Space Oddity, Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland

1967-1971: Soyuz 7K-OK Descent Module

"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today.
For here am I sitting in my tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do . . . . "

Space Oddity, David Bowie, 1969

Oakland's Chabot Space and Science Center has exhibits, telescopes, a planetarium and an array of space-race relics, like the Vostok ejector seat and the Soyuz descent module, both Russian c. 1960's. Does Putin know about this? Susan Ford

1961: Yuri Gagarin, 1st human in space.
His ejector seat from the Soviet Vostok. 

Smitten Ice Cream

A team of engineers and ice cream makers combined liquid nitrogen, small ice crystals and organic ingredients to create churned-to-order ice cream.  Initially peddled from a red wagon at a farmer's market, the ice cream's now available at this popular Rockridge destination. Nitrogen clouds escape shiny steel machinery. Top volume alternative rap competes with hyperactive tots screaming in sugar-fueled delight. The sweet aroma of ice cream and sugar cones adds to the sensory overload. ~Susan Ford

South African Section, UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley

Watercolor, InkJoy colored ink ballpoint pens  

I'm always game for a return visit to the Berkeley Botanical Garden in Tilden Park. It never disappoints. There's lots to see and paint.

The South African section, at its best in late winter was still a-pop with bright colors.  I sat with the sun at my back as hummingbirds dive-bombed these bright red Watsonias in a nectarian target practice.

Brought a few more variably-sized brushes than I usually carry in my portable kit. Enjoyed playing with the different marks I can make with these old friends.

--Susan Ford

UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley

Watercolors, Brush pen, InkJoy ballpoint pens

A visit to the University of California Botanical Garden in the Berkeley hills is a joyful experience, especially this spring, in a banner year for blooms.

I didn't get much further into the garden than the entry kiosk, where a riot of color and form drew my attention.

A sucker for the ol' nature/urban interface, I added the utility pole to the sketch. The pole's a sunny perch for hummingbirds and it's covered in a tangle of dead vines. I had a giggle when a passing garden visitor said she liked the drawing but she "would've left the pole out."

Tilden Park Botanical Garden, Berkeley

Bare Quaking Aspen trees and the algae-covered pond

Wall Masks at Picante Cocina Mexicana, Berkeley

Robert Reich at Wheeler Hall, UC Berkeley

Attended Robert Reich's Wealth and Poverty class today at Wheeler Hall. Reich was absent -- he's at Harvard today on a book tour for his 18th publication: The Common Good. Pitch hitting for Reich was Hilary Hoynes, an economist specializing in the American social safety net for disadvantaged families. 723 students packed the auditorium today, not including the unregistered sitting on the floor at the back of the hall.

Robert Reich is a brilliant, accomplished and much-admired man: Author of 18 books, Secretary of Labor under Pres. Bill Clinton and named one of the most effective 20th Century cabinet secretaries by TIME Magazine. His Wealth and Poverty lectures and a discussion of government policy are also available on his popular Facebook page. ~~Susan Ford

UC Botanical Garden, Too

I sketched Judith while Judith sketched the pond

Viola Frey at the Oakland Museum

My husband has lots of stories about studying ceramics with the late Viola Frey (1933-2004) at California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts). A visit to the Oakland Museum always includes taking another look at Viola's sculptures.

She's most well known for her monumental, brightly colored ceramic sculptures that shaped and redefined ceramics from 'craft' to 'fine art.'

As a CCAC student herself in the 1950s, Viola studied painting with Richard Diebenkorn and attended classes with fellow students Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri and Nathan Oliveira. What an exciting time that must have been.

Remembering Ceiny Carney

Ceiny sketched by Susan

This post is in honor of Ceiny Carney -- sweet woman, talented artist and fellow urban sketcher who died about a week ago.

In May 2015, we spent a rare warm evening sketching on the courtyard at Freehouse, an eatery in a historic 1928 hotel near the UC Berkeley campus. I drew Ceiny as she sat sketching in quiet concentration in the late afternoon sun.

Susan sketched by Ceiny

Fond memories of a get together we had in the spring of this year. Ceiny, me and the gang sketched one another and gave the person we sketched the painting we had made. This was a rare sketch night because we didn't scatter in search of a good sketch location. We sat together around Cathy's table, sketching and painting one another. We had a lot of laughs. 

Above is Ceiny's painting of me, hamming it up over a vase of fresh daffodils. Didn't Ceiny's drawings capture the essence of every location? I remember her amazing concentration, enthusiasm and artistic focus. And a sweet little laugh that I can hear in my memory. We miss you, Ceiny.

Emeryville Public Market, Too

Kiddie chairs & table, Emeryville Public Market. PaperMate InkJoy pens & watercolor. 

Recently inspired to try InkJoy pens because illustrator Emil Ferris uses them to such effect. Ferris overcame the paralyzing effects of West Nile Virus by drawing the demons of her subconscious. They populate her first graphic novel, "My Favorite Thing Is Monsters." The novel's like a sketchbook diary, and her original drawings were created on lined paper with markers and colored ink pens. Art Spiegelman, creator of Maus calls Emil Ferris: "one of the most important comics artists of our time."

