Home Arts, the "Inside Story" at Washington State Fair

The visitors to the Home Arts Exhibit were as many and varied as the pieces in the quilts displayed above their heads

Last Friday I was at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup with the ad hoc group of Seattle Urban Sketchers. While many of the sketchers headed outdoors for the animal barns and the food concourse, I went into the Pavilion near the Gold Gate where we met. I stood in the back corner upstairs near the elevator while sketching the handmade quilt display. It amazes me to think of the hours, weeks and even years of time that goes into these. The case displaying the "Octopus Quilt" made it look like he had his own little aquarium.

I spent the majority of my morning just sketching right there in my little corner, as the apple and pear pie making demonstration progressed nearby. During that time, three people working hospitality for the fair came over to offer me a chair (I almost always sketch standing up). After about an hour, I was ready to take them up on that offer, but I couldn't since I had already established my eye level. Here's a shot of my viewpoint and the sketch in process.

Speaking of eye level, there was an unusually large number of very tall people poking their heads above the display boards.

In my last post, I included the left side of this two page spread.  However, I really needed two pages for this subject.

Here's how the two page spread looks together.

My way of sketching a series of events is to compile each impression into a combined happening. I want to express the effect of multiple sensory input and time compression to share with the viewer the overall impact of having been a part of the entire experience.

Click here to see more about the left side of the spread. Spoiler alert! Dole Whip and Scones!

Ice Cream and Turkey Legs, the key to survival at Washington State Fair

Let's face it. You say that you go to the state fair to see the animals, or visit the arts and crafts pavilion, watch the rodeo or get Todd Cooper to sign an autograph. But you're really there for one thing: SCONES!

Pro Art Sketchbook, Micron pen, watercolor & collage

How delightfully convenient that the ad hoc outing of Seattle Urban Sketchers met at the Gold Gate at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup on Friday. You can stand near the fountain, just inside the gate and within your view are all the signs: Elephant Ears, Fisher Scones, and a new treat, Dole Pineapple Whip.

After sharing our sketches, Tina and I stayed for lunch and more sketching afterwards. And ice cream.

If you want to get a table or even a place to sit down and enjoy your treats, your odds in this mob are better at a beer garden. Possibly 2/3 of the patrons milling around you are not old enough to get in.

Not only that, but we just had to see this: the world's largest "self serve" micro-brew experience: BEER HAVEN...and it's mobile! I wasn't allowed to draft my own beer, state laws, I think, but the Lemon Shandy was tasty and thirst quenching. Perfect on an 83 degree afternoon at the fair.
-Sept 11, 2015

Doin’ the Pu. . .I Mean, the Washington

9/13/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor

The Seattle Urban Sketchers and the Tacoma Urban Sketchers stormed the gates this morning at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup for a joint ad hoc sketch gathering. (As a Seattle native who grew up “doin’ the Puyallup” every year, I can’t quite get used to calling it the “Washington State Fair.” It will always be “the Puyallup” to me.)

Last year at the fair, I did most of my sketching inside the animal barns. Today I still sketched several chicks, a goat, a couple of alpacas and, oddly enough, a tiny white pony that had been painted partially pink (the tint I have on my sketch below is probably the most accurate color I captured today). But on this visit, I also wanted to spend some time sketching larger views of the fair.

9/13/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor

My first stop was SillyVille, where the kiddie rides hadn’t yet opened – score! Being able to sketch the merry-go-round and Ferris wheel while they weren’t moving was an excellent coup on my part! Once the rides opened, I could easily toss a kid on a horse.

After lunch with Kate and Peggy (during which we shared the biggest, greasiest pile of curly fries any of us had ever seen; my arteries clogged just looking at them), I wandered over to the new Luminasia attraction, a “larger-than-life lantern festival” produced by a Chinese company. At an additional cost of $12, it didn’t interest me much, especially since it’s best seen at night. But what attracted my attention was the fake Space Needle hovering in the background and the Alice-in-Wonderland-sized daffodils greeting the people lined up to get in.

9/13/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, Zig marker

I’ll tell you what struck me as the most unusual thing about the fair: The number of people whose attention I attracted! I’m so used to sketching in the middle of public scenes and getting ignored by everyone. Today all my sketches took longer because so many people stopped to look and chat. I guess the fair is where you go to see something new.

9/13/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

9/13/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

9/13/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink