Thornton Creek Channel

6/18/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, 100 lb. watercolor paper

According to a placard next to the site, the 11.6-square-mile Thornton Creek Watershed is home to 67,000 residents (including me), which means that all the typical urban pollution and runoff I help to generate used to flow directly into Thornton Creek and eventually to Lake Washington. The placard did its job of making me more aware of the creek that runs right under Northgate Mall and the neighboring area, as well as the potential urban impact on the stream. Thanks to citizen activism and a major project that was completed four years ago, the creek has been restored, and parts of it have been “daylighted” above ground. According to a Seattle Times article dated June 19, 2009, “A large, paved lot once devoted to overflow mall traffic and RV parking has been replaced with a landscaped, open space that allows the beginnings of Thornton Creek to flow above ground for the first time in decades.” The channel is now a natural filtration system for stormwater runoff.

 

Although I drive past this open space regularly when I run errands at Northgate, today was the first time I walked down into and around the wide, green space. First I walked completely around the periphery, and then I walked up and back down each of several long stairways, trying to pin down a sketch composition. I finally settled on a colorful glass sculpture that looks like its parts are floating in an exposed area of water, one of the many walkways, and a staircase with lots of interesting angles.

 

Making the initial drawing wasn’t too bad, although I still find sketching big, open spaces challenging. But I knew the worse challenge was going to be painting it. Everywhere I looked, I saw mostly dark green – the water, the vast landscaping, everything. Knowing I would make a huge, dark green mess if I started painting all of that, I started to panic. Then I remembered (before I started painting, for a change!) Gail Wong’s advice to let a sketch tell its story by painting selectively. So I selected a few visual elements that I hoped would lead the eye to the focal point I had chosen. Looking at the sketch now, I think it could have used a bit more paint, but I’m happy that I stopped when I did, because I’m sure I would have gone too far if I’d kept that paint brush in my hand.

 

So that I can squeeze in sketches on days that I have to work, I’ve been trying to find more sketch-worthy locations within a five- or 10-minute drive or walk from my house. I can easily drive to Thornton Creek Channel in minutes. I’m grateful to the concerned citizens who put pressure on the city to create this refreshing urban space, and grateful to the city for making it happen. To express my appreciation, I’m going to enjoy it more often.

 

(Technical note: This was my second sketch made in a hand-stitched signature carried in my “Stefano” sketchbook cover. One benefit of the thin, pamphlet-stitched signature is that the gutter in the center of a page spread is less visible in the scan than it is when I scan my Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. I’m also learning that I need to stitch the signatures together a bit more securely. I had deliberately used a fine thread and fewer holes on this signature because eventually I’ll have to take that temporary stitching off before doing the permanent Coptic binding. But the pages are moving around too much, which is causing the holes to spread. I think I’ll have this all figured out by the time I make all the signatures for my trip next month. Better to work out all the kinks now while they can still be worked out – at home!)

 

Poplar at the Playground

6/17/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, 100 lb. paper

At 5 p.m., the usual crowd at the Maple Leaf playground was getting sparse, as kids and their parents were probably returning home to get ready for dinner. I didn’t have much time myself, but I was eager to do a field test with my new sketchbook cover, so I chose the single tall poplar at the edge of the playground, a tiny pale blue bicycle and its rider nearby.

Unpacking “the Stefano” and First Field Test

Handwritten note and sketch by Stefano.

It looked like a gift!

Before I talk about the results of my first field test of “the Stefano” (see the previous post to learn about how and why I came to acquire this new sketchbook cover), I have to show you how it arrived after its long journey from Italy (twice!) and more of its details. When I opened the padded envelope, inside was a package that looked like a gift – rice paper tied with raffia and a button (made by Stefano) that reads, “Listen to the waves!” When I opened the wrapping paper, the beautiful leather cover was inside, and inside that was a kraft-cover notebook with an original sketch by Stefano. Tucked into a pocket was a handwritten note. It felt like my birthday!

Closed sketchbook cover fastened with bands.

For my custom-made sketchbook cover, I chose black leather, which has a rustic matte finish that looks like it will take on a nice patina over time. The cover closes with two elastic bands, and I chose red for those – Stefano and I agreed that red would look sharp against the black leather. Two more elastic bands inside along the spine hold up to two signatures in place. The cover has two hand-stitched pockets, one on each side, to hold spare signatures or ephemera. The back cover has a small “bro” stamp (I couldn’t photograph it well), signifying that it was handmade by BroLeatherWorks. A bookmark made of a matching red elastic cord is embellished with red buttons that match the one on the spine (the bookmark got a little in the way as I sketched, so I might remove it, since only a small knot through a hole in the spine secures it).

Two hand-stitched pockets inside.

 

Sketchbook cover with single signature in place.

I stitched up an eight-page single signature (below) made from one 18” x 24” sheet of 100-pound watercolor paper (that I happen to have a huge stack of), which yields a 6” x 9” page (12” x 9” spread). This page size is slightly larger than the 5 ½” x 8 ½” Stillman & Birn sketchbook I usually use, but I specified these dimensions to Stefano for three important reasons:

 

 

 1. I don’t waste any of the 18” x 24” paper, and all I have to do is fold and tear it – no measuring necessary (my experience with bookbinding indicates that measuring accurately isn’t one of my assets)!

The sketchbook fits perfectly in my Rickshaw Bagworks bag.

2. The sketchbook fits perfectly in my Rickshaw Bagworks sketch bag (below).

3. The 12” x 9” page spread fits on my scanner.

 

For my first field test on this gorgeous day, I walked a few blocks to the Maple Leaf playground where I sketched last week. I attached my watercolor kit – the essential element to my outdoor sketching – to the left side of the cover, and as I had hoped and expected, the leather is sufficiently thick and sturdy that it supports the kit well. It was breezy, and the right-side page kept flapping, so on a whim, I pulled the upper closure band around the corner of the page, and voila! It serves double-duty! And “the Stefano” works exactly as I had hoped!




