Exquisite Corpses Live!

 

Exquisite corpses by Roy, Mary Jean and me

Mary Jean, Roy and I always have a lot of fun whenever we get together for art play dates, but last Friday we kicked it up a notch: We made exquisite corpses! Begun by the Surrealists, it’s a drawing game in which each player draws one part of a figure, then others add to it without seeing what the previous players have contributed. Obviously the drawings must be done from imagination, which is always a tough stretch, but Roy and MJ have a way of inspiring me. Maybe the game itself freed me to lower my expectations and just have fun with it. Indeed, we all had a ball and were delighted by the amazing results! These are not the last of the corpses we’ll see!

After the corpses came to life, we settled in for NA beers from Project 9 and burrito bowls from Mexican Seoul. Project 9’s large tables are especially suitable for collaborative projects like ours. Since we’re all more comfortable with urban sketching than with imaginative drawing, we all relaxed into our comfort zones with more sketching. We all agreed, though, that giving our imaginations a kick in the butt was good for all of us!

Exquisite collaborators!

3/21/25 Project 9 Brewery

Sidewalk Resident

 

3/20/25 Northgate

Meeting a friend for lunch at Northgate, I parked near Thornton Place where I’ve seen this tent for a while. Sidewalk residents like this one eventually get chased out, but inevitably the tents return. I would feel intrusive if I were to stand on the sidewalk nearby to sketch such a residence, but this time I was able to sketch from my car, enabling me to feel less conspicuous. Sadly, tents are part of our urban landscape as much as buildings, cars and trees are.

No Blossoms Yet

 

3/18/25 Sunset Hill neighborhood

My Facebook “memories” reminded me that one year ago, I was already sketching pink blossoms on both sides of town. Our cold winter and ongoing cold spring have kept the buds tightly closed a lot longer this year. I didn’t have high hopes, but the sun was out, so I took a drive over to Sunset Hill (with pink pencils in my bag, just in case).

As expected, the buds were still tight but showing their color. I’ll keep checking on them periodically, but I’m going to guess they still have at least a couple of weeks yet to go.

With or without blossoms, this cherry is my favorite on the block. I’ve sketched it several times, and I also made a graphite portrait from a photo in Kathleen Moore’s class four years ago.

A True Story

 

Walking Stories

 

2/19/25 Green Lake neighborhood

A few very short stories from my daily walks:

Opportunistic sketching on a very blustery day: I told myself that if the gusts stopped for a moment, I would sketch whatever I saw right there. This was it (above). 

 

3/13/25 Green Lake neighborhood

Supposedly our city council outlawed leaf blowers a few years back, a move that most citizens applauded exuberantly. But it turned out that they were only talking about city contractors. Anyone else can still go on blowing, which I detest. The noise, the dust, the total ineffectualness – it all annoys me greatly. While I was sketching, two leaf blowers started working on the same sidewalk, blowing against each other! You can imagine how quickly I finished my sketch (at left).

 

I don’t necessarily sketch this cherry tree every year (below), but since it’s on one of my regular walking routes, I always start checking its buds around now. They were still as tight as fists on this breezy day. But the calendar says today is the vernal equinox, so that’s got to mean something to the trees, right?

3/16/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood

My Old Office Chair

 

3/15/25 Thanks, old chair, for your 30+ years of service! 

A couple weeks after moving into my new office/studio, I realized that my old chair was no longer comfortable. First I replaced the two foot rests (one at my PC, one at my drawing table), hoping that would do the trick. They helped, but something about the furniture and the fact that my chair was now on hardwood instead of carpeting somehow changed the ergonomics.

On the other hand, my new “dining” chair (which I had proudly assembled), which is actually an office chair, has been very comfortable. For a few days, I rolled it back and forth between the diningroom and the office, using it at both my computer and drawing work stations (the color temperature study I did last week was a chair-testing sketch) to see how it felt. I thought I might miss the arms on my old chair, but I didn’t at all. In fact, sometimes when drawing, the arms have gotten in the way, so an armless chair was better.

I decided it was time to replace my old office chair, now more than 30 years old, and I would have no problem choosing the right one: I got a second one identical to my “dining” chair (only the color is different). The best part: I already knew how to assemble it, so I wouldn’t have to sweat that part, either!

My new chair in the "office" side of my office/studio.

Compared to Greg’s office chair, I don’t feel much sentimentality toward my old chair. One arm is torn, and the upholstery is looking a bit thin in places. It has served me well and doesn’t owe me anything. I’ll probably put it out on the Buy Nothing group as I did with his chair. I couldn’t let it go, though, without a farewell sketch.

Taking it in Stride

2/22/25 Residents watch a program about building construction innnovations.

3/11/25

As I’ve gotten to know Greg’s fellow residents at Aegis, I’ve often wondered what they used to be like when they were younger and healthier. As we were all chatting together one day, I learned from one of the caregivers that Jamie had been a principal at a prominent local architectural firm. She pulled out her phone and showed me images of a couple of familiar downtown skyscrapers that he and his firm had designed. Seeing him now, barely functioning with severe dementia, it’s hard to imagine, but I appreciate knowing something about who he used to be.

Sandy was a painter, and it’s clear that she still has artistic skills and interests. During the “coloring socials” when residents are offered coloring pages and art supplies to use, Sandy will occupy herself for long periods carefully and mindfully coloring beautiful pages.

3/14/25

I have come to learn who to avoid sitting near during snack time if I don’t want to risk having food thrown at me. I keep my belongings on me while I visit (otherwise, things have a way of walking off).

Val, a very thin, frail-looking woman, has a mean right hook that has caused injury to some caregivers. The same strong overhand that can lob a balloon across the room during balloon volleyball can do the same with a juice cup (sometimes still containing juice).

The caregivers all take it in stride, as I have learned to. Greg has, too. He often finds humor in his fellow residents’ behavior, which makes me laugh, too. Just another day at Aegis. 

3/14/25