A Personal Celebration at Seattle Chinese Garden

5/21/17 inks, water-soluble colored pencils

As the international Urban Sketchers organization gears up to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, I celebrated my own personal anniversary today: My fifth year since joining USk Seattle!

Almost exactly five years ago, I had to force myself out the door on a cold, rainy Sunday to join USk Seattle at my first sketch outing (at Magnuson Park). Joining any kind of group is difficult for an introvert like me, but I was motivated to participate fully in this “urban sketching” activity that I had recently become so passionate about. Once I got past that initial hesitation, met people and realized how much fun it was to share in our common passion, continuing to attend became natural. I’ve hardly missed any outings since, and I think of USk Seattle as my “tribe.”

Still a little jet-lagged, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the outing at Seattle Chinese Garden this morning, but I really wanted to as a way of commemorating my personal anniversary. Unlike five years ago, it was a warm and sunny morning, and although I was quite late, I was happy to join my tribe there. In fact, I spent so much time chatting that I hardly had time to sketch! Maybe I’ve become less introverted over the years. In any case, thank you, USk Seattle, for five fun years, and I look forward to all of our sketching years to come!