See the work of Emil Ferris:
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/30/522034367/in-monsters-graphic-novelist-emil-ferris-embraces-the-darkness-within

Giants at Bell Plastics

Bruce Kennedy of Bell Plastics in Hayward provides custom fabrication in plastic, wood, steel and aluminum. 

He also collects gigantic fiberglass advertising icons (think Doggie Diner dachshund heads and Bob’s Big Boy) that once attracted customers to restaurants and automotive shops in the mid last century. Visitors are welcome during business hours.  Thank you, Bruce Kennedy and office manager Amy Wells for your hospitality.

More info about the collection:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/03/14/haywards-colossal-collection-of-giant-people/

#OneWeek100People2017, Too

I used an accordionated little sketchbook and water soluble pencils; an easy kit to carry and use.
Capturing people in action is the biggest challenge for me so I'm turning that daily challenge into a daily practice.

Thanks, Suhita for turning me on to  Drawn to Life by Walt Stanchfield, Disney animator/instructor. He wrote: "Quick sketching is the shortest route to training yourself for capturing those spontaneous gestures and poses that are so essential to good drawing. Break one of your habits today. The habit of not sketching."

Gyuto Foundation, Too

 

Kuan Yin--one who perceives the sounds of the world--is said to be the goddess of compassion and mercy. Perhaps the most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity, she is said to assist with miraculous powers, all those who pray to her.

At Gyuto Foundation, the white marble statue of Kuan Yin is approximately 3/4 human size and stands in a courtyard fountain with water flowing from the ewer in her hand.

So calming to sketch Kuan Yin as the fountain gurgles, Buddhist flag pennants snap crisply in the wind, a monk chants in the monastery and a hawk circles far above in the sky.

 

Oakland Museum, Too

Taxidermy animals

Viola Frey's Pink Lady, c. 1965

Oaklanders love the Oakland Museum on First Friday--there's reduced price admission, a DJ, live music, food trucks, a bar and lots of revelers!

I sketched little kids dancing and their parents living it up (alas, results are not blog-worthy), then retreated to the quiet galleries in search of motionless subjects.

Pencil is the only medium allowed in the galleries. Taxidermy animals were drawn in water-soluble pencil (I snuck out the water brush for dramatic effect).

Here's Viola Frey's ceramic Pink Lady, drawn under the watchful gaze of the security guard.  Relegated again to the use of pencil . . . could not depict Frey's rich colors so desperately needed here. I prefer not to alter urban sketches after leaving the location, so use your imagination and see a pink lady in a yellow sunsuit holding her blue pet monkey.

Mama's Royal Cafe, Too

Huevos Rancheros lunch for Susan Ford

After 37 years, Mama's Royal Cafe in Oakland is closing.

The Urban Sketchers visited this Bay Area institution one more time and bid a sad farewell to the 1950s aprons and melamine teacup displays, the paper napkin art, the Huevos Rancheros!

While we were eating and sketching, one of the owners wandered about with a contractor, and in that moment, demise was palpable. If you love this place like we do, go NOW before you drive by one day and see an empty hole where Mama used to be! It's imminent and if you think someone's going to buy it and carry on Mama's fine and funky tradition, you misunderstand capitalism.

Ohmega Salvage on election day

Relevant.  --Susan Ford

Whole Foods, Too

Whole Foods is a fun place to sketch -- if you keep a few things in mind.

Make the smallest impact in that narrow aisle -- this is not the place to whip out your largest Moleskine. Grab a small cart and set up your minimal supplies in the kiddy seat. Now off you go in search of inspiration!

Be patient with your fellow consumers -- like moths to a flame, shoppers develop a sudden urge to purchase whatever it is you're sketching.

Learn to banter while sketching -- employees may be interested in what the heck you're up to. Especially if they're in the picture. Thanks, Byron for entertaining me in the seafood department. And thanks to Whole Foods for the opportunity.  ---Susan Ford

Soaps with very creative names

The Dry Garden, Too

As a professional garden designer for 20 years, I used to visit and shop The Dry Garden Nursery with some serious plant lust.

Today, an urban sketcher and retired garden designer, I admire these horticultural delights -- but I'd rather paint them than plant them.

More about Richard Ward and his Dry Garden Nursery:

https://oaklandnorth.net/2015/12/11/buddhas-and-bowling-balls-the-dry-garden-nursery/

Leaf peeping in Alpine County

The most photographed cabin on Highway 88

Back east they call it leaf peeping -- enjoying and photographing fall foliage.

In October in Alpine County, CA, yellow aspens and other colorful flora are real traffic stoppers. We were told that this old cabin was photographed for the cover of a local magazine.

Drivers hell bent on their own photo ops screeched up to the roadside to capture the splendor, then jumped back in their cars and zoomed off.

A few intrepid painters, no less crazed by color, crouched on the gravelly curbside, recording the scene in a slower fashion.