts on Burnside. Laurelhurst Park.

Steph Sheldon, the owner, is always fun to talk with, about art or any other subject. She has a positive attitude that is not starry-eyed, but strong and almost defiant. “Happy anyway” is her response to “The world is a mess”.

We spent a delightful hour at the shop and walked back home through our dear, soggy neighborhood. As so often happens after looking at art, every curb and branch became an object of wonder and appreciation.

And that’s why we love art!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sketching with the Dead People

Dear Liza,

You know how much I love visiting the dead folks at Lone Fir Cemetery!

Well, yesterday Auntie Bridgett and I joined a sketching group there. It was led by a lady named Jen whose full time job is elementary school teacher (just what I used to do!)

Jen is also a fan of Lone Fir, and wanted to find a way to earn some money to help maintain this fragile old space. She put a notice on The Friends of Lone Fir website, and people pay $10 a head to join the group. The money goes to Friends of Lone Fir, the same non-profit organization that runs the Twilight Tombstone tours I will be helping with later this month.

Being a ‘real’ teacher, Jen has a ‘real’ curriculum, this book by John Laws. It lays out a lot of steps and philosophy about nature jour along, and I’m sure it is a fine book.

But I was interested in a quick guide to start with. Once our group of thirty (!) people were gathered, Jen gave us just that.

She suggested quick info about day and weather and then prompts of “I notice” “I wonder” and “It reminds me of”, and really close looking at whatever you choose to draw. It could be a tree or a leaf, a patch of ground, or anything in the area.

“If you think it’s boring,” she said, “keep looking and you’ll be amazed how much you see.” We all went off to our own areas and had one hour to draw.

I chose this wonderful old chestnut tree by the rose garden. If I got far enough away to see the whole tree I’d miss the detail, so I could only draw part way up the trunk. I was fascinated by the dappled light and how the patches kept shifting as the sun went down behind me.

When our hour was up, we assembled back at the Soldier’s Memorial and did a “gallery walk” of everyone’s journals. I was impressed by the variety of drawings and the close observations.

We shared our experiences and said what we liked about other folks’ sketches. I liked that we were complimenting the sketch, not the artist… it was less personal, less embarrassing, and more meaningful.

We all enjoyed our time at the cemetery, and being able to share it with other folks made it even better. And next month, Auntie Bridgett and I get to join Jen and the sketchers again!

Love,

Grandma Judy