Fueled by Clouds & Coffee: Sketcher Fest, Day 2

7/20/25 Olympic Beach, Edmonds (This hasty sketch that I made during the few minutes I had left before the throwdown turned out to be my favorite of the weekend. Using one warm and one cool Neocolor II crayons, I didn't have time for much beyond nearly abstract marks -- and I like the result.)

I'm either leading a choir or channeling the Joie de Vivre sculpture
(see below)! (Photo by Jenni Salmi)

Day 2’s main event was the Sketchbook Fair, where all the guest artists displayed their original sketchbooks to share with visitors and chat with them. It’s always fascinating and inspiring to see original sketches after seeing so many of them only online. Digital reproductions and even printed books can never fully capture the vibrancy of actual ink and paint on paper. I was often surprised by originals being much smaller or larger than the impression I had of them when I saw them on Instagram. Of course, it was also gratifying to meet so many artists in person after knowing them only as social media names.

Sharing space with the artists at the Sketchbook Fair were several vendors offering art materials. I did peek (and sometimes drool) quickly at each booth, but in keeping with my newly downsized life, the only things I bought all weekend were a few stickers and the commemorative Sketcher Fest postcard (with lovely artwork by Virginia Hein that also appears on the program).

During the mid-day hours, I juggled between enjoying the Sketchbook Fair and leading the final Sketcher Fest sketchwalk at Olympic Beach right outside the Edmonds Waterfront Center. As in previous years, Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Combo provided lively music on the Center’s front patio and featured in many sketches (below).

Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Combo and Joie de Vivre, a sculpture by local artist David Varnau.

After an overcast, chilly morning on the beach, it was a struggle to stay indoors when the sun finally came out in the afternoon, but I didn’t want to miss the many artist talks to choose from. In particular, I wanted to catch Nina Khashchina’s (I spelled her name wrong in the sketch) fascinating presentation on how she sketches in extreme conditions (below)! I’m not talking about heat or snow; I’m talking about scuba diving! Nina has mastered using boards and notebooks that she writes on to communicate with fellow divers to also draw on while under water. Her tool and material issues are as extreme as her conditions: She uses mainly pencils, as most pens will rust almost immediately in salt water and will stop working under pressure. Even wood pencils don’t last long when continually submerged.

Nina Khashchina talks about extreme sketching!

The last artist talk I attended was by Jenny Jing Zhang, who talked about how she mixes a variety of media to express moods and feelings of the places she visits (below). One of her favorite places to sketch is cemeteries. In fact, she loves cemeteries so much that her dream job would be to design them.

Jenny Jing Zhang talks about her use of mixed media.

I started my sketch journal page for the day (below) with a sketch of the tofu rice bowl I had for lunch, but I brought the page home without having added anything else. I decided to fill the blank areas with some of the stickers I had acquired over the weekend: From Joey Mason (lower right) and Jenny Jing Zhang (lower left). The saxophone player at upper left is not a sticker but possibly the most innovative artist business card I’ve ever received. After chatting with Bill Russell a while, he asked me my birthday month and date. When I told him, he riffled through a stack of cards organized by month and handed me the card for my birthday, Nov. 16. He sketches every day, so he produced cards for the 366 days of the year, each with a sketch made on that date! As a daily sketcher myself, you can imagine the light bulb that flipped on over my head!

Stickers by Joey Mason and Jenny Jing Zhang and cool business card idea by Bill Russell

Coming down from the high of Sketcher Fest, I am filled with gratitude for the many months of hard work and volunteer time that made this stellar event possible. Thank you, Gabi Campanario, and the rest of the Sketcher Fest team! I’m already looking forward to next year!