Mohai - Drawn to Seattle

I've been wanting to get to MOHAI since its opening last year and it was definitely worth the wait. The mini "foot-path stars" lighting my path at the entrance gave the first hint of enchantment. I was more than impressed as I entered the hall of icons where people were milling about nibbling on snacks and sipping beverages. After sketching for the first hour I caught the informal tour of Gabi Campanario's exhibition, Drawn to Seattle, and I was floored. The variety of displays, the layout and design, not to mention the collection of wonderful sketches and stories was so well done.

The Boeing B-1 airplane shown below was the first airplane to be designed and constructed at Boeing in 1919. It's made of cedar and linen over a spruce frame, the strongest and most lightweight materials at the time. Eddie Hubbard, a local pilot won the contract for the first international airmail service and flew between Seattle and Victoria ten to twelve times a month for seven years. I'm told the plane's position in the MOHAI hall is exactly the same as it would have been when it landed on Lake Union to deliver mail.

 

I visited MOHAI a second time as part of a monthly sketch outing with Seattle Urban Sketchers. I found the Slo-mo-shun IV hydroplane hanging from the ceiling behind the mail plane. This famous Seattle icon won the 1950 Gold Cup setting a water speed record of 160.323 mph in Lake Washington, breaking the world record by almost 20 mph on June 26 of that same year.

 

The LincolnToe truck was constructed by Ed Lincoln, owner. He got the idea after negotiating with a salesman. He purchased a wrecked VW van, hired his friend, Ed Ellison, a master welder, and Joan McGinnis to sculpt a mold for the fiberglass toes. Voila! A toe truck! It was used for 20 years for parades and hired out for charity work: weddings and parties, until it was retired and eventually donated to MOHAI. 

I returned to MOHAI in March and May as artist in residence -- sketching and greeting other interested potential sketchers. These ship sirens used to lead the way on ships' prows. Now they lean in from the wall, overseeing the great hall.  

Saint Monica and Joshua Tree

My best friend Monica Smith would often bemoan her early Catholic upbringing. Nonetheless, the southern California mecca, Santa Monica was named after Monica's patron saint and I will forever be mindful of her while visiting the site.

Just north of Venice the welcome sign says it's famous for it's sport fishing, yacht harbor, cafes and carnival rides. The entrance and palm-lined walkway border the beach.

We listened to Christmas songs in the 70 degree weather at the Santa Monica market.

A pending storm rolled in on Thanksgiving Day.

. . . so we headed over to Joshua Tree National Park

 

Where I had to sketch quickly before the storm moved in.

The next day we headed to both Getty museums. I caught this sketch of "Faustina" in one of the galleries.

Abbot Kinney's Dream

With the flip of a coin in 1898 Abbott Kinney won the rights to the marshy tract of land along the Pacific Ocean just south of Santa Monica. A businessman and real estate developer, Kinney developed his vision to create a cultural mecca - the Venice of America - while traveling in Europe. Despite his efforts at establishing a cultural mecca with gondolas and gondoliers  the dream morphed to accommodate the tastes of the beach-goers and summer holiday guests--the Coney Island of the Pacific complete with freak shows, foreign exhibits and carnival rides.

The canals have been cleaned up and the area has become one of the most desirable residential areas in Los Angeles. We walked the public paths that line the canals and provide a glimpse into the backyards and living rooms of residents.

The Venice Boardwalk borders the beach and maintains the amusement park identity. Cheap eateries, psychedelic shops and medical marijuana dispensaries lure locas and tourists alike. We were warned off the strip after dark "when the gangs come out".

A couple of blocks inland Abbot Kinney Avenue attracts a different set - hipsters and shoppers with enough expendable income that allows them to shop in the boutiques and eat in the upscale restaurants or at least pose in the daily line at Intelligencia coffee.

I did a quick sketch on the LAX Shuttle bus as we toured the parking lot dropping folks off at their respective lot locations.

University of Washington Botanical Gardens

Ahhh. A taste of the tropics in mid-November. 

I warmed up, literally, with the long view. 

The light was amazing and the structure a bit overwhelming, but I loved the contrast of the technical exposed structure and the organic shapes and colors of the plants.  

This multi-colored palm tree caught my eye with the rich texture in the trunk. The leaves were multi-colored with a leopard-like pattern.

I concur with you all who have said it, our host, Doug Ewing was incredibly gracious and welcoming. Maybe we should make this an annual mid-winter location.

Yashiro Friendship Bridge bombed with cozies

Last Friday, in honor of Olympia's Arts Walk XLVII, the main bridge linking downtown Olympia to west Olympia was dressed up in winter finery. A local group that calls themselves the Spectral Spiders organized this community project. Many community members contributed to the lamppost fashion show, some taking on a whole lamppost, others contributing pieces that were stitched together to cover a post.  


Spectral Spiders' facebook tagline says, 

Spectral Spiders warm urban environments with wooly wonder and weird whimsy through community creation of handcrafted textiles. We are based in Thurston County, Washington in Cascadia, USA, and we want a cozy world.

Judging from the smiles and comments posted and heard among the Arts Walk crowd, they've certainly warmed the hearts of Olympians. 

The organizers termed this particular event a yarn installation because they had permission from the city, differentiating it from "yarn bombing" a popular form of guerilla/street art, albeit more widely accepted than most graffiti. Not only is it somewhat domestic (See NY Times article, Graffiti's Cozy, Feminine Side) , it is non-permanent and most often easily removed.  Too easily, it seems since at least three of the lampposts have been totally or partially defrocked. Street people desecrating street art? 

Find more information in Wikipedia's yarn bombing entry, and 

The Olympia-Yashiro Friendship Bridge Cozy project.

Enjoy it while it lasts - it's only up until Sunday, October 13 at noon.  

Bainbridge to Pike Street

I started early Sunday morning on Bainbridge Island at the tail end of a vacation. I hit Pegasus Coffee shop just after 7:00 am and by chance met a group of old salts who meet there every morning. They invited me to join their conversation (because I happened to be sitting in their group spot at the shop). One of them was just off the boat having sailed from Hong Kong then met up with another of the group in Hawaii to sail home. After I left and sketched the scene next door -- a take off on one of Frank Ching's sketches -- to learn the art of composition. Learn from the masters. 

I took the ferry over to the Market to meet up with the afternoon post-sketch workshop group. Tried my hand at Post Alley again. 

It was a full day of sketching and I still have a little more color to add to one more and scan another. I love full days of sketching in such great weather and interesting locations.

Hometown Bar-B-Que - Brooklyn, NY

Hometown Barbque, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY

In July our family went to Brooklyn with the intention of celebrating our daughter and son-in-law's new barbecue restaurant in Red Hook, a section of Brooklyn that was 6 ft under water when Sandy hit last October. I've postponed posting this sketch until opening day; and it's finally here! 

Hometown Bar-b-que, at the corner of Van Brunt and Reed just across from Fairway Market. 

Although it wasn't open to the public yet, they hosted a private party for my birthday: brisket, Caribbean jerk chicken, mac n' cheese, collards with pork and sangria. It makes my mouth water just remembering. 

Here's to Billy and LIanna and their new endeavor!