Watercolor kit attached to left side of leather cover. Elastic band keeps page from flapping in the wind.

With this first sketch, I already got a little paint on the inside cover, which I’m sure Stefano will be pleased about. After all, it was made to get painty and well-used.

Travel Sketchbook Issue – Resolved!



BroLeatherWorks sketchbook cover

For a while now I’ve been on a mission to reduce the weight and bulk of my sketch bag. Specifically, I’m trying to reduce the strain on my shoulder when I sketch standing up, and more generally, I want to minimize everything I carry in preparation for travel to Europe next month.

 

I’ve pulled out a lot of pens and other art materials over time, although my acceptable “bare essentials” keeps changing. The one thing that’s the most difficult to make smaller and lighter is my favorite sketchbook – an 8½” x 5½” Stillman & Birn – which is always the heaviest part of my sketching supplies. I’ve tried S & B’s 4” x 6” size, which is definitely lighter and less bulky, but the small page size leaves me feeling cramped.

 

A couple months ago while reading Mary Ann Moss’s blog, I had a light bulb moment. To prep for a trip to Italy, Mary Ann had stitched a stack of signatures in advance, and she was planning to pop one into her bag each day. Upon her return home, she would bind them all together into a single volume. Carry a series of thin, lightweight signatures on the go, then bind them all later at home: Sheer genius!

 

"The Stefano" sketchbook in the field.

I quickly realized that Mary Ann’s elegantly simple yet ingenious idea could be my solution, too – I’ve handbound books using the Coptic stitch, and I also know how to stitch single signatures. There was just one snag: Any sketchbook I use has to be stiff enough to support my attachable watercolor kit. A single signature wouldn’t cut it, so it would need some kind of cover. . . and that’s when I remembered Stefano!

 

Shortly before I saw Mary Ann’s blog post, I had read on Stefano Bramato’s blog that he was selling his handmade leather products on Etsy. Styled after the ever-popular Midori Traveler’s Notebook, which has an almost cult-like following of devotees, Stefano’s leather notebooks fasten with simple elastic bands, making them flexible and easily customizable. At this point, the light bulb in my head was a wildly flashing beacon: Get a sketchbook cover large enough to accommodate a signature of my favorite size pages! The leather cover would protect the pages and would also be stiff enough to support my clip-on watercolor box.

 

I immediately contacted Stefano, a sketcher in Italy whose delightful blog I read regularly. After a brief exchange of Etsy convos about the dimensions I needed and, specifically, how I would be using it, Stefano designed a custom sketchbook cover that would exactly accommodate my needs – at a very reasonable price. The Midori Traveler’s Notebook has always appealed to me in concept – it’s hard to resist something so simple, straightforward and therefore easily customizable – but the sizes that it comes in are too small for my sketching needs. Now I have one designed especially for my needs, handmade in Italy. He named the design after me, J but I like to call it “the Stefano.”

 

By the way, the Stefano has already done its share of traveling. Due to a U.S. Postal Service delivery mishap (not Stefano’s fault), my sketchbook cover came all the way from Italy and made it as far as my neighbor’s house – then got returned all the way back to Italy, where Stefano had to ship it to me again. I think it just means it was meant to travel. The next time it goes back to Europe, it will be in my bag!

 

See the next post for more details about the sketchbook and my first field test!

Arboretum Footbridge

6/15/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

Whenever I drive on Lake Washington Boulevard near the Washington Park Arboretum, I pass under an old footbridge with a clearance so low that some large vehicles never make it through. (Several years ago, a charter bus full of high school athletes scraped off its top trying to pass under it. The driver, who was following GPS directions, missed the height restriction warning.) Built in 1911, the mossy Wilcox Footbridge is on the Seattle historic register.

 

On a recent visit to the arboretum with a visitor, I found the footbridge, so today I returned to sketch it. I’m such a masochist. I knew those lovely lamp posts would be a perspective challenge, and all those dark trees in the background would add to the challenge. Maybe this is one of those scenes I return to in a year to see whether my sketch improves.

 

Although the sketch may have been masochistic, at least sketching in the shade on a warm afternoon was a pleasure. It must be one of the city’s best-kept secrets: On a sunny Saturday, you’d think the bridge would be well traveled. But as I sketched, only a few strollers and bike riders came by.

Another One-Man Band

6/14/13 Sailor pen, Diamine Eclipse ink, Stillman & Birn Alpha

Seems like the buskers at Phinney Farmer’s Market have raised the bar this year. Last year it was sufficient to play one instrument at a time – like a ukulele or a saxophone. (Of course, P. K.Dwyer was multi-tasking even last year.) But last week I discovered a musician named The Gin Jars who played a kazoo, a banjo and a horn-type thing all at once. Today it was Nick Moyer, who played a combo that was new to me: a trumpet with an accordion.

 

This is why sketching at farmer’s markets is my favorite summertime activity: Even when it’s the same, there’s always something new.

P. K. Dwyer Encore

6/14/13 Sailor pen, Diamine Eclipse ink, Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook

Last summer I sketched blues singer P. K. Dwyer at the Phinney Farmer’s Market, and I was delighted to see that he was back on the “center stage” at the same market today. Just like last week when I was sketching Tinker’s Dram, it was a tough choice between keeping my lines straight and tapping my toe. “I’ve fallen on hard times, and I can’t get up,” he sang, one of his all-original songs.

 

After putting a dollar in his guitar case, I was slipping out when he stopped me in the middle of a song. He thanked me for the sketch I had done last year, which his wife had been delighted to find online. “Whatever makes my wife happy makes me happy,” he said.