Power Pole Saga Completed

1/28/16 ink, colored pencils, Zig marker

Way back in August 2014, I made a series of sketches of Seattle City Light utility workers installing a new power pole right outside our house. It was thrilling to be able to sketch so much action from the comfort of our own sundeck!

Then a year ago, utility workers came out to “our” pole again, this time to fix a problem. Since they turned the power off at our house around dusk, I had to sketch that one by flashlight through the livingroom window.

1/28/16 ink

Yesterday, a year and half after installing the new pole, workers came out for a third and (we hope) last time to fully decommission the old pole (still standing next to the new one all this time) and do some rewiring. They had to turn the power off at our house again, but at least it was during the day, so I had good light through the bedroom windows.

I thought they would fully take down the old pole at last, but instead, the guy up in the cherry picker chainsawed small lengths of the pole and took it down only about halfway. Regretfully, I couldn’t sketch the chainsaw work because he was always sawing from the far side of the pole. And he was fast! Every time I’d start a sketch, he would be done and move his cherry picker again. Meanwhile, other workers down the street were busy with the pole in front of our neighbor’s house.

1/28/16 ink, Zig marker, colored pencil

Who needs electricity when you can have front-row sketching entertainment like this! Working all morning and half the afternoon through drizzle, the City Light guys impressed me with their speed and efficiency (year-and-a-half epic notwithstanding).

1/28/16 ink, Zig marker