Sketchwaiting Stories

 

7/15/26 Social Security office

6/11/26 medical waiting room

The sketches I make while waiting for someone or something to happen are usually just ways to “kill time” (I’ve always thought that was an odd expression: Why would we want to kill the only resource we truly have in life?). Yet when I look back at them, I realize that almost all vividly remind me of the circumstances in which they were made, even if the subjects are “nothing” (which almost always defines a sketchwaiting sketch), and even if I haven’t written any notes. Or maybe I should say that the sketches evoke the feelings associated with the circumstances.

5/17/26 waterfront

8/6/26 Green Lake PCC

For example, although I didn’t note the temperature, I know that Aug. 6 (above) was a hot day. I didn’t want to turn on the oven to cook, so I went to PCC to get a pizza. I could tell that people were using the café area simply to enjoy the AC.

7/15/26 Social Security office

9/11/26 Federal Way light rail station

The yellow sketch on June 11 (top of post) was made in the waiting room of Greg’s orthopedist, who had examined a broken arm after a fall. He seemed to be declining in other ways, but the fracture was healing well, which gave me hope.

A month later on July 15, I was in the Social Security office with our marriage license, applying for widow’s benefits.

Every sketch tells a story, large and small.

9/14/26 Green Lake

9/16/26 South Lake Union

Highly Flammable

 

9/16/26

Remember the chair I so proudly assembled? The past several months, it had developed a bad squeak. Every time I leaned back or moved, it made increasingly loud noises of the type that drive me crazy. Fortunately, I had saved the tiny L-shaped screwdriver that came with it. I tried tightening all the screws, but that didn’t help. Maybe WD-40?

Googling gave me the answer: Silicone spray. I came home from the hardware store with a can of one of the most toxic, hazardous products I’d ever brought into the house. Highly flammable! Do not smoke while using! Avoid inhaling or contact with skin! Use only in well-ventilated area! Ingestion may cause death! So many dire warnings!

It took me a while to mentally and physically prep for the dangerous operation. The screws had to be loosened so that the threads could be lubed with the silicone. I did that, then put on a pair of disposable gloves, spread newspaper on the floor near the open front door, and had a rag handy for possible drips (as advised by the instructions). Finally ready, I went to open the can – and the cap wouldn’t come off. Unscrewing didn’t work, and the cap was slightly tapered, so getting a grip on it to pull up was impossible.

Fine. I walked to the hardware store again. The young man who helped me gave the cap a slight push sideways, and it popped right off. Kind and cheerful, he never made me feel stupid, but I did anyway.

I walked home in tears, partly because I felt like an idiot. Mostly, though, it was just one more of a million things I took for granted. If I had complained about the squeaky chair, Greg would have said, “Hold on, I got this,” and dashed downstairs for the appropriate tool and toxic substance. Ten minutes later: “There you go. All fixed.”

“Thanks, sweetie.”

Thanks, sweetie. Then, now, and every time in the future that it happens again: Another way to miss you.

No More Juju

 

9/10/26 Green Lake

This little pinwheel palm had unpleasant associations for me.

In December 2019, I had just started my walk/sketch fitness program (which I’ve maintained to this day). As with any new endeavor, I was still freshly enthusiastic, despite the cold and sometimes wet weather. A few months later on one of those walks, I had stopped in front of Duke’s restaurant at Green Lake for my sketch reward. After sketching this palm tree, I tried to take a trophy photo, dropped my brand new phone and chipped the screen. I take trophy shots of my sketches nearly daily, and that was the only time I have ever dropped my phone; surely the palm had something to do with my bad luck. Shortly thereafter, COVID happened, and I came to associate sketching that poor, innocent palm with both bad things.

Remembering all of that as I walked past the palm at Duke’s recently, I decided I needed to sketch it again to eliminate the bad juju.

The Interview

 

8/7/26 Whole Foods cafe

I could tell immediately by their body language: A job interview was taking place. After walking to an errand, I had stopped at Whole Foods’ café for an iced Americano. Tempted to sketch them at the adjacent table, I resisted, not wanting to add to the candidate’s stress if she happened to catch me observing them.

