Cold Mad Campus

10/10/14 Sylvan Grove Theater

Maybe I was just grumpy about the cold, damp fog that enveloped me in chilliness. For whatever reason, most of the art I saw this morning on the University of Washington campus – part of Mad Art Seattle’s Mad Campus sculpture exhibit – wasn’t very inspiring. If truth be told, I’d have to admit it was probably me who wasn’t inspired, since the other Friday sketchers certainly came away with inspired sketches!

My first sketch was of something that I did find inspiring, but it wasn’t part of the exhibit. Walking through the Sylvan Grove Theater, it’s hard not to be moved by the classical beauty of the four Ionic columns. Of course, I wasn’t so moved that I sketched all four – the capital of one was enough.

After wandering the campus to see most of the 12 pieces in the exhibit, I somewhat half-heartedly settled on Burnt in Time, by Brian Widmaier (below). According to the flier description, a group of 12-foot obelisks “showcases the surrounding surfaces and reveals the steady progression of time.” Hmmm.

10/10/14 Burnt in Time

Still uninspired, I sat on a bench to munch a protein bar, and the crinkle of my wrapper attracted numerous geese. I took advantage of their attention to sketch a few.

Chilled, I decided to get coffee at Suzzallo Library. Out on Suzzallo’s steps, I looked up at Gerberding Hall’s tower, which mocked me with its formidable gothic self. Normally, I would run the other way, screaming. But fortified with caffeine, I pulled out KK’s bag of tricks: a few sticks and India ink. No, the sticks and ink don’t give me KK’s superpower, but they somehow make me fearless enough to take on something like that gothic tower (so I guess they give me a different superpower!).

In fact, I felt so cocky that I did one more twig and ink sketch, this time of The Legend of Jerry Roundtree, a sculptural work by Seth Friedman (the pyramids and cubes next to the trees, below). You can probably tell I was more inspired by the trees than the sculpture, but that’s OK. By then the others showed up to share sketches, and that improved my mood.

10/10/14 Canada geese

10/10/14 Gerberding Hall

10/10/14 The Legend of Jerry Roundtree