Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Tunnel 2

The day was busy, but progress was made.  How did I reserve six to ten hours a day strictly for sculpting once upon a time?

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Tunnel (rough sketch)

The weather's been so pleasant these last days that I thought I would grab my sketcher's stool yesterday evening and set up down the street at the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Campus and find something in the rich architecture and sculpture to capture.   Alas, the light was fading fast by the time I got the rough sketch done, so I will have to do this in installments.  And I had forgotten the camera that's handy when the light is fleeting, when I need reference.

This is a beautiful tunnel that was built under Highway 101, connecting pedestrians to the rest of the buildings on the other side of the highway.  As is common throughout the campus, the planning, design and architecture (as well as the landscaping) are breathtaking.   As I sketched, a woman emerged from the tunnel and looked at my work, smiling broadly.  She introduced herself as a Tribal Elder and invited me across the street to attend a private tribal drumming celebration, to begin at 5:30.   She grinned and admitted 5:30 had past, but considering "Indian Time", it might get rolling sometime after 6:00 PM.  Jim was due home from town momentarily, so I took a raincheck, but it would've been fun, I think.

A Very Thai Food Kinda Day

As often happens, an errand Jim and I needed to run in Port Townsend ended up swelling to a day in Port Townsend.  Groceries at the Co-op became a footnote to lunch, and a matinee at the old Rose Theatre.  Always a treat, even if Jim got confused at the box office and pointed to me when he said, "Senior ticket" and himself when he said, "Adult ticket, please".  I don't think he knew what he had said until he saw my mouth agape and eyes looking daggers at him.  It was good natured, as now that I'm facing my sixtieth birthday, I'm getting pretty used to being a "senior" at some establishments, however, no use rushing things!

And of course, if we didn't eat lunch before we entered the theatre, the smell of popcorn would've inspired us to buy the biggest bag, so a rice bowl at Khu Larb was a pleasant tummy-filler.  And no "extra butter" option.  I love the rich colors in the restaurant, and how could I resist the old stone wall outside the window?  And big, fresh roses every day on each table.  The dilemma of including the deep, green wall to my right in my sketch was solved by including the mirror next to the window that reflected a suggestion of that wall, as well as one of the wonderful, hanging lanterns.  

New Blog Site

No photo today.

I've started a new blog, set it up on September 22nd.  I had a crazy idea earlier that previous day while sipping tea and looking out over the bay, and mulled it over in my head for awhile, trying to figure out how silly it might actually be to do this.  I often do this with new ideas, work really hard at talking myself out of them and believe that if they were so great, someone else would've done it.   I'm probably not alone in this self-defeating syndrome.

I remembered a time in the early 1980s, when I had a tiny cabin studio on the edge of Lake Geneva in Federal Way, Washington (the cabin is now gone and the property is a park), and I started painting 3D-looking faces on little round stones, and placed them here and there in the old forest for kids to find as they walked down to play in the lake.   It was great fun, though I seldom saw who took the stones, just that they were gone the next day or two.

While basking in this cool old memory, I sighed at the seeming insanity going on in the world right now, wondering how we could all be so divided, polarized, angry.  I couldn't help but think how just the tiniest of quiet acts of kindness by enough folks could be contagious.  I thought of how an awful day I'd experienced could be so changed by someone who smiled at me or helped me pick up paperwork that slid out of my hands and hit the floor in cascades.   Or a stranger handing me a dollar at the coffee counter when my change came up short.

These two thoughts naturally wove themselves together and gave birth to the idea that I could begin putting "treasures" out there again, and maybe create a blog on which these numbered treasures could be reported on by those who found them.  There'd be a catch, though.  When someone found one of these treasures, they'd either keep them, or re-place them, but before doing so, perhaps could honor the gift by then doing a small act of kindness that day.  If they wanted to, they could comment on the blog and tell their story, including the number stamped on the piece and where they found it.   They would find the blog address on the back of the treasure.

Okay, so it's a weird idea, but I've already got the blogsite up and hope before long to create the first edition of these "treasures" and sneak across the countryside, placing them here and there like a human, middle-aged Easter Bunny.

If you'd like a sneak preview, go to Artists For Kindness

Wish me luck!

Just Warming Up

I've been whittling away at this little sketch for many weeks.   It's been in my pocket Moleskine since an evening visit to our favorite hangout, Undertown.  I had sketched the wall (love those bricks) with a chair in front of it, but just as I drew the chair in black ink, some guy with a guitar came and sat down and played some riffs.  Just as I got halfway through sketching the guitar player, he put his guitar down and left me with an empty chair and a wine glass.  In the immortal words of Dorothy in Oz, "My!  People come and go so quickly around here!"  So much of the guitar player is invented (as you can probably tell), but I did come back with Jim not long ago and filled in the barista and the bar in the other room.  

Starbucks Silverdale

A couple weeks ago I went with a friend to Silverdale, WA.   While she ran an errand or two, I went for a cup of chai at Starbucks, down the street.  I should know better than to order chai, as I'm not a fan of intensely sugary drinks, but when I pulled out my trusty little Moleskine and tiny watercolor kit, nothing else mattered.   I was in the Zone.  Nothing that dramatic to re-create, but then, everything is entertaining for me!