Although I could hear the manager’s questions clearly (the position was for a Whole Foods cashier), the candidate’s responses were so quiet that I couldn’t hear them at all. Recalling the many job interviews I had been on in my career, they had all been conducted in proper offices – not in a noisy, distracting café where patrons could easily overhear. It all made me cringe with empathy.

Of the many things I am grateful for about retirement, never having to go on another job interview is near the top of the list.  

Peach Pie

 

8/5/26 Third Place Commons, Lake Forest Park

When I realized that I had a conflict on the day of the Ballard P-Patch’s annual Art in the Garden festival, I was so disappointed. Of course, I love sketching the flowers, live musicians and people enjoying this community summer event, but we all know the real reason I go: for the bake sale table! Specifically, the peach pie, and most especially when it has been baked by Mary Jean!

When I told her of my disappointment, MJ offered to bake one just for me at a later date, and I could still donate to the P-patch. When Roy heard of the special offer I had received, he decided he wanted a peach pie, too.

On Wednesday afternoon when it was too smoky to sketch outdoors, we met at Third Place Commons to devour peach pie together. With the carton of vanilla ice cream that Roy had picked up from Always Summer (where we’ve sketched before), we had ala mode.

Good friends, freshly baked (that morning!) peach pie ala mode, followed by sketching: Even on a smoke-filled day, it gets no better.

Sharing My Sketch Journal Process

 

An enthusiastic, open-minded group of students!

While the pet portrait workshops I taught last spring were more about developing drawing skills and learning brush pen or colored pencil techniques, the one I taught on Saturday was about a process that’s near and dear to my heart: Keeping a daily sketch journal.

Regular blog readers know that it’s a process I’ve been developing for myself for many years, but it’s only been the last three years that my practice finally  “stuck.” Eager to share that process in person, I was rewarded by enthusiastic, open-minded students who were willing to try things that may have been outside their comfort zone. Some were sheer beginners, and many had not sketched on location before.

8/1/26 Here's my own sketch journal page from our first exercise, which turned out to be a spontaneous demo when a student asked how I sketch people.

We started the workshop at the ArtSpot store (the workshop’s sponsor), where I passed around several of my own sketch journals and talked about my many failed tries – and the one successful one. After explaining my plan for the morning and discussing recommended art supplies (of course), we headed out for the first sketch location. Our first stop, though, was to get a beverage or (you guessed it) a pastry to start our sketching out right!

Lacking a café where 14 people (including myself and one class assistant) could sit together, I chose a location I was familiar with from the sketch walk I had led during Sketcher Fest. Using the plentiful benches of the Veterans’ Plaza, we stayed together to try the process I had described: Sketch our food or beverage first as an easy “entry” to the page spread, then sketch whatever grabbed our attention around us.

Students hard at work at Edmonds' Veterans' Plaza.

I was happy to observe relaxed conversations among students. This plaza is better than any classroom... plenty of benches for all.

After giving individual feedback, I knew they were ready for the next step. This time we all scattered out to the Edmonds Summer Market, which was in full swing by then. Their assignment was to make a series of sketches with written comments that would tell a story in answer to the question: What did you experience at the market? I encouraged everyone to observe with all their senses, not just sight. The market is full of sounds, scents and weather to feel!

After we all scattered through the market, I lost sight of most students, so I didn't get more photos. But I caught these two sketching from one of my own favorite spots at this market: It's a great view from behind a flower vendor's booth. 

About an hour later, we regrouped at Veterans’ Plaza to share our sketches and takeaways from the process. It was gratifying and rewarding to hear that students had been encouraged and excited by their first try at a daily sketch journaling practice.

Check out our colorful throwdown! ArtSpot carries Uglybooks. It's possible I may be an "influencer." Ha-ha!!

Here's my own answer to the question: "What did you experience at the market?"

