Sketchbook: re-purposed/renewed and easy to make.

I made my 1st sketchbook on a whim last month. It was part of an effort for the Artist Way task. I am trying to romance my muse into getting back to being the artist I used to be. I thought that perhaps if I made something very nice/special that it would entice her to want to use it. Thus far it is one of "those" kinds of art objects that fell into the agonies of what I call "new sketchbook syndrome". It happens frequently among artists with art stuff when you get something incredibly special then don't want to use it for fear you will mess it up! Silly but true, it happens more than you know.
   So I made this sketchbook from one full sized sheet of Aquella watercolor paper that you fold and tear accordion style. This ensures that I have quality paper which is a trade up from most watercolor sketchbooks. The best part... no weaving pages. The mask material is left over from a quilt I made long ago but never finished. It is wrapped over scrap matte board. The ribbon and embellishment were woven to wrap around the button to close the book. The entire project took me 1/2 day to make and so much cheaper and better than a $20-$30 sketchbook mass produced. Also since there is maybe 30 pages front and back you get that sense of accomplishment when you fill the sketchbook all the quicker. For all you prolific Urban Sketcher who are ready to take your work to the next level, I highly recommend trying your hand at making a sketchbook.- Feather

Fort Nisqually outing

Though a bit chilly, we enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day at Fort Nisqually.  They were very gracious and let us in early.  

I'm also a volunteer there, so I've sketched scenes around the Fort a lot.  This was a wonderful time of year to be there as so much was in bloom.  I chose the Hollyhock and Sweet William bordering the porch of the Factor house.




Sharing sketches and the group photo:





All the photos are here:  https://redharp.smugmug.com/SketchOutings/2016-0615-Fort-Nisqually/

Reminder:   The Fort is hosting a juried art exhibition which we are encouraged to participate in by submitting the sketches of our Fort Nisqually outing.  Go here to download the pdf for the prospectus.  The deadline to enter is July 29.  

All the July sketch outings in one place

Here are all the outings planned for July!  

You can always find the plan on the Monthly Outings tab: http://urbansketcherstacoma.blogspot.com/p/monthly-outing.html

1st Saturday Sketch Outing: July 2, 2016
University Of Washington, Tacoma, Campus

Gather at 10 am outside the UW-Tacoma Bookstore, located across the street from the WA State History Museum
1754 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402

(The Bookstore opens at 9 am---small art supply dept.; can order delivery  from Main campus bookstore.  Starbucks is next door to/inside the bookstore and opens at 6:30 am.)

We're getting  ready for August 19-August 21, 2016!!!  It's the 4th Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Sketch Crawl is almost here!  If you haven’t already, please RSVP for this splendid event! (4thwcuskskcrawl.blogspot.com/)  And if you RSVP for the dinner prior to Aug 5th, you'll receive a ticket for the very special door prize being provided by Daniel Smith! Everyone gets a ticket for various other door prizes but only those who RSVP get the special, golden ticket

This sketch outing will prepare us to be helpful to our guests who will be visiting.  It's an opportunity to become familiar with an area where we will be sketching during our event:

o  The University of Washington-Tacoma Campus

o   Do you know where to take elevators up the hills?

o   Do you know where there is free 5-hour parking?

o   Do you know the locations of the gorgeous sketching locations between the bounds of the campus?
§  Between S. 17th and S. 21st
§  Between S. Court D Street and Pacific Ave.

Share sketches/take group photo at 12:30 at the Tollefson Plaza
S. 17th and Pacific.

Lunch at Elemental Pizza
1702 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402
Reservations for 15 at 1pm (from heavy snack to lunch $6-$13) 

 _________________________________________________________________________

Second Thursday Gig Harbor outing on July 14th

Historical houses on Harborview Dr.

We will meet outside Suzanne’s Bakery at 10 a.m.
3411 Harborview Dr, Gig Harbor, WA 98332  

Coffee and pastries are available to sustain us as we pursue our subjects, the historical houses on the opposite side of the road from the water between Rosedale to the south and Novak to the north.  

Let’s support a venue that is sketcher-friendly by partaking of their good food if we sketch from their interior.  So be generous, be considerate of the establishment and their customers and show the world how sketching can help everyone to be happy!  Also, there is a restroom available for customers so you are encouraged to be one.

There are tables inside and outside Suzanne’s and lunch is available when we are done sharing. There is lots of street parking but limited to 2 hours so you may have to move sometime during our time there. 

Directions:
Cross Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Exit to Wollochet/City Center
Turn right to go into town.
L on to Harborview Dr. at the bottom of the hill
Find a place to park along Harborview or a side street.
Suzanne’s is on the right hand side of the road (water side). 

_________________________________________________

Third Wednesday Sketch Outing: 

July 20th at Tacoma's Spanish Steps 

 We will meet at B Sharp Coffee House at 10 a.m.
  (the website isn't very functional)
706 Opera Alley, Tacoma, WA 98402
in the alley east of Court C

 

Spanish Steps
615 Commerce St., Tacoma, WA 98402
This is adjacent to the Elks Building.

