42nd World Wide SketchCrawl

Pasco, WA public Library my most recent sketch

Last fall I finally got a chance to join a local sketching group that I had my eye on for a couple of years.  I found their blog on facebook and really wanted to just have the time to do some sketching and learn how.  These guys were so good!!! Urban Sketchers:Tri Cities

It turns out this is a craze going on around the planet.  Oh yeah how fun is that! Four times a year this group sketches all day around their city and posts their results along with cities like Paris, Tokyo, Barcelona...you get the idea.  It is so fascinating to me to see local culture on the same day through the eyes of artists all over the world. Urban Sketchers

My very first day happened to be one of these WW SketchCrawls and our local group was joining up with a children's art school. So I grabbed Miss Eden and off we went.

Of coarse we grabbed our coffee's from The Local (Jenna & Michael's new coffee shop)

Sketchers spread out all over Leslie Grove Park

 Leslie Grove is a local park on the Columbia River...oh what a glorious fall day!

 The children all gathered when they were done and looked at each other's work.

The children were instructed to sketch the play structure...see the swirly slide on the right ;)  She did a good job on the tic tac toe board!

 It was so cute because after Eden did the playground she turned around and copied the scene I was doing.

Following are some of my recent sketches from around the Tri Cities, WA.

 The Local Coffee Shop

We tend to sketch inside during cold weather

Roaster's Coffee Shop

The Blank Canvas

If you get a chance, check out this link to find the results of the 42nd World Wide SketchCrawl, or better yet join one! This link is for their blogsite, but the other one is worth getting into to see all the action.  Only a few folks have access to post on the blog. Urban Sketchers Blog

Following is their Mission Statement:
Urban Sketchers started online as a flickr group in 2007 and later became a nonprofit organization. Our mission as a nonprofit is to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel. We aim to show the world, one drawing at a time.

Art A Day Challenge and a Walk up Badger

It was a lovely day in the 50's.  So I grabbed Eden to go for a hike with me on Badger Mt.  On our way down she tells me " Nana my legs are walking by themselves."  Mind you she was dragging them all the way UP the mountain. 

 A mindless doodle done while watching Project Runway.  I have joined an ART A DAY blog to help me stay focused on doing some kind of art each day for the month of January. 

Exhausting day putting all the Christmas decoration away. My least favorite moment of Christmas ;(   At least it is all done and put away for next year! Now on to those New Year 2014 goals.

Glorious Chaos & a Happy New Year!

 My beautiful girls Christmas Eve @ Megs

Happy New Years to all !!!! I am presently comatose after 10 glorious days with ALL my family here. Everyone left this morning and as always there is physical relief and emotional grief. I am missing them all sooooo much already, but my body is on strike for at least today and will be in a mostly horizontal position. 

Meg and her girls

Grands preforming jingle bells at hyper speed

 Papa Danny and the rumble

 Michael and Jenna all dressed up

Christmas morning. 

With Meg's help I made linen covered photo journal books of their weddings. The newly weds loved them.

Glorious chaos! 

New Years Eve

I bearly got a decent photo.  I just kept shooting random candid shots as the days and events flew by.

So much fun and joy, bonding and laughter. All our usually family antic's with three fairly new additions with Olivia, Michael and baby Cora starting to understand our hoopla and joining in on all the lovely chaos. 

I have in my minds eye at least a week to focus on some quiet reflection and goal setting with God's direction for 2014. I know there are quite a few things brewing inside me...

For now I wanted to pass on this terrific gift from...Beth Moore!!!  FREE KINDLE BOOKS FROM BETH MOORE! I found them on Amazon...click for more info