Photo courtesy of ArtSpot

Photo courtesy of ArtSpot

A Stroll Through Winslow

 

7/14/26 Mt. Baker from Seattle-to-Bainbridge ferry

On the last day visiting friends Cathy and Bettina were in town, we decided we didn’t get enough ferry riding the day before; we took a different ferry to Winslow on Bainbridge Island. (According to several Instagram travel influencers who fell into my feed, riding a ferry is a quintessential, must-do Seattle summer thing. Indeed!)

Enjoying a leisurely brunch on the Streamliner Diner’s porch, strolling through Winslow’s “downtown” (a few blocks long), and popping into charming shops, we were more tourists than sketchers that day. We also visited the Bainbridge History Museum and Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, both of which are free every day. The latter currently has a retrospective show by Carletta Carrington Wilson that especially moved me.

I made only two sketches that day: One was of a huge “retort” (vessel) from the turn of the 20^th century that was used to transport toxic creosote (below). Easily wide enough in diameter for people to walk through and read the placards inside, the retort is a permanent exhibit outside the Bainbridge History Museum.

Creosote retort and a card from  Blackbird Bakery, 
where we all indulged in delish chocolate chip cookies.

The second sketch was of Mt. Baker from the ferry to Bainbridge (above). While not visible from Seattle, Baker is often visible from Edmonds, but I never did catch it from the beach during Sketcher Fest. It makes a nice pairing with the sketch I had made of Mt. Rainier from the Edmonds ferry the day before.

A New 4th Tradition

 

7/3/26 Old Stove Brewery Gardens, Ballard neighborhood

A typical weather pattern lately, the overcast morning gave way to sunny skies by late afternoon for USk Seattle’s drink & draw. We met this time at Old Stove Brewery Gardens in Ballard, which was the location of a drink & draw on the same occasion last year: the day before the 4^th of July holiday.

I usually write more observations or overheard dialog on these types of pages, but I was too busy with good conversations this time!

With good conversation over brews (and my grilled corn on the cob) under nicely shaded tables, we thought we were a small turnout. Halfway through, we discovered a bunch more sketchers inside the brew pub, where they had been viewing a World Cup match. Our group turned out to be much larger than we realized at first! By the time of our throwdown, the match was over, so everyone came outside.

It was a fun way to kick off (did you see what I did there with a sports mixed metaphor?) the holiday weekend. And now that we’ve done it for two consecutive years, it’s a tradition, right?

The Patio

5/4/26

5/1/26

We had many sunny days in May and June when the memory care residents could enjoy their lovely patio. Whenever I visit Greg on days when the weather allows going out there, I probably enjoy it more than the residents do: I have things to sketch besides them.

5/10/26

5/22/26

6/17/26

A Pink Pick for National Donut Day

 

6/5/26 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

My dilemma is always the same. When I go to a donut shop with the intention of sketching my treat, what kind do I choose? One of my favorites to eat (fritter [see last year's], Bavarian cream [in 2017], chocolate-glazed raised), none of which are particularly attractive, or a pretty one that I may not enjoy as much but will be more fun to draw? Since it was National Donut Day, which I look forward to observing annually, my sketchbook won the argument with my mouth: A bright pink raspberry-glazed raised ring.

Lots of families came in briefly for after-school treats (kids scarf down donuts surprisingly fast), but most purchases were for takeout. I was lucky to catch one young boy who was there with his dad to celebrate the last day of school.

Jimi Hendrix Park by Rail

 

5/27/26 Jimi Hendrix Park

I don’t get around to Jimi Hendrix Park often (the last time was two years ago); the sometimes grueling drive through the worst of traffic has only gotten worse. Since the latest stations in our light rail system opened in March, though, the park is now an easy train ride away!

Roy hadn’t yet ridden the Eastside line across Lake Washington, so Mary Jean and I decided he should experience it. After riding one stop to Mercer Island, we turned right back around and rode to Judkins Park Station, which is across the street from both adjacent parks.

On this brilliant, nearly cloudless morning, temps in the mid-60s, I was able to stand in full sunlight to sketch the prominent red sculpture in the middle of the park. Before writing this post, I had checked my blog from my first visit to Hendrix Park in 2017, and I had to laugh – a composition I had chosen then was almost identical to this one! I had even chosen the same quotation from the purple trail of song lyrics circling the park. My approach hadn’t changed much in nine years, either, but at least I could tell that some trees had grown.

