Joyce Scott Retrospective and Athenian Lunch

 

10/25/24 Joyce J. Scott's exhibit at SAM, "Walk a Mile in My Dreams"

A couple of decades ago when beadwork was my primary art medium, one of my artist idols was Joyce Scott. At the time, most artists using beads were either making jewelry or following traditional cultural practices. Scott was one of few artists who revolutionized beadwork by using it as a sculptural and installation medium with political and socio-cultural content. Although my work was abstract rather than figurative, I often used the same sculptural techniques as she did, and I always looked at her work with awe.

Exhibit visitors were invited to take part in
a large weaving that would eventually be displayed.

I still do, and Scott’s retrospective exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, Walk a Mile in My Dreams, is utterly awe-inspiring. It’s not, however, easy to view: She not only doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like rape, lynching or other forms of sexual and racial violence, she puts them in your face. The visual imagery might make you flinch – as it should. Some of it is breathtaking – whether for its stunning beauty or gut-wrenching subject matter or both simultaneously.

Although I sketched a bit in the exhibit, my mind was so full of her imagery and ideas that I had difficulty focusing. It was easier in a room where a huge loom was set up for visitors to try their hand at weaving according to a short video clip of Scott’s instructions. I thought about trying it myself, but I was more interested in capturing another visitor giving it a shot.

I asked Mary Jean to stand by this piece for scale. It's entirely made of tiny beads and fiber elements. Close-up, tiny imagery could be spotted.

After experiencing the exhibit together, Roy, Mary Jean and I enjoyed lunch at the Athenian, an historic restaurant inside the Pike Place Market made famous by a scene in the 1993 film, Sleepless in Seattle (Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner are seen eating there). Apparently some visitors still want to dine there just because of that film. I had forgotten all about that scene being filmed there until I was reminded by the photos on the wall. Service was slow during that busy Friday lunch hour, so we all had plenty of time to sketch through our fantastic window view of Elliott Bay and the Olympics.

10/25/24 Views from the Athenian, Pike Place Market

Another Dayton Maples Retrospective

 

10/22/24 Dayton Avenue Northwest, Greenwood/Crown Hill neighborhood

Since I did it last year, I’m doing it again this year, and then it will become a tradition: a Dayton maples retrospective.

The Dayton Avenue maples in the Greenwood/Crown Hill neighborhood (the trees are on the border between those two neighborhoods, so I’ve used both labels) are the trees I sketch most regularly on my annual leaf-peeping tour. Since I have so many now, it’s fun as well as intriguing to look back at all my sketches of the same trees every autumn. I choose the sketches that were done on dates closest to the one I did in the current year. It’s my version of a perpetual nature journal.

Above is the sketch I made most recently. Compared to when I sketched them in September, they’re showing some color, but this late in October, I’m surprised I didn’t see more. As is apparent from the sketches below, though, the degree of coloring has varied widely around the third week of October.

10/22/23

10/22/20

10/19/18

Documenting Un-Junking

9/17/24 Macrina Bakery, Queen Anne neighborhood

Instead of feeling like a chore as it occasionally has in the past, my sketch journal process has become fun and engaging, mainly due to subject matter: my downsizing project. I enjoy documenting meaningful objects and key events, including my little celebrations of accomplishments.

10/4/24 Caffe Ladro, Roosevelt neighborhood

A critical part of making my sketch journal process possible is sometimes using photo references, even for simple objects that are easily accessible for drawing from life – and that’s a huge change of attitude for me. Long-time readers of this blog know that I have always been so focused on drawing from life that switching to photo references has sometimes been a challenge. I still strongly prefer drawing from life, but in this case, I don’t want anything to interrupt my unjunking process. I’m like the proverbial shark: Once I start clearing an area, I need to keep moving.

10/9/24 Green Lake Starbucks (Sometimes my sketch journal is just about ordinary life.)

10/10/24 Mr. West, U Village

10/16/24 photo reference

The mini vac on Oct. 16 is a good example. When that long-missing item finally came to light, I knew I wanted to document it, but I did not want to set aside the vacuum cleaner until I sketched it. It was easy to snap a photo in the moment, then move on (the vac had been replaced long ago, so I gave it away).

10/17/24 The "We Take Junk" team, who came to my house a total of 4 times. (Photo reference)

10/19/24 When Chris installed my hardwood floors several weeks ago, he spotted the table saw in the basement. I told him I was getting rid of it, and his eyes lit up. I was very happy to know it was going to a good home. (Photo reference)

I’ve also been snapping quick photos of people that I want to include in my documentation. Obviously, I don’t want to get in the way of workers, and often I’m too busy myself helping with the work. I know it must sound so obvious to people who have always been comfortable drawing from photos, but for me, it’s a liberating and novel experience not to draw everything as it is happening.

10/21/24 Santo Coffee, Roosevelt neighborhood (a reward for the previous week's unjunking efforts)

The spread shown below was a spontaneous page design experiment. When I made the sketch of the voting box, my intention was to use the rest of the spread to document something else that happened that day, but I forgot and never finished the spread. The next day, I wanted to document the celebratory doughnuts I had gotten for my junk-removal crew (after four visits, each lasting several hours, you get to be good friends with the people hauling all your junk out). Although I typically would not put two days on a spread, especially crossing the gutter this way, it suddenly occurred to me: Why not? I do it all the time when all the sketches are occurring on the same day – what difference does it make if the sketches occur the next day?

