Rabbit Library

7/29/15 inks, watercolor, colored pencils

This is a Little Free Library that I spotted several months ago in my own Maple Leaf neighborhood. It’s directly across the street from another one that I sketched last month. Although the design and construction of the two libraries are so similar that I’m sure they were built by the same person, this one is decorated very differently: It has a rabbit theme. In addition to the rabbit painted on the side (along with a Hemingway quotation – “There is no friend as loyal as a book”), the door knob is also a tiny bunny.

Technical note: See where I wrote the quotation? My new Pilot with a posting nib is the only fountain pen I own that can write that fine! It’s not for loose, expressive drawings, but I sure like it for certain tasks.

Susan J. Henry Memorial Little Library

7/28/15 ink, watercolor, colored pencils

On my way home from Shoreline this morning, I took a slight detour west through the Bitter Lake neighborhood in search of another Little Free Library. (This time I even remembered to bring along a book from my over-stuffed shelves to contribute!) Carefully constructed but unadorned, the library looked rather basic. The fence behind the library, however, had another part of the story to tell: metal letters facing toward the house spelling out “Susan J. Henry Memorial Library.”

Assuming that Susan J. Henry was a family member or some other loved one of the home owner, I was curious nonetheless, so I Googled the name. It turns out that the former Capitol Hill branch of the Seattle Public Library was actually called the Susan J. Henry (1854-1921) branch. She was the wife of Seattle capitalist Horace C. Henry. In 2003 the library was replaced by a new building and renamed the Capitol Hill Branch. I’m guessing that the sign was salvaged from the previous building. You learn something every day!

Another thing I learned today is that the Bitter Lake neighborhood I drove through is full of trees with bad haircuts. I now have a whole new area to cover this winter when I sketch from my car.

Little Library, Lots of Shadows

6/30/15 inks, colored pencils

This is the same street in Shoreline where I’ve sketched multiple trees hacked down the middle. Today, though, something else caught my eye: a Little Free Library on the corner. I got out of the car to sketch it, but on closer inspection, it wasn’t very interesting – a plain “architectural” style, no embellishments or character. I backed off a little and crossed the street, and from there, I saw a more engaging view of the whole block. Even the very ordinary hedge behind the library was casting interesting shadows.

Reused and Certified

6/25/15 Inks, colored pencils

I’ve been sketching Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood as I happen upon them. Last year when the weather went bad, I started keeping a list with the intention of sketching them eventually, and I have several more to sketch from that list. I am now also using the LFL map online to seek them out when I know I will be in a specific area.

That’s how I found out about the one I sketched this morning. After a brief business meeting in Shoreline, I cruised through the neighborhood to look for this one, which was very clearly made entirely of reused materials. The peak of the roof was lined with the tops of aluminum cans now nicely rusted with a patina. The tall, narrow library had many odd-shaped pieces, some of which stuck out from the front and back like bird perches. The weathered siding was unpainted. The hinges, knob and lock all showed a lot of living.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this library was the Certified Wildlife Habitat sign on its post. I didn’t know what that meant, so I took down the web address noted on the sign and looked it up later. It’s the National Wildlife Foundation’s certification program to help people “create a garden that attracts beautiful wildlife and helps restore habitat in commercial and residential areas.” Behind the library was a fenced garden with trees and plantings that looked carefully selected but also wild – the kind that probably attract birds, bees and butterflies. I had no idea such a certification existed! But that’s what libraries are for, even Little ones – to learn something new. 

Another Little Library

6/23/15 ink, watercolor, water-soluble colored pencils

Yesterday’s sketch of the Little Free Library at Early Masters reminded me of another LFL I had spotted in the neighborhood several months ago. This one is on Latona Avenue Northeast near Northeast 82^nd. In addition to being carefully constructed, it is also painted on the sides with designs depicting books. For example, one side has Mary Poppins floating down with her umbrella over a mountain. The sides are also painted with quotations about books and reading. With glass panes, the windows have nicely rounded corners. Lavender and many other plants are growing on a rockery behind the library. It seems very welcoming.

Interestingly, directly across the street is another Little Free Library that was obviously built by the same person from identical materials and in the same architectural style, but a different artist decorated it. I’ll save that one for another brilliantly sunny day like today to sketch it. (So many of these little libraries are designed like small houses; I might even be getting architectural sketching practice from this series!)

Art, Books and Trees

6/22/15 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, colored pencils

Walking in my neighborhood this afternoon, I spotted a Little Free Library that I hadn’t noticed before. In front of Early Masters, an art and art history school for children, the library is nicely constructed from what looks like actual siding and roofing materials. It’s a duplex, and the tiny windows have glass panes. The door has a picture of Picasso on it. The Little Free Library sits on a platform through which two large trees are growing.

Art, books, trees: It’s a rich visual metaphor for personal expression and growth for the kids enrolled in the school.

Little Free Library at Green Lake

10/4/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor,
Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble colored
pencils

During the summer, I sketched two Little Free Libraries within walking distance of my house in Maple Leaf. Today as I was driving past Green Lake, I spotted one that must be fairly new, because it’s not on the organization’s directory yet.

From the street, I thought it was actually made of brick, but on close inspection I realized it was just painted very carefully to look like it. The roof was made of something that looked very convincingly of real shingles, and the woodwork was beautifully done. This library was working double-duty as the house number marker for the host’s home. It’s fun and impressive to see the care that the hosts take to build and maintain their little libraries.

As I was sketching, a young girl and her mom came by, and the girl rushed to open the door, exclaiming, “I love the Little Free Libraries they have in Seattle. . . look, a kid’s book!” She was so quick to make her selection and reclose the door that I didn’t get to put her into the sketch.

When I checked the directory again, I discovered three more libraries nearby that I’d missed previously. The network must be growing! Stay tuned for more.

CD Tree

8/2/14 Platinum Carbon and various inks, Pitt Artist Pen,
Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble colored pencils,
Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Last week I sketched a Little Free Library a few blocks north in my neighborhood, and I knew about a second one within walking distance. I grabbed a couple of unneeded books to contribute from my over-bulging bookshelves and walked a couple blocks east.

The simple library box near the intersection of Northeast 80^th and Roosevelt Way Northeast was the intended focus of my sketch, but what really caught my eye was the “tree” growing up behind it. A tall cylinder of CDs sprouted several wire branches of CD “leaves.” 

Little Free Library in Maple Leaf

7/27/14 Platinum Carbon and other inks, Zig markers, Caran d'Ache
Museum water-soluble colored pencils, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

The first I ever heard of the Little Free Library program was from the Seattle Sketcher a couple of years ago. Then I saw that Kate Buike had started sketching all the libraries in her neck of the woods. Although I knew I could look online for the addresses of libraries in my neighborhood, I never got around to taking that step. Last week when I was walking home from Cloud City Coffee, I suddenly stopped short: A Little Free Library stands only a few blocks from my house.

On the corner of Northeast 88^th Street and Eighth Avenue Northeast, this library is very carefully crafted with a glass-front door and painted purple and blue (no doubt to coordinate with the large hydrangea bush still in blossom behind it). After sketching it, I took a book and left a book, just like the plaque invited me to. The plaque also reads, “In loving memory of Steve Cunetta.”

I finally did look up libraries in my neighborhood, and I found at least one that is within walking distance. Stay tuned.