Fireworks and Symphony in Richmond

On July 3rd, picnics, fireworks and The Oakland Symphony playing in the gigantic Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, California. A great evening! The Craneway was built in 1931 and was the Ford Company assembly plant, the largest auto assembly plant on the West Coast. Designed by the great industrial architect Albert Kahn, the 525,000 sq ft building utilizes natural light from a vast array of skylights.  It is next door to the Rosie the Riveter / WWII Home Front National Historical Park visitor center.

Women's Work: Rosie the Riveter Museum and the Super Wonky Singer Sewing Machine

Rosie the Riveter Museum (left) and Craneway Pavilion (right), ink & watercolor, 8x10"

When my plein air group met at the Rosie the Riveter Museum alongside Craneway Pavilion (a former auto factory where "Rosie's" riveted during WWII) on the San Francisco Bay in Richmond, everyone else painted the bay view on the other side of these buildings.

But as soon as I drove into the parking lot, this industrial backside grabbed me. From the row of street lights to the giant smokestack and thousands of windows, I was sold. I set up, sketched and painted in the parking lot. Then I toured the museum. My mother, RivaLee was a "Rosie" and worked in an airplane factory in L.A. where she was known as "Riv the Riveter."

Early 1900s Singer sewing machine, ink & watercolor & gold pen, 8x10"

Super wonky drawing of this beautiful and very heavy machine with womanly curves, sketched at a  warehouse full of antique industrial equipment.

Codex Book Fair at Craneway Pavillion

Looking in at Codex Book Fair, ink & watercolor, 5x8"

I attended the inspiring Codex Book Fair at Craneway Pavillion (a former car factory, now an event space) in Richmond with some friends from S.F. Sketchers on a gorgeous, sunny day. The fair is an annual event where book artists and small publishers show their work.

View from Craneway Boardwalk, ink & watercolor, 5x8"

After visiting the fair I sat on a bench outside and sketched the view from there of the park, the bay and the big oil refinery tanks on the hills in the distance.