Part of a sculpture honoring Jimi Hendrix's life

Filling a few minutes before meeting up again with MJ and Roy, I sketched the cutout silhouette of Jimi in the sculpture honoring his life (at right).

After lunch at Seattle Fish Guys, we made a nearby stop that had been on our radar: Temple Pastries. With delicious treats and good coffee, the café has one more appealing feature: Outdoor seating with a view of the Central District neighborhood.

That’s where I made my first page-spread sketch journal entry in my handmade UglyPads sketchbook. Although I like the striking appearance of two high-contrast colors as adjacent pages, the spread looks less cohesive – the two pages don’t “read” like they are part of the same entry. I think I’d like to draw more across the gutter to bring the pages together better. I do appreciate the slightly larger page spread, though, compared to commercially bound Uglybooks.

Temple Pastries, Central District neighborhood

Maybe in the next book I make, I’ll stack a few sheets of the same color so I’ll have some same-color page spreads. Hmmm . . . so many options when you bind your own!

Skagit River

5/18/26 Skagit River, Rockport, WA.

Some of my family were in town for a few days last weekend for an extended family event. I joined a few of them for a short road trip to the small town of Rockport about a hundred miles north of Seattle. Although Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Skagit County is known for its winter eagle feedings in the Skagit River, not many eagles were sighted the day we went. My brother, a wildlife photographer (I have sketched from some of his photos taken in Kenya), wanted to check it out for future reference.

Walking out onto a bridge across the river, I caught this lovely spot with the North Cascades looming behind it. If you zoom in closely, you might see that the tiny dot in the water is a fly fisherman. 

Although I've gotten rides before in my nephew's Tesla, this 
was my first experience in a charging station.

Technical notes: I’m not sure how evident it is in the results, but the color sketch was inspired by Colin Woodward’s techniques with water-soluble materials. His primary method is to apply relatively little pencil or crayon and instead employ the water to do more of the work. Using Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons and Museum Aquarelle pencils, I did the same. I must say that the waterbrush hack I’ve been using lately is definitely efficient with his method. It’s easier to control the direction and density of water than spritzing, and the flat, broad brush edge is faster than a typical round waterbrush. I finished this sketch in the time it took my brother to take a few photos, and I didn’t keep anyone waiting.

Where Words and Music Come Together

 

5/14/26 Ben Wheeler accompanies Cindy Williams Gutierrez as she reads her poems at Hugo House (quotations are from Gutierrez's poems or commentary during the Q&A)

Dave Nolet on bass 

I recently enjoyed a unique collaborative performance at Hugo House, a literary arts center for creative writers. Poet Cindy Williams Gutierrez read from her book, This Tender Geography, while classical guitarist Ben Wheeler and upright bass player Dave Nolet accompanied her. The interplay of poetry and music was rich and moving.

Here’s what made the evening extra special for me: Ben and I attended the same elementary, middle and high schools and had not seen each other since our 20^th Franklin High reunion eons ago! In addition, I attended the event with our mutual friend Marianne, whom I have known since kindergarten. All three of us were in the same second grade class! It was a fun reunion, and we vowed to get together again soon when we’ll have more time to catch up.

Reconnecting with people from my past has become very important to me, and I cherish every opportunity.

5/14/26 After the event, I went home and sketched from our reunion selfie:
Friends since second grade!

Eph’s Towing

 

5/6/26 QFC parking lot, Magnolia

Shortly after I had pulled out of the Fishermen’s Terminal parking lot last week, I knew something was wrong: The Miata’s clutch would barely engage, and shifting into each gear was a struggle. I pulled into a nearby QFC lot.

Eph’s Towing, recommended by Chuck’s Auto, came to my rescue. When I told Ephraim how questionable the car’s operation was, he decided to maneuver the car out of the parking space and align it with the tow’s flat bed by hand! I was impressed and relieved to see him treat my 30-year-old baby with such care.