Sketching in and around the Spanish Steps and Opera Alley will commence after host introductions and announcements. We will return to B Sharp Coffee at 12:30 PM for sketch sharing and group photo and, for those interested in staying after, for lunch. 

Parking Choices:
Off street parking at 620 Commerce or 740 Market street
both garages are $8 all day

Alternatively, park for free in the lower level of the garage at Freighthouse Square and take the light rail to the Theater District Station (the last stop).  Then walk about 3 blocks to the meeting area.  However, on a weekday, those parking spots fill early.

____________________________________________________________________________

Fourth Thursday in Gig Harbor:  July 28 in Home, WA 

We will meet at 10 am at the Home Post Office
1302 Key Peninsula Hwy N, Lakebay, WA.  

Home is a utopian/ anarchist town with interesting old houses,  a boat building barn on stilts, a back lagoon, a house with a creative rock arch, and generally interesting places from the old colony still occupied today.  Bring a sack lunch.

Some info about the history of Home:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home,_Washington

Directions:  from Hiwy 16 take the Purdy turn off.  Go across the Purdy bridge to key Peninsula highway 302 and continue on into Home.  (About 1/2 hr from Gig Harbor downtown )  Carpooling may be possible closer to the date.  Call Charli to arrange:  Charlimeacham@gmail.com

 

Arletta Store and Historic Schoolhouse

In spite of the cooler weather, more than 11 sketchers gather at the little community of Arletta just west of Gig Harbor.  The store was a little cramped but the view from the outside was interesting.  Across the street is the old Arletta Schoolhouse which is now part of Hall’s Pass Park and which is occupied by the Arletta Montessori School.  Peninsula Art League members who also are plein air painters were there at the same time so we had quite a number of artists on the grounds around the schoolhouse.  At around 11:30am, the little 3 to 5 year old children, accompanied by their teachers went around to the artists to see what we were doing and to make sure that we knew their ages and what color shirts they were wearing, and to admire our efforts.  

Channeling Chandler

I'm on a roll.  Two outings in two days!

Chandler O'Leary has a show of her sketchbooks, called "Jaunt + Jot" at Feast, a community art space in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma. She invited Urban Sketchers Tacoma to have a sketch outing after a social hour at the show.

I've followed Chandler's sketchbook blog, Drawn the Road Again, for a few years.  She's joined in a couple USk Seattle's outings.  I've admired how she can create such wonderful travel sketches in such a small book (usually a Moleskine pocket sketchbook).
Enlarged scans of the sketchbooks were pinned to the walls.  A few actual sketchbooks were under glass.



Prior to the outing, we gathered to look at the show and have a social hour.  We put out out sketch kits to share.  Chandler has minimalist one (the white disk holding the sketchbook page is a jar of water).



Many of her sketches from the road are of unusual, vintage signs.  She gave us a list of interesting places to sketch on the Hilltop and I chose this candy shop, especially when I saw the sign!



This is my sketching set up.  I hold the coroplast board and sit on the stool.  The pill bottle holds water and fits through a custom cut hole in the board.



We met back at Feast at 12:30 to share sketches.



All the photos: https://redharp.smugmug.com/SketchOutings/2016-0605-Chandlers-Show/

Our Third Anniversary!

My husband has recovered enough from his big surgery that I can be gone for several hours.  So I've returned to one of my favorite activities... sketching with Urban Sketchers (USk).  I've been away for 7 weeks. 

It was a good day to return as today USk Tacoma celebrated our 3rd anniversary!  I made up some signs which we held, along with our sketches, as we also raised 3 fingers.



It was about 80 degrees by the end of the outing, which is very hot by PNW standards.  Hats were the order of the day.



I sat in the sun with my back to the marina.  I had my hat, too.  It was early, so not yet quite so hot and I had the cool breeze off the water.   This percussive instrument is one of several similar ones.  I thought this made a good composition, with the hot shop tower in the back ground.  The Museum of Glass "hot shop" is where they produce blown glass objects in several very hot ovens.

For my second sketch, I chose a spot in the sun on some stone steps. I wanted to sketch the large instrument with the bridge in the background.  However, I quickly decided I would fry if I sat there for a half hour.



I abandoned that location in favor of the shade and another view of the Museum.   I liked the bright red umbrellas.

We shared sketches.  The two people in bicycle helmets on the right just happened by and were interested.  He's from Wales!  And some one of the guys working at the Marina behind us were very interested.  One took info for his room mate.



A few of us went to The Rock for lunch.  I had enough time before my meal came to do a very quick sketch of the family at the next table.

More photos are here:  https://redharp.smugmug.com/SketchOutings/2016-0604-Tacoma-outing-to-the/