10/23/24 and 10/24/24 

I like to think of myself as a creative person, but sometimes the most obvious things take a long time to occur to me! Anyway, I like the way the composition of the spread came out, and I’m going to push myself to think outside the boundaries of the single page more often. I always enjoy the challenge of making images fit together on a small page – especially since I never know what the next sketch will be.

Halloween with Holidays on its Heels

10/23/24 Swansons Nursery

Swansons Nursery is a fall favorite for USk Seattle. More than a week before Halloween, the store was certainly decked out with autumn-themed decorations and plenty of pumpkins, but it was clear that other holidays were fast on their heels. Staff were already setting up the Christmas train display. Humphrey, the dinosaur topiary (whom I’ve sketched when he was fully “clothed” with greenery), was still wearing boots, hat and scarf in Seahawks/Sounders colors, but I was told his holiday gear was going up soon (as well as greenery, which he was sorely lacking). Workers were also replacing the sports-themed colored lights on parking lot trees with holiday colors. Whew – the retail rush is on!

In any case, we had fun chasing the orange before the colors turned red and green.

As is my usual pattern at Swansons (which we only seem to visit in the cold months), I sketched outdoors as long as I could stand the cold, then went into the café for coffee and chatted with friends.

Farewell, Wedgwood Cedars

 

10/21/24 Red cedars in Wedgwood the day before they were to be cut down

Astra, a centenarian red cedar in the Wedgwood neighborhood, first came to my attention about a year ago. The developer Legacy had applied for a permit to have the tree destroyed. Despite much citizen protest, the climate justice activist group Tree Action Seattle announced that Astra plus four other Wedgwood cedars would be cut down on Oct. 22. Since I had already sketched Astra last year, I decided to sketch the other four cedars the day before they were scheduled to come down.

Standing across the street in front of Wedgwood Elementary School, I couldn’t see all four trees, but I was still impressed by the massive height of those I could see. Soon Legacy will replace them with yet another multi-unit development that independent architects have shown could be built without destroying the trees. As has happened many times – Legacy has cut down more than 1,700 trees in 2024 alone – city regulations supposedly protect mature trees such as these cedars, but loopholes are easily stepped through.

Thank you, beautiful cedars, for all your decades of service. You will be sorely missed.

Ballpoint Nuances

 

Both sketches made with Bics

I rarely discuss the nuances of ballpoint pens, but if not during InkTober, when? Now that I’m three-quarters of the way through the month, I’m finally running out of styles and unique specimens of Bics – my favorite ballpoint pens for drawing. Of course, I certainly have numerous Bic 4 Colors in various color combos and probably an infinite number of advertising Clics and Stics (or at least I used to; I was merciless during my recent dejunking of drawers). But I thought the challenge would be more interesting if I started trotting out other ballpoints I have.

Oct. 17: Bic; Oct. 18: Caran d'Ache

Although Bic is still my favorite by a wide margin, if I had to choose a No. 2, it would be the Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint (Oct. 18 at right). I have several, but they differ only in body color. It’s kind of the opposite of the Bic: Overpriced but made of a solid yet lightweight metal body and a quiet, bouncy knock. I wouldn’t own so many just for the varying bodies, though, if I didn’t like the ink (contained in Caran d’Ache’s overpriced, proprietary cartridges, of course). It’s not Bic, but it’s smooth and reliable to draw with (at least for small studies like these). It just takes longer to build up values. One positive quality is that it never blobs like Bic ink is prone to doing regularly.

Worse yet for building values is the Uni Jetstream, which is my favorite for writing but one of my least favorites for drawing. The sketches for Oct. 19 and 20 (below) made a convenient page (almost like a product comparison test) of basic Bic Clic and Cristal pens (Oct. 19) and a Jetstream (Oct. 20). I’ve said this before, but Bic ink is like a graphite pencil in its pressure sensitivity and ability to layer with subtle gradations. My technique is the same in both of these sketches, but the individual lines are more apparent with a Jetstream.

I should also pause here to mention that I’ve been using a white 0.5 Sakura Gelly Roll all month for highlights, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by its good behavior. It hasn’t clogged yet. (I have more than week to go . . . I hope I haven’t jinxed it.)

Oct. 19: Bics, Oct. 20: Uni Jetstream

Two "grades" of Bics used for this one

Blustery Evergreen Washelli

 

10/20/24 Evergreen Washelli cemetery

I've sketched the Doughboy monument nearly
every time I've visited the cemetery. I decided on
an abbreviated composition this time.

Totally unsheltered Evergreen Washelli cemetery is an iffy proposition in late October when the weather can be all over the place, but it seemed like a fun idea right before Halloween. USk Seattle decided to chance it. With high winds blowing all day and a forecast of rain by 3 p.m., I was afraid I might be the only one waiting at the American Doughboy monument, but seven other hardcore sketchers showed up!

The weather was definitely all over the place: Despite the harsh wind and eventual rain, the temperature was in the balmy mid-60s – unusually warm for October. My sketchbooks were hard to hang onto for most of these sketches. When I got tired of being shoved around by the wind, I drove to my favorite tree at this cemetery and sketched from inside my mobile studio: A gnarly yet elegant old sakura that I’ve sketched at least a couple of times before, including in April when the last of its petals were still clinging. This time I used ArtGraf water-soluble graphite, and I was reminded of how much I miss graphite! (I’m looking forward to Pencilvember.)

Cherry tree

We decided to meet for our throwdown a little earlier than scheduled to avoid the oncoming rain. As I pulled out of the cemetery for home, the first drops of rain started falling. Whew!

The windblown look!