Urban Sk-egg-ing in Tacoma

4/4/15 various inks, colored pencil, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

It had been ages since I visited the Washington State History Museum, so when Urban Sketchers Tacoma invited Seattle sketchers to join them this morning for a group-rate discount, I jumped at the opportunity.

This museum is the kind of place where I felt torn between lingering in the exhibits to take in my native state’s rich cultural and industrial heritage – or sketch. You can probably guess which I chose, but it was a difficult choice. My first sketch was part of an exhibit on Native American culture – an interpretive display of a woman teaching a young girl how to basket-weave. While I sketched, I listened to the audio program about how the craft has been handed down from one generation to the next.

4/4/15 various inks, colored pencils

For my next sketch, I went upstairs to find a view of the main floor gallery’s exhibit of the aerospace industry. That’s when I spotted Stevie – a tiny dot dwarfed by the framework of a plane’s fuselage looming over the space. (The dude at left is not real; I think he represented an airplane manufacturing worker.)

By that time the morning had warmed up a little, so I went out to do two iconic Tacoma sketches from just outside the history museum: Union Station and the Museum of Glass’s conical building. These Urban Sk-eggs took a little planning – namely, I had to bring my support materials in a cooler!

Happy Easter!

4/4/15 Copic Multiliner SP pen and colored pencil on Grade AA egg

4/4/15 Copic Multiliner SP pen on Grade AA egg