Many towing services won’t allow the owner to ride along in the cab, but Eph was happy to take me along. It turned out that we are both Seattle natives and Franklin High grads (although he was probably four decades behind me)! I enjoyed hearing how he got into the towing business and how grateful he is for the flexible work, which enables him to spend more time raising his two young kids. Currently renting a house in Burien, he and his wife are saving toward buying a home. Despite Seattle’s well-known unaffordability, they like it here and hope to stay.

Eph securing my baby to the tow bed (photo reference)

As he dropped me and my Miata off at Chuck’s Auto, I wished Eph well and later left him a five-star review on Google (which he had requested in response to my words of gratitude).

Epilogue: The faulty clutch cylinder was the one that had been replaced just under three years ago (another towing incident that had required a much longer sketchwait than this one), so it was still within warranty. Whew! An automotive bullet dodged, and the Miata rides again!

Origami Workshop

 

4/25/26 Fresh Mochi Gallery

Fresh Mochi Gallery on Beacon Hill looks unassuming. Located on a quiet, residential street, it would be easy to miss. Inside, however, a remarkable project is taking place.

Last Saturday I joined several other women in a free workshop to learn how to fold an origami vulva (yes, you read that right). Our contributions from the workshop will eventually become part of a head-exploding installation by artist Hanako O’Leary.

In a variety of media, primarily ceramics, O’Leary’s latest body of work focuses on the image of the vulva. (Some pieces are currently on exhibit at Fresh Mochi.) The origami is part of “Kamon,” which is about women’s freedom, mythology, “the strength to live in one’s own body,” and much more. This part of “Kamon” requires thousands and thousands of origami pieces that are being stitched together into a delicate, suspended, quilt-like installation. Three more segments are still in the design and conceptualization stage. 

During the two-hour workshop, I completed only two vulvas! It’s a complex structure that was more intense to learn than I anticipated. Although O’Leary has a small team helping her to make and assemble the installation, she holds regular workshops to involve the community. I am honored and humbled to participate in her work, even in this tiny way.

This was my practice piece made of commercial origami paper. O'Leary placed
 a small patch of gold leaf in the center when it was completed.
 She let contributors keep the practice pieces.

The final piece that will be included in the installation is made of a fabric-like paper hand-dyed by the artist. She placed gold leaf in the center after I took this photo. O'Leary asked each participant to write the birth name and place of their mothers on the back, honoring the heritage of our birth mothers.

Washington, DC, Part 4: National Zoo (Plus Sketch Journal Randomness)

 

3/31/26 Smithsonian National Zoo

My most frustrating time of the DC trip was our visit to the Smithsonian National Zoo. Famous for its resident pandas, the zoo is probably crowded throughout the year, but never more so than during spring break aligning with peak cherry tree blossoming. Could we have chosen a more congested time to visit?

Although I managed to sketch a few animals here and there, it was extremely challenging just to move through visitor traffic, let alone stop for a sketch. To make matters worse, temps in the low 40s during the early part of the trip had suddenly changed to the mid-80s! I wasn’t quite ready for summer!

As expected, the panda exhibit was the most congested of all, but the well-designed viewing area made it relatively easy to get a good look. Delighting everyone, this panda spent quite a while sitting on his comfy stump, chewing bamboo. (See my Instagram post for a video of this cutie.)

After an exhausting, grueling day swimming upstream through a continual river of humanity, we all needed a break. Lucky for us, the district’s best donut shop was only a few blocks away! It was the highlight of my last full day in DC.

One of the zoo's stars

Donuts make everything better!

The rest of this post is a collection of sketch journal randomness during my travels. Using DC’s excellent Metro system daily gave me lots of commuters to sketch.

3/27/26 light rail ride to the Seattle airport

Waiting at SEA

3/28/26 First of many DC Metro train rides

4/1/26 Looking for lunch at DCA before our flight back to Seattle, my brother-in-law
and I found unexpectedly good sushi at Matsutake Sushi!

Waiting at DCA

Yes, I did get some peanut M&Ms -- a "shareable"
size bag that I didn't share! ;-)

Mandatory gate sketch